Know the Righteousness of the Lord

Micah 6:5

Most Christians claim that they know what it takes to be righteous. Things such as reading your Bible, having a daily prayer time, giving in the offering and going to church regularly will usually find their way onto the list. All of these things are great, but none of them make us righteous. These things come from those who are righteous, but they in no way improve upon their righteousness.

Believers are made righteous because Jesus was made to be sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our right standing with God comes now, not because we keep all of the law perfectly, but because Jesus did, and the Father accepts Him. If God accepts Jesus, then God shows us His righteousness by accepting us (Romans 3:26). If we see how righteous that He is through His acceptance of us, then we have an insight into the righteousness of God.

God spoke through Micah, stating that Israel could know how righteous that God was by remembering the story of Balaam and Balak. Balak was the king of Moab, and he watched as the nation of Israel marched past his kingdom in the book of Numbers. He consulted with the wizard Balaam to place a curse on God’s people as they were encamped in the valley, taking Balaam to a high mountain to show him a fourth part of the camp. Balaam agreed to do it for the money, but found that every time that he opened his mouth to curse God’s people a blessing came out instead. What God has blessed, no man can curse!

After repeated attempts at cursing God’s people, Balaam made this very telling statement about how God views His own:

“He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them” (Numbers 23:21).

Even though God’s people had complained over lack of water in chapter 20, and had mocked God’s provision of manna in chapter 21, God still sees no iniquity in Jacob or perverseness in Israel. How can this be? Surely not everyone in the camp of Israel had no sin in their life. Remember, Israel has just put the brazen serpent on a pole in chapter 21 and all who looked upon it were healed. That serpent was a type of the cursed Christ at Calvary, of which all who look upon will be saved. Because Christ took the curse, we CANNOT BE CURSED! Thus, when God looked down into the camp of Israel he saw no sin in Jacob or perverseness in Israel.

God specifically uses “Jacob” and “Israel” in His description, though we know that they are the same person. Jacob means “supplanter” or “heel-catcher”. In other words, he was a cheat by nature. Israel means “prince with God”. One represents the hopeless, while the other represents the hopeful. Notice that God saw no sin in Jacob, though by his name he is a cheater. No matter what stage of development that you are in while living for Christ, Jesus is in you as the hope of glory, and you are viewed as sinless in God’s eyes. Praise God!

See how righteous that He is in you by remembering that what God has blessed, no man can curse. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

• Paul White Ministries wants to wish our Music Director Michael White a very happy birthday today!

Prosperity

3 John 2

I spent many of the early years of my ministry attacking while I preached. What I mean by that is that I felt that part of the job of a gospel preacher was to be a sheriff against all of the ills of the pulpit. If someone preached something that I didn’t think was right, I felt that I had an obligation to go after not only the message but in some cases, the man behind the message.

There are so many things wrong with that that I won’t even begin to list them, but I will point out that oftentimes I was attacking things that I did not understand. As well, I was going after things that I had not even studied. I was preaching from the angle of what my circle of influence had taught me was right, and I was interpreting the Bible the same way. This is a dangerous and loose way to live and preach because it has no room for you to change your mind and even less room to be wrong.

I can’t put my finger on the moment that it changed, but I thank God that it did! He brought a revelation of His love to me and I have never been the same. I know now that I know very little and that is more liberating than I ever imagined that it could be.

One of the messages that I hammered hard against, and yet never studied, was the message of the “prosperity gospel”. First of all, I believe that term is misleading. There is no “gospel” (good news), but the “gospel of Jesus Christ”. The prosperity message is not the gospel, only Jesus’ finished work is the gospel. In that case, the question should probably be phrased, “What is the ‘prosperity message’?”

The Bible is decidedly clear that God wants you to prosper. John prayed for the reader of his third epistle to “prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth” (verse 2). He had a solid confidence that the soul of a believer is prosperous, not because of their works, but because of Jesus’ finished work. He desired that every other area of their life line up with their souls.

Paul told the church that if we will receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness that we should reign in life through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17). This says nothing of reigning in heaven, but rather on this earth. The believer was not saved to simply look forward to dying! We were saved to have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).

I shrank away (and still do for that matter), from people placing the emphasis on what we get out of Christianity, rather than on Jesus and His finished work. Much of the prosperity preaching and teaching focuses the believer on the results of the covenant rather than on the Jesus of the covenant. We need not look toward what Jesus can give but rather toward Jesus as the “author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).

God wants you prosperous, and He wants you to reign in life, but He wants YOU even more! Seek the righteousness that is found only in knowing Christ and all of these other things will be added to you. True, biblical prosperity lies in exposing the believer to a constant stream of the love of God, showing the loveliness of Christ, and glorifying His finished work. Accept this, and ready yourself for God’s prosperity.

