Right Living
There is way too much to expound on this subject, for its breadth, depth and heights are so incredibly endlessly vast, that it would probably take an Eternity to unravel and to try to comprehend even a small part, but then from this side of Eternity, we can at least shine a light on what is revealed to us in scripture. Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Habakkuk 2:4 “Behold, his soul [which] is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.” 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.” Romans 14:21-23 “[It is] good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor [anything] whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. Hast thou faith? have [it] to thyself before God. Happy [is] he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because [he eateth] not of faith: for whatsoever [is] not of faith is sin.” 1 John 3:4 “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” Deuteronomy 6:5 “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” Now if we take “Love” to be the ‘God’ side of the equation, then ‘Selfishness’ has to be the exact opposite, a devilish tool of Satan, a thing that leads into sin and death, “for whatsoever [is] not of faith is sin.”
Quote; Constant, self-denying benevolence is God’s remedy for the cankering sins of selfishness and covetousness. God has arranged systematic benevolence to sustain His cause and relieve the necessities of the suffering and needy. He has ordained that giving should become a habit, that it may counteract the dangerous and deceitful sin of covetousness. Continual giving starves covetousness to death. Systematic benevolence is designed in the order of God to tear away treasures from the covetous as fast as they are gained, and to consecrate them to the Lord, to whom they belong. {AH 371} Quote; “The evil that led to Peter’s fall and that shut out the Pharisee from communion with God is proving the ruin of thousands today. There is nothing so offensive to God or so dangerous to the human soul as pride and self-sufficiency. Of all sins it is the most hopeless, the most incurable.” {COL 155} Romans 16:26 “But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:” Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” If you can see it, then it might not be “Faith,” it could be presumption, lustful desires, sin clothed in a myriad of other disguises, for the only true source is faith in God, Romans 10:17 “So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Quote; “When God pardons the sinner, remits the punishment he deserves, and treats him as though he had not sinned, He receives him into divine favor, and justifies him through the merits of Christ’s righteousness. The sinner can be justified only through faith in the atonement made through God’s dear Son, who became a sacrifice for the sins of the guilty world. No one can be justified by any works of his own. He can be delivered from the guilt of sin, from the condemnation of the law, from the penalty of transgression, only by virtue of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ. Faith is the only condition upon which justification can be obtained, and faith includes not only belief but trust… Many concede that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world, but at the same time they hold themselves away from Him, and fail to repent of their sins, fail to accept of Jesus as their personal Saviour. Their faith is simply the assent of the mind and judgment to the truth; but the truth is not brought into the heart, that it might sanctify the soul and transform the character” {1SM 389}
Quote; “The faith that is unto salvation is not a casual faith, it is not the mere consent of the intellect, it is belief rooted in the heart, that embraces Christ as a personal Saviour, assured that He can save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by Him. To believe that He will save others, but will not save you is not genuine faith; but when the soul lays hold upon Christ as the only hope of salvation, then genuine faith is manifested. This faith leads its possessor to place all the affections of the soul upon Christ; his understanding is under the control of the Holy Spirit, and his character is molded after the divine likeness. His faith is not a dead faith, but a faith that works by love, and leads him to behold the beauty of Christ, and to become assimilated to the divine character. . . The whole work is the Lord’s from the beginning to the end. The perishing sinner may say: “I am a lost sinner; but Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost. He says, ‘I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance’ (Mark 2:17). I am a sinner, and He died upon Calvary’s cross to save me. I need not remain a moment longer unsaved. He died and rose again for my justification, and He will save me now. I accept the forgiveness He has promised.” {NL 22} Quote; “Those who are justified by faith must have a heart to keep the way of the Lord. It is evidence that a man is not justified by faith when his works do not correspond to his profession. James says, “Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was his faith made perfect?” (James 2:22). The faith that does not produce good works does not justify the soul. “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only” (James 2:24). “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness” (Romans 4:3). {NL 28} 1 Corinthians 4:9 “For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.” 1 Corinthians 10:31 “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” Quote; “No man, woman, or youth can attain to Christian perfection and neglect the study of the Word of God. By carefully and closely searching His Word we shall obey the injunction of Christ, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” John 5:39. This search enables the student to observe closely the divine Model. {FLB 224} This makes for “Right Living,” pure and active thoughts and deeds, this is “Righteousness by Faith” do you have it right now? If not, then seek now, Jesus is our help and guide. Quote; “He [the world’s Redeemer] requires us to perform only those duties that will lead our steps to heights of bliss to which the disobedient can never attain. The true, joyous life of the soul is to have Christ formed within, the hope of glory.” {FLB 226} Do you have “A Heavenly state of mind?” John 3:30 “He must increase, but I [must] decrease.” Quote; “He does not exalt and honour the great ones of the world, who are flattered and applauded; but He calls upon His chosen, peculiar people who love and serve Him, to come unto Him and ask, and He will give them the bread of life, and endow them with the water of life, which shall be in them as a well of water springing up unto everlasting life.” {1SM 138} Remember that “Faith” works by ‘Love’ and this purifies the soul, have Faith. 2 Peter 1:5-10 “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make [you that ye shall] neither [be] barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.” Right living comes directly from living right, let us therefore live righteously. 2 Peter 1:10 “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:”
