Getting To Know God --- God is RighteousGetting To Know God THE CREATOR CLOCK
Pastor Rory Clark Barah Ministries www.barahministires.com
Hi there!
My name is Rory Clark and I am the Pastor of Barah Ministries…a worldwide Christian Church based in Mesa, AZ
I have a question for you…
What Do You Know About God?
These ten-minute lessons will introduce you to God and will make you aware of some of His attributes. To help you remember the Lord’s attributes, we’ll use The Creator Clock to help you recognize a few of the many things that are unique and special about your CREATOR. Tick Tock…what time is it on the Creator Clock?
CREATOR CLOCK SLIDE It’s Five O’clock…
TODAY’S LESSON God is Righteous
What is righteousness?
If you look at the dictionary definition of righteousness, it says righteousness is…
RIGHTEOUSNESS A word that describes someone who is upright, moral, virtuous, right, genuine, justified, good, honest and fair.
Here’s what I know for sure…that is not a description of me…and that is not a description of you, even on our best days. At best, we could describe ourselves as regularly engaging in “self righteousness” … defined as…
SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS Conduct that is smugly moralistic and completely intolerant of the opinions and behaviors of others.
That’s me…that’s you. But God has feelings about self-righteousness…Isaiah, Chapter 64, Verse 6…
Isaiah 64:6 For all of us have become like a woman who is unclean (menstruating), and all our self-righteous deeds are like a used tampon…
Our self-righteousness is repugnant to God.
The biblical standard of righteousness requires us to match God’s own righteousness, which is absolute perfection in all things…we must match God in every attribute, in every attitude, in every behavior, and in every word. God’s laws, as given in the Bible, not only to describe the Lord’s character, but also they describe the perfect standard to which the Lord holds every creature.
Absolute righteousness is a requirement if you want to live with God forever.
And it’s pretty depressing if you think that every waking moment of every day, you must match God’s own perfection in every attribute, in every attitude, in every behavior, and in every word. I can’t do it! Neither can you.
Thank God that Father that He took care of the righteousness problem for us… Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 21…
Second Corinthians 5:21 God the Father made the Lord Jesus Christ, who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might BECOME the righteousness of God in union with Him.
The fact that the Lord Jesus Christ, our Sovereign God is righteous, means that He is perfect…it means that He is free from sin…it means that He always does the right thing…it means that He is incapable of sin…it means that He is impeccable in every way. And because He is absolute righteousness in His very being…that makes Him absolutely different from us, His creatures, and thus it makes Him completely qualified to evaluate us. God the Father, who has perfect righteousness is perfectly satisfied by His perfect Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Father is ONLY satisfied by the Son’s perfectly satisfactory payment at the Cross on our behalf…the Lord’s shed blood…because Christ is the ONLY payment for sin that has ever mattered to God the Father…and the Lord Jesus Christ has paid for sin once and for all time at the Cross for all of His creatures, believers and unbelievers alike. First John, Chapter 2, Verses 1 and 2…
First John 2:1 My little children (believers in Christ), I (John) am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, and of course we do, we have an Advocate with God the Father…Jesus Christ the ONLY righteous One…
First John 2:2 …and the Lord Himself is the propitiation for our sins (the ONLY perfectly satisfactory payment in the eyes of God the Father); and not for our sins only as believers in Christ, but also for the sins of the whole world (for unbelievers as well).
Your “self-righteous” actions concerning your desire to cover your own sins are irrelevant and insulting to God…a complete waste of your time…the Lord Jesus Christ has your sins covered.
The bible has plenty to say about the Lord’s righteousness…Psalm 48, Verse 10…
Psalm 48:10 As is Your name, O God, so is Your praise to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness.
Psalm 119, Verse 142…
Psalm 119:142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your law is truth.
Proverbs 11, Verse 4…
Proverbs 11:4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.
Proverbs 15, Verse 9…
Proverbs 15:9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but He loves one who pursues righteousness.
Righteousness means God always knows the perfect thing to do, and God always does the perfect thing, especially the thing He does on your behalf!
What does it mean to you if God’s standard of measure is righteousness? Matthew, Chapter 5, Verse 20…
Matthew 5:20 “For I (the Lord Jesus Christ) say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
What the Lord means is that if you don't have the same righteousness that God has, you will not be going tot heaven. Matthew, Chapter 5, Verse 48…
Matthew 5:48 Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Ruh-Roh! The problem is, you are not perfect like your Heavenly Father. Ruh-Roh! You’re doomed! You know you are not perfect. God knows you are not perfect as well…you don’t come to the earth in a state of righteousness…Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 10…
Romans 3:10 …as it is written, “There is no creature who is righteous, not even one…”
…and unfortunately, you can’t manufacture righteousness on your own…Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 23…
Romans 3:23 …for all have sinned and keep on falling short of the glory of God…
The apostle Paul writes, in Romans, Chapter 3, Verses 21 and 22…
Romans 3:21 But now apart from the Mosaic Law the righteousness from God has been made clearly visible, being witnessed to by the Mosaic Law in sacrificial offerings and being witnessed to by the Old Testament Prophets in direct statements…
Romans 3:22 …a righteousness that comes as a gift from God the Father through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for all those who believe (for whosoever); for there is no distinction…
At the moment when you faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life, God give you His own righteousness as a free gift. This is called “imputed” righteousness. When we place our faith in Christ, God credits the perfect righteousness of Christ to our account so that we become perfect in God’s sight. He changes us at that moment. Galatians, Chapter 2, Verse 20…
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives indwelling me; and the resurrection life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me unconditionally and who gave Himself up for me.
God is perfect…He is free from sin…and He wants to give you that same perfection, righteousness as a free gift. Hold out your hands!
Tick Tock…what time is it on The Creator Clock?
CREATOR CLOCK SLIDE
It’s Five O’clock… God is Righteous!
If you like these short lessons, visit our website at www.barahministries.com. That’s www.B-A-R-A-H-ministries.com We have two different one hour lessons per week to edify your spiritual life.
If you like these lessons, share them with your friends.
If you like these lessons, feel free to help us financially so that we can keep providing these lessons free of charge to people all over the world. Thanks very much to those of you who have helped us.
When you give, do it because you have been given to…not because you HAVE TO give…but because you WANT TO give.
Keep on getting to know God.
I’m Pastor Rory Clark.
Pastor Rory Clark Barah Ministries www.barahministires.com |