The Righteous Judgment of God

2 Thessalonians 1:4-12

Much is made in the pulpit of the “righteous judgment of God”. It is often preached as a warning against sin in the church, stated that it will come, “and that right early”, if we do not remove sin from the camp.

The statement is used twice in the entire Word of God, coming first in Romans 2:5, “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” The context of this usage is that if you “obey the truth” (verse 8), you will be spared, but if you do not, then God will judge both Jew and Gentile with “no respect of persons” (verse 11). Simply stated, Paul is talking to sinners.

The second and final usage of “the righteous judgment of God” is found in 2 Thessalonians 1:5. In other places, this same Greek word for “judgment” is rendered “damnation”, “accusation” and “condemnation”. We know that there is no condemnation to the believer because of their faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:1), and we know that God cannot be righteous if He condemns a Christian (Romans 3:26). Therefore, we must look at the context to see if it is the believer that is being judged.

Paul starts by speaking of the persecutions and tribulations that the church had been enduring (verse 4), and then verse 5 says, “Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God”. Look closely at your Bible, as the words “Which is” are italicized, meaning that they were added by the translators. These two words seem to emphasize the persecutions and tribulations as being from God as judgment to the believer, however, the next verse tells us that “it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you” (2 Thessalonians 1:6). God’s righteousness is not in judging the saint with persecutions and tribulations; that is the job of “them that trouble you”. God is righteous however, in paying back those who trouble you, for “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord” (Romans 12:19).

By verse 8, Paul is now showing us the wrath of God towards them who reject Him. Even this judgment is not until the return of Christ, but it includes “flaming fire”, and “everlasting destruction” (verse 9). None of these judgments are aimed at the believer. In fact, Christ will come to “be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe” (1:10).

Believer, do not blame your sickness, or your problems on the righteous judgment of God. He is not “putting you through it” to teach you a lesson. These lies about God have been spread for centuries by Satan, who wants the believer to doubt that God loves them and that He is truly on their side. He has prepared all good things for you, not wicked things. He does not hurt, maim and kill His children so that they will obey Him. You wouldn’t do these things to your child, and God will not do these things to you.

If you are in the midst of persecutions and trials, appeal to your Father for rest and comfort, but do not condemn yourself, believing that God is paying you back. You may very well be suffering for the kingdom’s sake, but that is because the enemy hates you, and does not want you free.
Take your stand in the liberty of Christ today, confident that God is not against you, but for you!

Know the Righteousness of the Lord

Micah 6:5

Most Christians claim that they know what it takes to be righteous. Things such as reading your Bible, having a daily prayer time, giving in the offering and going to church regularly will usually find their way onto the list. All of these things are great, but none of them make us righteous. These things come from those who are righteous, but they in no way improve upon their righteousness.

Believers are made righteous because Jesus was made to be sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our right standing with God comes now, not because we keep all of the law perfectly, but because Jesus did, and the Father accepts Him. If God accepts Jesus, then God shows us His righteousness by accepting us (Romans 3:26). If we see how righteous that He is through His acceptance of us, then we have an insight into the righteousness of God.

God spoke through Micah, stating that Israel could know how righteous that God was by remembering the story of Balaam and Balak. Balak was the king of Moab, and he watched as the nation of Israel marched past his kingdom in the book of Numbers. He consulted with the wizard Balaam to place a curse on God’s people as they were encamped in the valley, taking Balaam to a high mountain to show him a fourth part of the camp. Balaam agreed to do it for the money, but found that every time that he opened his mouth to curse God’s people a blessing came out instead. What God has blessed, no man can curse!

After repeated attempts at cursing God’s people, Balaam made this very telling statement about how God views His own:

“He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them” (Numbers 23:21).

Even though God’s people had complained over lack of water in chapter 20, and had mocked God’s provision of manna in chapter 21, God still sees no iniquity in Jacob or perverseness in Israel. How can this be? Surely not everyone in the camp of Israel had no sin in their life. Remember, Israel has just put the brazen serpent on a pole in chapter 21 and all who looked upon it were healed. That serpent was a type of the cursed Christ at Calvary, of which all who look upon will be saved. Because Christ took the curse, we CANNOT BE CURSED! Thus, when God looked down into the camp of Israel he saw no sin in Jacob or perverseness in Israel.

God specifically uses “Jacob” and “Israel” in His description, though we know that they are the same person. Jacob means “supplanter” or “heel-catcher”. In other words, he was a cheat by nature. Israel means “prince with God”. One represents the hopeless, while the other represents the hopeful. Notice that God saw no sin in Jacob, though by his name he is a cheater. No matter what stage of development that you are in while living for Christ, Jesus is in you as the hope of glory, and you are viewed as sinless in God’s eyes. Praise God!

See how righteous that He is in you by remembering that what God has blessed, no man can curse. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

• Paul White Ministries wants to wish our Music Director Michael White a very happy birthday today!

