Righteousness

Righteousness is one of the basic Christian truths. It is important that we have a proper foundation in this truth from where we can build on.  Zechariah chapter 3 verses 1 to 6 contain a powerful prophetic message to the end time church and in particular to the emerging Joshua generation. In this passage Joshua (Joshua was the high priest in Ezra’s time who went to restore and rebuild the temple Ezra 3:2) was standing before the Angel of the Lord and Satan was at His right hand to accuse Him. We see that Joshua had filthy garments. The Lord rebukes Satan then He asks an Angel to put on Joshua rich garments and a clean turban. After it is done we see him receiving a conditional promise from the Lord of Hosts that if he will walk in God’s ways and keep His command he will receive authority to judge and rule.

The filthy garments Joshua had on could represent garments of self righteousness (and condemnation which came from the devil). The rich garments are garments of righteousness and praise and the turban represents the helmet in I Thessalonians 5:8 which is the hope of salvation. There is so much of revelation in this passage to the present day church.

We have had many prophecies about the Joshua generation in relating to possessing the Promised Land. While it is true a major aspect of this generation would be to initiate and involve in the restoration of the church (as Joshua the High priest ),many of us desperately need a garment change prior to that .We have been trying to access God’s throne with our self righteous garments and are filled with condemnation from the enemy. We need to have a revelation that God has removed our self righteous garments which is as filthy rags before Him and He has put on us His rich garments of Righteousness and Praise and truly see ourselves with the helmet of salvation.

Also being justified (or seeing we have been made Righteous) does not always necessarily give us access to all the promises. Joshua was given a conditional promise. We need to allow the gift of righteousness that God has imparted in us to take over our lives till we walk in His ways and commands.Then we will see the Glory of God revealed through us and all the promises God has given His end time Church fulfilled.

In order to properly appreciate Righteousness we need to start with the basics.

Firstly we need to know we are made Righteous not based on any merit or anything we have done but simply because of God’s unending love revealed through Jesus who atoned for our sins on the cross. All our efforts combined and even a relatively sinless and God-fearing life cannot earn us our right standing before God(justification). The Bible is very clear “All of us have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God and all our righteousness is as filthy rags before Him”. This should be our position when we come to the cross that we are sinners (unrighteous before God).

Although this seems so basic most of us when we came to know Christ we did not have a true understanding of this foundational aspect of righteousness. We were introduced to Christ but have not yet been struck with this reality.

Only when we are in the position of total unworthiness (in regards to God’s righteous requirements) we can properly receive God’s gift of righteousness in Christ by faith. Many of us haven’t lived that experience so we still go before God with our self-righteous garments. That will change as we have a proper understanding of this truth.

Secondly we also need to know that every thing that comes in the kingdom of God (from callings to gifting) to men is through God’s grace and it does not come through our efforts.

We cannot and never will earn anything in God’s kingdom by our efforts. Efforts are only necessary to position us to receive that grace or to allow that grace that God has already given us to flow out of us. If our efforts aren’t motivated by faith in what Christ has already freely given it is in vain. The reason for pride and why we compare ourselves with one another and put some people in the pedestal is because of a lack of understanding of this truth.

We do need to give honor to whom its due but we need to know that everything everybody possesses in God’s kingdom is simply because of God’s unending goodness and grace. It is not because some are more special than others or deserve it. All of us as children of God have equal access to the Father’s riches. When we understand these simple truths there can be no room for self-righteousness and as a result pride.

Condemnation in many cases arises as a result of failing in our own ability to please Him. We are subject to it when we don’t have a revelation that we have been made righteous in Christ regardless of our shortcomings. While on the one hand we need to know that by ourselves we are totally unworthy to receive anything from God, we also need to understand that we have been made wholly righteous, totally worthy and just before God by Christ’s blood and sacrifice.  Our faith should lie in the truth that the sacrifice of Christ is more than sufficient to cover our sins and has made us spotless in Christ.

