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God's Image
The RIGHTEOUSNESS Of God
(September 15, 1998)

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war." [Revelation 19:11; KJV]

Nothing defines the RIGHTEOUS Nature of God better than the standard by which He will later judge the world. In 1 Corinthians 11:32, we are told that "when we are judged now, we are chastened and corrected by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world".

Who will be condemned?: The world.

What will the world be judged on?: They will be judged as to whether or not they have received the nature and character of Jesus Christ, which is who Jesus Christ is:  "in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" (II Th 1:8; NKJ).

Who will judge?: In 1 Corinthians 6:2, we are told, "Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?..." God begins to work His righteousness in us now, through His correction and chastisement, so that we can later judge the world using Him as the STANDARD of RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary defines ‘judgement’ as, "Discernment or separation between good and evil... In the Bible the most important judgment is the final judgment, the ultimate separation of good and evil at the end of history."

At the end of time, God will separate those who have KNOWLEDGE of Him (the good) from those who do not KNOW Him (the evil). Why does God use this particular standard? The answer is in Genesis 2:17, "But of the tree of the KNOWLEDGE of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Notice, that it was the KNOWLEDGE of both ‘good and evil’ together, that caused the penalty of death upon mankind.

The definition of ‘evil’ in the Old Testament is extremely important, in that it lends to our better understanding of what GOD BELIEVES IS EVIL, and thus opposite of RIGHTEOUSNESS. Strong’s Concordance Of the Bible defines this Hebrew word as "bad... or evil...". This, of course, does not tell us too much. However, when we examine the root word that ‘evil’ comes from, we gain access to greater understanding. The root is defined as, "to spoil (literally, by breaking to pieces)... to make (or be) good for nothing. We now begin to understand why God has placed us in the ONE BODY OF CHRIST, and COMMANDS us to love each other.

The serpent told Eve in Genesis 3:5, "For God knows that in the day you eat of it {KNOWLEDGE of good and evil} your eyes will be opened, and YOU WILL BE LIKE GOD, KNOWING GOOD AND EVIL." Was the ‘deceiver and liar’ telling Eve the truth? Yes! In Genesis 3:22, the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to KNOW good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever--". God both KNOWS and DISCERNS (sees) evil and good. However, His nature demands that He choose good over evil; and through His Holy Spirit residing in us, we are also able to discern and choose good as opposed to evil.

What does Jesus say about the ‘time of judgement’? In Matt 7:23-24 Jesus says, "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then, I will declare to them, 'I never KNEW you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!

[The name ‘Jesus Christ’ is so abundant with the power of God, that even those who Jesus has not KNOWN are able to perform God’s work using it. Wow, what a name!]

In 2 Corinthians 6:14 Paul says, "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?" In other words, those who are not in God’s righteousness, are in ‘lawlessness’. Jesus will say to these unbelievers, "I never knew you". Remember, however, they believed they KNEW Him. What causes their error?

"I never knew you" is said to those who are not "practicing the law". What is the ONE Law, COMMANDMENT, that Jesus gives us in the New Testament? It is ‘to LOVE’! "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. (John 13:34; NKJ); AND "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:30-31; NKJ)

It is our obedience to God’s love that LEADS us (through His Holy Spirit) into His RIGHTEOUSNESS:

"Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet YOU OBEYED FROM THE HEART that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, YOU BECAME SLAVES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, SO NOW PRESENT YOUR MEMBERS AS SLAVES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR HOLINESS. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your FRUIT FOR HOLINESS, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 6:16-23; NKJ)

I would love to be Holy, wouldn't you?  We are to present our members as slaves to God's righteousness IN ORDER TO BECOME HOLY!

[Below, please notice that those who inherit the Kingdom are called "righteous"!]

Concerning the ‘time of judgement’, Jesus gives us a parable in order to teach the criteria He will use to separate His people from the world: "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.

Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 'for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. THEN THE RIGHTEOUS will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You? And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these MY BROTHERS, you did it to Me.’

Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 'for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 'I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the RIGHTEOUS into eternal life." (Matt 25:31-46; NKJ)

[Sound familiar? Jesus told us that "The {Holy} Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." Those who are righteous, do as Jesus Christ did; they preach (give) to the poor, work to heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the oppressed etc. They DO the ‘acceptable year of the LORD’ from their heart.]

Righteous Judgement By Jesus...

