Righteousness is important because God requires it as a characteristic for the Kingdom of Heaven; but it is also important because it is the only way that we can receive the favor of God. Over and over God reveals righteousness as the way to enter his favor. One of the most inspiring examples of the importance of favor is in Genesis, when God speaks to Abraham concerning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. After the Lord told Abraham that he will go to Sodm and Gomorrah because of the corruption in the land, Genesis 18:23 tells us that Abraham draws near to ask if God will destroy the righteous with the wicked. Verse 24 says, "Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? 25. That be far from thee to do after this manner to slay the righteous with the wicked and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" The Lord replied to Abraham saying that he would spare the entire wicked land if there were 50 righteous in the cities. God would have favored those 50 so much that he would have spared thousands of wicked. Abraham continues decrease the number of righteous that God would spare the city for until he gets down to 10 people. God continues to declare that he will save the land because of the favor he had on the righteous. Righeousness is important because the favor of God is important. Righteousness was the basis of which Abraham questions God's wrath. Imagine that! Righteousness is the thing that Abraham mentioned when he asked God to spare a wicked land. Many people think that the favor of God equates to physical blessings, but it is the favor of God that allows us to continue on each day. God wants us to receive the benefits of heaven. He daily loads us with gifts and his favor is the way we can retrieve them. Righteousness is the only way to recieve the blessings of God. Psalms 5:12 says, "For thou Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favor wilt thou compass him as a with a shield." God's favor is not some sporatic gift, it is a constant covering over the righteous. Consider how important it is for you to have God's favor. In the next post, I will look at how the Word instructs us to live righteously.
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WHATEVER THINGS ARE LOVELY...Get inspiration for your daily life from SFB as she gives her testimony and speaks about her faith. Are You Ready for More?Have you come to a place in life where you recognized that you need more? Christ has already paid the price for you to have a life with greater purpose.
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