When we fail, the Bible says in I John 2:1,2 “If anyone sins we have the advocate with the Father, Jesus the Righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins”. It also says in I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. When we sin our position before God, as righteous does not change.

To illustrate this by an example, I recently acquired American citizenship. If after becoming a citizen lets say I disobey the traffic rules here or steal. It does not change the fact that I am an American citizen, however I will pay for my wrong doings.The US Government will still see me as its citizen and not change its view on that based on the wrongs i have mentioned.

It is the same way as citizens in God’s kingdom we have been made Righteous, when we fail to obey God’s commands it will not change the truth that we are sons and daughters of the most High God belonging to the kingdom above and are His Righteousness. However the sin might  and will have consequences especially when it is wilful.

(Having said all of that I’m in no wise justifying those with a sinful life style and with no heart to change as being Righteous before God. If we have truly received God’s gift of righteousness eventually it will be evident by our godly life style. Jesus said you would know them by their fruits. We need to understand that fruits don’t show up in a day. It takes time. At the same time the trees that doesn’t bear fruit at all will be cut down and cast into the fire). So when the enemy accuses us of our acceptance before God because of our shortcomings and brings condemnation, we need to use the word of God by stating our position in Christ. God is faithful to rebuke the enemy on our behalf.

Another important aspect which is rarely talked about is in order to stay free from condemnation we have to learn to walk in the Spirit i.e. is simply use God’s gift of righteousness through Christ everyday to live right. In Romans 8:1,2 we see how that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus who walk in the Spirit.

Being in Christ Jesus talks about our position before God which is totally righteous but it is important not just to know that, we have to walk in the Spirit (Righteousness) to stay free from condemnation. In the context of what we are talking about its just doing things the Holy Spirit wants us to do. When we are walking in constant disobedience to the voice of the Spirit we allow room for the enemy to condemn us (Notice the word constant). There are times we stumble but we can always repent (repentance- a change of mind or thinking which is always accompanied by a change of heart and deed). Only if we continue in disobedience the enemy can gain a foothold in our lives and then bring in condemnation.

Condemnation can also arise out of our weak faith (Read Romans 14). As we grow in the Lord and are strengthened in the faith we can be free from it.

It is important not just for us to know that we have been made righteous before God but we have to allow the gift of righteousness God has placed in our spirits to be made manifest though our lives, deeds and words. It is a great honor and privilege to be called a son or daughter of the most high God, and that itself should be a motivating factor to live right before God in our everyday life. If we have truly seen with our hearts that we have been made righteous we will automatically want to live lives pleasing to God.

When we are talking about walking in God’s righteousness it need not necessarily mean we have to do what is legally right or what seems right in the natural. A good example was when they brought the woman caught in adultery before Jesus. She had to be stoned to death by the law, but Jesus forgave her and sent her away. He did what His Father wanted Him to do. So walking in God’s Righteousness is simply doing what the Holy Spirit wants us to do in each situation, which may some times contradict the existing standards of righteousness made by men.

Not only does God want us to walk in Righteousness He wants us to grow in it. We can grow in Righteousness as we grow in the revelation of God’s truths. I’ll illustrate this with an example. A novice and immature prophet can be careless with his words as he starts out his ministry. As the revelation in his life on the fear of the Lord increases he is changed and is more careful with his words. We see here that there is a progression in Righteousness.

While this is the case we need to understand that God has a pathway of growth for each individual and we are in different planes of Righteousness. Some of us have tried to impose our standard of Righteousness on others. Therefore it has lead to a lot of bondage in them. We should never do that.  We need to  talk MORE on the truth that motivated us to have that kind of a standard and when people have the revelation they will automatically raise their standards.

One of the other things is, the more the revelation of a truth from God’s word the more the requirement on us to walk right before God in that area and if we don’t the severe the punishment.

