Thursday, December 8, 2011

Are You Righteous?

Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. -- Matthew 1:19

How would you define a righteous man? The dictionary tells us that to be righteous is to be morally right or morally justifiable. So a righteous man is one who is morally right.

I always think of Abraham when I think of righteousness. In Romans 4, Paul tells us that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. Did Abraham stumble along the way? Absolutely. But he was a good man, a righteous man who loved God and sought to follow Him.

The Bible tells us very little about Joseph. We know he was a carpenter. We know God chose him to be Jesus’ earthly father. But what else do we really know about this man who played such an important role in our Savior’s life?

We know he was a righteous man. A good man. A man of faith. A man of mercy.

Joseph was pledged to be married to a woman who was pregnant. How do you think he felt when he found out? Angry? Humiliated? Betrayed? He could have accused Mary publicly and watched as she was stoned to death. But he was a righteous man and he chose not to expose her to public disgrace.

How would you have reacted? Probably not the same. Not if you’re normal and you’re honest. We’re human and we want to punish those who hurt us. But not Joseph. He offered mercy when others would have demanded vengeance.

It was after this that an angel from God appeared to Joseph in a dream. The angel explained that Mary’s baby was conceived from the Holy Spirit and that Joseph should go ahead and marry her. Joseph believed and he did. Joseph was a righteous man. A man of faith.

We don’t know a great deal about Joseph. But we know he showed mercy rather than seek vengeance. We know he demonstrated faith rather than walk away from something that seemed so unbelievable.

Joseph was a righteous man. What about you?

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

God’s Truth Sets Us Free

For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, so God declared him to be righteous.”

-- Romans 4:3

But people are declared righteous because of their faith, not because of their work.

-- Romans 4:5

We can’t earn salvation. Most of us know that. So why do we keep trying? Why do we find it so hard to accept the grace God has offered us? Why does the idea that Jesus Christ died horribly on a cross for you and me seem so far beyond what we can comprehend and accept?

Everything about what God has done for us, what Jesus has given us, goes against human nature. Obviously. God is, well, God. We can’t possibly comprehend His ways. Yet we try. We want to understand what we can’t possibly understand.

How can we believe we’re really saved, that we really have received the gift of eternal life, if we can’t accept that the gift comes without strings? Really. We believe so therefore we are saved. Faith. That’s all it takes.

We want to earn our salvation but we can never, ever be good enough to earn an eternity with God. So we want to know why, and how, God could love us so much that He’s willing to send His Son to die for us. In our world of people always expecting something in return for every good deed, it just doesn’t seem possible that the Creator of the universe would do something so loving and kind for those who can’t begin to deserve it.

But a funny thing happens when we slowly do begin to accept His gift. We want to do good. We want to be kind and loving and generous. While our deeds can’t save us, we want to please God. We want those we encounter each day to see Jesus’ light shining out from us.

Beth Moore made a wonderful observation in a DVD study. She said that our actions show our true belief systems. When we don’t believe ourselves worthy to accept God’s gift, we fall back into our old ways again. Self-sabotage, if you will. We know we aren’t worthy so we behave accordingly. It’s when we let go of that belief that we are truly free.

“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” -- John 8:32