9/26/26 WHERE RIGHTEOUSNESS IS NORMAL
Jesus said that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled. I think it is fair to say that serious Christians hunger and thirst after righteousness. Biblical righteousness is personal alignment with God's nature and code of behavior (being, thinking and doing). Faith (active trust) is manifested in uprightness, as established by Biblical revelation.
WOW!
It is "normal" for a Christian to want to be righteous, holy, pure, faithful, obedient, Christlike. In fact, it is "normal" for a Christian to have these qualities. "Normal" means fitting the norm set by God. The "normal Christian" conforms to the image of Christ.
But few people who claim to be Christian follow Jesus; obey Jesus; love God with the whole heart, mind, soul and strength; love God and other people with perfect love; bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ; walk in a way that is pleasing unto God. The "average Christian" is not the same as the normal Christian.
Vance Havner said, "The church is so subnormal that if it ever got back to the New Testament normal it would seem to be abnormal."
It does not seem like very many church people in the general populations of the world are hungering and thirsting after righteousness I say this because of the model and standard of Christian living set by Scripture and because of biographical information of believers in history and because of the lives of present-day believers around the world and the current status of Christianity in America.
Plenty of people are seeking after music, programs, glamorous ministries, specialized groups, flashy teachers and preachers, but not after righteousness.
People want to be entertained, comforted, encouraged and coddled, but they don't want to be righteous.
They don't want to be transformed.
They don't want to be single-minded.
They don't want to be set apart.
They don't want to reject their culture, world view, habits, amusements, prejudices, sins.
They don't want to be a spiritual spectacle.
They don't want to be conformed to the image of Jesus.
They don't want to be led, directed, corrected by the Holy Spirit.
I am not talking about rules and regulations religion.
I am not talking about externalism.
I am talking about righteousness, heart purity, soul cleansing, Christ likeness that guides and empowers us to walk in His steps.
I have known believers who seek God with the whole heart, but they are rare.
I have known believers who actually do hunger and thirst after righteousness, but they are in a very small minority.
I have known believers who want to follow God fully, but they are the exception.
Being righteous, being Christian is not simply having a head knowledge of Scripture, it is having a heart transformed by faith and hands that do whatever is pleasing in God's sight.
There are so few people filled with righteousness because there are so few hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and that is because there are so few who are truly Christian.
Look at the world around us and you should see what I am saying.
