God encourages self-examination for righteousness.

[newton3003]

[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Weare here at God's pleasure. As Genesis 1:27 says “So God createdman in his own image,[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]inthe image of God he created him; male and female he created them,”we are called upon with a choice...we can strive to live in thatimage of God, or we can allow ourselves to give in to earthlytemptations of evil and thereby forsake God and His Law.[/FONT]


[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Thosethat give in to earthly temptations and have gone to follow othergods need not examine themselves, since their fate is clear and thereis nothing to stop it. God does not concern Himself with what suchpeople may think, as long as their thoughts do not involve harmingothers, though He may hold out hope that they see the light throughJesus. Other than that, for such people, who cannot be persuaded tolove God and eachother, the divine sentence will be passed and Satanhas left his light on for them. [/FONT]


[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Forthe rest of us, who aim to love God and eachother, God will judge interms of whether our pursuit and fulfillment of righteousness hasmade us worthy of entry into His House. Even the most righteous of uscan be lured into acts of evil if we do not consider our actionsbefore we undertake them. [/FONT]


[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]TheScriptures, therefore, which, according to 2 Timothy 3:16 have beenbreathed out by God, encourage us to self-assess in terms of howrighteous we are. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to thisworld, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that bytesting you may discern what is the will of God, what is good andacceptable and perfect.” Joshua 1:8 says, “This Book of the Lawshall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it dayand night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that iswritten in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and thenyou will have good success.” Make no mistake, it is the same Lawthat Jesus says he has come to fulfill, not changing any part of it.And so, we have the Law to take into consideration when we test oursurroundings, that we may not fall into a pit of evil. It is the sameLaw of which James 2:10 warns that we must abide by all of it.[/FONT]


[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Noone except Jesus among us is perfectly righteous. Romans 3:23 says,“... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...”So we are left with the hope that God will judge us as having beenrighteous on the whole, and that He will forgive whatever sins we didcommit and we ask Him for forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 says, “If weconfess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins andto cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Similarly, Psalm 32:5says, “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover myiniquity; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,' andyou forgave the iniquity of my sin. [/FONT]


[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Butin order to get to the point where we ask God to forgive our sins, wemust be aware of the responsibility that has been put on us sinceAdam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge, to have an awareness ofwhat may be considered good and evil. That awareness can only comewhen we view ourselves in terms of how we interact with, and are seenby, the rest of the world, and by knowledge of what the Scripturessay. To that end, Colossians 2:8 says “See to it that no one takesyou captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to humantradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and notaccording to Christ.”[/FONT]

 

[TruthTalk]

Greetings newton3003, I admire your treatise on the Christian Faith. My question to you is concerning the title of your post, "God encourages self-examination for righteousness." I believe the bible teaches our righteousness comes from Jesus Christ and that we should examine ourselves to see whether we are in the Faith. My other concern is your statement, 'satan has left his light on for them," I suppose you mean he can appear as an angel of light and that part of scripture I do believe is true.

God bless and thank you for allowing me to share.

Weare here at God's pleasure. As Genesis 1:27 says “So God createdman in his own image,
inthe image of God he created him; male and female he created them,”we are called upon with a choice...we can strive to live in thatimage of God, or we can allow ourselves to give in to earthlytemptations of evil and thereby forsake God and His Law.

Thosethat give in to earthly temptations and have gone to follow othergods need not examine themselves, since their fate is clear and thereis nothing to stop it. God does not concern Himself with what suchpeople may think, as long as their thoughts do not involve harmingothers, though He may hold out hope that they see the light throughJesus. Other than that, for such people, who cannot be persuaded tolove God and eachother, the divine sentence will be passed and Satanhas left his light on for them.



[h=2][/h]

 

[Nehemiah6]

I believe the bible teaches our righteousness comes from Jesus Christ and that we should examine ourselves to see whether we are

]in the Faith.

Yes, our righteousness is indeed the imputed righteousness of Christ. But that does not exempt the Christian to work out his salvation with fear and trembling. God expects practical righteousness and good works (on-going sanctification). And therefore we should examine ourselves daily. We are justified by grace through faith, but then we must be sanctified by the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

[stonesoffire]

we can strive to live in thatimage of God, or we can allow ourselves to give in to earthlytemptations of evil and thereby forsake God and His Law.

We are dead to sin and alive to God. This is just a fleshly way of trying to make oneself perfect in our own eyes.

And so, we have the Law to take into consideration when we test oursurroundings, that we may not fall into a pit of evil. It is the sameLaw of which James 2:10 warns that we must abide by all of it

.

I believe this statement is in error. And am sure you will be challenged on it.

~Satanhas left his light on for them.

? what light.

This is just a start on your post.

