Co-operate with Jesus and the Spirit’s “ministry of righteousness”

[ZacharyB]

All Scripture passages are from the NKJV.

The meaning of righteousness … “And they were both righteous before God,
walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” (Luke 1:6)
No one is perfect, so IMO this would include sincere repenting of occasional unfaithfulness!

“For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.”
(Galatians 5:5) … “Hope” here is Strong’s #1680, “favorable and confident expectation”.
This is the expectation of the truly faithful … All Vine’s says is: “the hope of righteousness”;
i.e. the believer’s complete conformity to God’s will, at the coming of Christ.”

• “… whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him” (Acts 10:35)

• “… you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether (slaves) of sin leading to death,
or (slaves) of obedience leading to righteousness” (Romans 6:16)

“If you love Me, keep My commandments … He who has My commandments and
keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father,
and I will love him … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will
love him … He who does not love Me does not keep My words” (John 14:15-24)

“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments …
… But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him.
By this we know that we are in Him.” (1 John 2:3-5)

• “… so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness” (Romans 6:19)
• “... holiness, without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14)

• “But you, O man of God, flee these things (sins) and pursue righteousness” (1 Timothy 6:11)

• “All Scripture… is profitable for … instruction in (practicing) righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16)

• “… we, having died to sins, might live for (the practicing of) righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24)

• “… you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.” (1 John 2:29)

• “… let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous” (1 John 3:7)

• “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest:
whoever does NOT practice righteousness is NOT of God” (1 John 3:10)
Notice above that “the children of God” practice righteousness!
And “the children of the devil” do NOT practice righteousness!
In the church, would these be the tares, the foolish virgins, those with bad fruit, etc.?

• “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers;
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” (1 Peter 3:12)
Notice those who do evil (sin) are contrasted with those who are righteous.

• “… those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who
have done evil (practiced sin), to the resurrection of condemnation.” (John 5:29)

• “For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness,
than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.
But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returns to his own vomit’,
and, ‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.’ ” (2 Peter 2:21-22)

True believers who are faithful will be obedient and practice righteousness,
and therefore will be seen by God as continuing to be righteous!
Those who habitually practice sin will NOT be allowed into the kingdom of God/heaven
(1 Corinthians 6:9, Galatians 5:21, Ephesians 5:5)

The Holy Spirit’s “ministry of righteousness” transforms believers unto holiness.
• “... holiness, without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14)

The Scriptures above clearly show that this requires the co-operation of believers!

• “… how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious (than the OT ministry of death)?
For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much
more in glory … But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord,
are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
(2 Corinthians 3:8-9,18)

• “… beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit,
perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1)
• “... holiness, without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14)

• “Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God.
I speak this to your shame.” (1 Corinthians 15:34)

 

[ZacharyB]

2nd edition of the OP ... re: practicing righteousness unto salvation

The meaning of righteousness … “And they (Zach and Liz) were both righteous before God,
walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” (Luke 1:6)
No one is perfect, so IMO this would include sincere repenting of the occasional sin!

“For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” (Galatians 5:5)
“Hope” here is Strong’s #1680, “favorable and confident expectation”,
i.e. the expectation of the truly faithful … Vine’s famous Expository Dictionary of Biblical words:
“the hope of righteousness; i.e. the believer’s complete conformity to God’s will”

• “… whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him” (Acts 10:35)

• “… you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether (slaves) of sin leading to death,
or (slaves) of obedience leading to righteousness” (Romans 6:16)

“If you love Me, keep My commandments … He who has My commandments and
keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father,
and I will love him … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will
love him … He who does not love Me does not keep My words” (John 14:15-24)
Thus the question must arise …
Does anyone go to heaven who does not love Jesus and obey His commandments?

“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments” (1 John 2:3)
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3)
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life”
(John 10:27-28)

• “… so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness” (Romans 6:19)
• “... holiness, without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14)

• “But you, O man of God, flee these things (sins) and pursue righteousness” (1 Timothy 6:11)

• “All Scripture… is profitable for … instruction in (practicing) righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16)

• “… we, having died to sins, might live for (the practicing of) righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24)

• “… you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.” (1 John 2:29)

• “… let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous” (1 John 3:7)

• “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest:
whoever does NOT practice righteousness is NOT of God” (1 John 3:10)

Notice above that “the children of God” practice righteousness!
And “the children of the devil” do NOT practice righteousness!
In the church … would these be the tares, the foolish virgins, those with bad fruit, etc. etc.?

• “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers;
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” (1 Peter 3:12)
Notice those who do evil (sin) are contrasted with those who are righteous.

