Righteousness: acquittal, deliverance, honest evidence (Prov 12:17),
integrity (Job 31:6),
judgment, justice, prosperity, right, righteousness (most common), righteous
deeds, righteous help, salvation, saving help, victory, vindication.
• Most often it
refers to (as a legal term): A status of legal rectitude
(morally correct behavior or thinking) that satisfies the moral
requirements of God’s character. It satisfies the demands of the Law.
Misplaced confidence
Isaiah 32:9-17
Where is Your Trust/Confidence?
And
this righteousness will bring peace. Yes, it will bring quietness
and confidence forever.
• Peace: salom - Shalom (peace; prosperity, success;
welfare, state of health; friendliness; deliverance, salvation)
• Quietness:
hasqet - Stillness (not just a moment
of peace but sustained peace, calm)
• Confidence:
betah - Confidence and security
(freedom from anxiety and fear)
Righteousness
(right standing with God) is key. Do we work for it? Can we achieve it? Many thought so and tried very hard to do so. The Answer is in
the Name of God.
Jeremiah 23:1-6
“What
sorrow awaits the leaders of my people—the shepherds of my sheep—for they have
destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for,” says the
LORD.
Therefore,
this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to these shepherds: “Instead of
caring for my flock and leading them to safety, you have deserted them and
driven them to destruction. Now I will pour out judgment on you for the evil
you have done to them. But I will (I will do what you failed to do - I’ll
do it myself) gather together the remnant of my flock from the countries where I have driven
them. I will bring them back to their own sheepfold, and they will be fruitful
and increase in number. Then I will appoint responsible shepherds who will care
for them, and they will never be afraid again. Not a single
one will be lost or missing. I, the LORD have spoken!
“For the time is coming,”
says the LORD,
“when I will raise up a righteous
descendant
from King David’s line.
He will be a King who rules with
wisdom.
He will do what is just and right
throughout the land.
And this will be his name:
‘The LORD Is Our Righteousness.’ (Which
means someone else represents me)
In that day Judah will be saved,
and Israel will live in safety.
Romans 5:17 “For
if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how
much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the
gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!”
What Does The Enemy Do?
2 Corinthians 3:7–9
“Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on
stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the
face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, will not the
ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that brought
condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings
righteousness!”
Righteousness Consciousness That is disconnected from me
and my works:
Romans 4:4–5
“Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an
obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies
the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.”
Implications with this in prayer:
James 5:16 “Therefore
confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be
healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
Remind ourselves daily of the Gift of righteousness
as opposed to works:
• Guilt will
distort our thinking:
• It will keep us
from the ability to see that righteousness is a gift.
• It will blind us
from God’s love shown in the gospel.
• It keeps us
self-centered instead of Christ centered.
• But the good news
of Jesus strips this away, demanding the focus be entirely on God and Jesus, it
does not allow for us to take any credit.
Paul’s
Practical Mindset (from Philippians 3:8-9):
1. Count everything
(human achievements and status) as garbage in comparison with knowing Jesus
(which becomes the very core of your life).
2. Do not place
confidence in your own righteous/unrighteous works, rather place your
confidence in Jesus who is your righteousness.
3. Remind yourself
daily.
Philippians 3:8-9 Yes,
everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing
Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting
it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I
no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I
become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with
himself depends on faith.