Righteousness
God provides guidelines for His people so their moral life will be pleasing to Him.
When I first became a Christian I was introduced to the priorities of the Christian community. I learned quickly that it was expected of me that I have a daily devotion time, a time reserved for Bible reading and prayer. I was expected to go to church. I was expected to have a kind of piety that was evident by not cursing, not drinking, not smoking, and the like. I had no idea that biblical righteousness went far beyond these things. . .
Soon, however, I found that there was more to the Christian life than daily devotions and sanctified words. I realized that God wanted more. He wanted me to grow in my faith and obedience, to go beyond milk to meat. I also discovered that Christian jargon was an almost meaningless form of communication, both to non-Christians and Christians alike. I found myself more interested in echoing a subculture's lingo than in finding true godliness.
My error was this: I was confusing spirituality with righteousness. I also discovered that I was not alone in this. I was caught up with a crowd who confused the means with the end. Spirituality can be a cheap substitute for righteousness. . .
Righteousness has rules, but it is more than rules. If we care for rules without caring for people, we have missed the goal of righteousness. The scriptural rules come from God precisely because He cares about people.
We need rules to be righteous, but they must be the right rules. They must be God's rules. We may accept no substitutes. In God's Word we find adequate rules for pleasing God with a righteous life. And if we abide by those rules, we are not goal-less fanatics, but true children of the King.
-From "Pleasing God" by R.C. Sproul; part of The Inspirational Study Bible: New Century Version by Max Lucado
Happy are those who don't listen to the wicked, who don't go where sinners go, who don't don't do what evil people do. They love the Lord's teachigns, and they think about those teachigns day and night. Tehy are strong, like a tree planted by a river. The tree produces fruit in season, and its leaves don't die. Everything they do will succeed. - Psalm 1:1-3 NCV
When I first became a Christian I was introduced to the priorities of the Christian community. I learned quickly that it was expected of me that I have a daily devotion time, a time reserved for Bible reading and prayer. I was expected to go to church. I was expected to have a kind of piety that was evident by not cursing, not drinking, not smoking, and the like. I had no idea that biblical righteousness went far beyond these things. . .
Soon, however, I found that there was more to the Christian life than daily devotions and sanctified words. I realized that God wanted more. He wanted me to grow in my faith and obedience, to go beyond milk to meat. I also discovered that Christian jargon was an almost meaningless form of communication, both to non-Christians and Christians alike. I found myself more interested in echoing a subculture's lingo than in finding true godliness.
My error was this: I was confusing spirituality with righteousness. I also discovered that I was not alone in this. I was caught up with a crowd who confused the means with the end. Spirituality can be a cheap substitute for righteousness. . .
Righteousness has rules, but it is more than rules. If we care for rules without caring for people, we have missed the goal of righteousness. The scriptural rules come from God precisely because He cares about people.
We need rules to be righteous, but they must be the right rules. They must be God's rules. We may accept no substitutes. In God's Word we find adequate rules for pleasing God with a righteous life. And if we abide by those rules, we are not goal-less fanatics, but true children of the King.
-From "Pleasing God" by R.C. Sproul; part of The Inspirational Study Bible: New Century Version by Max Lucado
Happy are those who don't listen to the wicked, who don't go where sinners go, who don't don't do what evil people do. They love the Lord's teachigns, and they think about those teachigns day and night. Tehy are strong, like a tree planted by a river. The tree produces fruit in season, and its leaves don't die. Everything they do will succeed. - Psalm 1:1-3 NCV
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