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Are You 'Good' or Righteous?

by lareina morgan
5/09/2017 / Church Life

A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’” “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

Luke Chapter 18 vs 18-25

When I consider how I was brought up, all of the sunday school lessons. all of the things that my mother told me I needed to do and must do, when I remember my grandfather what He used to say to me all the times when I visited his house, and everything that my family expected of me, I can safely say that I tried to live up to the role of being a 'good' girl. I knew what was expected of me, and I did those things to the best of my ability. So, what is it like to be 'good'? What does 'good' look like in a typical family home?

We are told to be 'good' by our parents when we go off to play in the park, or visit at someone's home, or when your mother drops you off for your very first day of school; you are expected to act a certain way, and talk a certain way, and do certain things; it shows
that you were listening to your mom, and there is no greater since of pride to a mother when she can say for certain that you are a 'good' child when you behave. Good behavior is expected from all of us, and we do so because that is how we are able to get along with other people as we go about our daily lives, but does 'good' behavior truly equate with goodness? Does being a good person immediately qualify anyone as being 'righteous'?

Is there a difference between being good and being righteous? What does it mean to be righteous? Being good means that you live by certain moral principals, that you adhere to certain laws and methods of living; you decide not to steal or murder someone, you try not to lie or to gossip, you are polite and try to be helpful in every situation or circumstance. If anyone were to examine your life, you would be considered a law abiding citizen. You were brought up to be this way, there are things that you learned to do from your childhood. There is nothing wrong with being 'good', but being good does not mean you are righteous, at least not defined by God's standards.

Before Jesus Christ came into the world and sacrificed himself for our sins, there was literally no way that any human being could come into the Lord's presence, because God will not tolerate sin or evil in His presence. I did not matter how 'good' the person was, and truth to be told, there were not many people in the past that could be considered 'good' or righteous:

... The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord...

Genesis chapter 6 5-8

We need to understand How God feels about being good and righteous; He wants us to be good and live righteous lives, but our standards of good living is not enough to be considered righteous in His eyes. He is looking for people that will live good lives and will believe in Him and in His son, Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins, so that they will be saved and become citizens of the kingdom of God. When we believe in Jesus Christ and repent of our sins, we become a new creation in God's eyes and we become righteous. He knows that we cannot be righteous apart from Him. Our fallen human nature prevents us from doing the right things all of the time. Being a person with 'good' behavior does not give us the right to believe we are 'perfect' or 'righteous' and we have no right to look down upon other people struggling to live 'good' lives; no one is 'good' in God's eyes apart from Him.

When we look at the people in Old testament, we see that most of the people in the world decided to live far apart from the God who created them, and they did the wicked and evil things that they conceived in their hearts. Sadly, only a few people in every generation right up to the flood were interested in following and believing in God, and God took care of them, protected and provided for them. They tried to live good lives as best as they could, and God considered them righteous because they choose to live their lives for Him.

After the flood, God gave moses the 10 commandments and the law to show His people Israel what it meant to live 'good' lives, so that they would live their lives separate from the other people around them, who worshiped other 'gods' that were really evil spirits posing as 'gods'. He wanted them to live holy and righteous lives unto Him, but they still had to sacrifice animals upon a holy altar dedicated to God, because there had to be blood shed to cover their sins; living by the law and the 10 commandments made them 'good', but could not make them truly righteous; they still could not come into God's presence for their thoughts and their hearts were not clean.

God's solution for a fallen and dying human race was Jesus Christ, and His sacrifice upon the cross at calvary. Without the shedding of His blood, pure,innocent, and holy, on our behalf, we would never be saved, we could never come into God's presence and worship Him, we would forever be lost into darkness and despair. He is our hope and our treasure, our love and everlasting peace. I cannot stress enough that dying on that cross was a great and awesome gesture of love on His part for all of us, and we need to consider how much He loves us on a daily basis and then begin to praise His Name!

Being a good person is a good thing, and living a good life is beneficial to you and to everyone else in your life, but being good is not enough to be saved from the eternal consequences of sin. We are all trained to do 'good' things, but our hearts and minds are still filled with weaknesses and sinful thoughts that are constantly tempting us to do bad things, and even though we may never give in to every temptation; that does not mean that you or I never give in to any temptation! I know my weaknesses and you know yours, and God knows every thought or deed we have ever had or done, so there is no fooling Him ever. You may be able to fool everyone else, but fooling everyone else will not matter on the day when the Lord will require you to answer for your life and for all of your thoughts, deeds, and actions.

I wish I could say that I did not have any thoughts of anger, jealousy, greed, lust, resentment, or pride, and maybe I could have fooled you into believing that I am a perfect christian 'holyroller', but I would never have fooled the Lord! So, I am telling you that pretending with the Lord will not work; be honest and open with Him, let Him come into your heart so that He can transform you into the likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ. That is the work of the Holy Spirit, the comforter and the transformer, who will guide you into peace, joy, and love if you let Him. If you are not moved with regret by the foolish or selfish decisions that you made in the past, or by the unclean thoughts and emotions in your heart, then I would suggest seeking the Lord in prayer and repentance, and ask Him to come into your heart and change you, for He is the only one who can!

You will feel lighter than air, your burdens will be lifted off your conscience, as you let go of being 'perfect' and 'good', and live your life through Him. His love and His power will set you free. We don't need to be 'perfect' because we will never be perfect in this life, we are to love each other, and care about others and give of ourselves; we have no right to judge anyone else, or to pretend that we are better than everyone else, for the Lord will not tolerate a critical and prideful heart. We should not try to lift ourselves up
as 'great' and 'good' people; you may get praise from others, but the Lord already knows who you are, and He will not be impressed. Just lean on Him and His goodness, and you will shine with His integrity and His love! If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then in the eyes of God you are righteous, and His goodness is now your own.

Praise Be To God And His Son, Jesus Christ, Whose Death & Resurrection Has Made Me Righteous And Whole!

from the true world of God Blog
https://learningtoliveandloveinthewordofgod.blogspot.com/

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