See Part One
RIGHTEOUSNESS CONSCIOUSNESS
In Part One we saw that Righteousness is right standing with God. It is the ability to stand in the presence of God with no sense of guilt or inferiority. Righteousness is a description of relationship, not of behavior.
Four things gained through Righteousness
Righteousness gives us the ability to fellowship with God.
It is possible to have relationship without fellowship. For example, the prodigal son (Lk 15:11-32). He left home and broke off fellowship with his father. When he fell on hard times, he came to his senses and realized even the servants in his father’s house were better off than he was. He felt that through his behavior he had lost the rights to his relationship as a son, but was willing to accept that. He had his little speech ready about not being worthy to be called a son any more, but his father was overjoyed to see him – the relationship was still intact, and the father was delighted at the prospect of restoring fellowship.
Righteousness gives us the ability to exercise authority in the spiritual realm
One of the things that impressed people the most about Jesus was His authority over unclean spirits. In the Old Testament there was a precedent of people being supernaturally healed, but there were no examples of men exercising authority over evil spirits (the closest thing was the soothing effect that David’s playing had on Saul when the evil spirit came to torment him). What were the seventy most excited about after returning from being sent out by Jesus?
Luke 10:17 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”
We can face demonic forces when we know heaven’s power is backing us up.
Acts 19:13-15 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.”
14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”
Why didn’t the name of Jesus work for the sons of Sceva the way it worked for Paul? Isn’t there power in the Name? Yes, but they had no authority to use that name because they had no relationship to the owner of the name. As a woman who marries gains the right to use her husband’s name because of her relationship to him, so we can use the name of Jesus.
Righteousness gives us the ability to use faith
Faith is dependent on knowing the will of God. We get to know the will of God in general through His word and His promises, but the greatest exploits are done by those who know God’s specific will for them and fulfill it. And that will require an active relationship with God.
Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
The just – which we have seen to mean as those who have been declared righteous – shall live by faith. Faith and righteousness go hand in hand. It begins with faith for salvation, but faith should be a part of everything we do.
Righteousness gives us the ability to pray effectively
James 5:13-18 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous main avails much.
Effective – able to produce results
Fervent – heartfelt, intense; as opposed to haphazard or going through the motions.
Avails much – The Amplified Bible says it “makes tremendous power available”.
Take Advantage of your Righteousness
It’s not enough to be righteous, you must also know it and act on it. You must realize that all the promises and blessings that go to the righteous belong to you – you are qualified.
Does a Christian have rights?
There is a saying going around in Christian circles, that a Christian doesn’t have any rights. I do not believe that is true, and it is not scriptural. We have many rights and privileges, and God wants us to take advantage of them.
I am reminded of a story I heard Kenneth Copeland tell about when he was a teenager. One year his father took on extra work, causing him to be away from his family on many weekends. Kenneth thought that finances must have been tight and that’s why his Dad was working more. At Christmas time there was only one small package for him under the tree. His thoughts were, “Boy, things must be worse than I thought.”
When he opened the package there was only a note that said “Look on the porch”. And when he did, there was a brand new, shiny red motorcycle. Kenneth said back then, nobody his age had a brand new motorcycle. He was speechless, and just stared at it with his mouth hung open. His Dad handed him the key and said, “Why don’t you try it out?”
He rode around for hours, and it was then that he realized, “That’s why Dad has been working all that extra time – to get money to buy me this bike.”
Now the next day, when he drove up on that new motorcycle and his friends asked, “Wow, Kenneth, where’s you get the bike?” do you think he said, “Now wait a minute boys, this is not my motorcycle, it belongs to my father. He bought it, and I would not presume to say it was mine, no. And occasionally – if I’m good enough – he lets me ride it.”
What would his father think if his Kenneth took that attitude? The motorcycle was for his son, not himself. Of course he’d want his son to be grateful, but the best thanks he could get would be to for Kenneth to use that bike and take advantage of the gift that he sacrificed to give.
And that is the attitude we should take with the promises and blessings of God, that Jesus paid such a price for us to have. Just like Kenneth told his friends, “Yes, that’s my motorcycle, my Daddy bought it for me!” so we can take advantage of our rights in privileges in Christ, tell people they belong to us, and brag on the one Who gave it to us.
John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
Notice how this verse equates asking for things (and receiving them) in Jesus’ name with bearing fruit. And it doesn’t say only asking for “spiritual” things – it says “whatever”. There are many Christians that view asking for material things as unspiritual, and look down on those who preach that God wants you to prosper. But it all comes down to attitude and priority.
