Articles
Do You Really Want God's Righteousness?
Barbara L. Klika, MSW, Undershepherd, Life Coach
June 2017
But let justice run down like water,
And righteousness like a mighty stream.
Amos 5:24
I do not write to those who remain asleep and unaware in a feel-good kind of religion but to exhort those with “eyes to see” on to righteousness.
Aware, awake people know that time is short. We pray for His Hand to protect the righteous who are in positions of authority to effectively deal with the wickedness He has been exposing. We pray for our own protection. We see that justice/judgment and righteousness are two sides of the same coin: what is welcomed by the righteous is condemned by the wicked. We want to be found in Him, in righteousness, but though this is frightening, we must realize we have strayed from a correct understanding. Just as Messiah had to correct errors the first time He came, so He will again on His return.
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
James 5:16b NKJV
Recognizing inherent truths and ringing declarations, many love to quote OT in support of whatever they are doing. Their reference is too often divorced from the context, and misrepresenting God’s criteria for those He calls His own. In this day, nearing Messiah’s return, we need to heed the Whole Counsel of our God in His context, not ours.
His Name: In Judaism, there is concern not to profane His Name. Traditional Christianity has picked up this practice and substituted titles for His Name. While I understand this concern, I see a problem. By providing substitute words when referring to Him, too many people in America don’t even know His Name. Why is this important?
"I, even I, am the LORD, And there is no savior besides Me.
Isaiah 43:11 NASB
Here, we see the substitute of LORD, for His Name, which is YHWH. There remains some confusion as to the correct pronunciation since Hebrew doesn’t include vowels. Still His Covenant keeping Name is YHWH. Yod Heh Vav Heh, is how the letters are pronounced. In Hebrew it is called The Tetragrammaton.
“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
Psalm 91:14 NKJV
Psalm 91 is beloved by many but few have noticed the promises and the conditions of His protection:
- setting our love on Him and
- knowing His Name.
“Knowing” is more than the fact, but also intimately knowing the unfailing unchanging character inherent in that Name. To set our love on Him means to follow after Him and walk in His ways, not our own. A Hebraic definition of righteousness equates to following the correct path and not turning away. Can we claim His protection if we don’t meet His criteria?
Righteousness: THE standard and correct path of Righteousness is God/YHVH. It is His righteousness we are to be walking in, not our own.
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
James 4:7 NKJV
For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
(Psalm 18:21 RSV)
Messiah Yeshua’s righteousness is wholly contained within the Father’s righteousness by His own account.
"Jesus therefore said, 'When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me,'"
John 8:28
The human leadership standard for righteousness is King David, who is known as a man after God’s own heart…a man who desired HIS righteousness, and repented when his own ideas, pride or ambition got in the way. Israel rallied to honor YHVH whenever a righteous King like David reigned, and all too quickly fell when he was gone. The majority of the “kings of the earth” did not then or now seek YHVH. They will be surprised to learn that Messiah rules them!
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead,
and the ruler over the kings of the earth.
Rev. 1:5 NKJV
I certainly appreciate the cautions of the many authors of Wisconsin Christian Newspaper articles warning against those who have made up their own versions of Christianity. Barna polls confirm the “spiritual but not religious” group as well as the “love Jesus but not the church” group. Their caution for those who assemble various pieces of religious practice and call it “Christianity” is wise but surely, we must also recognize the confusion inherent in institutional Christianity, which is supposed to be the one true faith with all of its many denominations and forms. Honestly, they cannot all be right, though each has pieces of Truth.
Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,
To those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: 2May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.
Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.
Jude 1-3 NASB
I appreciate the indignation of those who cry out and affirm that there are too many --supposedly within Christianity-- who are not adhering to the faith. But in the interest of being fully under the Hand and protection of the Most High God, knowing His Name and His character, and being willing to submit to Him so that He can act within His covenant promises, I urge all to earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints, and no longer be caught up in the misunderstandings of the forefathers that went before us and misdirected Christianity centuries ago. No one now alive is directly responsible but too many alive now rely on the traditions and doctrines of man rather than following specifically what the Word tells us is the path of righteousness. Jeremiah provided warning for us today:
O Lord, my strength and my fortress, My refuge in the day of affliction,
The Gentiles shall come to You From the ends of the earth and say,
“Surely our fathers have inherited lies, Worthlessness and unprofitable things.”
20 Will a man make gods for himself, Which are not gods?
21 “Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know
My hand and My might; And they shall know that My name is the Lord.[YHVH]
Jeremiah 16:19-21 NKJV
As Moses prophesied in Exodus, so the first letter to Peter noted we are called to be a kingdom of priests, helping the people to know what is clean and unclean, righteous and not. It is our duty to call His people back to Him once again, however frightening it is! YHVH, Jesus and David are not “Christians” as it is practiced today. They did not promote pagan practices in the worship of the Most High God, but submitted to Him and His ways, followed after what is written in the Word. They did not practice Sunday worship, nor the use of steeples (a phallic symbol) nor did they combine the practices we associate with Easter or Christmas within the path our God laid out for us. Too much of what passes for Christianity today is nothing more than the latest golden calf, manmade and beloved, but not OF HIM!
So many teach that Jesus changed everything after His Resurrection. If that were the case, He would not meet YHVH’s unchangeable criteria for truth and righteousness. He couldn’t be our Messiah.
I do not want inherited lies. I know His Name and His promises. I want His righteousness and His deliverance.
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