The Way of Righteousness

Luke 1:5-6 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.

Isaiah 51:7 “Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear not the reproach of man, nor be dismayed at their revilings.

1 John 3:7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.

Habakkuk 2:4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.

Works can be done for a variety of reasons, so the Bible can speak against being required to do works for incorrect reasons such as in order to earn our righteousness as the result without speaking against being required to do works for correct reasons such as in order to embody our faith (James 2:18). We can’t earn our righteousness even as the result of having perfect obedience to the Law of God because it was never given as a way of doing that in the first place (Romans 4:1-5), but rather the significance of our obedience to it is that it is the way to embody our faith, and it is by that faith alone apart from works done in order to earn it that we are declared righteous. In Romans 3:21-22, the only way to become righteous that is testified about in the Law and the Prophets is through faith in Christ for all who believe. Paul also affirmed in Romans 2:13 that only the doers of the law will be declared righteous, so there is a reason why our righteousness requires us to choose to be a doer of it other than in order to earn it as wage, namely faith insofar as the faith by which we are declared righteous apart from works also upholds the Law of God (Roman 3:28-31). The Law of Moses was given to describe the life of someone who is righteous as it describes the life of Christ, so it is what we get to experience being a doer of by being given the gift of righteousness through faith, which is why the righteous shall live by his faith.

Fathom said:

Luke 22:20, Hebrew 8:6, Jeremiah 31:33

Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.


The Righteous: They act as a shield. They "triumph" over sin and death by ensuring their children/descendants aren't consumed by them. They break the cycle of suffering.

The Wicked: They are portrayed as self-destructive. Even though they know firsthand the "sting" (pain/consequences) of sin, they still allow or lead their children into that same "darkness."

It only takes one person—a single descendant—to "choose the light" and change the trajectory of the entire lineage.

Thus the kingdom of this world trembles,
for one who was claimed by the darkness has looked upon the light .

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The New Covenant is still made with the same God with the same character traits and therefore the same eternal and cumulatively valid instructions for how to embody His character traits (Jeremiah 31:33, Ezekiel 36:26-27). New Covenants do not nullify the promises of covenants that have already been ratified, so God's covenants are eternal and cumulatively valid. The Mosaic Covenant is eternal (Exodus 31:14-17, Leviticus 24:8), so the only way that it can be replaced by the New Covenant is if it is cumulative with it. One thing can only make another thing obsolete to the extent that it has cumulative functionality, so a computer makes a typewriter obsolete but does not make a plow obsolete, which means that if the New Covenant involved doing something different that was not cumulative with the Mosaic Covenant, then it could not make it obsolete. So the New Covenant still involves following the Mosaic Law (Hebrews 8:10) plus it is cumulatively based on better promises and has a superior mediator (Hebrews 8:6).

The way to become righteous is not the same as what it means to become righteous. For example, it is righteous to be a doer of charity, but no amount of charity will ever causes someone to become righteous, but rather the one and only way to become righteous is through faith and part of what it means to become righteous is to become a doer of charity.

Fathom said:

Love, grace and mercy is greater than the law.

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I'm not sure what that has to do with responding to what I said, but love, grace, and mercy are not greater than the law, the way to show love, grace, and mercy. Everything in the Mosaic Law is in regard to how to love God and our neighbor, which is why Jesus said in Matthew 22:36-40 that those are the greatest two commandments and that all of the other commandments hang on them, so the position that we should love God and our neighbor is the position we should obey the Mosaic Law. In Psalm 119:29, he wanted God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey the Mosaic Law. In Matthew 23:23, Jesus said that mercy is one of the weightier matters of the Law of Moses.

Behold said:

Paul teaches that the reason for the Law is to reveal your sinfulness as compared to God's holiness, so that you understand your LOST CONDITION before Holy God........and once you get that revelation, then you will seek Christ's forgiveness and this is found on The Cross, which God has provided as your Salvation.

Paul also teaches that the reason for the Law is so that "the whole world will become GUILTY before God".........which again, points you to The Cross, for the Eternal Solution.

So, imagine the ignorance of a Religious nut, who is trying to keep the Law, as some type of false salvation, whereby the very Law that proves your sin and your guilt is what you are trying to KEEP to be righteous.

Kinda CRAZY-Religious is to be that one........but there are millions just like that, and they want you to try to keep MOSES Law for the same religiously insane reason.

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Sin is what is contrary to God's character traits, so the law can't just reveal our unrighteousness without also teaching us how to embody God's righteousness by contrast. Our salvation is not just about being restored to the condition that we were before we had sinned but is also about being made to be like Christ. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact likeness of His character (Hebrews 1:3), which he embodied through his works by setting a sinless example for us to follow of how to walk in obedience to the Law of Moses. Jesus saves us from our sin (Matthew 1:21) and it is by the Law of Moses that we have knowledge of what sin is (Romans 3:20), so Jesus graciously teaching us to experience being a doer of it is intrinsically the way that he is giving us his gift of saving us from not being doers of it. So the Law of Moses does not just lead us to Christ to save us from the penalty of our sin but also leads us to him to save us from continuing to be doers of sin. In Titus 2:14, Jesus did not just give himself to pay the penalty for our sin but also in order to purify for himself a people of his own possession who are zealous for doing good works, so the way to believe in what he accomplished through the cross is by becoming zealous for doing good works in obedience to the Law of Moses (Acts 21:20).

