Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

Psalm 97:2

The question of the ages, of the universe, and of the world, is that of righteousness.

When we approach what I like to call the million dollar question, why do born again believers not behave according to their new-creation nature, we have come to the very bedrock of the Christian faith, and also the most pressing issue of the universe, period.

The issue is righteousness.

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They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy [corrupt]: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Psalm 14:3, emphasis added and edited

There is no one in this world that is righteous outside of Christ.  The quicker we see that this world is completely condemned, that there is not a single person who seeks the right outside of His Spirit, and hate it, the quicker we will realize that the only good we have is in Him.

They have all turned aside, and they have all become corrupt, of filthy.

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Below are Scriptures relating Jesus’ and others thoughts on His own words, the words in the Gospels.  These are the words of Eternal Life (John 6:68), and they are true.  Any departure from them is perilous, and the discarding of them is to our own destruction.  In all of the 2,000 years since they were spoken, not one of them has transpired or elapsed, and they are as rock-solid today, every last one of them, as they were when they were first uttered in the small nation of Israel under Roman occupation.

The “Words in Red” are Jesus’ instructions for all of humanity, from every nation, creed, tongue, and tribe, they are the Words of Life, and there is no life outside of them.

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

Matthew 7:24-27

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[T]hou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength

Mark 12:30 KJV (portion)

The fool says in his heart there is no God (Psalm 14:1).  It takes faith to please God, for one must first believe that God is!  (Hebrews 11:6).  This is the first, and greatest commandment.  The second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Consider for a moment, the Gospel of John.  Jesus says in John 16:27 that the Father loves us because we love His son and believe that He came from God.  In John 14:15, Jesus says that if we love Him, we will obey Him.  And, throughout the final chapters before the crucifixion, Jesus’ repeated command to the believers was this:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

John 13:34

While the summation of the Old Covenant, all of the Law and the Prophets hung upon these two commands, it should be considered that the goal of the New Covenant is the same, that is also hangs upon these two.

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That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.

Matthew 13:1-2

The crowds came to Jesus.  Thousands had heard of the miracles following this man.  This man, who was God, had the wisdom of the Eternity within His heart, and He chose to take a moment to go out to the lake.  Perhaps He went out to pray in a quiet place, or possibly to rest for a moment, but, whatever the reason, the crowds surrounded Him until He was pressed on every side.  While the masses swelled, He entered a boat and taught them, while the people came.

Everyone wants the miraculous, the signs, wonders, and miracles, but who wants the reason behind them?  We want the power, but who wants the man?  We want the demonstration, but who wants the price he paid?

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You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

Matthew 5:14

Jesus said not to think that He was come to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17).  What this means for us today, was the He was the fulfillment of the Law of Moses.  What He lived on Earth, perfectly satisfied the perfect of justice of the Father, so that anyone who is baptized into Jesus Christ has lost their old life with its sin and corruption, and entered into that perfect, finished, and sufficient righteousness of God.

Yet, more than this.  In Matthew 5:19, Jesus says that whoever continues to BREAK one of these commandments AND teaches other to do so, will be considered least in the Kingdom.

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And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.

Matthew 21:22

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1 KJV).  It is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (NAS).  Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (NIV).

Faith is God’s standard to reject the status quo, to step Beyond what society tells you is right and wrong and to listen to God’s standard.  Faith in God and in Christ is what causes division.

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But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Matthew 7:14

When it comes to revival, and revival meetings, in one sense, revival is easy…  Once the flow starts, the miracles happen, the atmospheres change, the going is good…  On another side, we sometimes don’t see a great degree of change in the people that are attending revivals in the short term.

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If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

John 14:15

If you’re in it, you will live a certain way.

Most Happy are the Poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew 5:3

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