"The Two Kinds of Righteousness"

"And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:" - Philip. 3:9

The word "righteousness" is defined by Webster's dictionary as follows:

"Adhering to moral principles; ... justification, rightfulness, integrity, justice, equity, faithfulness, godliness."

According to God and His written Word (the Holy Bible), there are only two kinds of righteousness: ours and God's, and the two cannot be mixed (although many try!). One must be able to attain to God's righteousness, or he cannot dwell in His Presence [which is so holy and pure that He is likened unto "a consuming Fire" (see Heb. 12:29)].
The two kinds of righteousness are described very plainly in the scripture above, but before we look in detail at this scripture, let's focus on ... God's righteousness, and what it entails:

God's righteousness is ensconced in "The 10 Commandments", found in Exodus chapter 20. The 10 Commandments are many times referred to in the Bible as "the law". This basically is God's standard of morality, and that of which most legal systems are based upon in human civilization. To the degree that these commandments are kept is the degree of peace and prosperity in any society. No one person has kept, or can keep, each of these commandments to perfection (no person except for One, Who we shall discuss later), and James 2:10 declares ... "...whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of (it) all." Let us now look at each of these commandments, and see how you have done in "being a good person".
The following is derived from Ray Comfort's "Way of the Master" web site:

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#1. "You shall have no other Gods before Me." (Ex. 20:3)

Have you always put God first in your life? Jesus said to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. So much, that your love for your parents, brothers, sisters, friends, and even your own life is like hatred compared to your love and devotion for God. (Lk. 14:26). Have you ever failed to put Him first in your life? guilty or innocent

#2. "You shall not make for yourself any idol." (Ex. 20:4)

Who is God to you? Is He only a God of love and mercy Who would never judge anyone and never cast anyone into hell? According to the Bible, this is not true, and you've created a god in your own mind that you're more comfortable with. God calls this IDOLATRY. The Bible warns that idolaters will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. (Eph. 5:5) guilty or innocent

#3. "You shall not take the Name of God in vain." (Ex. 20:7)

Have you ever used God's Name as a curse word, or even in a derogatory manner showing disgust for something? The Name of the God Who gave you life, your family, and everything precious to you? If so, you are a BLASPHEMER, and the Bible says "God will not hold him guiltless who takes the Name of the Lord in vain." Have you ever broken this commandment? guilty or innocent

#4. "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy." (Ex. 20:8)

God commands that we set aside one day in seven to rest from our labors. Have you EVER been guilty of breaking this commandment? guilty or innocent

#5. "Honor your father and mother." (Ex. 20:12)

Have you ALWAYS honored your parents in a way that's pleasing in the sight of God? Ask Him to remind you of the sins of your youth. You may have forgotten them, but God hasn't.
guilty or innocent

#6. "You shall not murder." (Ex. 20:13)

Jesus warned... "Whoever is angry with his brother without cause is in danger of the judgment (Matt. 5:22), and the Bible says, "He who hates his brother IS A MURDERER." (1 Jhn. 3:15). God sees hatred in the heart to be as wicked as murder. We can violate His law by attitude and intent. guilty or innocent

#7. "You shall not commit adultery." (Ex. 20:14)

Jesus warned, "...whoever looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Have you EVER loooked at another person with lust? The Bible says that adulterers will not enter the kingdom of heaven (1 Cor. 6:9). guilty or innocent

#8. "You shall not steal." (Ex. 20:15)

Have you EVER stolen anything? (even if it was something small?) Have you ever taken anything that belonged to someone else? If you have, that makes you a THIEF. guilty or innocent

#9. "You shall not lie." (Ex. 20:16)

Have you EVER told a lie? Then you are.... a LIAR. The Bible warns that ALL liars will have their part in the Lake of Fire (Rev. 21:8). guilty or innocent

#10. "You shall not covet." (Ex. 20:17)

This means we should never desire anything that belongs to someone else. Have you EVER broken this commandment? guilty or innocent

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So how did you do on that test? Perhaps you have observed other people, including the church hypocrites, and have given yourself a pat on the back that you are not nearly as bad as they are! But, unfortunately, you will be judged by GOD's standard (above), and not your own "comparison" method!
Now, as promised, let's look once again at that scripture mentioned at the beginning of this blog, specifically the first type of righteousness that is mentioned.... "...my own righteousness, which is of the law...." What does this mean?? It means our own efforts to keep THE Law (the 10 commandments) or laws that we, our church, or denomination, etc. devise as a means of righteousness (ie.: moral principles to be "good" or to earn favor with God). Let's look at some examples.... LAWS THAT WE MAKE UP: "I must read the Bible x amount of minutes each day. I didn't do that today, so God will frown on that." "Oh, I didn't read my Bible yet today; I'm not as strong spiritually now." "Uh,oh; I didn't PRAY yet today, so I won't have as much victory." "I forgot my tithe this week. God is displeased, I am in sin, and out of favor with Him." "I didn't give God my best today, so I am not as spiritual."
What do all of these things have in common? ..... What I can DO (or don't do), right? Now to some people, this may "blow some circuits" and be a slam to their pride, but... God is not interested in what we can do or (avoid doing)to be good and to be spiritual!