Seek His righteousness
We are familiar with the well known verse in Matt 6:33:
Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Many people re-interpret this verse with their religious pencils as if it said, “Seek only the kingdom of God….” It is not wrong to seek for things, even material things. It just should not be our top priority.
Another thing Christians miss from this verse, is that we are told to seek His righteousness. Most people interpret this to mean we are to act like God, or like Jesus. But that is really seeking our own righteousness. Whenever you are using your behavior as a criteria to qualify for or earn righteousness, you are seeking to establish your own righteousness.
Remember righteousness is more about relationship than behavior. We should be seeking to deepen our relationship with Him. That will have a natural effect on our behavior (see section on the Fruits of Righteousness).
How do you seek for His righteousness? Seek means:
- to seek in order to find
- to seek a thing
- to seek [in order to find out] by thinking, meditating, reasoning, to enquire into
- to seek after, seek for, aim at, strive after
- to seek i.e. require, demand
- to crave, demand something from someone
From this we can see three attributes of seeking.
- Research and inquiry to find out about something
- Putting into practice – striving for a goal, acting on it
- Placing a demand.
Stake your Claim
People get bent out of shape when you use the word “demand” in any context having to do with us and God. They think of the world and how they demand their rights.
But in our context a demand is a request with the “if” taken out of it. You’ve already been told it belongs to you, that you have a right to it. You get a letter in the mail that says “You have won….” With a “claim ticket” that says it’s yours. But, you have to submit that claim ticket in order to obtain the goods. When you do, you place a demand for whatever the ticket promises.
Now you don’t do this in arrogance or in a “demanding” attitude – you are just confident. You are polite, you are rejoicing, and the person behind the counter that is responsible to fulfill the request is rejoicing with you.
We place a “demand” on the promises of God when we exercise faith. And God is happy to fulfill those “demands”, or claims, because that is why he put the promises there in the first place.
Now there is opposition to placing your claim, but it doesn’t come from those who issue it. You read the letter and someone is telling you that it doesn’t apply to you, or it doesn’t really mean that you’ve won, or that you don’t qualify. Or if he really does a good job, he convinces you that it’s just junk mail and you never open the envelope to see what’s inside.
All this is designed to prevent you from submitting your claim. And that is the devil’s job, to steal, kill, and destroy. He cannot prevent God from fulfilling his promise, but he can try to stop you from submitting your claim.
And when this happens, then it’s time to get “demanding”. You quote the letter – “it says right here, devil!” And then you tell him to shut up, you’re not going to believe any of his lies.
Many years ago, when I first heard teaching on righteousness in this fashion, and I got it – it became a revelation to me – it opened up the Bible in a new way for me. First, I saw that I qualified. Whenever I saw a promise in the Bible, I knew it belonged to me.
The second thing I learned had to do with faith in the promise – I had to believe it to gain the benefits. That was my “claim ticket”. And I learned that I was to believe I had it even before I saw any physical evidence – my faith provided the “evidence of things not seen” (Heb 1:1). Whatever the Bible said I had, or what I was, or what I could do, that was more true than the physical circumstances that were subject to change. So when the Bible said I was righteous, then I must be. And I would talk like it and act like it, and not be apologetic about it.
Awake to Righteousness
1 Corinthians 15:33-34 Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
34 Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.
The first part of vs. 34 literally means “sober up to righteousness”. I.e., don’t be passed out in a drunken stupor and totally oblivious, and don’t be like a drunk crying in your beer about the mess you’ve made in your life.
Sober in the Bible means to have accurate judgment, and to see clearly. Notice the order – first, wake up to righteousness, and then do not sin. People are always trying to do it backwards – try to stop sinning first, and then you’ll be righteous.
There is a similar verse in Romans:
Romans 6:11-12 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.
Again, notice the order. First, reckon yourself to be dead to sin. “Well, I reckon I’m dead to sin.” The word reckon in the Greek is logozomi. It is an accounting term, to credit to the account of. It is the same root word as used in Romans 4:3:
Romans 4:3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
So if the Word of God credits to my account that I am dead to sin, I should agree with it. Then, I will receive the power and ability to fulfill Rom 6:12, and not let sin reign in my mortal body.
But what if we do sin (or maybe I should say when, not if)? The Bible has that covered also, and tells us what to do.
1 John 1:8-10 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
1 John 2:1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
Reckoning yourselves dead to sin does not mean saying you have no sin. That would be a lie, and just plain foolishness. No, it is recognizing – and this is going to take faith – that it has no power over you. And if you do sin? Well, we have an Advocate – a defense attorney who speaks in our behalf and for our cause. And if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us, and cleanse us from any un-righteousness. So if you have been cleansed from un-righteousness, that means you must be righteous.