Prosperity

3 John 2

I spent many of the early years of my ministry attacking while I preached. What I mean by that is that I felt that part of the job of a gospel preacher was to be a sheriff against all of the ills of the pulpit. If someone preached something that I didn’t think was right, I felt that I had an obligation to go after not only the message but in some cases, the man behind the message.

There are so many things wrong with that that I won’t even begin to list them, but I will point out that oftentimes I was attacking things that I did not understand. As well, I was going after things that I had not even studied. I was preaching from the angle of what my circle of influence had taught me was right, and I was interpreting the Bible the same way. This is a dangerous and loose way to live and preach because it has no room for you to change your mind and even less room to be wrong.

I can’t put my finger on the moment that it changed, but I thank God that it did! He brought a revelation of His love to me and I have never been the same. I know now that I know very little and that is more liberating than I ever imagined that it could be.

One of the messages that I hammered hard against, and yet never studied, was the message of the “prosperity gospel”. First of all, I believe that term is misleading. There is no “gospel” (good news), but the “gospel of Jesus Christ”. The prosperity message is not the gospel, only Jesus’ finished work is the gospel. In that case, the question should probably be phrased, “What is the ‘prosperity message’?”

The Bible is decidedly clear that God wants you to prosper. John prayed for the reader of his third epistle to “prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth” (verse 2). He had a solid confidence that the soul of a believer is prosperous, not because of their works, but because of Jesus’ finished work. He desired that every other area of their life line up with their souls.

Paul told the church that if we will receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness that we should reign in life through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17). This says nothing of reigning in heaven, but rather on this earth. The believer was not saved to simply look forward to dying! We were saved to have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).

I shrank away (and still do for that matter), from people placing the emphasis on what we get out of Christianity, rather than on Jesus and His finished work. Much of the prosperity preaching and teaching focuses the believer on the results of the covenant rather than on the Jesus of the covenant. We need not look toward what Jesus can give but rather toward Jesus as the “author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).

God wants you prosperous, and He wants you to reign in life, but He wants YOU even more! Seek the righteousness that is found only in knowing Christ and all of these other things will be added to you. True, biblical prosperity lies in exposing the believer to a constant stream of the love of God, showing the loveliness of Christ, and glorifying His finished work. Accept this, and ready yourself for God’s prosperity.

The Righteous Judgment of God

2 Thessalonians 1:4-12

Much is made in the pulpit of the “righteous judgment of God”. It is often preached as a warning against sin in the church, stated that it will come, “and that right early”, if we do not remove sin from the camp.

The statement is used twice in the entire Word of God, coming first in Romans 2:5, “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” The context of this usage is that if you “obey the truth” (verse 8), you will be spared, but if you do not, then God will judge both Jew and Gentile with “no respect of persons” (verse 11). Simply stated, Paul is talking to sinners.

The second and final usage of “the righteous judgment of God” is found in 2 Thessalonians 1:5. In other places, this same Greek word for “judgment” is rendered “damnation”, “accusation” and “condemnation”. We know that there is no condemnation to the believer because of their faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:1), and we know that God cannot be righteous if He condemns a Christian (Romans 3:26). Therefore, we must look at the context to see if it is the believer that is being judged.

Paul starts by speaking of the persecutions and tribulations that the church had been enduring (verse 4), and then verse 5 says, “Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God”. Look closely at your Bible, as the words “Which is” are italicized, meaning that they were added by the translators. These two words seem to emphasize the persecutions and tribulations as being from God as judgment to the believer, however, the next verse tells us that “it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you” (2 Thessalonians 1:6). God’s righteousness is not in judging the saint with persecutions and tribulations; that is the job of “them that trouble you”. God is righteous however, in paying back those who trouble you, for “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord” (Romans 12:19).

By verse 8, Paul is now showing us the wrath of God towards them who reject Him. Even this judgment is not until the return of Christ, but it includes “flaming fire”, and “everlasting destruction” (verse 9). None of these judgments are aimed at the believer. In fact, Christ will come to “be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe” (1:10).

Believer, do not blame your sickness, or your problems on the righteous judgment of God. He is not “putting you through it” to teach you a lesson. These lies about God have been spread for centuries by Satan, who wants the believer to doubt that God loves them and that He is truly on their side. He has prepared all good things for you, not wicked things. He does not hurt, maim and kill His children so that they will obey Him. You wouldn’t do these things to your child, and God will not do these things to you.

If you are in the midst of persecutions and trials, appeal to your Father for rest and comfort, but do not condemn yourself, believing that God is paying you back. You may very well be suffering for the kingdom’s sake, but that is because the enemy hates you, and does not want you free.
Take your stand in the liberty of Christ today, confident that God is not against you, but for you!