 

[stonesoffire]

Yes, our righteousness is indeed the imputed righteousness of Christ. But that does not exempt the Christian to work out his salvation with fear and trembling. God expects practical righteousness and good works (on-going sanctification). And therefore we should examine ourselves daily. We are justified by grace through faith, but then we must be sanctified by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Holy Spirit is our sanctification.

 

[Nehemiah6]

Holy Spirit is our sanctification.

That does not exempt Christians from PRACTICAL sanctification or righteousness. That is why Peter says that we are to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior. In other words, when a person is born again he is a babe in Christ, and is required to grow into Christian maturity. Simply stating that the Holy Spirit is our sanctification leaves the impression that that is the end of the story, when it is just the beginning.

 

[TruthTalk]

Fundamentals of the faith and I accept your advice - God bless.

Yes, our righteousness is indeed the imputed righteousness of Christ. But that does not exempt the Christian to work out his salvation with fear and trembling. God expects practical righteousness and good works (on-going sanctification). And therefore we should examine ourselves daily. We are justified by grace through faith, but then we must be sanctified by the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

[stonesoffire]

I think what you are calling practical sanctification and righteousness is what I would call according to the OT term, walking upright.

Holy Spirit is our sanctification both positional and instructionally as our teacher. Then as a result of our being in Christ, fruit of Holy Spirit automatically grows....just like trees. Because the fruits is the result of our being. Be ing. We are trees of righteousness (His




Isa 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

 

[newton3003]

James 2:10 "...whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point[SUP]k[/SUP]has become guilty of all of it."

 

[dcontroversal]

Well......David described the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness without the deeds of the law (works).....................called faith into Jesus.......!

 

[newton3003]

>My other concern is your statement, 'satan has left his light on for them," I suppose you mean he can appear as an angel of light and that part of scripture I do believe is true.

***Actually, I meant it in the context of a Super 8 Motel, leaving the light on out for guests like it says in the commercial. Nothing more to it than that.

 

[karen0123]

MIRROR OF SOUL

MIRROR OF SOUL

The Bible is often referred to as the “mirror ofthe soul.” I suppose that it is called such because ofwhat James said in his epistle, when writing to the twelve tribes scattered abroad. There he said, “But be doers ofthe word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer ofthe word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law ofliberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer ofthe work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:22-25).

Just as one looks in a mirror to see themselves physically, to make any needed changes in their appearance, so one must look in the mirror ofthe soul to see themselves as God truly beholds them. What do you see when you look at your soul? Are there changes that need to be made? Do you like what you see? More importantly, does God like what is revealed there? Are you willing to make the necessary changes in your spiritual appearance if it is blemished?

This mirror reveals our origin (Genesis 2:7), speaks of our life on this globe (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8), and tell us about eternity (Matthew 25:46). Because of sin, man’s soul can become disfigured and flawed. It is through the Bible we can learn of these faults and failure, but also grasp the needed information to make necessary corrections to once again be pure and holy in the sight ofthe Lord.

As you look at your soul in this revealing instrument, what do you see? Do you see a person who has never done what the Scriptures teach to be remitted of sin? Have you believed that Jesus is the Christ (John 8:24), repented of your sins (Luke 13:3), confessed Christ’s name, and been immersed in water for the remission ofsins (Acts 2:38; 8:36)? Once arising a new creature in Christ Jesus, having been saved by the grace of God, are you now walking in newness of life (Romans 6:4-6)? Are you allowing theSpiritof God to lead you in the path of righteousness through the word that has been revealed (Galatians 5:18; Ephesians 6:17)? Or do you see a soul once again marred by thesinsofthe flesh, because we have allowed Satan to gain victory through yielding to temptations (Galatians 5:19-21)?

Not only can it reveal our shortcomings and weaknesses, but it can also disclose our good traits and qualities as well. When men were to be selected to take care ofthe widows who were being neglected in Acts 6, the qualifications given were a “good reputation, full oftheHolySpirit and wisdom” (Acts 6:3). Seven men were chosen who obviously met those requirements (Acts 6:5). It was said of Dorcas, “This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds” (Acts 9:36). What a testimony to the life of this wonderful lady who had died while serving the Lord. In Hebrews 11, that entire chapter tells us of men and women who had lived lives in faith and would now receive their eternal reward, a city prepared for them (Hebrews 11:16).

Pick up the mirror ofthe soul and look in it. What do you see? Do you see a faithful Christian who attends all the worship services? One who is the salt ofthe earth and light to a world that is overwhelmed in sin and ignorance? Or do you see someone who needs to change; one that needs to have their priorities in the right place and have the joy of their salvation restored unto them? A person who needs a heart that once again burns with zeal and determination in serving the God of heaven? Don’t get angry with the mirror or with the one who reveals the reflection seen therein. Do what James says, “be doers ofthe word” (James 1:22).
​