righteousnessbyfaith

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For you who fear my name, the Sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.

Malachi 4:2, ESV

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Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Matthew 5:6

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Incompatible Worldviews

In one of our previous posts, “Seven Basic Principles of Righteousness by Faith,” we began with the assertion that the message of righteousness by faith is perhaps the most controversial subject in the history of the world. Now that we have summarized the basic ideas of righteousness by faith in that post, we can begin to investigate exactly why it can be so divisive.

The Bible makes it very clear why righteousness by faith is so controversial. It states that there are very fundamental incompatibilities between the principles of righteousness by faith and other ideologies prevalent in the world. Occasionally, these incompatibilities might be hardly noticeable. For example, whether inside or outside of Christianity, there are some moral principles which nearly everyone values, such as the idea that it is wrong to rape or murder.

However, the incompatibilities between righteousness by faith and the ideologies of the world lie much deeper than external traits, like morals. Righteousness by faith is not merely a system of moral values, though it will produce morality. Instead, righteousness by faith is an entire worldview — a set of beliefs about the world and one’s place in it that governs the way one thinks and behaves. It is the worldview of the Bible, and this worldview is truly different from any other worldview. The uniqueness of righteousness by faith often causes disdain from those in the world; but to the few who choose to look at the world through its lens, it is priceless. In righteousness by faith, one can truly find a system of happiness and hope.

But what really distinguishes the worldview of the Bible from that of the world is a profound principle which is widely known but rarely understood. That principle, too often misunderstood as being a mere feeling, is the principle of love. Love lies at the foundation of the message of righteousness by faith. It is the element of life that was stolen from humanity by the introduction of sin, and it is the principle that Christ came to restore to humanity by His death on the cross.

The principle of love is the subject of whole books of the Bible. Notably, it is the focus of profound portions of God’s Word including the whole books of John, 1 John, Hosea, and the Song of Solomon, as well as beautiful chapters like 1 Corinthians 13.

Of these portions of the Bible, 1 John in particular provides an outstanding discussion of the worldview of true love. 1 John 3:11 states regarding the truths of Christ: “This is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” The love here discussed is not selfish love, but unselfish love. It is love that manifests itself in deeds of kindness and compassion — not as an attempt to gain personal salvation, but for the purpose of resisting the spread of sin through the world. It is the type of love discussed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13: love that is patient, kind, content, humble, considerate, and compromising for the benefit of others. It is a cooperation with God in His mission of spreading the principles that govern His Kingdom. True love is a revolution; it’s a grassroots movement through which God is attempting to regain Earth, not only for Himself, but especially for humanity, to which He originally gave dominion over the world. Those who are a part of this grassroots movement are the true Christians — true followers of Christ.

As illustrated in 1 Corinthians 13, love is a principle entirely motivated by selflessness. It is motivated by the desire to give. John 3:16 states about God, the King of love: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” The mission of Christ to this earth was the mission to show God’s love to humanity. Christ was “God with us” (Matthew 1:23); and since “God is love” (1 John 4:8), we find that Christ came to introduce true, selfless love to humanity as an alternative to other worldviews.

Why would Christ want to restore to humanity this alternative to other worldviews? 1 John 2:15 & 16 answers this question forcefully with a command: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world — the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life — is not from the Father but is from the world.”

Here the motivations of other worldviews become starkly evident. The desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life are what motivates other worldviews. These motivations constitute a principle of living to gain instead of to give, and this principle runs entirely contrary to love. It is for this reason that the message of righteousness by faith is fundamentally incompatible with other worldviews.

Anyone who is motivated by the desire to gain instead of to give will not understand why those who are living a life of faith in Christ will behave unselfishly. Because they can only relate to a desire for gain, they will misinterpret the behaviors of true Christians as a desire to gain prestige through good works. In many cases, this misinterpretation is understandable, because even within Christianity many are motivated by the desire to gain. They want to gain the approval of other Christians, but this should not be their motivation.

Those who encounter the love of Christ and the message of the Gospel for what it truly is — the message of righteousness by faith — will discover the beauty in a life dedicated to the cause of sharing God’s love with others. This mission will radically change one’s worldview for the better; and though it may not always be favorable for others, it is the only worldview that will bring true fulfillment to one’s life and true benefit to humanity.

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For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:8 - 10

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Seven Basic Principles of Righteousness by Faith

In our previous blog post, we established that somehow the message of righteousness by faith — whatever that may be — is one of the most important, even controversial, topics in the history of the world. However, what is the righteousness by faith? What are the basic principles of this message, and how do these principles differ from other ideologies inside and outside of Christianity?

In this post, we will examine seven basic principles of righteousness by faith. Though these principles will by no means provide a comprehensive overview of this vast subject, they will hopefully begin to paint a bigger picture of it. Each point in this list will be followed by a list of Bible verses for further reference.

God has saved the world. In the beginning, God created humanity to be perfect. However, through disobedience to God’s warning not to eat fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, the first humans introduced sin to the world. Now sin, which is defined by the Bible as the “transgression of the law” of God (1 John 3:4, KJV), has death as its consequence, but contrary to common misconception, this consequence is not arbitrary. Rather, it is because God’s law was designed to bring life and happiness to humanity, and disobedience to it can only produce the opposite result. Yet God, in His mercy, could not bear the thought of leaving humanity to die, so He became a human in the form of Jesus Christ. Christ died for humanity to satisfy the demands of God’s law, enabling people to be saved while still maintaining justice. When Christ died for humanity, He was not selective of who could be saved; He satisfied the demands of the law for everyone in the world. (Genesis 3; Romans 6:23; Romans 7:12; Revelation 22:14; Deuteronomy 32:4; 2 Corinthians 5:14, 21; John 4:42.)

