In the
Old
Testament most.(not
all).people
believed that they were rewarded for their works.(see
'Faith and Works');
that is, do bad, and God will punish you. Do good and it was then their.(the
peoples).righteousness:.Deuteronomy
6:25; 2Samuel 22:21,25;
1Kings
8:32.
Sadly many spiritually inclined
persons who are into religion still think this way today; that is, that
sin forgiveness depends upon their works of good in order to be forgiven,
a sort of 'balancing evil deeds with good works'. Perhaps the preachers
who rant and rave
at them from the pulpits
have never heard of Romans 3:24.
However, sin no longer counts
because of Him and Him only:.1John
2:2 "And he is the propitiation
for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole
world." 1John 2:12 "I write unto you,
little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake."
No wonder some peoples' self
satisfied lives lack power! They feel that because they keep the commandments,
or follow the legalistic.tenets
of their particular religion, attend
church and have their church friends over for Sunday dinner that they
are doing all that is necessary!.Luke
14:12-14 "Then said he also to him that bade him, When you make a dinner
or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen,
nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid you again and a recompence
be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed,
the lame, the blind. And you shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense
you. For you shall be recompensed at the resurrection
of the just."
David
in the Old
Testament under the old
covenant understood the righteousness of forgiveness by grace, not
sacrifice and that the Mosaic Law with its
rules and regulations and sacrifices were only for a carnal
people, a carnal people who back them had agreed.(Exodus
24:3).to
follow a lot of things to have the Creator on their side, to be the Creator's
physical people and get all the good things the Creator promised, but they
failed miserably at every turn soon after having heard and agreeing to
follow the rules and regulations that the Creator spoke to them, spoke
to them out of fire. They had
agreed to it all mostly because of fear for their physical lives as
they just didn't have the spiritual heart the Creator wanted them to have,
because carnal minds have carnal goals. But that was as it should be back
then, as a history lesson was being written for those who would later come
on the scene:.1Corinthians
10:11. Why?
The Creator allowed this
lesson
of history to show that rules and regulations can never change the
nature of man and man's nature needed changing, but the keeping of all
these rules, regulations, etc.
only makes it appear the surface. And, what was on the surface of their
having been exposed to these rules, never sank into them to do much good:.Exodus
19:7,8; 24:3; Deuteronomy
5:22-33.
In order to receive Creator's
promised blessings back then, the ancient Israelites opted
for adherence
to His old covenant laws of physical obedience, physical because it was
never to be a thing of the heart. And the people failed here miserably
with their agreement.
To help them have an
ordered society, the Mosaic Laws of the old
covenant comprising various rules and regulations and penalties, provided
the way for the seriousness of their faults to be recognized as not
in line with the Creator's nature and to provide a way for these faults.(sins).to
be atoned for.(sacrifices
back then).so
they.(and
us today who would look back for lessons of the past:.1Corinthians
10:11).would
understand the importance of keeping in a right stead
with their Creator. But they didn't. They constantly complained, even to
the point of wanting God completely out of their lives:.Jeremiah
44:16,17.
David
understood this Creator like few others in Old Testament times. David understood
that once God is in one's heart, all the things under the old
covenant that one was supposed to do, were not then required:.Psalms
40:6-10; Hebrews 10:5,8. It's
the heart that makes the difference. You can't change a pig's habits by
making it look like a deer.
David knew He was righteous
even
though he still was a sinner.(like
us).by
the law's measurement:.Psalms
40:12.
His son Solomon
wrote about the righteousness that he understood, no doubt, having learned
much from his dad. Solomon said the path of righteousness is the way to
real.joyful
living, both here and on into
eternity:.Proverbs
11:19; 12:28;
21:21.
Paul
too understood this:.Romans
5:21;
8:10. This was all far
and away from the over 600 rules, etc. of the Mosaic Law. And even further
from the six and a half million pages of the cabal's concocted 800,000
laws, rules, statutes, regulations, etc., all designed to suppress,
harass and depress
humans in various ways.
Truly, David, Solomon and
Paul
were aware of
a
higher form of righteousness that we today need also to embrace: Galatians
2:21; Romans 3:21; 8:3;
John
1:17; Galatians 3:24-26.
They were beacons
of the past illuminating
what was a new way back then, which light shines into today's era.
This higher form of righteousness
comes from a higher consciousness, a consciousness of a higher law than
the previously known laws.(*);
a consciousness that the Creator wanted us all along to have, a consciousness
that makes us acceptable to Him.(Ephesians
1:6 "To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made
us accepted in the beloved."),
having been sanctified by the Holy Spirit:.Romans
15:16.
The higher form of righteousness
always involves the Great Infinite One's nature.(1John
4:8,16).in
our hearts:.Hebrews
8:10;
10:16. This is how the
Creator is reproducing Himself; in the individuals that we are here. That's
why
you're here.
Hebrews
8:10 also shows that it is Creator who is responsible for changing
us, for moving us forward into
higher consciousness after having wanted and accepted Emmanuel the
Christ's nature of love into our hearts; moving us toward a resurrected
life, a resurrected life here and now.(John
11:25; Ephesians 2:4,5).for
those of us still living and a resurrected life for those
you can bring back who have already passed on.
In the higher consciousness
realm, called the kingdom of God which
is within you, you'll have a life of power,
power to greet, face and surmount
every thing in life that comes your way, comes your way so that you grow
more:.John
15:2 "...every branch that beareth fruit, he purges it, that it may
bring forth more fruit."
This is so that you can get
the highest reward possibly for you. Your job is to be responsive:.Ephesians
5:14. His job is your job. His job is to save the world:.John
3:17. That's what He wants. You are in
Christ.
Those in the
new
heavens and new Earth are there because of the righteousness of Christ
having been accepted by them:.2Peter
3:13.