In John 8:15-16, Jesus makes a most revealing statement about Himself, His earthly ministry and mankind: "You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me." In John 5:30, He says virtually the same thing, giving us even more insight into what He means, "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.

The Saints who judge the world at the end of the ages, will all have God’s RIGHTEOUS judgement in their hearts. Just as Jesus, they will have learned to seek God’s Will and not their own. In John 7:24, Jesus further tells us why most of us fail to receive the righteous discernment and judgement that He received. He warns us, "Do not judge according to appearance..." {but rather through the Holy Spirit in you}.

Discernment, or judgement, is given by His Holy Spirit (who lives in us) through Jesus Christ. It is this discernment that causes us to choose good over evil; and thus, life over death. "But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness... For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" (Rom 8:9-14; NKJ). Righteousness is given to us when we receive Salvation through our Savior Jesus Christ.

What is "righteous judgement", or discernment? By definition, and according to the above teachings of Jesus Christ, it is the "character" of God within each of us, gained through His voice, word and our intimate KNOWLEDGE of Him. It is God’s nature in us, which is the only nature capable of discerning and choosing good (as defined by God’s character) over evil (all that is not within God’s nature). It is not enough to be a nice person, a good son, daughter, mother or father, or to be judged as "(politically) correct" in the world.

God’s righteousness is the only acceptable conscience by which we are able to correctly separate good from evil; and this is defined by God’s own character and nature:  (2 Cor 5:21) "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him"; and "because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained..." (Acts 17:31).  These two verses may seem to contradict each other.  However, upon closer inspection, we see that "we... become the righteousness of God {when} IN HIM"; and it is {IN HIM} He {the Saints} will judge the world in righteousness, through the Man whom He has ordained".  Those who are IN HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS are IN HIM, and He is composed of many RIGHTEOUS MEMBERS.

Even in the Old Testament, we find "shining lights". King Solomon PLEASED the LORD Jehovah when he asked for God’s discernment, in order to judge God’s people in righteousness:

Salvation Should Bring Righteousness....

Regarding Salvation, Paul says the following in the book of Romans, "Brothers (in Christ), my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved {receive Salvation}. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to KNOWLEDGE {they do not KNOW Him}. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes...

[Israel is not without ‘zeal’ (passion) for God; but this passion is not built on the TRUTH, the KNOWLEDGE of who He is. The reason they lack KNOWLEDGE, is for the same reason they failed to keep the ‘acceptable year of the LORD’ (Jubilee), or the nature of Jesus Christ. They are without God’s righteousness, which is gained only through Jesus Christ. They have not, as yet, received Jesus Christ’s nature, through His Holy Spirit’s presence in them.]

Paul Continues...
But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, ‘Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, 'Who will descend into the abyss?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe {have faith} in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. FOR WITH THE HEART ONE BELIEVES UNTO RIGHTEOUSNESS, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation...

[We enter into Salvation with our mouth’s verbal confession; but BY OUR HEART WE BELIEVE and enter RIGHTEOUSNESS (Right Standing with God).]

In Philippians 2:10-13 God reveals "that at the name of Jesus every knee {including the UNSAVED Satan} will bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue {including the UNSAVED Satan} will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore,... work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both TO WILL {making His Will your will} and TO DO FOR HIS GOOD PLEASURE. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world".

Why does Paul say "work out your own Salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil 2:12)?

Many of us have been taught, that in order to receive Salvation, we only need to confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord. In fact, this confession is just the beginning of Salvation. Paul said, "for it is God {His Holy Spirit} who works in you His Will, and causes you to do His good pleasure. Do all things without... disputing, that you may become blameless... children of God without fault".

Notice, salvation is in two parts; and that both parts are accomplished through God’s Grace (gift of Himself to us), rather than our own work:

(1) One confesses with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord (and receives Salvation now).

(2) This person then begins to work out their own salvation WITH GOD (through fear and trembling), who works in you and CAUSES you to do His Will and work. Therefore (in this way), you give Him great pleasure. This is done in two ways:

    (a) Through the Holy Spirit, which is God’s nature manifested in you, He causes you to become Holy, and do things that cause God pleasure; and

    (b) We follow the one commandment in the New Testament, which is to "love all"; that we might become blameless children of God, without fault (condemnation).

