The Righteousness Question
Some Christians have asked, “How righteous do I have to live in order to have eternal life?” First of all, that question reflects a shallow appreciation of what Christ has done for you. We shouldn’t take a “path-of-least-resistance” attitude when it comes to our faith. We are living in a time where believers are looking to satisfy a minimal commitment to the Lord. A person with that attitude has a sincerity problem. Also, that question indicates a shallow understanding of what makes a Christian righteous.
Righteousness is more than you trying to act right for God. Righteousness is the nature of God that is imparted into a person when they open up their heart and believe on God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Righteousness is a result of acting in faith, not just acting moral. There are many people in this world who have good morals but do not possess the righteousness of God. Just because you act morally does not qualify your belief in the promises of God. This is the mistake that many people are making. They are trying to make themselves righteous with morals without first being made righteous by God’s grace through their own faith. Morals are important but they do not produce true righteousness.
Romans chapter 4 gives us a good lesson on how God’s righteousness is obtained. The chapter is retelling the account of Abraham. Abraham was 75 years old when God spoke to him about becoming the founding ancestor of the Jewish nation. At this time Abraham was childless and both he and his wife Sarah were past the child bearing age. But God had a different reality in store for them. God spoke to Abraham and called him the “father of many nations.” Naturally speaking, it didn’t look like Abraham was the father of anything. Isn’t it good to know that God calls us something different than the way things look? Praise the Lord! God calls you healed when you are facing symptoms in your body! (Isa 53:4-5) God calls you rich even when it looks like you don’t have enough! (2 Cor 8:9) This is what faith is: Believing what God says about us even when it looks completely opposite.
So what did Abraham do? He believed God! He believed that he would experience a miracle and have a child in old age. Romans 4:22 says, “Therefore (because Abraham believed) it was imputed to him for righteousness.”
Righteousness is not the result of going to church, cleaning your room, or eating your veggies. It is something God imparts into your spirit because you sincerely believe that God performed a miracle and raised Jesus from the dead. You cannot make yourself righteous; only God can perform that act in your heart. When God has imparted righteousness in a believer that righteousness will seek to manifest in a person’s life. Your morals do not qualify your faith; your faith will desire to please God by living a pure life. God imparts righteousness to those who believe; and those who believe desire to honor God through purity.
Pastor Tim
Family Church Jamestown is a non-denominational church located in Chautauqua County in Jamestown between Lakewood and Busti, NY. The senior pastor of Family Church is Pastor Tim Stahlman a native to the Jamestown, NY area.
