| E-MAIL SERVICE | Sign me up to receive the daily Word of Righteousness free via my E-mail address! ( ONLY AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH ) | |
| ARCHIVES | I want to check out the daily Words of Righteousness for any of the last fourteen days or from previous weeks. ( ENGLISH ONLY ) | |
| FEEDBACK | I have a question or comment about today's Word of Righteousness. ( ENGLISH AND SPANISH ONLY ) | |
| BOOK LIST | I would like to see the complete book list of the Words of Righteousness author Robert B. Thompson. (SOME SPANISH TITLES AVAILABLE ) |
The Daily Word of Righteousness
Four Aspects of Righteousness, #2
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13,14—NIV)
Now, of what was Paul speaking when he said he had not attained perfection, had not attained the mark that had been set before him?
To claim that Paul was trying to be qualified to go to Heaven is ridiculous.
Therefore there has to be a definite something to be attained in Christ that is not the same as going to Paradise.
This author is of the opinion that the definite something is membership in the Body of Christ, at least in the part of the Body that will return with the Lord Jesus and work with Him in establishing the Kingdom of God on the earth.
For those who wish to move forward today in the Lord Jesus Christ, make doubly sure you do not confuse what you are seeking with being worthy to enter Heaven. We shall assume you are going to Heaven when you die. We are referring to something else, a fullness of Christ that has not been understood, apparently, since the days of the Apostles of the Lamb.
You are going to Heaven. That is established. But this is not the challenge of the hour. The challenge of the hour is to be competent to return with the Lord and to govern the nations with a rod of iron.
The Lord told us that many who are last shall be first. Maybe He meant that many of those who are to rule in the Kingdom will come forth in the last days.
What is the nature of this "new thing"? Toward what are we to be pressing with all the diligence of which we are capable?
The goal is maturity as measured by the stature of the fullness of Christ. The goal is to win Christ, to know Christ, to live by the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings.
Of particular concern is actual righteousness of behavior. The believers of today are not perfect, just forgiven, as they like to proclaim. Now we must press forward from imputed righteousness to actual righteousness of behavior.
In other words, it is time to become true Christians.
I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, (Isaiah 42:6—NIV)
God has called each member of the Body of Christ, of the Servant of the Lord, in righteousness. Not just in imputed righteousness but also in righteous behavior, as is clear from the text of the New Testament.
In our day the witness of God has been destroyed in many nations, including the United States of America, by the unrighteous behavior of the believers.
We now are entering an age of moral horrors, due primarily to the fact that the churches are not giving off the light of righteous behavior. God is insisting that this change, that His saints begin to live righteously. The righteous behavior of the Christian people will provide a light, a sanctuary, during the spiritual darkness that is settling in.
To be continued.