Regarding ‘grace’, Romans 5:18-21 tells us, "Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation {that which the WORLD will receive in the end of time}, even so through one Man's RIGHTEOUS act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification {the process by which sinful human beings are made acceptable to a holy God} of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience MANY WILL BE MADE RIGHTEOUS. Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even SO GRACE MIGHT REIGN THROUGH RIGHTEOUSNESS to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Grace reigns through RIGHTEOUSNESS. Without the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God manifested in the individual, God’s ‘Grace’ is NON-ACTIVATED.  Why?  "For He made Him {Jesus Christ} who did not KNOW sin to be sin for us, THAT WE MIGHT BECOME THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN HIM" {TOGETHER with our brothers and sisters AMONGST His Body members} (2 Cor 5:21; NKJ). 

Jesus Christ exchanged (gave us) His RIGHTEOUS NATURE for our sinful nature; but this nature is interactive and interdependent with our care and love towards all other members in His Body.  Our Love for each other, is God's RIGHTEOUSNESS expressed in His Body! 

In the above verses, we learn that there is more to salvation than just verbally recognizing Jesus Christ. We begin to see that, though verbal recognition is important, in order to KNOW someone intimately we must also KNOW their mind and heart. In order to have FAITH in God, we must first KNOW the personality of Jesus Christ; we must KNOW the nature and character that we will, and can, depend on.  KNOWING Jesus Christ demands that we also understand and appreciate WHO HE TRULY IS, in His entirety.  In order to do this, we must first reject all prior assumptions and religious definitions of Him. How do we do this?

Thank God, Jesus Christ tells us in the Bible exactly who God is. Both the Old and New Testament are God’s revelation of Himself, His ways and beliefs. We are told in I John 2:27, "But the anointing which you have received from Him abides {lives} in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him". The Holy Spirit leads the believer into the KNOWLEDGE of God, and His TRUTH; which is the fullness of His righteousness. This process of separation is called ‘sanctification’.

Sanctification is defined by Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary as, "The process of God's grace by which the believer is separated from sin and becomes dedicated to God's righteousness. Accomplished by the Word of God... and the Holy Spirit..., sanctification results in holiness, or purification from the guilt AND POWER OF SIN... Sanctification is separation from the world and setting apart for God's service is a concept found throughout the Bible. Spoken of as "holy" or "set apart" in the Old Testament... Jesus also was "sanctified and sent into the world" (John 10:36).

Sanctification in the Atonement. As the process by which God purifies the believer, sanctification is based on the sacrificial death of Christ. In his letters to the churches, the apostle Paul noted that God has "chosen" and "reconciled" us to Himself in Christ FOR THE PURPOSE OF SANCTIFICATION {separation from sin and dedication to God’s righteousness}... We are sanctified by God the Father..., God the Son..., and God the Holy Spirit... Perfect holiness is God's command... and purpose. As Paul prayed, "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify {separate you from sin and dedicate you to God’s righteousness} you completely"... Sanctification is a process that continues during our lives as believers (Heb. 10:14). Only after death are the saints referred to as "perfect" (Heb. 12:23)...

Numerous commands in the Bible imply that believers also have a responsibility in the process of sanctification. We are commanded to "be holy"... to "be perfect"...; and to "present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness"...

These commands imply effort on our part. We must believe in Jesus, since we are "sanctified by faith in Him" (Acts 26:18). Through the Holy Spirit we must also "put to death the evil deeds of the body" (Rom. 8:13)... Finally, we must walk in the Spirit in order to display the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-24)" (from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary).

In Ephesians 5:8-9, we are told that those of us who once walked in darkness are now the light of the Lord; and that through the fruit of the Spirit, we "walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is all goodness, righteousness, and truth)." Paul goes on to say, "and find out what pleases the Lord".

[Remember, that it is God who "works in us His Will" and causes us "TO DO" His Pleasure (Phil 2:12)]

Notice, that the fruit of the Spirit is GOODNESS, RIGHTEOUSNESS and TRUTH; and that it is through the use of these that we learn WHAT PLEASES THE LORD.

If you would like to print this and share it with your brothers and sisters in Christ, or the world, please feel free to do so. However, I ask that you always leave my name on the messages God writes through me; and never sell them. Thank you so much for your love.

Copyright & Copy Chris Williams Ministry http://chris-williams-ministry.org
chris-williams@chris-williams-ministry.org
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