We can't earn our salvation or righteousness even as the result of having perfect obedience to the Law of Moses, but rather Jesus graciously teaching us to be a doer of it is the way that he is giving us his gift of salvation and righteousness. Labels only have value insofar as what they communicate is true, so in the same way that it would be meaningless for someone who is not a doer of courageous works to be declared to be courageous it would also being meaningless for someone who is not a doer of righteous works to be declared to be righteous or for someone who is not a doer of the Law of Moses to be declared to be someone who is being saved from not being a doer of it. Accurate labels do not change the object but is in recognition of what the object is.

It is not crazy for someone to take the position that followers of Christ should follow what he taught, but rather that is foundational to Christianity.

Behold said:

God's righteousness, is not Moses Law, and it never will be.
Get over it.

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Are you taking the position that God neglected to teach the Israelites how to act in accordance with His righteousness? How can the Mosaic Law be accurately described as righteous is if it were not God's instructions for how to act in accordance with God's righteousness? For example, do you deny that being a doer of charity is in accordance with God's righteousness?

Behold said:

The "body of Christ" is not "old testament Israelites".

Do you understand?

You're not one of those.........You're not even a Jew.

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Christ set a perfect example for us to follow of how to walk in obedience to the Law of Moses, those who are in Christ are obligated to walk in the same way that he walked, and the body of Christ is composed of people who are in Christ, so it is composed of people who are following his example of walking in obedience to the Law of Moses.

Behold said:

Also, ........."how to act" is not righteousness.......its BEHAVIOR Modification.

Notice carefully...

= "by one man's SIN,">.......we all became a sinner, because we have all have a fallen nature, the adamic nature.
This is the "sin nature".......and this nature is the Devil's Nature., and Jesus said that "you will do the lusts of YOUR FATHER", and that is exactly why we all LOVED TO SIN.
See that?
So, We have to get a new nature,.........and that comes from the New Birth.........= born again........as a "new Creation"......having a New Nature.
Peter defines this new nature as the "divine nature" and every born again believer has it, but that does not mean that they develop it and maintain it.
Often its hidden by their carnal nature.

So, if you take any person, any sinner, and put them in a room, and lock them up for 40 yrs.........and all they do is eat, sleep, bathroom, and repeat.
They are still a sinner, even tho they are not doing anything wrong, specifically related to the 10 Commandments or the 613 Moses Law(s).

God provided Moses to give us Moses Law....... not so that we can try to be righteous based on it.......but only to show us by Moses Law our unrighteousness.
All the law can do is demand from YOU.........righteousness........that you dont have.
So, now that the Law has shown YOU, that you are UNRIGHTEOUS.........then this leads you to Jesus, and faith in Christ, which brings you God's Righteousness as a GIFT., and now having this "gift of Righteousness"......God only sees us this way, forever.
God only sees the Born again as "made righteous".....because that is what He has provided to us, as the "imputed righteousness" that is the exact same that He gave to ABRAHAM, based on FAITH.....and not by law or works.

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A child of someone is a person who embodies their nature through their works, such as with John 8:39 where Jesus said that if they were children of Abraham then they would be doers of the same works as him. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact likeness of His nature (Hebrews 1:3), which he embodied through his works by setting a sinless example for us to follow of how to walk in obedience to the Law of Moses, so that is what it means for Jesus to be the Son of God and that is what it means for us to be children of God when we are partaking in the divine nature through following his example. This is why those who are not doers of righteous works in obedience to the Law of Moses are not children of God (1 John 3:4) and why Paul contrasted those who are born of the Spirit with those who have minds set on the flesh who are enemies of God who refuse to submit to the Law of Moses (Romans 8:4-14).

The Law of Moses was not given as a way of becoming righteous but to describe the life of someone who has been given the gift of righteousness. For example, the Law of Moses reveals that it is righteous to be a doer of charity, but no amount of charity will ever cause someone to become righteous, but rather someone becoming a doer of charity is part of what it means for them to become righteous through faith. In other words, someone getting to experience being a doer of charity is part of the content of the gift of righteousness. Wanting the gift of righteousness apart from the getting to experience being a doer of righteous works is metaphorically like just wanting the box that the gift of righteousness comes it apart from its contents. While Abraham was declared righteous through faith he was also a doer of righteous works through faith, but you want to just be declared righteous apart from becoming a doer of righteous works and it doesn't work that way. Being imputed with the righteousness of God means that we are given the gift of getting to experience being a doer of the righteousness of God in obedience to the Law of Moses, so it does not demand righteousness from us that we do not have.

Behold said:

Reader..

If you could attain RIGHTEOUSNESS by keeping the 10 Commandments or by keeping Moses Law, then why did Jesus have to die on the Cross for you?
Why did Jesus end up nailed to The Cross, Tortured to death, if you could attain righteousness by lawkeeping or commandment keeping?