People are saved through faith in God, to whom they are attracted by His love. Even though God has made it possible for everyone in the world to be saved, no one will be saved automatically. God does not save anyone against their will; this would violate the principle of love, which demands freedom of will. No one can truly love anyone unless they have the option to choose not to love. However, the love of God is so strong, persistent, and evident in His sacrifice for humanity that in order for one to be lost, they must deliberately resist Him. Otherwise, anyone can be saved as long as they have faith that Christ has satisfied the demands of God’s law for them. In fact, salvation comes easily to those who want to believe in Christ and be saved. (Ephesians 2:5, 8; John 12:32; John 3:16; 1 John 3:16, 23; Romans 5:20.)

God’s pursuit of humanity is active. When Christ satisfied the demands of God’s law, He did not do so from His position in Heaven as the Son of God. Rather, Christ became the Son of Man, incarnating Himself as a human in His active pursuit for the faith of humanity. This is because God realized that humanity would never know how to pursue Him on its own. As the Good Shepherd, Christ pursues humanity in His love, and once He finds an individual receptive to His love, He will pursue a one-on-one relationship with him or her. Recognizing that everyone is different and needs unique guidance and care, Christ sends the Holy Spirit to inspire and instruct the individual through His Word. (Matthew 9:6; Philippians 2:8; John 10:11, 14; Jeremiah 23:23; John 14:26; Psalm 119:105.)

Christ came to reintroduce to humanity what it had lost to sin: an understanding of God’s love. The law of God is a law of love. Since God is love, it naturally follows that any law which He would make would be a law promoting a society motivated by principles of true love. As indicated by God in His self-sacrifice for humanity, true love is motivated by a desire to serve others above oneself. When Adam and Eve first sinned, they introduced a principle foreign to God’s original design: the principle of selfishness, which is the complete opposite of love. This principle became a current that flowed throughout humanity from one generation to the next, degenerating it with each passing generation. By the time Christ arrived on earth, humanity had become so far removed from God’s original design that hope seemed completely lost. However, Christ became Emmanuel, “God with us,” to reintroduce to humanity that element of Heaven — true love — which, through faith, could be propagated through humanity in place of sin and selfishness. In this way, Christ became the true and perfect Example, and those who are truly living a life of righteousness by faith will be living a life of loving service to others. (1 John 4:16; Romans 13:10; Galatians 5:14; Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 46:13; John 13:15.)

Christ came to abolish the notion of the Old Covenant and to promote the notion of the New Covenant. At no point in history has anyone been saved by the Old Covenant notion that anyone is saved by their good works. Even in the Old Testament, individuals such as Abraham were saved not by works but by faith. The Old Covenant, which originated with the promises of humans (see Exodus 19:8), teaches that one is saved by their keeping of God’s law, but this Covenant has never been true. Rather, the Old Covenant does not save anyone, but actually binds people like prison chains. In contrast, the New Covenant teaches that one is saved only by the grace of God, which can be grasped through faith. This Covenant sets people free. (Galatians 4:24; Genesis 15:6; Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:17 - 21; Galatians 5:1.)

The righteousness obtained through faith in Christ will enable individuals to keep God’s law of love. As the true Example, Christ came to introduce the law of love to humanity. Though He satisfied the demands of God’s law through His death for humanity, and though through faith anyone on Earth may choose to be covered by the satisfaction of those demands, God’s law still remains in effect, since it is simply an expression of His character. However, those who have faith in Christ will not keep God’s law out of legalism, which is merely holding to the Old Covenant. Rather, they will keep the law through faith in Christ, and their obedience to God’s law will simply be an expression of their love for God in response to His love for them. (Romans 8:4; Romans 3:31; Psalm 119:142; John 14:15; John 15:10.)

The message of righteousness by faith is relevant to humanity today. Those who are preoccupied with a deep appreciate for the message of righteousness by faith will inevitably express that appreciation through a concern for others, a love for the truth, and a sense of justice. Activism for the cause of justice and freedom of conscience will inevitably motivate faithful people to leave a positive impact on the world around them. This concern for the improvement of humanity cannot be expressed by those who cling to the Old Covenant. The true believer of Christ will be known among others because of the love they express as the result of Christ’s influence in the believer’s life. (1 John 3:18; Psalm 82:3; Isaiah 56:1; Micah 6:8; Luke 6.)

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The Purpose of this Blog

Welcome to the Righteousness by Faith blog!

The purpose of this blog is to promote the true Biblical worldview through an understanding of the most important message for our time: the message of righteousness by faith, which is the most fundamental principle expressed in the Word of God.

Throughout the history of the world and of Christianity, there has been no subject more important or more controversial than the message of righteousness by faith. Though many people do not realize it, the message of righteousness by faith has lain at the foundation of many of the world’s most revolutionary historical events. One example of this that can be easily studied in history is the Reformation, during which Protestants, disgruntled with Catholic theology and leadership, began to realize that the ideas promoted by spiritual authorities of that age contradicted the truths of the Bible. The Reformers discovered that the Bible did not support the concept that righteousness could be obtained through penance as Catholicism taught. Rather, the Bible taught that people were saved solely by faith in the grace of God. This idea brought so much excitement to many people that they embraced it even though they experienced opposition, and even persecution, as a result.

Though the major historical movement of the Reformation is only one example of a debate centered around the message of righteousness by faith, one will find through deeper investigation that this message really does lie at the core of many other historical movements. For that matter, it is the greatest movement in the history of the world, and yet it is imperceptible to many people.

The truths of righteousness by faith should not continue to remain so obscure, though. This message is crucially important to everyone on Earth. Because of this, an investigation of righteousness by faith — including its meaning, its purpose, its history, and its relevance to individuals and society — is needed. Fulfilling that need is the purpose of this blog.