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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Faith and Fruit
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Christ, even we have believed in Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. (Galatians 2:16)
One of the fundamental teachings of the Apostle Paul is that a person is justified by faith in Christ, not by the works of the Law of Moses.
What does it mean to be justified?
To be justified means to be declared righteous by the Lord. Therefore in this discussion we will not refer again to the term justified, but for the sake of ease of understanding by the reader we will speak only of righteousness. What does the Scripture say about our becoming righteous?
To become righteous means nothing less and nothing more than to gain acceptance in the sight of God. If what we are and what we are doing at any given moment is pleasing to God and acceptable to God, then we have attained righteousness (right standing) in the Presence of God.
We are including here the right standing that we gain by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and also the righteous personality and conduct that result from our putting on the Lord Jesus Christ and making no provision for our fleshly lusts (Romans 13:14).
Indeed, righteousness is a primary subject of the Scriptures. Righteousness is the state of being in which we are pleasing to God, in which He receives us and blesses us, in which we have fellowship with Him.
Deep in the heart of each saint there is a hunger for righteousness. Because of the pressures, the dreads, the problems and concerns of life on the earth we begin to desire to die and go to Heaven. To die and go to Heaven is a wonderful release toward which we can look with joyful anticipation.
But to die and go to Heaven is not the deepest desire of the saint. The deepest desire of the Christian is to be righteous, to gain full acceptance in the sight of God and to possess God. That is the goal of every genuine believer in God.
How do we enter the righteousness of the Kingdom of God? What are we to do in order that our righteousness may exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees? (Matthew 5:20).
When we turn to the New Testament writings we discover that what appears to be two separate viewpoints of righteousness are presented to us. Paul, in certain parts of his epistles (although the bulk of Paul's writings exhort us to righteous behavior rather than naked belief), seems to stress we are made righteous by our faith in Christ apart from any effort on our part. James, in his epistle, emphasizes attaining righteousness by means of righteous works.
Notice carefully Paul's statement:
Knowing that a man is not justified [made righteous] by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, . . . . (Galatians 2:16)
And then James' assertion:
Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. (James 2:24)
To be continued.