"... we are all as an unclean thing, and ALL OUR RIGHTEOUSNESSES ARE AS FILTHY RAGS..." - (Isa. 64:6)

God is only LOOKING AT WHAT HIS SON -JESUS CHRIST- HAS ALREADY DONE- ON THE CROSS, AND YOUR FAITH IN THAT! Are you getting the picture? There's NOTHING you can do to please God. There's only been ONE Person Who could (and did) keep the 10 commandments perfectly, and that is His Son JESUS CHRIST, IN WHOM THE FATHER'S SOUL IS WELL PLEASED (Matt. 3:17).
We can't keep those 10 commandments, and God already knows that. They were given by God to show man just how sinful he is, "our schoolmaster to bring us unto .... CHRIST." (Gal. 3:24)

"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes." - (Rom. 10:4)

And yet, what do most "Christians" try to do? Try to keep those 10 commandments, AND tack on OTHER commandments on top of that, that we make up, or our church, or our denomination- whatever. What an impossible and frustrating way of living! For those of you who do this (and I used to be one of them) you are..... "MISERABLY SAVED" Yes, that's right.
I mean... you can't really be happy with an all-out life of SIN [because you want to sin (could include wanting to YELL AT OR SLAP PEOPLE), but know that you're not allowed to], and you can't be happy with an all-out Life of being a "Jesus fanatic" (oh, because that's too far OUT there!). So you settle for this miserable existence that sinners look at, and say.... "Why would I want to be one of... THOSE?!" And you know something? They're right! No wonder the organized Church in America is such a mess, a laughing-stock of sinners, and a disgrace to God!

THE ORGANIZED CHURCH, FOR THE MOST PART EXCEPT FOR A MINORITY, HAS LEFT THE TRUE GOSPEL: THE MESSAGE OF..... THE CROSS...... FOR DAILY LIVING.

They say, "Yes, Jesus died for me" (correct). But then they say, "Well, that's not sufficient for our daily living, so we need to trust in Christ AND... do this and that. What an insult to God!
According to Galatians 2:21, they "frustrate the grace of God" by tacking on all these "laws"! This effectively "quenches" the Holy Spirit from working in their lives to give them overcoming victory over "the world, the flesh/ SIN, and the devil", because the Holy Spirit of Life is "IN CHRIST JESUS" (Rom. 8:2) (which means THE CROSS OF CHRIST ALONE as our object of faith).
So are we to NOT want to read the Bible, pray, tithe, faithfully attend church, fast, etc.? Of course we are; But not because we have to, but because we want to do it by (the Divine) NATURE as the result of being "IN CHRIST".

"True Christianity is not a state of DOING to become what God wants us to BE. It is a state of BEING which empowers us to DO THAT WHICH WE ALREADY ARE BY FAITH IN CHRIST AND HIS WORK ON THE CROSS."

This is illustrated by Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and the Publican:

"Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are: extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess (SELF-righteousness through works).
And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner (GOD'S righteousness imputed through faith in the atonement). I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." - (Lk. 18:10-14)

I tell you, we all need to maintain the PUBLICAN mindset, or it is SO EASY to slip into the PHARISEE mode!

Yes, if we love Christ, we will keep His Commandments (John 14:15,21); But we will not be able to keep those commandments as long as we have the wrong object of faith (us keeping the commandments and all these other "laws"), rather than Christ and His work on the Cross!)
This is a subtle, yet astronomically important difference! It can mean the difference in our eternal soul. How can I say that? Because (and I've seen it happen, especially with teen-agers) ... a person gets into this "miserably saved" mode, the life of frustrating the grace of God (which most churches foster by their legalism- intentionally or unintentionally), and then after a while of putting up with this lifestyle- they see their former friends having all this fun out in the world. And there they are, living this life of frustration with no real peace and joy. So what do they do? They say.... "What's the use???; I GIVE UP on Christianity altogether if THIS is what it's all about; IT'S TOO HARD!" So (and this is very tragic) they fall from the grace of God (see Gal. 5:4). Now what just happened there? The Church ruined an eternal soul! God has to weep and be very angry at such a situation!

In closing, let us now look at the second type of righteousness mentioned in our key scripture: "....IN HIM..... that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith."
This, my friend, is a Life of "trusting in Jesus and His work on the Cross", PERIOD. When you do this, God just GIVES you HIS righteousness and.... His Divine Nature. This is where you REST, not STRIVE, a Place where.... you are "dwelling in the secret of the Most High", in "the secret of His Presence ", resting, just resting. A PLACE (oh hallelujah!!!) of Divine Life, of supernatural Power, of Light, of bold access to God in prayer, of VICTORY OVER SIN, of liberty, of abundant Life, drinking of those LIVING WATERS from THE WELLS OF SALVATION, of completeness, where THE LORD is your Portion and you are satisfied, of fulness of joy, of.... peace, a Place free of evil, harm and SICKNESS (yes that's right- you don't HAVE to be sick!), a Place of deliverance, of long life, and honor. (Now that's LIVING, my friend!) A Place, a ... REFUGE where you are a part of God's "everlasting Covenant".

"And I will make with them an EVERLASTING COVENANT, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me." - Jer. 32:40

"And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep My judgments, and do them." - Ezek. 36:27

This "everlasting Covenant" is only through... THE CROSS: (1 Cor. 1:17-18,21,23; 2:2; Gal. 3:22-27; Rom. 6:3-6; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 2:13-18; Col. 2:14-15).
"Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith." - (Hab. 2:4)
GOD'S Righteousness (not our's) through faith in Christ and the Cross.... ALONE.

To God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be glory both now and evermore! Amen!