Note the word used, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us. Just is dikaios, which actually means righteous. So God is being righteous when He cleanses us from un-righteousness.
But I also want to look at the word just in terms of justice. It is God’s justice that causes him to forgive us and cleanse us when we confess our sins. Most people think of God’s judgment when they think of God’s justice.
There was a legal transaction that took place when Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. That transaction is summarized in 2 Corinthians 5:21, He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ. There was an exchange that took place, and I’ve already talked about this.
When we are born again, we enter into a covenant with God and the provisions of that covenant now apply to us personally. So the exchange of 2 Corinthians 5:21 takes place in us.
But it is not a one time deal. When we confess our sins, God is faithful to remember His covenant, and His justice comes into play and once again the exchange is made – Jesus takes our sin and gives us His righteousness.
Sin Consciousness
Hebrews 10:1-4 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.
2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins.
3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.
4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
Sin consciousness is being more aware of your failures than your relationship with God. Then most of your time is spent repenting, and asking for forgiveness, etc. Repentance is not just feeling sorry for what you’ve done, it is accepting forgiveness, and then making a change.
Sin consciousness focuses on yourself and your own shortcomings. All our righteousness is as filthy rags. Righteousness consciousness focuses on God’s grace, and takes advantage of what Jesus’ sacrifices have wrought.
Philippians 3:12-15 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.
Fruits of Righteousness
The main application of righteousness is fellowship with the Father. This is what will have an effect on your behavior.
One avenue of fellowship is through prayer. And by this I don’t mean just presenting your laundry list to God, but talking with Him and letting Him talk to you.
Another avenue is through studying the Word.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
A characteristic of a mature believer is that they are accustomed and skilled in the word of righteousness:
Hebrews 5:12-14 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.
14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Senses is the Greek word aisthētērion, which has two meanings; 1. One of the five physical senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell, and 2) the facility of mind for perceiving, understanding, and judging.
The phrase of use comes from the Greek hexis, and means a habit either in body or mind; or, a power obtained by custom, practice, or use. There are two aspects of the word practice: like a music student practicing to be better; or like a doctor or lawyer with a practice.
Our goal is to have our behavior pleasing to God. But many Christians go about it just by attempting to change behavior, leaving out an essential element – the word of righteousness. Notice that it doesn’t just say, For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in righteousness, for he is an infant. It uses the phrase, the word of righteousness. That refers to the message, doctrine, or teaching about righteousness.
Heb 5:13 is directly related to another verse:
1 Peter 2:2-3 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,
3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
Infants can only drink milk because it is easily digestible and their systems are not yet developed enough to handle solid food. The milk of the word would be those kinds of messages and teachings from the Bible that give to the Christian, i.e., show what they have, who they are, and what they can do, without requiring much in return. The teaching about righteousness as we have been presenting it here comes under this category.
However, even though it is easily digestible, milk also provides essential nourishment for the infant that is foundational for their growth. There are stories of ghetto mothers who could not afford milk or formula, and in ignorance fed their babies Kool-Aid because it quieted them down. The result is that the babies’ growth was stunted and they grew up mentally deficient. This is all the more the shame since they could have been breast fed, which was God’s provision for feeding an infant, and was free.
So hearing and understanding the message about righteousness is essential for our spiritual growth. And notice that Hebrews 5:13 does not say that milk is only for babies, just that babies can only drink milk. Just like you can enjoy a glass of milk as an adult, so also you should also continue to feed on the word of righteousness.
Philippians 1:9-11 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment,
10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ,
11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Fruit – a result or product. Fruit is the visible expression of power working inwardly and invisibly. The fruits of righteousness are the products of you knowing and acting on your righteousness. It is the effect on our behavior from having a right-relationship with the Lord.
Isaiah 32:17-18 The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.
18 My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, In secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.
Internal fruit
- Peace
- Quietness
- Assurance
External fruit
- Peaceful habitations
- Sure dwellings
- Quiet resting places
The fruit of a tree is not just for show, and not even just to provide food – it also carries seeds for the reproductive process. When we bear fruit, it can be seen by others, and plants seeds in them. Jesus said that God is glorified when we bear much fruit.
When people around us can see the effect of our relationship with God in our lives, that is bearing the fruit of righteousness. It can be the effect on our character, but also includes God working in our circumstances through provision, healing, favor, etc.
Romans 5:17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
Death reigned. Ever hear of anybody who would not die because there was not enough death to go around? Much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign as kings in life through Jesus Christ (AMP).
