Pursuing righteousness (Jan/Feb)

"But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness."

1 Timothy 6:11 (verse for 2013)

For the first two months of the year I was pondering the first part of my verse for 2013; ‘pursue righteousness’

What is righteousness?
The dictionary defines righteousness as the quality or state of being righteous, so what is righteous?
1. characterized by uprightness or morality: a righteous observance of the law.
2. morally right or justifiable: righteous indignation.
3. acting in an upright, moral way; virtuous: a righteous and godly person.
Righteousness can also be described in the following way:


Who is righteous?
Romans 3:10 tells us that ‘no-one is righteous’ yet James 5:16 tells us that ‘the prayer of a righteous person has great power’. But Psalm 11:7 says “For the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds/justice; the upright shall behold his face.” And 2 Corinthians 5:21 goes on to say “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
In ourselves we are not righteous because we are not morally upright and without guilt or sin, but through Christ’s death and punishment for our sins God sees us as righteous people.

How can I pursue righteousness?
Righteousness cannot be earned (Galatians 2:21) but once I have accepted the gift of righteousness from God I need to ‘put it on’ on a regular basis:

• Ephesians 4:22-24 – You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, to be made new in the attitude of your minds, and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
• Ephesians 3:13-14 – Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place…

It also comes through discipline:

• Hebrews 12:11 – No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

And through prayer:

• Philippians 1:11 – And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.

What will the effects of pursuing righteousness be?

• The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence for ever. Isaiah 31:17
• Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:8

There is so much more that I could say on ‘pursuing righteousness’, so many other verses and passages that I haven’t even mentioned, but I need to move on to ‘pursuing godliness’.

Genesis 2:8-14 - Eden

I am always totally stunned by the beauty of creation when I go to the Alps; the power and magnificence of the mountain ranges, the beauty of the alpine flowers, the richness of the colours and smells, the freshness of the air. This picture doesn't really do justice to it, but it's a close attempt!

God is an artist as well as an architect and builder; he has created beauty as well as practicality. In the beginning God created the garden of Eden to show what the world was intended to become under mankind's care; it was a show garden which was home to trees that were 'good for food' and 'pleasing to the eye'.

But Eden was more than a show garden; it was a testing ground, where man's obedience to God would be tested and where issues of eternity would be decided. Later in the Bible we come across another garden when another man's obedience to God are tested to the farthest limits and issues of eternal life were decided. (More on this when we look at Genesis 3:6-7.)

For now the future is bright; there is abundant water and a land ripe for exploration and enjoyment. Although we live in a fallen world, there is still so much beauty and abundance for us to enjoy.