Now get your bible and read Galatians Chapter 2, as in this chapter Paul teaches that Lawkeeping can't make you righteous.
I would suggest the KJV ot the Amplified Classic......if you are wondering "which bible".

In Fact, Paul teaches that if you are trying to be righteous before God, by doing your best not to break the few Moses Laws that you know about, or the 10 Commandments......then Paul says you are "frustrating God's Grace".
You dont want to do that as a Christian.......you want to please God by not doing that, ever.
So, if you are doing that...then you are literally behaving as if you can gain righteousness by works, which is impossible.

Remember.....>"Its not by our works, or (works of the law or commandment keeping) but its by God's GRACE we are saved"......Its by God's Grace we have RECEIVED THE ATONEMENT....... and that is the shed Blood of Jesus which is the ONLY reason we are forgiven and its the ONLY reason that God will give to us HIS OWN Righteousness.

The Born again have become "THE Righteousness of GOD.............IN CHRIST".

This is what Paul means when He tells the CHRISTian that they are "made righteous"., and that "not of yourself".

One more for you to consider.

If you want to go to God, you have to go through The Cross of Christ, as this is the only WAY to God.
John 14:6.
The Cross of Christ is the only means that God offers us, whereby we can come to Him, and be forgiven, and gain His Righteousness, and for Eternity.

So, if you are trying to get there by behavior, or church membership, or by praying more and trying to sin less, then just give up now as that self righteous road does not lead to God.....and never will.

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Obedience to the Law of Moses has absolutely nothing to do with trying to attain righteousness, so you are deliberately ignoring what I've said in order to attack a position that I've made abundantly clear that I do not hold.

Fathom said:

Galatians 5

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

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In Galatians 5:14, Paul spoke in favor of loving our neighbor as ourselves in obedience to the Law of Moses. In Galatians 5:15-23, Paul and he contrasted the desires of the flesh with the desires of the Spirit and everything that he listed as works of the flesh that are against the Spirit are also against the Law of Moses while all of the fruits of the Spirit are character traits of God that His law was given in order to teach us how to embody. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact likeness of His character (Hebrews 1:3), which he embodied through his works by setting a sinless example for us to follow of how to walk in the Spirit/how to walk in obedience to the Law of Moses.

Fathom said:

The existence of poverty is not a spiritual opportunity for the rich; it is an injustice that true righteousness would seek to abolish entirely, rather than merely sustain through handouts.

true righteousness is the act of ending the need for charity.

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According to the Bible, it is righteous to be a doer charity and the point remains that the way to become righteous is not the same as what it means to become righteous.

Behold said:

You talk a lot about the Law of Moses.
So do unsaved Jews.

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In Psalm 119:29-30, he wanted to put false ways far form him, for God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey the Law of Moses, and he chose the way of faith by setting it before him, so this has always been the one and only away of salvation by grace through faith.

Behold said:

When do you think you'll actrually begin to sound as if you are actually a Christian?

See, CHRISTIANS do not WORRY about "Moses Law".

Moses Law is not for CHRISTians..............

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In Matthew 4:15-23, Christ began his ministry with the Gospel message to repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand, which was a light to the Gentiles, and the Law of Moses was how his audience knew what sin is (Romans 3:20), so repenting from our disobedience to it is a central part of the Gospel message. Christ also set a sinless example for us to follow of how walk in obedience to the Law of Moses and we are told to follow his example (1 Peter 2:21-22) and that those who are in Christ obligated to walk in the same way that he walked (1 John 2:6). So Christ spent his ministry teaching his followers to obey the Law of Moses by word and by example, he talked a lot about the Law of Moses, that is the way to sound like a Christian, and following what Christ taught is for Christians.

Behold said:

Moses Law is given according to Paul so that "the whole world will become GUILTY before GOD"""".

CHRISTIANS understand that Moses Law is designed to lead you to THE CROSS so that you can trust in Christ and become an actual Christian.

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If you believe that it is by the Law of Moses that we have knowledge of what sin is and that we should refrain from doing what God has revealed to be sin, then you should agree that we should obey the Law of Moses. In Titus 2:14, Jesus gave himself to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people of his own possession who are zealous for doing good works, so the way to believe in what Jesus spent his ministry teaching and in what he accomplished through the cross is by repenting and becoming zealous for doing good works in obedience to the Law of Moses (Act 21:20) while the way to reject everything that he accomplished would be by returning the lawlessness that he gave himself to redeem us form. The way to trust in Christ is by obediently trusting in what he taught, not by refusing to follow what he taught.

Behold said:

When do you think you'll every understand any of this and stop ranting about Moses Law... @Soyeong ?

I dont think its going to be anytime soon.. and apparently your Pastor has the exact same problem as you.

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In Deuteronomy 6:4-7, the way to obey the greatest commandment in the Bible is essentially by being zealous for teaching obedience to the Law of Moses. In Psalm 1:1-2, blessed are those who delight in the Law of Moses and who meditate on it day and night.