A good example is Moses in the Bible. He was denied the Promised Land because he disobeyed God just once. The reason was Moses saw and knew the Lord like nobody else did on the earth at that period of time. He knew His voice and even more than that His ways. He had so much of truth revealed to him and he knew God’s character but yet he disobeyed God. Let me explain a little more on what it means to know His ways in line with this passage. It meant that Moses probably understood that God wanted to reveal Himself to the people of Israel as Holy during this incident. It also meant that Moses probably knew him talking to the rock was a shadow of a powerful revelation to come through Christ. Having known all that he still disobeyed and hence the severity in judgment that he will not enter the Promised Land.

Today we have probably disobeyed God so many times more than Moses did and yet we haven’t seen the severity of God. It is not just because we are living under grace, it is also because we have very little revelation of God’s truths and majority of it is just head knowledge. Only as we obey Him in the little we know we receive more of HIS truths and grow in His righteousness till it possesses us totally. From Moses’ example we see that God expects us to walk in righteousness according to the measure of His revelation in our lives.

A practical example would be a person who is starting his walk of faith, if he starts to trust men and depend on them due to his needs, God will be merciful and gracious to him. At the same time for somebody who has known the Lord as faithful in the area of provision for years to look toward men would be inexcusable in the sight of God. In saying that I want to say that all of us are on different ‘levels of righteousness’ in different areas of our lives. It is wise not to judge anybody outwardly. Only God will know how much of truth they have really known and judge accordingly.

The only person who fulfilled everything and walked perfect was Jesus. We all stumble at times and probably may never fulfill His plan for our lives and ministry perfectly in every detail. This should allow no room for condemnation but as children of God let us strive for excellence. Let us be zealous to walk in His Righteousness and be radical in our obedience to His voice everyday in our lives.

Hebrews 1:8 says,” A scepter of Righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom”.

In ancient days during the time of kings, scepter was always a symbol of authority and power. When we know our position in Christ as sons and daughters and walk in His righteousness we will also walk in His authority.

As we begin to see our position in Christ clearly we will walk in greater righteousness and as we grow in righteousness we will begin to see even more clearly our position in Christ. This is interrelated. As this happens we will also grow in authority.

A father would entrust his son to the car if he sees a certain degree of character in him (in this context obeying his father) and knows that he will be able to drive the car. His son need not be perfect in everything but then he should have enough maturity and character to drive the car safely. If his son just knows that his Dad’s car belongs to him to use but does not display any obedience to his Fathers words, his dad wouldn’t entrust him with the keys.

It is similar in God’s kingdom. Its not enough to see that we have all the riches in Christ but we have to have His righteousness working in us to a degree and be able to handle His riches. Then we would have the authority to use them. Otherwise if given authority, we would do harm to ourselves.

The more we grow in His righteousness (seeing and walking) the more authority we would have. There is no short cut. In 2003 I was attending a conference in Russia. A lady was prophetically speaking about the end time church. She talked about a closed door and how only some had the key to it. On the other side of the door were great and many riches. She said that the key was the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Immediately the Spirit said to me “An anointing of righteousness and holiness”. I was profoundly impacted by it. I realized that those who walk in righteousness and holiness in the last days would be given great authority. That is why the enemy has tried to steal these truths from the church.

Hebrews 1:9 talks about how Jesus hated lawlessness and loved righteousness therefore God has anointed Him with an oil of gladness.

One of the fruit of the Spirit that would accompany us when we walk in Righteousness is supernatural joy.

We see in Isaiah 48:18 that if we walk in obedience our peace would be like a river. Peace is the other fruit of walking in righteousness. Jesus before His greatest test said to His disciples ‘My peace I give unto you not as the world gives, give I unto you’. We see in the garden how He struggled but it was until He yielded His will to the Fathers will. (Pilate marveled not just because Jesus spoke nothing but simply because of the peace and the calmness that accompanied His silence) .His strength and peace simply came from being yielded and yielding to His Fathers will (righteousness).

Whenever we are not moved from our position in Christ and are walking in His righteousness everyday in our lives His peace and joy would always accompany us. This joy and peace would not depend on the circumstances around us. As a matter of fact during the most trying and difficult circumstances our lives, His  joy and the peace  would be didplayed through us.