The kind of "righteousness" that has come to exist since Christ came is a different kind of "righteousness," because it now contains the element of eternal life.
I think I understand what you are graciously showing me. However, are you sure that it is a different Faith, or perhaps we are just made whole and complete in and through the Hands of Christ?
· Colossians 2:10-11, 13, 15 NLT - 10 So you also are
complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. 11 When you came to Christ,
you were "circumcised," but not by a physical procedure.
Christ performed a spiritual circumcision--the cutting away of your sinful nature. ... 13
You were dead because of your sins and
because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. ... 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
And this is what we see regarding the tombs being opened. For the dead came to life and walked throughout the city after Christ’s Resurrection. Their Faith wasn’t different, but it was made whole and complete. For us, to those who believe (as of today) Christ has already risen, thus we receive payment for our sins, the Sinful Nature is cut away and we receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit. What is different from today and yesterday, is that none of us have to wait for the Redemptive Work of Christ. It is the same faith. Again . . .
· Romans 3:24-26 NLT – “Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.”
Righteousness – “1 John 03:10 "Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God." Therefore, whoever is of God is Righteous. Righteous people obey God. - Is equated to Blamelessness Prov 11:05,6.
We see that Abraham practiced Righteousness, for he received an edict from God that he would be blameless. Below, God was asking Abraham to be Faithful and Blameless, but instead, God issued the Laws of the Spirit of Life to Abraham. This means that he would live the remainder of his life under the Controlling Way of the Spirit, thus he WOULD be Faithful and Blameless through the Eternal Covenant of Spiritual Circumcision. (Pardon me for being repetitive.)
· Genesis 17:1-2 NLT – “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am El-Shaddai--'God Almighty.' Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. 2 I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants."
· Romans 4:11 NLT – “Circumcision was a sign that Abraham already had faith and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be righteous--even before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted as righteous because of their faith.”
Consider these passages as an amazing explanation of full Faith:
· Romans 8:2 KJV – “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”
· 2 Peter 1:4 KJV – “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
These two passages above explain perfectly what happened to Abraham, as well as everyone mentioned in Hebrews 11, the Great Hall of Faith. Same Faith . . . same Righteousness.
I am asserting that this moment in Abraham’s life could have been the exact moment that had been lifted of the Sinful Nature (but this event could have taken place earlier in his life, perhaps even in Chapter 15 . . . or even as a young boy). But I would assert that when God told Abraham to serve Faithfully and Blamelessly, this could not have been done unless the blinding Curse of Adam and Eve had been lifted from his Stony Heart. And when this Evil Nature has been removed, the Laws of the Spirit of Life have been issued and a person has then been Enabled to Obey.
No one can be considered Righteous if they still possess the Curse that Adam and Eve had essentially given to us all. Righteousness seems to depend upon whether or not that Curse has been lifted. The Gift of the Holy Spirit does not seem to make us Righteous, but that Spirit is a Leader in the life of a Believe, so as to lead in the Ways of Righteousness. So, being lifted of the Curse is the Cleansing we need, and the Spirit is the One who Leads and Guides in the Ways of Righteousness.