Pursuit After Righteousness
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Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Righteousness is the act of doing what God requires and doing what is right.
Therefore, righteousness involves your actions and not just your disposition.
James writes in
And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
Abraham believed God by his actions demonstrating faith in God’s words. Look at how it is written in the New Living Translation of
Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
Yes, Jesus died on the cross to bring us into the righteousness of God and by faith, He imputes righteousness upon us. But, righteousness imputed should provoke righteousness performed.
In other words, we cannot live no greater than our faith. For, our faith drives and determines our actions.
Paul says in
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Righteousness is revealed to us by our movement of faith. In other words, our righteousness is an action of our faith and without our faith, we will not walk in righteousness.
As the scripture states in , we need faith to please the Lord. So, we perform righteously when we do things by our faith.
Again, Paul states in
And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
The righteousness we receive by faith is of God; it is God imputed. This righteousness comes because of our relationship with Christ and the works performed by this righteousness comes because of our relationship with God.
Notice, Paul distinguishes our righteousness in comparison to God’s righteousness. Our righteousness may be filled with selfish intent, while God’s righteousness will always be pleasing to the Lord.
Our righteousness will build upon our pride and ego, God’s righteousness will glorify and edify the Lord.
Our righteousness will have a prejudice intent, but God’s righteousness will bless everyone.
Jesus says in verse 6 of our lesson text that we are to hunger and thirst after righteousness.
Jesus statement lends me to believe that everyone will not pursue righteousness, but if they do then they will be blessed.
Salvation gives us the propensity to pursue and to perform the righteousness that pleases God.
Therefore, there must be some effort on our part to gain righteousness and to be righteous. In other words, we won’t be righteous if we do not pursue righteousness.
John writes in
Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
And, in
In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
According to John, righteousness performed by a righteous person is synonomous with the act of love.
Therefore, our righteousness is performed by the motivation of our heart. And, because it is from your heart, everyone will not be pleased with you.
And, this is why Jesus states that you are blessed when you are persecuted because of righteousness,
Your acts of righteousness are imitations of God’s actions. Every time you do righteously, you look just like God in your performance.
therefore, i want to close with
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Jesus reiterates that we are to seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness. In other words, to hunger, thirst, and pursue after righteousness.
And, the best way to perform the heart of God is to pursue His heart by the Holy Ghost. Allow the Spirit of God to make intersessions for you and listen to His instructions.
Our lives will be so much better if we listen to the Holy Spirit. Remember, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
The Holy Spirit speaking to us is the word of God being spoken to us. And, this is how we gain faith to do the works of righteousness.
Let us pursue...