Righteousness by Faith
Luther made a life changing discovery as when he went to translate this verse into the German Language, Romans 1:17 “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” And its companion verse is Galatians 3:11 “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, [it is] evident: for, The just shall live by faith.” You cannot go on a “Pilgrimage,” or offer a sacrifice, sing, pray, give your body to be burned, [1 Corinthians Chapter 13] or do any or much good works, become a Mega-Evangelist, or perform anything, in the vain hope of winning God’s favour, too late, you already have God’s favour, and that is in spite of your wickedness or perceived holiness, pure Godly works are the “Evidence of Salvation” they are not what saves us, Jesus Saves, and the Just shall live by Faith. 2 Timothy 3:5 “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” Quote; “The righteousness by which we are justified is imputed; the righteousness by which we are sanctified is imparted. The first is our title to heaven, the second is our fitness for heaven.” {FLB 116} James 1:2-3 “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing [this], that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” James 2:26 “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Let us dip into this a wee bit and explore, “Righteousness by Faith.” Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean [thing], and all our righteousnesses [are] as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Now this refers to a blood soaked period pad, something that makes one very “Unclean,” so our perceived “Righteousness” is a “Cursing,” and not as a “Blessing.”
Deuteronomy 6:24-25 “And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as [it is] at this day. And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.” 2 Peter 1:1-2 “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,” Romans 5:21 “That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Now let’s unpack “Faith.” Romans 10:17 “So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Habakkuk 2:4 “Behold, his soul [which] is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.” Matthew 9:22 “But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.” Matthew 21:21 “Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this [which is done] to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.” Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” So “Faith” is something that you cannot buy “On-Line,” order a few Kilograms, Litres, Packets or Boxes of it, for Romans 10:17 tells us that “Faith” comes from the Bible, from reading, contemplating, seeing our short-comings, and with Prayer and Repentance, led by the Holy Spirit, we grow stronger, leave off doing useless things, and start doing useful and constructive things. Quote; “A good character must be built up brick by brick, every day growing in proportion to the effort put forth. Those characteristics which they will take to heaven with them must be obtained by the diligent exercise of their own faculties, by improving every advantage Providence gives them, and by connecting with the Source of all wisdom. {5T 130} Quote; “No one can take to heaven his natural and cultivated traits of character. He who has carried these traits with him through his period of probation has misrepresented Christ by acting upon principles which God cannot endorse. The principles of true spiritual life are not understood by those who know the truth, but fail to practice it.” {UL 70}
The Sanctuary that Moses erected in the Wilderness has much to teach, so let us explore. All the furniture in the Courtyard, the Altar of Sacrifice and the laver are all “Brass,” while the Holy and Most Holy Place are all “Gold,” The Lamp Stand, the Table of Shewbread, the Altar of Incense and the Ark of the Covenant, are all Gold, some solid, and some gold plated. Now Gold = God, but Brass is an alloy of copper and tin. Now this verse is very helpful Isaiah 1:25 “And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:” for it depicts tin as relating to dross which is related to sin, so Tin = Sin.” Now in the Ancient Near East, high quality Copper was traded as if it were pure Gold, so in our study, Brass is us, the Copper part is because we are made in the image of God, but now corrupted by the tin of sin. With God in control, we are to be purged of our Dross, our Tin, old things pass away and behold all things become new, sin and sinning are gone, Gold and Godliness are all that is found, Righteousness, God – Righteousness, the Gold of Heaven is all that is to be viewed.1 John 3:4 “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” Tin or Anti – God, is passed away, all things are becoming new, that is Righteousness, when God and Heavenly Righteousness abounds, Through Faith and not of yourselves, we obtain “Righteousness by Faith. Romans 8:38-39 “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Quote; “The righteousness by which we are justified is imputed; the righteousness by which we are sanctified is imparted. The first is our title to heaven, the second is our fitness for heaven.” {FLB 116} You already have “Imputed Righteousness,” gained from Jesus as a “Free Gift,” you cannot buy or earn it, you just already have it. “Imparted Righteousness,” is your fitness to live in Heaven, gained from your daily walking in the Spirit, washed in the Spirit and cleansed by the Blood, Heaven is yours to loose, so please do not waste it and cast it aside as refuse, or God will refuse you access, to things worth way more than what sin offers, let us maintain, “Righteousness by Faith.”