• “… those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who
have done evil (practiced sin), to the resurrection of condemnation.” (John 5:29)

• “For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness,
than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.
But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returns to his own vomit’,
and, ‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.’ ” (2 Peter 2:21-22)

True believers who are faithful will be obedient and practice righteousness,
and therefore will be seen by God as continuing to be righteous!
Those who habitually practice sin will NOT be allowed into the kingdom of God/heaven
(1 Corinthians 6:9, Galatians 5:21, Ephesians 5:5)

The Holy Spirit’s “ministry of righteousness” transforms believers into living in holiness!
• “... holiness, without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14)
The Scriptures above clearly show that this requires the co-operation of believers!

• “… how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious (than the OT ministry of death)?
For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much
more in glory … But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord,
are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
(2 Corinthians 3:8-9,18)

• “… beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit,
perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1)

• “Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God.
I speak this to your shame.” (1 Corinthians 15:34)

 

[Soyeong]

We are not to train or practice in righteousness in order to become declared righteous, but because we have been declared righteous by faith. Just as someone who is declared to be a Firefighter is called to go out and fight fires, someone who is declared righteous is called to go out and do what is righteous. Our salvation is from sin, and sin is having an unrighteous conduct, so our salvation from having a sinful or unrighteous conduct is for the the purpose of having a righteous conduct (Ephesians 2:8-10). Messiah is holy, righteous, and good, which means that he always has a holy, righteous, and good conduct. We do not yet always have such a conduct or always avoid having a sinful conduct, but if we have faith that God will bring that about, then we can by faith be made to to follow Messiah's example (1 Peter 2:21-22), to walk as he walked (1 John 2:4-6), to walk in the Spirit (Ezekiel 36:26-27), to be his disciple (Matthew 23:8), to imitate him (1 Corinthians 11:1), to be like him (Philippians 2:5), and to bear much good fruit (John 15:8-10).

 

[Mister_Al]

You are righteous because of the family line you are in, not because of your works.

Before you were saved you were in Adam's family line and were condemned because of Adam's sin. But when you got saved you were joined to Christ and became one flesh with Him and transferred into God's family line that has no condemnation. You are now righteous through Christ, and Christ alone.

Blessings,

Alan

 

[ZacharyB]

We are not to train or practice in righteousness in order to become declared righteous, but because we have been declared righteous by faith.

This, of course, is the adopted doctrine of the standard party line.
But, it is not what I see Scripture saying in the verses stated in the OP.
Practicing righteousness PROVES that one is righteous.
NOT practicing righteousness PROVES that one is NOT righteous.
'Tis just another litmus test for revealing who is saved, and who is not.

Again, I see in Scripture that one is justified, declared righteous, etc.
at the moment of receiving the Holy Spirit ... but this must be continued.
Yes, "our reasonable service" (Rom 12:1) is to co-operate with the Holy Spirit
who is within us (why else is He there, but for Him to guide us unto holiness?)
... as opposed to taking these incredible blessings for granted.
Many warnings in the NT about the part we are to play in our salvation!

 

[Eryk]

When people think that they are good apart from what they do, they are going to be less concerned about their behavior. Study: Religious Kids Are Jerks. You're not good if you think you're good. You're good if you try to be good.

None of us is simply good or bad. We all have the freedom to do both good and bad, and we must continually choose. Our life is those choices.

I wish we didn't have this faith/works dichotomy in salvation. Our works don't save us because we can't achieve perfection. But God can see who is trying. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

 

[brotherjerry]

If one looses their salvation, how do they get it back?

How many sins or what type of sins does it take to lose your salvation?

What type or how many righteous acts does it take before you get your salvation back? Does Christ have to die again in order to earn your salvation back?

Can you provide any examples of this from the Bible? Is there one person mentioned in the Bible that lost their salvation and then gained it back?

Many of the verses you mentioned have been shown to you to either not be speaking of salvation, don't mention losing salvation, or are speaking of the rewards we may earn after salvation (different crowns for example). All of which when shown this you never seem to reconcile that, why is that?

 

[EmSw]

We are not to train or practice in righteousness in order to become declared righteous, but because we have been declared righteous by faith. Just as someone who is declared to be a Firefighter is called to go out and fight fires, someone who is declared righteous is called to go out and do what is righteous. Our salvation is from sin, and sin is having an unrighteous conduct, so our salvation from having a sinful or unrighteous conduct is for the the purpose of having a righteous conduct (Ephesians 2:8-10). Messiah is holy, righteous, and good, which means that he always has a holy, righteous, and good conduct. We do not yet always have such a conduct or always avoid having a sinful conduct, but if we have faith that God will bring that about, then we can by faith be made to to follow Messiah's example (1 Peter 2:21-22), to walk as he walked (1 John 2:4-6), to walk in the Spirit (Ezekiel 36:26-27), to be his disciple (Matthew 23:8), to imitate him (1 Corinthians 11:1), to be like him (Philippians 2:5), and to bear much good fruit (John 15:8-10).

You have completely missed John's messages.

