![Some Die Once - Many Die Twice [Part 10] - Is Righteousness Required?](https://i0.wp.com/michaelcopple.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Part-10.jpg?resize=1080%2C400&quality=89&ssl=1)
In Part 10 of our series of Blog Posts from our upcoming book titled “One Way or Another Your Eternal Destination is Guaranteed” let’s look at the question: “Is Righteousness Required?”
God Requires Righteousness to be with Him in Heaven. Being absolutely holy, blameless, spotless, obedient, and sinless defines righteousness. The only One who’s ever achieved that perfect obedience and conformity with God is the Son of the living God.
Righteousness of God
When a person sincerely repents and believes the Son of God is his Savior, then God the Father views him as having the righteousness of God. It must be noted that the righteous person is not literally holy and without blame. As Randy Amos said:
“Believers are not sinless; they just sin less.”
A person is only seen to be righteous in God’s view upon believing in Jesus Christ. The righteousness comes from God through faith and belief in His Son. The believer has hope due to the righteousness which God has bestowed upon him:
Proverbs 14:32
The wicked is banished [expelled] in his wickedness; but the righteous has a refuge in his death.
Romans 3:21aBut now the righteousness of God …
Romans 3:22aeven the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.
Romans 3:23
For all have sinned [offended God by not keeping at least one of His Ten Commandments], and come short of the glory of God.
James 2:10
For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.
Is Righteousness Required of Us?
Due to our inherited nature, we are not capable of being totally righteous, holy, and blameless. Yet the Father views us as being righteous as we have faith, trust, and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ—His only begotten Son. Through trusting in God’s Son for forgiving us by His shed blood, and gifting us with eternal life, we receive an eternal position of righteousness in Christ. We no longer practice sin—rather we practice that of which God approves: righteousness.
1 John 3:7
Little children, let no man deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.
1 John 3:10
In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest [revealed]: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.
Sin
We cannot escape the fact that as long as we are alive in this earthly body, we still have Adam’s nature that causes us to sin.
Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as through one man [Adam] sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.
Fear of Death
Upon accepting that death is likely to be possible in one’s own future, the topic of life after death should be of utmost interest. When a person is addicted to sin and rejects the forgiveness offered by the blood of Jesus, death is a dreadful, frightening event. But believing in Jesus Christ takes away the fear of death. Jesus died on the cross for every soul, but only those who believe are saved. Every person should realize this truth:
Hebrews 2:14b-15
He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage [addiction to sin].
1 Corinthians 15:21-23
For since by man [Adam] came death, by Man also came resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.
Romans 6:8-9
Now if we died [of our old ways, practicing sin] with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.
When the believer dies, he dies having sincerely believed in God:
Romans 14:8
For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
Eternal Life
Adam and his wife Eve would have lived for all eternity had they not been disobedient to what God told them. Instead of obeying God, they listened to Satan, who speaking through a serpent posed the very first question recorded in Scripture.
Genesis 3:1
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘you shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die’?”
Genesis 3:6b
she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate…
Is Adam Responsible?
Adam did not live up to his responsibility to be the spiritual leader for his wife. Plus, he listened to her instead of listening to and obeying God. He did not stop her. He joined her. Consequently, God took away our first-parents’ opportunity to live forever—and not only theirs, but also all their descendants.
Genesis 3:17a
Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife…
Genesis 3:19
In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.
New Life Span
Adam lived for 930 years (Genesis 5:5). Several of his descendants lived for hundreds of years also. However, God was so displeased with the evil doings of mankind that He would allow them to live for only one hundred and twenty more years before He would bring the flood.
Genesis 6:3
And the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”
Initially the 120 years in Genesis 6:3 had me thinking that it meant God was setting a maximum life-span on human beings. However, I was corrected by the Spirit and a more mature brother in Christ to learn that the 120 years speaks of how much longer God would strive with mankind until He would cause the flood. The fact that men, for generations, lived much longer than 120 years beyond the days of the flood (Gen. 7:17-24), is testified in Scripture. Abraham lived 175 years (Gen. 25:7); Isaac 180 (Gen. 35:28); Jacob 147 (Gen. 47:28); Joseph 110 (Gen. 50:22), etc.
One hundred and twenty years after God declared He would not put up with the wickedness any longer, sure enough, the flood did happen.
Genesis 6:5
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Is Righteousness Required Even Today?
Comparing the state of affairs in the world today to the evil that was taking place those 120 years before the flood, we can understand that God puts up with only so much. The wickedness today is much like it was over 4,000 years ago.
Although God did not set the limit for man’s lifetime before the flood, He does keep His promise to set a limit, and later He did determine our days:
Job 14:1-2
Man who is born of woman is of few days, and full of trouble [turmoil]. He comes forth like a flower and fades away; he flees like a shadow [physically disappears] and does not continue.
Next Blog Post, on October 17, 2024: “What’s it All For?”
Pray that people will come to the saving knowledge of the Truth before it’s too late, and love their children to teach them the Truth.
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How to Receive Eternal Life Posts
Would you like to find out why believers have hope of Eternal Life and how to develop a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ? Check out these blog posts if your answer is “yes.”
Receiving Eternal Life as easy as A-B-C-D
Why do I need the God of the Bible?
Resources:
Check Out these Interesting Resources:
Gospel Folio Press – William MacDonald – Believers Bible Commentary
Warren Henderson Publishing
Christ-centered Books and Messages to Enhance Your Spiritual Growth
Solving the Spiritual Dilemma
And check out our latest book “Solving the Spiritual Dilemma” which answers many questions about the hope believers have and how to develop a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ.
or go directly to Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble
Scripture taken from the New King James Version, unless stated otherwise. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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