What makes us righteous?

[arunangelo]

Love is the Spirit of God. It is the force that created everything that is good. It is also the force that propels us to sacrifice our own interest in order to serve those who have hurt and betrayed us. It is also the Spirit that makes us pure, humble, gentle, forgiving, merciful and charitable. Furthermore, it drives away hate, jealousy, lust, greed, and selfishness from our heart. When we live by this Spirit we find peace in our heart, because, it makes our spirit resonate in unison with that of God’s.


God’s love was expressed when he took a human form and accepted the most humiliating and painful death to make us righteous. His love therefore is the very source of our righteousness. Therefore, “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing (1 Cor. 13:1-3)”.

 

[reba]

:amen

 

[Doulos Iesou]

Love is the Spirit of God. It is the force that created everything that is good. It is also the force that propels us to sacrifice our own interest in order to serve those who have hurt and betrayed us. It is also the Spirit that makes us pure, humble, gentle, forgiving, merciful and charitable. Furthermore, it drives away hate, jealousy, lust, greed, and selfishness from our heart. When we live by this Spirit we find peace in our heart, because, it makes our spirit resonate in unison with that of God’s.


God’s love was expressed when he took a human form and accepted the most humiliating and painful death to make us righteous. His love therefore is the very source of our righteousness. Therefore, “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing (1 Cor. 13:1-3)”.

What do you mean exactly by God's love being the source of our righteousness? Does his love poured into our hearts through the Spirit make us righteous according to our actions? Or do you believe that it is a condition earned by another and imputed to us?

 

[Rick W]

Right now the way I'm understanding righteousness is being counted as righteous. I'm still saddled with the nature of sin, in the flesh, the the very struggle of which testifies to that. The good deeds I do aren't mine anyway. For through the Spirit of Christ our Lord and Savior are the good deeds counted as righteousness.

Romans 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Romans 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

 

[Deborah13]

Love is the Spirit of God. It is the force that created everything that is good. It is also the force that propels us to sacrifice our own interest in order to serve those who have hurt and betrayed us. It is also the Spirit that makes us pure, humble, gentle, forgiving, merciful and charitable. Furthermore, it drives away hate, jealousy, lust, greed, and selfishness from our heart. When we live by this Spirit we find peace in our heart, because, it makes our spirit resonate in unison with that of God’s.


God’s love was expressed when he took a human form and accepted the most humiliating and painful death to make us righteous. His love therefore is the very source of our righteousness. Therefore, “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing (1 Cor. 13:1-3)”.

You said, " His love therefore is the very source of our righteousness."

:amen

 

[Doulos Iesou]

Right now the way I'm understanding righteousness is being counted as righteous. I'm still saddled with the nature of sin, in the flesh, the the very struggle of which testifies to that. The good deeds I do aren't mine anyway. For through the Spirit of Christ our Lord and Savior are the good deeds counted as righteousness.

Romans 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Romans 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Are you counted as righteous on account of the Spirit's work done in you to make you righteous. Or by having someone else's righteousness imputed?

 

[Sinthesis]

Are you counted as righteous on account of the Spirit's work done in you to make you righteous. Or by having someone else's righteousness imputed?

Those are both the same.

 

[Doulos Iesou]

Those are both the same.

Can you elaborate on that?

 

[Rick W]

All glory is centered on Christ. Without Him we cannot be counted ad righteous. I can claim no righteousness but His.
Joh 17:23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one;

That's my faith. That's what I understand and accept knowing Christ is faithful. That quenches my thirst. If someone else needs more then I encourage civil discussion to that end.

 

[Deborah13]

Those are both the same.

Yep.

 

[Doulos Iesou]

All glory is centered on Christ. Without Him we cannot be counted ad righteous. I can claim no righteousness but His.
Joh 17:23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one;

That's my faith. That's what I understand and accept knowing Christ is faithful. That quenches my thirst. If someone else needs more then I encourage civil discussion to that end.

What do you do with this text?

Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.

 

[Sinthesis]

Can you elaborate on that?

Well, not exactly the same. The Holy Spirit is sent because of Christ's righteousness. We are tasked with carrying out the Holy Spirit's righteous work, and as a result are associated with righteousness. It is a vanity to believe we are somehow righteous in contrast to others; better to serve righteousness and therefore be counted as such.

 

[Rick W]

What do you do with this text?

Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.

He also said that without Him we can do nothing. Therefore to practice righteousness, to be counted as righteous, He must be as one with us, and we in Him.

What do you get out of that text?

 

[turnorburn]

What do you make of this command/text

Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

tob

 

[Deborah13]

What do you make of this command/text

Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

tob

I take in the same spirit as this....
Mat 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

 

[Sinthesis]

What do you make of this command/text

Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

tob

Given the entire context of Matt 5:43-48, it means we should have a perfectly consistent attitude towards others, and not have our attitude fractured into discrimination based on whatever traits we happen to value given the circumstances.

 

[turnorburn]

Yes your right these are things that are humanly impossible.. He told Abraham the same thing walk before me and be thou perfect..

tob

 

[Doulos Iesou]

He also said that without Him we can do nothing. Therefore to practice righteousness, to be counted as righteous, He must be as one with us, and we in Him.

What do you get out of that text?

John is telling them not to be deceived, that those who practice righteous are the ones who are really righteous, and then alludes to Jesus being righteous to demonstrate that we ought to be like and reflect his image.

This is the context:

No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. 1 John 3:6-10 (ESV)

He is telling them how to distinguish if they or others are truly brothers in the Lord and born of God. Those who claim to be righteous, yet are doing the devils work, sinning in a habitual and unrepentant manner, are therefore highly doubted to be the children of God. Because it is evident based upon those who do and do not practice righteousness.

This isn't accomplished via will power, but by the power of the Holy Spirit's work to make us new.

 

[Doulos Iesou]

Well, not exactly the same. The Holy Spirit is sent because of Christ's righteousness. We are tasked with carrying out the Holy Spirit's righteous work, and as a result are associated with righteousness. It is a vanity to believe we are somehow righteous in contrast to others; better to serve righteousness and therefore be counted as such.

Was David vain when he distinguished himself among the righteous and his foes among the wicked?

 

[Rick W]

Doulos,
Im not real sure but we seem to be saying the same thing.
Thing is i dont believe anyone can lead a sinless life.