Introduction. Righteousness is a benefit that God gives us because of our faith. So for the people who make the monumental decision to obey God, what do you get?
Romans 5:17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
Psalm 106:3 How blessed are those who keep justice, Who practice righteousness at all times!
I. Peace
Righteousness brings peace to our lives. It causes us to have peace with God and man.
Isaiah 32:17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.
When we walk in the righteousness that God has given us we can expect to have peace and quietness with God. And we have assurance of our eternity because of what Jesus has done for us and that gives us peace.
James 3:18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
The fruit of righteousness is peace. As we abide in God’s righteousness we will have peace in our lives.
We are no longer enemies, but God’s friends. Jesus said that he gives us his peace.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Paul says that Jesus is our peace
Ephesians 2:14-18 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
Colossians 1:20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
Our peace is a state of contentment because we have a harmonious relationship with God. This peace is objective, not subjective. If I were to rob a bank, and fled to a country that would not extradite to the United States, a state of enmity would exist. It would not matter how peaceful and tranquil I might feel within my heart, I would not be at peace with my country. So it is with the person who has rebelled and sinned against God. If the president of my country pardoned me and allowed me to return to my country and regain my citizenship, then I would have peace with my country. Your peace with God is a result of faith in what Jesus has done for you on the cross and not because of anything you have done. You cannot free yourself from that sin. It is only by faith in what Jesus did for you that produces the peace that passes understanding.
Romans 8:6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
If for some reason you are not in peace, set your mind on the Spirit. He will bring peace. There have been times that I have felt a lack of peace, and felt something was wrong. I immediately go into praying in tongues, until the Holy Spirit brings in the peace. These times may be that the Lord is praying through you for someone else, or for a situation that would effect you. I have prayed for people this way, and they told me that they were in a difficulty at that precise time, and God answered their need.
II. Love
God loves righteousness. His nature is righteousness. Therefore when we walk in righteousness we walk in his character.
Psalm 11:7 For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright.
Psalm 33:5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.
The following verses tell us he not only loves righteousness but also loves those who are righteous, or just.
Psalms 37:28 For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed; the offspring of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 146:8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; The Lord raises those who are bowed down; The Lord loves the righteous.
Proverbs 15:9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, But He loves him who follows righteousness.
John 14:23-24 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.
1 John 3:1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!
God’s love for us is tremendous. He wants us to know his love. That love is so great that we have been given the privilege of being the children of God.
III. Life, prosperity, and honor
God’s promise for the righteous is life, prosperity, and honor. We can expect God to supply all our needs because he has given us his righteousness.
Proverbs 21:21 Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.
A. Life
Proverbs 10:2 Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value, but righteousness delivers from death.
B. Prosperity
Proverbs 11:18 A wicked person earns deceptive wages, but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.
Psalm 37:16-20 A little that a righteous man has Is better than the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, But the Lord upholds the righteous. The Lord knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
Psalm 37 :21-22 The wicked borrows and does not repay, But the righteous shows mercy and gives. For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.
2 Corinthians 9:10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.
Isaiah 33:15-16 He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, He who rejects unjust gain And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe; He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed And shuts his eyes from looking upon evil; He will dwell on the heights, His refuge will be the impregnable rock; His bread will be given him, His water will be sure.
C. Honor
Psalm 112:6 Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever.
Psalm 37:5-6 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.
IV The presence of God in your life.
God promises us that because we are righteous, that we will live in His presence.
Psalm 15:1-2 O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart.
Psalm 24:3-5 Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the LORD And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Not only is the presence of God promised to us, but also his protection.
Isaiah 58:6-14 “Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free And break every yoke? “Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh? “Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
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Healing
Malachi 4:2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.
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Effective Prayer
James 5:16-18 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
Many times we do not feel like our prayer is effective. But it tells us here that it is. He compares our prayer to Elijah, who by praying got the rain stopped for 3 ½ years. Because we are righteous, our prayers are more powerful than even Elijah’s were. He only had the promise of the Messiah, but Jesus already did the work of Calvary for us.
Psalm 34:15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry.
No matter who you are in the body of Christ, the Lord’s eyes are on you. You are very important to him. It is not only the minister that the Lord listens to, but every believer’s prayers are important to him.
Psalm 55:22 Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let
the righteous be shaken.
This is the key. The reason many of us do not receive is because we do not cast our care on the Lord. We pray, but then worry about the problem. God promises us that he will sustain you, he will never let you down.
Psalm 31:1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness.
Proverbs 18:10 says: The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it and is safe.
No matter who is coming against you, or how big the problem looks, God is for you. He is like a strong tower. No foe can penetrate the strongholds of God.
Proverbs 3:31-32 Do not envy the violent or choose any of their ways. For the Lord detests the perverse but takes the upright into his confidence.
God wants to speak with you his secrets. Talk to him and expect him to talk back to you.
In order to receive these benefits of God that he has promised the righteous, we need to pursue righteousness. We need to hunger and thirst for it. We need to run after it and reach out and grab it by faith.
1 Timothy 6:11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Romans 1:17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Romans 10:4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
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