This being the Christmas season, let’s fast forward to Christmas morning… You’ve been given several gifts to open, but before you unwrap one, you get out your checkbook and insist on paying the giver whatever value the gift holds. Ludicrous? This is the way we treat God when we try to earn “Righteousness” which is right standing with a Holy God.
“Abram believed the Lord, and he (God) credited it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). Because Abraham simply “BELIEVED” in God and His promises to him, God declared that Abram, later changed to Abraham was in right standing (RIGHTEOUS) before Him. He never asked Abraham to DO anything to be right with Him. Does that surprise you?
Today, many people feel they have to DO righteous acts in order to achieve God‘s RIGHTEOUSNESS. Some of those acts might be -- to be a faithful attendee to a place of Worship or a consistent giver of money to God’s work. Everything we DO should be a result or fruit of our faith in a God who is, and who was, and who is to come… (Revelation 1:4) and not a prerequisite to obtain Righteousness.
Paul says, in the book of Romans that if works is something to boast about, then he would have had something to boast, but not before God. All of our works do NOT make us RIGHTEOUS (right) before God. If you simply have faith in God, your faith is credited as RIGHTEOUSNESS, a free Gift such as Abraham received. It's that simple!
James, on the other hand talks about a person being justified by what he does and not by faith alone (James 2:23&24). There is no contradiction here between Paul and James. The way to reconcile these statements is that works won’t ever justify us before God, but works or deeds will be a fruit or result of your faith in God.
If you really believe in God and what His Word says to you, then you are walking in faith like Abraham and share with him the Gift of RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Receive today the Gift of Righteousness!
“Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Genesis 15:6
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