1 John 2:29
If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.

1 John 3:7
Little children, let no one 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: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

John says to let no one deceive you. HE WHO PRACTICES RIGHTEOUSNESS IS RIGHTEOUS. If you tell me not to practice righteousness in order to be declared righteous, then I have to assume your are trying to deceive me, whether knowingly or unknowingly.

 

[Soyeong]

This, of course, is the adopted doctrine of the standard party line.
But, it is not what I see Scripture saying in the verses stated in the OP.
Practicing righteousness PROVES that one is righteous.
NOT practicing righteousness PROVES that one is NOT righteous.
'Tis just another litmus test for revealing who is saved, and who is not.

Again, I see in Scripture that one is justified, declared righteous, etc.
at the moment of receiving the Holy Spirit ... but this must be continued.
Yes, "our reasonable service" (Rom 12:1) is to co-operate with the Holy Spirit
who is within us (why else is He there, but for Him to guide us unto holiness?)
... as opposed to taking these incredible blessings for granted.
Many warnings in the NT about the part we are to play in our salvation!

Romans 3:10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;

Genesis 6:9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.

To say that God is righteous is to say that He always does what is righteous and to say that no one is righteous is to say that no one always does what is righteous, but to say that someone like Noah was righteous and blameless is to say that he practiced righteousness and repentance by faith.

The key to understand is that salvation from sin has a past, present, and future components, so we have been saved from the penalty of our sins, we are being saved from ongoing sin, and we will be saved from God's wrath on the day of the Lord (Ephesians 2:5, Philippians 2:12, Romans 5:9-10). Having been declared righteous or justified by faith refers to our past salvation from the penalty of our sins and is not something that we can earn or take part in.

Our sanctification or our salvation from ongoing sin is something that we necessarily cooperate with because we can't go from someone who was a slave to sin to someone who will always be righteous and sinless without doing what is righteous and refraining from doing what is sinful along the way. We are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, so we play a part in our salvation, but the part we play is not to become justified, but because we have been justified and because God is working through us. Someone who is declared righteous is someone who practices righteousness and repentance by faith, so someone who does that by faith demonstrates that they have been justified. The purpose of sanctification is to be made into someone who is like Messiah who only does what is holy, righteous, and good.

 

[Soyeong]

You have completely missed John's messages.

1 John 2:29
If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.

1 John 3:7
Little children, let no one 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: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

John says to let no one deceive you. HE WHO PRACTICES RIGHTEOUSNESS IS RIGHTEOUS. If you tell me not to practice righteousness in order to be declared righteous, then I have to assume your are trying to deceive me, whether knowingly or unknowingly.

Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

If you could become declared righteous by practicing righteousness, then you would have something to boast about. We don't practice righteousness in order to become new creations in Christ, but rather we are made new creations in Christ for the purpose of practicing righteousness. It is not saying in 1 John 3:7 that we are to practice righteousness in order to be declared righteous, but that that he who practices righteousness is righteous because that's what righteous people do, just as he is righteous.

 

[Soyeong]

If one looses their salvation, how do they get it back?

How many sins or what type of sins does it take to lose your salvation?

What type or how many righteous acts does it take before you get your salvation back? Does Christ have to die again in order to earn your salvation back?

Can you provide any examples of this from the Bible? Is there one person mentioned in the Bible that lost their salvation and then gained it back?

Many of the verses you mentioned have been shown to you to either not be speaking of salvation, don't mention losing salvation, or are speaking of the rewards we may earn after salvation (different crowns for example). All of which when shown this you never seem to reconcile that, why is that?

Rather than focusing on the quantity and quality of the individual acts, the focus should be on whether or not someone makes a practice of righteousness and of repentance.

 

[EmSw]

Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

If you are created for good works, and commanded to walk in then, why do you and others try so desperately to correct me? It seems you would be encouraging me.

If you could become declared righteous by practicing righteousness, then you would have something to boast about. We don't practice righteousness in order to become new creations in Christ, but rather we are made new creations in Christ for the purpose of practicing righteousness. It is not saying in 1 John 3:7 that we are to practice righteousness in order to be declared righteous, but that that he who practices righteousness is righteous because that's what righteous people do, just as he is righteous.

Why do you think I would want to boast? That would be a personal decision of which I have no desire.

Let me ask this - is a person righteous if he doesn't practice righteousness? John says this person is not even born of God. And where does it say in John 'because that's what righteous people do'? Why do you want to add to John's word?

1 John 3:10
In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

 

[jimmyjimmy]

I see in Scripture that one is justified, declared righteous, etc.
at the moment of receiving the Holy Spirit ... but this must be continued.

It is continued, and it is continued by grace, through faith. You are promoting the idea that we begin by faith and then we switch to works. That's precisely what the issue was in the Galatian church. It was so bad an error that Paul said these things:

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? (Galatians 3:1-3 ESV)

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. (Galatians 2:15-16 ESV)

For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. (Galatians 2:19-21 ESV)

​

 

[ZacharyB]

You're good if you try to be good ... We all have the freedom to do both
good and bad, and we must continually choose. