Category Archives: Righteousness

Bible, Faith, Righteousness, Scripture, Trust

FROM FAITH TO FAITH

ROMANS 1:17

“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written: ‘BUT THE RIGHTEOUS ONE WILL LIVE BY FAITH.’”

I begin a lot of my devotional blogs asking you a question. Today is no exception. The question – What do you have faith in? We place our faith in a lot of things and people. Some people have faith in the government – not too wise. Others place their faith in a person (husband, wife, employer, etc.) – again, not too wise. There is really only one reliable place to place our faith. That is in God, the Father. Paul explains that in today’s verse.

Our righteousness comes as we place our faith in Christ. That’s what Paul is saying. The phrase “faith to faith” really refers to the journey of faith we experience as believers. Matthew Poole says, “The gospel reveals the righteousness of God to be from faith to faith. The beginning, the continuance, the accomplishment of our justification is wholly absolved by faith.” Our faith is developed over time. We get initial faith at salvation, and it continues to grow with each passing day, week, and year until we see our faith fulfilled in glory.

APPLICATION

My late brother-in-law, Dr. Wayne Barber, said today’s verse was the key verse in the whole book of Romans. Why? Because faith is the key to the Christian life. And our righteousness comes through placing our faith in the One who died for us. The quote in today’s verse, “But the righteous man shall live by faith,” comes from Habakkuk 2:4. I know, you probably don’t read Habakkuk very often, but you should. Awesome book!

You could literally translate “from faith to faith” as “out of faith and into faith.” That is how God’s righteousness is revealed. It is revealed out of our faith in Him and also in our continued faith in Him. The bottom line – our righteousness depends on our faith, and our faith depends on God’s righteousness. They are intertwined.

This week as you place your faith in things, place it in Jesus. Let Him be the One who guides your every step. Let Jesus show you where to place your trust. Faith in Jesus is a gift. Ephesians 2:8-9 expresses this perfectly. “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Accept the gift that keeps on giving!

Thank You, Lord, for the gift of faith. Help me continue to grow in my faith as I trust You daily.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Declare, Judgment, Resurrection, Righteousness, Scripture

HORIZONS

ROMANS 1:4

“who was declared the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,”

Depending on where you live and the topography around you, you may or may not clearly see the horizons that surround you. If you live in a mountainous area, you will see a jagged horizon and if live in a desert region, it may appear more as a straight line. I love to see the western horizon when I am at the beach. I love to watch the sun set and disappear with all the accompanying colors. But try as I might, I do not have the power to set my horizons. They are set by One far greater than I.

In today’s verse, we have a Greek word that is translated as “was declared” from which we get our English word “horizon.” God has declared or “set the boundary” which determined Jesus as the Son of God. He used the Holy Spirit to do that through the resurrection so that all mankind could see that “horizon.” Jesus has always been the Son of God, but God wanted all of us to see that clearly, just like that sunset I described at the beach.

APPLICATION

In Acts 10:42 we read where Peter uses horizo to describe Jesus. “‘And He ordered us to preach to the people, and to testify solemnly that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.’” Jesus’ declaration by God also included His role as Judge. He is the One who sits in judgment over all mankind. As followers of Christ, we will not face the same judgment as the unbeliever. But He is still our Judge.

As Paul was speaking on Mars Hill in Acts 17:31, he uses this same word. “‘…because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead.’” The intellects of the day needed to hear that there was a supreme God who had come in the form of man to reign over all other gods. God had declared Jesus as His Son with all the authority to do that.

Do you believe? Are you following? If you answered “yes,” then the choice is clear. You must obey. You must obey the One who has been declared as the true horizon in your life. Only He sets the boundaries. No one can push the boundaries of your life. And if you have made that choice to obey, He has declared you as righteous in His sight. Live that way.

Thank You for declaring Jesus as Your Son, worthy of all praise and glory.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Gifts, Jesus, Law, Righteousness, Scripture

GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS

PHILIPPIANS 3:9

“and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,”

Sorry to have to tell you this, but you are not righteous – on your own. Neither am I, not even close. My late brother-in-law who was a pastor used to tell his congregation, “If I knew you like God knows you, I wouldn’t bother to come preach to you. And if you knew me like God knows me, you wouldn’t bother to come hear me.” In other words, our flesh is wicked. If we only knew each other’s hearts, we would be horrified.

But praise be to God, He has made a way for us to become righteous. See, Paul knew the futility of the flesh. He even says in Romans 3:10, “as it is written: ‘There is no righteous person, not even on;’” This is a thought shared in the Psalms in two places, 14:1-3 and 53:1-3. They both say there is no one who does good. Paul points us to the only, truly righteous person who ever walked this earth, Jesus Christ. He is the reason God can declare us as righteous.

APPLICATION

Righteousness is a term we see all throughout Scripture. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew words tsedeq and tsedaqah are used to describe the moral and ethical standards expected by God. Topical Lexicon says, “These Hebrew terms provide the Old Testament background for the New Testament understanding of dikaiosyne, highlighting the continuity of God’s righteous standards and His provision for humanity’s right standing with Him through faith.”

Dikaiosyne which is the Greek word for “righteousness” is used almost 100 times in the New Testament. This is an important word for us to understand when it comes to our relationship with God. Take a look at Romans where Paul uses this word over 30 times. Righteousness does not come through keeping some set of rules or laws. It only comes from God as His gift to us having received His Son as our Savior and Lord.

Romans 5:17 calls righteousness a gift. I love that. A gift is something I do not obtain on my own merits. It is given freely by the gift giver. In this case, Jesus gave us the gift of salvation, thus ascribing to us His righteousness. He took on Himself the sins of the world in order for us to have the privilege of receiving this precious gift. We have to accept it. He won’t force it on us. Have you received this gift of righteousness through His Son?

Father, I know I am seen as righteous in Your eyes only because of what Your Son has done for me.

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Bible, Filled, Fruit, Righteousness, Scripture

THE FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

PHILIPPIANS 1:11

“having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, for the glory and praise of God.”

When I read this verse, I wondered what Paul meant by “fruit of righteousness.” I know from the Word that any righteousness I have comes from Jesus. This verse shows us what is expected of that righteousness once we have it. We produce fruit. I am getting ready to plant some vegetables to harvest later. I will expect fruit to come from those plants since I will water and fertilize and weed them. Hmmm, does that apply to this verse? Let’s see.

Paul uses the Greek word pléroó which means to fill or make complete. The important part about this word is this. That -oo ending means the result of the action of the word is more important than just the action. In this case, the fruit is more important than the filling. Do you follow me? If you just get filled and it stays there, what good is that? The filling causes fruit which you then can share.

APPLICATION

Albert Barnes describes this “fruit of righteousness” this way. “That which righteousness in the heart produces. The fruits, or results, will be seen in the life; and those fruits are – honesty, truth, charity, kindness, meekness, goodness. The wish of the apostle is, that they might show abundantly by their lives that they were truly righteous. He does not refer to liberality merely, but to everything which true piety in the heart is fitted to produce in the life.”

In the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old Testament), we find this in Proverbs 11:30. “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and one who is wise gains souls.” In Proverbs 13:2 we read, “From the fruit of a person’s mouth he enjoys good, but the desire of the treacherous is violence.” So, we see that this concept of fruit and righteousness is not something Paul just dreamed up. It comes from the very heart of God in all His Word.

James referred to this “fruit of righteousness” in James 3:18. “And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” James, the half-brother of Christ, saw this lived out in Jesus. He watched Him exhibit this fruit to others. He saw the peaceful manner in which He dealt with others, even His enemies. James wanted that for himself and others.

Today, live out some of that fruit to others. Start with the ones Barnes referenced – honesty, truth, charity, kindness, meekness and goodness. That should keep you busy all day.

Lord, help me live out this fruit of righteousness to others I encounter today.

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Armor, Bible, Righteousness, Scripture, Truth

THE FIRST TWO PIECES OF THE ARMOR

EPHESIANS 6:14

“Stand firm therefore, having belted your waist with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,”

Before we dive into the parts of the armor Paul describes here, we need to look at that very first verb, “stand firm.” It is the only action verb in verses 14-18. All the rest are participles that tie back to the main verb, “stand firm.” But there is an order here. You can’t stand firm until you have put on all the armor. We can’t run out into battle putting on our gear. No! It has to be on and fixed properly.

Paul lists the first two pieces of the Christian’s armor in today’s verse, truth and righteousness. He compares them to the girdle that was worn over the loins or waist area and to the breastplate that covered from the neck to the top of the thighs. There may be no particular reason why he compared these pieces of armor to these two areas, but that hasn’t stopped scholars from speculating. I want to share some observations from Albert Barnes’ commentary on this verse, but there many others out there with excellent descriptions of this armor. Check them out on www.BibleHub.com.

APPLICATION

The first thing a soldier would put on would be his girdle. Barnes says this about this piece of the armor. “The idea here may be, that as the girdle was the bracer up, or support of the body, so truth is suited to brace us up, and to gird us for constancy and firmness. The girdle kept all the parts of the armor in their proper place, and preserved firmness and consistency in the dress; and so truth might serve to give consistency and firmness to our conduct.” I have often said that truth is the glue that binds us all together. 

Then we have the breastplate. I absolutely love Barnes’ discussion on this. “The king of Israel was smitten by an arrow sent from a bow, drawn at a venture, ‘between the joints of his harness’ or the ‘breast-plate’ (margin), 1 Kings 22:34; and many a man who thinks he has on the ‘Christian’ armor is smitten in the same manner. There is some defect of character; some want of incorruptible integrity; some point that is unguarded – and that will be sure to be the point of attack by the foe. So, David was tempted to commit the enormous crimes that stain his memory, and Peter to deny his Lord. So, Judas was assailed, for the want of the armor of righteousness, through his avarice; and so, by some want of incorruptible integrity in a single point, many a minister of the gospel has been assailed and has fallen. It may be added here that we need a righteousness which God alone can give; the righteousness of God our Savior, to make us perfectly invulnerable to all the arrows of the foe.”

That was long, I know, but wasn’t it a great thought? I have personally known men who had a chink in their armor which allowed the enemy’s arrow to pierce. Make sure your armor is fitted properly and is being maintained. Don’t get caught off-guard.

Lord, we praise You for outfitting us so well.

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Bible, Goodness, Righteousness, Scripture, Truth, Walking

FRUIT OF THE LIGHT?

EPHESIANS 5:9

“(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),”

I have never seen light give off fruit. Have you? At first reading, you may think Paul has lost his marbles or something. This is why it is so important to consider the context in which this verse lies. Paul had been talking about darkness and light before this verse. This verse simply carries on that idea. Don’t let the language of the text confuse you. Remember, God is not the god of confusion.

MacLauren says this about this verse. “The Apostle has just been exhorting his Ephesian friends to walk as ‘children of the light’ and before he goes on to expand and explain that injunction he interjects this parenthetical remark, as if he would say, To be true to the light that is in you is the sum of duty, and the condition of perfectness, ‘for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth’.” 

APPLICATION

Okay Carl, so what are you trying to tell us? I’m glad you asked. The evidence, the fruit of your walk in the light is goodness and righteousness and truth. Do you perform goodness rather than “badness”? Do you want to do good or evil? It’s that simple. Your goodness is not your goodness. There’s nothing good about you. That goodness is the fruit of the Spirit in you.

How about living a righteous life? What does that mean? It’s living a life approved in the eyes of God. Wow! Who doesn’t want that? You may be surprised. Some people could care less about having God’s approval. In fact, they will do everything they can think of that runs counter to God. But not you – you have received His righteousness.

And the truth is also fruit of your walk in the light. There is no hiding yourself, sneaking away to do who knows what. Your life is an open book, no secrets. The truth is there for all to see. How do you live that way? Because the One Who is the Truth lives in you. He produces the fruit of the light in you. What a Savior! What a Lord!

Father, help me to walk in the light as Your are the Light

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Abiding, Bible, Forgiveness, Holy, Imitation, Righteousness, Scripture

IMITATE

EPHESIANS 5:1

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;” 

Isn’t it cute when you see a small child imitating their parent? When we lived in South Carolina, my son when he was three or four years old would follow behind me as I mowed the lawn with his little bubble mower. Do you remember those? They would blow out tiny little bubbles as you pushed it. He loved that thing and would pretend to be cutting the grass with me. (Don’t worry, we had him following a safe distance.) And now, guess what he does for a living. Yep, he has his own lawncare and landscaping business.

Paul begins chapter five (there really weren’t any chapters in the original) with a continuation of the idea he was writing in the previous verses. The word “therefore” ties these two chapters together. Then he says, “be imitators of God.” Okay, Paul, let’s keep that bar high. Imitate God? It’s not possible, right? God does not expect us to be just like Him, only to strive to be like Him. We will not reach perfection until we receive our glorified bodies in heaven. Until then we imitate Him.

APPLICATION

The word used by Paul here for “imitators” is mimētḗs. It is used five other times in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 4:16; 11:1; 1 Thessalonians 1:6; 2:14 and Hebrews 6:12) and each time in a positive manner. It means to act like or mimic someone. In fact, we get our English word “mimic” from the root of the word. It refers to emulating someone worthy of it. And certainly, God is worthy. Amen? So, mimic Him. But what does that mean?

In Gill’s Exposition we read, “Be ye therefore followers of God,…. Not in his works of infinite wisdom and almighty power, which is impossible; but in acts of righteousness and holiness, and particularly in acts of mercy, goodness, and beneficence; as in forgiving injuries and offences, and in freely distributing to the necessities of the saints; as the connection of the words with the preceding chapter, and the instance and example in the following verse show: and this should be done by the saints,.”

Can you be righteous and holy? Yes! Can you show mercy and goodness and be benevolent? Yes! Can you forgive someone? Yes! Can you provide for the needy? Yes! So, we can all mimic or imitate God, if we want to. Do you want to?

Father, help me follow Your example each and every day.

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Bible, Faith, Hope, Righteousness, Scripture

THE HOPE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

GALATIANS 5:5

“For we, through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.”

In our normal, everyday thinking, when we hope for something, it means it may or may not happen. I’m a hunter, so each time I go into the woods to hunt I hope I am able to bring home some meat. It may or may not be there. My skills as a hunter may or may not help me secure the game I am hunting. It is never a sure thing, but I still have hope.

That is NOT what Paul is referring to here when he says, “the hope of righteousness.” Paul understood and taught that we are made righteous the moment we receive Jesus as our Savior. Paul even said so in Romans 1:16-17. “16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written: ‘BUT THE RIGHTEOUS ONE WILL LIVE BY FAITH.’”

APPLICATION

So, why did the Holy Spirit inspire Paul to say this in today’s verse? What is this “hope of righteousness”? The Cambridge Bible says this about it – “It may refer to that sanctifying righteousness which is progressive, ‘inherent in us but not perfect’, the perfection of which is the aim and end of our earthly discipline.” In other words, Paul is saying the perfect righteousness is promised to us and we will receive it.

Then the question must be asked – what is this righteousness? What does it mean to be made righteous? Short answer is it is the approval of God, what God deems is right. Wow! I am now and will be perfectly right in God’s eyes. Why don’t I have that perfect righteousness now? Because I still live in a sinful world and in this wicked, fleshly body. When I reach heaven, though, I will have a perfect, glorified body free from sin.

1 Timothy 6:11 tells us, “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.” This verse, of course, applies to every believer, not just men. And how about the words of our Lord Himself in Matthew 6:33? “‘But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.’” Rest assured, beloved, you are righteous and will be righteous.

Praise You, O God, for Your righteousness that is poured out on me.

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Appeasement, Belief, Bible, Eternity, Grace, Justified, Protection, Righteousness, Salvation, Scripture

IF ONE, THEN THE OTHER

GALATIANS 5:4

“You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by the Law; you have fallen from grace.”

If I had a billion dollars, I would give most it away. But since I don’t have a billion dollars, I can’t do that. No one is going to benefit from my imaginary wealth. One can’t happen because the other is not reality. That’s the best I can do to draw a comparison to today’s verse (which could be a confusing one). Let’s look at what Paul is really saying.

Today’s verse is a prime example of why you can’t just read a verse out of context. Taken by itself, you may presume that someone could lose their salvation (fallen from grace). Not so fast. Look at the second phrase (you who…by the Law). Is it possible to be justified by the Law? Of course not. Paul has been preaching that this whole letter. If that is not true, then the last phrase (fallen from grace) is not true either. Paul has never taught that this was possible. We’ll see another passage below that backs that up.

APPLICATION

Look at Romans 3:20. “because by the works of the Law none of mankind will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes knowledge of sin.” Ever since the Mosaic Law was handed down, man has been trying to keep it. Remember, if they failed in one aspect of the Law, they were considered failed to the whole Law. No one could achieve that – at least no one until Jesus.

A little further down in Romans 3, we read this, “27 Where then is boasting? It has been excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.” You can’t get much clearer than that. Don’t you wish the Galatians had had the letter to the Romans to read? (Romans wasn’t written until several years later.) Aren’t you glad you do?

Bottom line from Paul: You can’t do anything to justify yourself. You can’t keep enough laws. You can’t do enough good. It is only through Jesus that you can be justified. It is His righteousness which gives you access to your salvation and your eternal home. Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!

Only through Your Son, Jesus Christ, am I able to be called righteous in Your eyes.

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Advice, Belief, Bible, Confession, Deliverance, Eternity, Forgiveness, Grace, Justified, Obedience, Righteousness, Salvation, Scripture

DON’T DO THAT!

GALATIANS 5:2

“Look! I, Paul, tell you that if you have yourselves circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you.”

We often think if we just do this one thing then everything will be fine between us and God. We seem to think we can do things to warrant His grace. Let me tell you that is a hopeless endeavor. There is nothing you can do to gain His favor – nothing that is except coming to Jesus and acknowledging your need for a Savior. Why do we work so hard at something that is free?

As a former Pharisee, Paul is giving the Galatians a warning.  Albert Barnes said Paul was saying this, “if you are circumcised with a view to being justified by that in whole or in part, it amounts to a rejection of the doctrine of justification by Christ, and an entire apostacy from him.” They were thinking if they followed the Mosaic law and agreed to physical circumcision, they would be justified in God’s eyes. Paul says, “No! Stop! Don’t do that! It won’t work!”

APPLICATION

As I said in the opening paragraph, you can’t do one thing to gain justification. It’s all been done for you by Jesus. You just have to accept and believe. Do you remember Paul’s words to the Roman church in Romans 10:9-10? “9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Confession and belief – that’s all that is needed. I hope you understand that it is not up to you. You are hopelessly doomed to an eternal damnation UNLESS you simply confess and believe. No other act is necessary. John tells us in John 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name,” I didn’t see one mention of circumcision or any other act in that verse. Did you?

In your journey with Christ, lean into Him. Don’t fret about what you must do. Sure, we need to study His Word and pray. We need to spend time with Him. As we do that, we will want to do more things for His kingdom. But none of those things will bring us salvation. Only Jesus will. Amen. I pray today you know the One who came to give you the greatest gift – eternal life.

Father, help me to stop striving and do more resting in You.  

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