Self-righteousness:
For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish **their own righteousness**, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
“There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.”
Proverbs 30:12 KJV
We only become washed from our filth or sanctified through the washing of the Word of God and obedience through His word.
“Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”
Matthew 23:28 KJV
“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”
Matthew 23:23 KJV
“But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,”
Matthew 23:5 KJV
They are doing actions to satisfy their “own” self righteousness. They believe they are righteous because they do things but as Jesus said:
“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.”
Matthew 23:25 KJV
Meaning they makes themselves appear outwardly righteous yet their hearts were far from the word of God. They did things for men to see rather than out of a reverent fear and respect of God.
“And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also? But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you. But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.”
Luke 11:39-43 KJV
Jesus said: “All therefore **whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do**; but do not ye **after their works**: for **they say, and do not**. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. **But all their works they do for to be seen of men**: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,”
Matthew 23:3-5 KJV
Phylacteries are the binding they put on their arms and they enlarge the borders of their garments not because it is commanded but because they want to appear righteous unto men. In other words they are self-righteous. You must attain righteousness not to showcase it to man, but to be a light unto man in order that it may lead them to the truth. “No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.”
Luke 11:33 KJV
“Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?”
“Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.”
Proverbs 20:9, 11 KJV
It is God through us who writes on our hearts to walk His paths of righteousness, it is the process of sanctification. The closer we get to God the more set apart we are from the world and it’s lusts, including the lusts of being seen by others as a means to feel praised and admonished. It is only God that gets the glory for the perfect work he does within us, not the works of our own to try to clean the outward appearance of the cup but rather it is the inward cleaning of the cup within that allows the pure actions to flow on the outward.
The Pharisees tried to become righteous by actions only, without having a true relationship with God. They had more of a relationship with their takano or man made laws then they did with the word of God. They uplifted man made religion/laws above the laws of God. That is not what cleanses, but it is God who cleanses us within to begin to walk out his statutes. It is not forced, it simply happens through convictions over time.
“Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”
Matthew 23:28 KJV
“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts.”
Proverbs 21:2 KJV
It is a matter of the heart. All sin and righteousness dwells from the heart and it is only Christ within us that can make that change to walk according to his ways.
“For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.”
Ezra 7:10 KJV
We must prepare our hearts for the sanctification process or the circumcising of the heart that is done by God. Just as Jesus spoke of the sower and the seed the heart or soil must be able to accept and receive. Once it has been received it grows into a righteous fruit that is seen within our actions.
“And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.”
Luke 16:15 KJV
“And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 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. 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. 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.”
Luke 18:9-14 KJV
“For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”
Romans 10:3 KJV
It is God who produces righteousness through the fruit of the Holy Spirit working within a believer who has publicly declared their rebirth through baptism and then undergoes the process of sanctification by the Holy Spirit but it is the believer that must make this choice to step out of his old ways into a refreshed life in Christ. That means turning away from old way of filth to the ways of God, this is the true meaning of repentance — turning back to God and His ways, not our own.
Good and bad are defined in the Bible so are filth and righteousness.
Jesus said: “And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.”
John 8:50 KJV
We are to walk as he walked and all Glory is to go to God for the perfect work he does within us.
“Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.”
John 8:34 KJV
“For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:20 KJV
“But unto them that are contentious, and ***do not obey the truth***, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;”
Romans 2:8-9 KJV
Righteousness of God:
“And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.” 1 John 3:24
“Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; ***not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance***?
But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and ***do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness***, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (***For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.***”
Romans 2:4-5, 7-13 KJV
“And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.”
James 3:18 KJV
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Matthew 6:33 KJV
“Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.”
Psalm 119:142 KJV
“And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.”
Deuteronomy 6:25 KJV
“He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and **righteousness from the God of his salvation**.”
Psalm 24:5 KJV
Righteousness is a gift and fruit given to us as we seek God with our whole heart. But it is only by seeking hi
“I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.”
Job 36:3 KJV
Ascribe: as•cribe ə-skrīb′►
| transitive verb | To regard as arising from a specified cause or source: synonym: attribute. |
| transitive verb | To regard as belonging to or produced by a specified agent, place, or time |
The source of righteousness comes from God.
We can only attain it through abiding in the Word (which is also the Son).
Meditating on His word day and night:
“But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” Psalm 1:2 KJV
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” Joshua 1:8 KJV
Because we must renew our mind (which is the heart or subconscious mind) through the power of His word (His Son).
“Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;” Titus 2:12 KJV
“Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”
Romans 6:13 KJV
“But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”
1 Timothy 4:7-8 KJV
“Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. **Do we then make void the law through faith**? God forbid: yea, **we establish the law.**”
Romans 3:20-22, 25-28, 30-31 KJV
Establish definition: : to institute (something, such as a law) **permanently** by **enactment** or agreement. To make firm or stable. To introduce and cause to grow and multiply.
Agreement is also another name for covenant.
If someone attempts to become righteous strictly by following rules it cannot change the heart at a deeper level.
