Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:6)
I must say, with this particular verse, the Lord has taken me on quite a rigmarole to get to the heart of what He wants us to focus on today. I originally thought this verse would be simple to comment on, but oh, how wrong I was! I'm sure many things can be said about it, but none of them are what He wanted to be spoken today. Instead, while I was asking Him what He wanted us to focus on, He brought me to this verse:
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.' (Jeremiah 23:5-6 ESV)
Do you know who this verse is speaking of? This righteous Branch of David? It's speaking of Jesus Christ, who is indeed our righteousness.
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. (1 Corinthians 1:30)
Praise God for this, that Jesus Christ has become our righteousness, for apart from Him our own righteousness and good works are as "filthy rags" to God (Isaiah 64:6). Only by the righteousness of Christ can we even approach the throne of God, much less be accepted into the kingdom of heaven. So, getting back to Matthew 5:6 above, we see that those who hunger and thirst for this righteousness will be filled. So naturally, that led me to the question, "Well, God, is simply desiring righteousness enough? If I just one day decide that I'm going to be a better person, will I be filled?" The answer to this question, of course, is no. We must take this verse in context and look at it in light of the rest of the Word of God, and verses such as Isaiah 64:6 mentioned above and Romans 3:10-18, As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God... ((etc.))" make it clear that there's more to it than just wanting to be a better person. Our focus has to be on Christ, our desire for His righteousness to cover ours, and then we will be filled.
But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 21-24)
The amazing part of this righteousness is that not only does it allow us to be seen as righteous and pure in the eyes of the Father, it empowers us and allows us to actually produce the fruits of righteousness as well. We simply cannot have received this gift of righteousness and salvation through Christ without having our very hearts changed so that we evidence this change through how we live our lives - although this righteousness comes through faith alone, if we don't evidence this in a changed life, it is an indication that we have not truly received this righteousness and that our faith is dead. "For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead." (James 2:26 ESV)
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11 ESV)
It is my prayer that we would all accept this free gift of grace and allow our souls to be "filled" to the brim, so that this love and righteousness would overflow into the lives of all those around us!
Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13-14)
Blessings,
Andrew
I must say, with this particular verse, the Lord has taken me on quite a rigmarole to get to the heart of what He wants us to focus on today. I originally thought this verse would be simple to comment on, but oh, how wrong I was! I'm sure many things can be said about it, but none of them are what He wanted to be spoken today. Instead, while I was asking Him what He wanted us to focus on, He brought me to this verse:
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.' (Jeremiah 23:5-6 ESV)
Do you know who this verse is speaking of? This righteous Branch of David? It's speaking of Jesus Christ, who is indeed our righteousness.
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. (1 Corinthians 1:30)
Praise God for this, that Jesus Christ has become our righteousness, for apart from Him our own righteousness and good works are as "filthy rags" to God (Isaiah 64:6). Only by the righteousness of Christ can we even approach the throne of God, much less be accepted into the kingdom of heaven. So, getting back to Matthew 5:6 above, we see that those who hunger and thirst for this righteousness will be filled. So naturally, that led me to the question, "Well, God, is simply desiring righteousness enough? If I just one day decide that I'm going to be a better person, will I be filled?" The answer to this question, of course, is no. We must take this verse in context and look at it in light of the rest of the Word of God, and verses such as Isaiah 64:6 mentioned above and Romans 3:10-18, As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God... ((etc.))" make it clear that there's more to it than just wanting to be a better person. Our focus has to be on Christ, our desire for His righteousness to cover ours, and then we will be filled.
But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 21-24)
The amazing part of this righteousness is that not only does it allow us to be seen as righteous and pure in the eyes of the Father, it empowers us and allows us to actually produce the fruits of righteousness as well. We simply cannot have received this gift of righteousness and salvation through Christ without having our very hearts changed so that we evidence this change through how we live our lives - although this righteousness comes through faith alone, if we don't evidence this in a changed life, it is an indication that we have not truly received this righteousness and that our faith is dead. "For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead." (James 2:26 ESV)
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11 ESV)
It is my prayer that we would all accept this free gift of grace and allow our souls to be "filled" to the brim, so that this love and righteousness would overflow into the lives of all those around us!
Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13-14)
Blessings,
Andrew
