Loving Righteousness!

We are going through the Gospel of John in sermon and this last Sunday we were in chapter 4 and the discourse between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Pastor talked about the barriers, especially in those days that Jesus violated in even speaking with this woman. She was a woman and women weren’t spoken to by men, especially in discussions of theology or spiritual matters other than by their own husbands. She was a woman of low reputation and morals, having 5 husbands and currently living with one that wasn’t her husband and she was a Samaritan.

But Jesus spoke with her and He told her Truth, the truth of her own sinfulness and the very Truth of the Living Water. Did she understand the totality of what He was telling her, I doubt it, but I do believe she came away converted.

Only a converted person can rejoice that their sins have been brought into the light as she did when she said “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” (John 4:29)

“In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Jer 23:6)

I remember my pre conversion days and the only professing Christians I ever knew or were around were those who believed in their own righteousness, you know the ones, they didn’t’ smoke or drink, etc. and were self-righteous in those activities that they didn’t do. They never talked about real sin and depravity, nor did they ever talk about the righteousness found only in Christ Jesus, I hope they know of it for it alone is True Righteousness. At conversion we are enlightened to the righteousness of Christ in the Gospel and begin in this life to hate and turn from our sin. The love I had for my sin has now been replaced by the love of righteousness. It is a love for the righteousness of Christ Jesus and by faith we perceive of the blessed righteousness of Christ which has been imputed to us by God, our justification. His righteousness is perfect and complete.

I believe that it is a hunger and thirst to not only embrace, by faith, the justifying imputed righteousness of Christ but the deep abiding hunger to be righteous in thought, word and deed in this life for His Glory alone! ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled’ (Mat 5:6), speaks to both I believe. We know that while we are here, as we drag this body of death along with us, we won’t attain to that perfect righteousness in experience of the new man, but that is the reason for the struggle against sin, we hate sin and we love righteousness and so we press on. It is our deepest desire, to know Him as He is and to be like Him.

While here we are exhorted to ‘be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”(Romans 12:2)

Think of the final consummation of the glorious work of Christ on behalf of His people on resurrection day when the Lord Jesus ‘shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself’ (Phi 3:21),no longer a body of death of corruption but raised to incorruption, to be free from sin forevermore and to live in perfect righteous communion with Him.