If One Rightly Understands the Righteousness of God

2008-09-20 21:11

The righteousness of God is love, and the voice of love is the gospel, and the gospel is the voice of His Son. Therefore, the Bible says, "I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live."

When the voice is united with hearing and hearing is combined with faith, the will of the gospel will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

In the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, and so sinners are justified by faith. It is written, "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith.'" (Romans 1:17). And also, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished--he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus." (Romans 3:23-26).

If anyone who is dead because of sin hears the voice of His Son--the gospel, the amazing gift of hope is given to him--the hope that the righteousness of God will be accomplished in him by faith in His love. Therefore the Bible says, "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Therefore, the Bible says, "And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!" (Romans 5:5-10).

Every good thing is from above, not from below. It is written, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." (James 1:17). And also, "We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19).

Therefore, salvation begins only with the love of God, and also ends with the love of God. God begins it and man finishes it? Never! God begins it and He Himself also finishes it. It is written, "'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, 'who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.'" (Revelation 1:8). And again, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." (Revelation 22:13).

Therefore, what we boast about is only one God, not man. It is written, "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." (Galatians 6:14). The cross of Christ is the love of God.

In the past God spoke good news through the prophet, "For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices." (Ezekiel 36:24-31).

Therefore, if one rightly understands the righteousness of God, he will praise only God forever. It is written, "He has raised up for his people a horn, the praise of all his saints, of Israel, the people close to his heart. Praise the LORD." (Psalms 148:14). And also, "...For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen." (Matthew 6:13). Thank you, Lord.