The Daily Word of Righteousness

One Salvation, #11

For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. (Malachi 3:6)

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

In the beginning God ordained that man be in the image of God; that he be male and female; that he be fruitful and govern the works of God's hands.

Then God rested.

Since that time God has revealed Himself periodically to individuals, and especially to the nation of Israel, choosing the Jews and their land as His peculiar possession.

The greatest revelation of God to man occurred when Jesus of Nazareth walked in Jerusalem and surrounding areas.

God has never changed. Faith has never changed. Righteousness has never changed. Salvation has never changed. There are no dispensational differences in faith, or righteousness, or salvation, or in God Himself.

That there are no differences in faith can be seen in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, which is the scriptural definition of "the just shall live by faith." Hebrews, Chapter 11 begins with Abel and proceeds through the heroes of faith of the period prior to the Christian Era.

Righteousness is that which is pleasing to God, that which is approved of Him.

In every age and nation there have been people who have pleased God.

But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. (Acts 10:35)

Our limited salvation formula stresses that no individual has pleased God, none has been judged righteous. This position is not supported by Scripture except by verses taken out of context.

When Paul quoted the Old Testament passages concerning the sinfulness of man, it was not his intention to convey the idea that no person on the earth is righteous. The Scriptures refers to many people as righteous. Paul was emphasizing that all men have a sinful nature that can be changed only through Christ, not through the Law of Moses. To claim there never has been a righteous person on earth would contradict numerous passages of the Scriptures.

And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. (Genesis 7:1)

Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked. (Exodus 23:7)

And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. (Luke 1:6)

The Jewish Apostle Paul has been grievously misinterpreted. Paul's point is that religious works alone cannot please God. No ritual of itself pleases God. He who comes to God must come with a heart of faith and love, making his offering directly to the Lord with his heart as well as his hands.

Abel's offering was accepted because he came to God with a loving heart. Cain performed the ritual but without faith. There was murder in his heart.

The Law of Moses is perfect and spiritual. One can perform the works of the Law with a heart of faith in God, as did Anna and Simeon in the Temple; as did the mother and father of John the Baptist.

To be continued.