Some Die Once – Many Die Twice [Part 5]
In today’s Part 5 of our series of Blog Posts from our upcoming book titled “One Way or Another Your Eternal Destination is Guaranteed” we will look at the question “Are You Prepared?” and discuss the “Definition of Righteousness”.
Are You Prepared?
Everyone needs to be prepared for the difficult-to-accept subject of dying. Why? Because, for nonbelievers, death is inevitable, and there will come a judgment. For nonbelievers there will be a second death. For believers, there is one, and only one, possible physical death.
1 Corinthians 15:22a, b
For as in Adam all die…
Even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
Are you prepared for your upcoming death?
Amos 4:12b
Prepare to meet your God…
With the prevailing false teaching in many of today’s churches, these Words taught can become untrustworthy:
Psalm 118:8
It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
Acts 4:19b
“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge.”
Acts 5:29b
“We ought to obey God rather than men.”
Proverbs 11:19
As righteousness leads to life, so he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death.
Proverbs 12:28
In the way of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death.
Proverbs 14:12; 16:25
There is a way that seems right to man, but its end is the way of death.
Romans 6:21
What fruit [hidden lusts]did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
Definition of Righteousness
William MacDonald, a solid brother in Christ and gifted teacher who was taken home to be with the Lord at age 93 on Christmas day in 2009, taught that God can and does save unrighteous sinners. But He only saves us by faith and belief in His infallible Word being the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ being the One who saves us. We are not saved by actually being righteous—by keeping all the Commandments—because we all have proven that we cannot be that totally obedient.
Righteous
Since God is Himself righteous, that is, holy, He does not condone sin. He must punish unrighteousness, and the penalty is death. God loves us and wants to save us. The Father loves us so very much that He sent His only begotten Son to take that second death punishment for us; and all He asks of us for Him to justify us, you and me, as having His righteousness, is to believe that His Word is true (John 1:1, 14: 3:16).
The Lord Jesus Christ is righteous for us: even as a Man when here on earth, He was and is totally sinless. He knew no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), He committed no sin (1 Peter 2:22), and there was no sin in Him (1 John 3:5). Jesus and His Father are both totally righteous—holy. He is the living example of righteousness.
God’s Righteousness
God views the ones who believe in Him as having His—God’s righteousness, and therefore justifies us to be with Him—separated from the world of sin and being at one with Him in heaven.
Philippians 3:20
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior [to come and take us up], the Lord Jesus Christ.
It has been said, “Justice and mercy meet at the cross.” The definition of our God, being righteous, means He is right according to His standards, not ours. He is just and fair. He sets the example and the standard for all mankind. The Lord Jesus is quoted:
Matthew 5:45b
“For He makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
God Never Lies
God does not change (Malachi 3:6a). He never changes, He never lies, and He has never broken a promise (Malachi 3:6; Titus 1:2).
Hebrews 6:17-18
Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability [unchangeableness] of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.
1 John 3:5
And this is the promise that He has promised us–eternal life.
Righteous and Born-Again
Our Creator God separates sin from Himself. There is no room for sin in God. But all human mankind, unfortunately, from Adam, possesses sin within himself. In order to be accepted by God, man needs to have the righteousness of God. No mere man can obey all of the Ten Commandments. The Law is what makes us knowledgeable of our sin (Romans 3:20). But upon having faith in the truth of the Lord Jesus shedding His blood to forgive us, we believe and thus receive God’s grace.
We can only achieve righteousness by trusting in God’s truth—that is, by having faith in Him and believing in Him. When we believe He gives us a new heart and new spirit. The change we go through is called “born again”. The Lord is quoted:
Ezekiel 36:26a
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you”
Ezekiel 36:27a
“I will put My Spirit within you”
Romans 3:21-23
But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.
Repent and Righteousness
If a soul has faith in Jesus Christ to save him from God’s coming wrath and believes in Him to forgive and give eternal life, then God accredits—recognizes—this soul as having God’s own righteousness. God justifies each new believer to have His own righteousness based upon the following: When God hears the person sincerely asking for forgiveness of his sins—that is, repenting of his sins—and God knows the person truly believes in the resurrected Jesus as Savior, then God forgives him of all past sins. Thus God views the repentant sinner as having the righteousness of Himself. At that moment, God reconciles him back to Himself and separates him from the world.
The believing person is still a sinner based on the fact that he is a descendant of fallen man. Quoting Randy Amos, “We are not sinless, but we do sin less.”
Summary of Chapter One
Conscious existence does not end with death of the body on this earth. Christ’s death and shed blood on that cross, and His resurrection back to life is sufficient for all, but is effective only for those who trust and believe in Him. The propitiation by His blood that we believe in is exactly what satisfies the Father to justify us to be righteous in His view.
For parents who sincerely love their children, their decision can, and probably will, have an eternal impact on their offspring. The saving Gospel message should not be withheld from anyone; especially loved ones either older or younger in the family.
The only and very most important decision one can make for determining his or her eternal future is to sincerely repent of committed sins and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior. By doing so, a life changing relationship with Him will ensue, and eternal life will have begun.
Pray that people will come to the knowledge of the Truth before it’s too late, and love their children to not suffer the Second Death.
Next Blog Post, on August 8, 2024: “What is Faith?”
Blog Posts Related to this Topic:
The Second Death – What is it?
Comments and Questions Welcome
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Thank you for reading and God bless you!
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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