“But Israel, which followed after the **law of righteousness**, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;”
Romans 9:31-32 KJV
They did not achieve righteousness even though they followed the law of righteousness because they did not have faith or a heart towards God, but only focused on the works of the law (they cleaned the outside of their cups but not the inside) which became a stumbling stone because then it made way for them to follow many man made laws intertwined with the true law of righteousness.
But, when God begins to change a heart at its deepest level, the natural thing that begins to occur is the deep desire to want to obey His commands. Which is why it is said by John:
“And hereby we do **know that we know him**, if we keep his commandments” 1 John 2:3
“He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 2:4
The truth is the word, the word made flesh and the word is the law of righteousness, the entire word. “Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.” Psalm 119:142 KJV
Jesus said: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6 KJV
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 KJV
The word is what Jesus came to bring us back to but it is only through His strength not our own and it is the reason why Paul says:
“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” 2 Corinthians 13:5
Why because we must remain in Him in order for Him to continue His work within us. It is the reason we’re told:
Matthew 24:13
“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
John 15:4
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.”
Philippians 2:12
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
***13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.***
14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
“If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:”
1 John 1:6 KJV
“He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”
Psalm 23:3 KJV
“Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
John 14:23 KJV
“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
John 14:21 KJV
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:”
Hebrews 8:10 KJV
“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?”
Hebrews 10:16, 22, 24, 26-29 KJV
“Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
James 1:21-23, 25-27 KJV
What is the law of liberty?
“If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the **law of liberty**.” James 2:8-12 KJV
——
It was only Christ who was able to fulfill the law therefore it is through Christ that he may lead us to fulfill it through Him, not of our own strength, but of His.
But in order to allow this process to begin we must first crucify our fleshly desires which are rooted in sinful lusts and ask God to sanctify us through the power of His precious Holy Son’s work within us, it is they will he lead us in the paths of righteousness.
“Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.”
Psalm 119:142 KJV
“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Romans 10:10 KJV
God wrote the end from the beginning. This is the understanding of the shadow of things to come mentioned by Paul. “Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” Colossians 2:17 KJV
Just as a shadow cannot exist without a building, the fruits of righteousness cannot exist without the one who worketh it within us. And we see the law of righteousness as a guide and instruction that we may know what is good and Godly as well as a compass to discern if we are truly in the faith or are merely hearers of the word (meaning it has not gone past the consciousness and sunken into the subconscious at which at this level it would be made manifest).
“Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.”
Job 22:21-23 KJV
Like a magnet as you move closer to God, iniquity (sin) moves away from you as is stated in the verse above.
“And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,
Which all are to perish with the using;) after the **commandments and doctrines of men**?”
Colossians 2:19-20, 22 KJV
Jesus came against the commandments of men not against the commandments of God.
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, **Till heaven and earth pass**, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:17-20 KJV
Fulfill: fulfill verb
ful·fill | \ fu̇(l)-ˈfil
1: to put into effect : EXECUTE
b: to meet the requirements of (a business order)
c: to measure up to : SATISFY
fulfil
verb [ T ] mainly UK ( US usually fulfill)
UK /fʊlˈfɪl/ US /fʊlˈfɪl/
-ll-
fulfil verb [T] (MAKE HAPPEN)
C1
to do something that is expected, hoped for, or promised, or to cause it to happen:
In the KJV the word is “Fulfil”
“For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”
Romans 7:22-23, 25 KJV
“Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
Hebrews 13:21 KJV
Without the garments of righteousness:
“And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Matthew 22:11-14 KJV
“Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the Lord, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel;
But the Lord, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice. And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods. And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods.
Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner. So these nations feared the Lord, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children’s children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.”
2 Kings 17:34, 36-38, 40-41 KJV
^^ they were double minded
The confusing writings of Paul… he talks about not being under the law but then finishes up stating who you yield yourselves servants to you obey therefore you must pursue obedience in righteousness.
“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.” Romans 6:16-17 KJV
He writes back and forth talking against the law but then still talks about remaining obedient and not sinning and sin is a transgression of the law so his message is extremely confusing and he goes in a circle to say even though you’re not under the law you must be obedient to the law which is abstaining from sin which is the transgression of the law.
“What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with ***the mind I myself serve the law of God***; but ***with the flesh the law of sin.***”
Romans 7:7, 25 KJV
Talking about 2 laws
Now to someone new… you must earnestly want to learn the truth to understand his puzzling writing. Out of all the writings his is the most confusing.
But this is a good example of the power of Christ within us to cause us to walk in the righteousness of the law:
“That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
Romans 8:4 KJV
“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.”
Isaiah 54:17 KJV
Transform your thinking book by dr bill winston
“Only Jesus Christ can change the very inward nature of a person from being sinful to righteous.”
“Only when Christians live by Gods spiritual laws can their outward life reflect their new Godly nature and impact the world around them.”
“And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.
The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.”
Acts 16:4, 17, 20-21 KJV
“That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.”
Acts 15:29 KJV
All of which are from the law… basics…
Why is it then Paul contradicts this by saying in paraphrase that is doesn’t matter if you eat meat sacrificed to idols.