TWO KINDS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
#1.) The first kind of righteousness is the righteousness that Jesus put inside of us...
2 Cor 5:17 & 21(NIV)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
. . .
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that IN HIM WE MIGHT BECOME THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. YAY ! ! !
More about how Jesus did it:
John 3:14 (NIV)
14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up . . .
Here is what Jesus was talking about:
Num. 21:7-9 (NIV)
7 The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people.
8 The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live."
9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.
#2.) The second kind of righteousness is largely missing in the United States of America:
Dr. James Dobson, during his radio broadcast, “Focus On The Family”, played an audio tape of Dr. Lawrence White encourage Christians to be involved in the running of our nation (voting, working against abortion, running for office, etc.) (Those of you who have internet connectivity, set your browser to www.family.org, select “Hear It Now”, select “Recent Broadcasts”, then select Jan 21, 1999.) In his dynamic presentation, Rev. White told how Hitler came to power in Germany while the church remained silent and stood by ... and lost everything.
The most important thing that Rev. White said was that a French nobleman (I couldn’t spell his name) came to America in the 1830’s to discover the source of America’s strength. He said “I sought the key to the greatness and the genius of America in her harbors, in her fertile fields, in her boundless forests, in her rich mines, in her matchless constitution, but it was not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness that I understood the secret of her genius and her power. America is great, (he said), because America is good ... and if America ever ceases to be good, then America will cease to be great !” Remember WHY people CAME to America in the FIRST PLACE ! ! !
Prov 14:34 (NIV)
34 RIGHTEOUSNESS exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.
Sad fact ... in the last presidential election, the Christian coalition conducted exit-polls and those polls told them that 29% of everyone who voted identified themselves as a born-again Christian who participated regularly in the life of their church, but of that 29%, 36% of the Christians voted for Bill Clinton, the most pro-abortion president in the history of these United States :(
Sad fact ... the amount of Christian people who cast their vote this past November DECREASED !
We need to:
Mark 12:17 (KJV)
17 . . . (Jesus said) Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. . .
That means DO YOUR PART when it comes to this government “by the people” .. JESUS said so ! ! !
That means VOTE ACCORDING to what’s RIGHT - NOT for who may offer you a bigger paycheck ! !
Finally, if you will follow these 10 COMMANDMENTS, you will live RIGHTEOUSLY in the eyes of our government (Ceaser) AND in the eyes of our God:
Exod 20:1-17 (NIV)
1 And God spoke all these words:
2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 #1.) "You shall have no other gods before me.
4 #2.) "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
...
7 #3.) "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 #4.) "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
...
12 #5.) "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
13 #6.) "You shall not murder.
14 #7.) "You shall not commit adultery.
15 # 8.) "You shall not steal.
16 #9.) "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 #10.) "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
We New Testament Christians understand that love is the fulfillment of the 10 commandments, but we need to be reminded of the DETAILS of these commandments that we are fulfilling!!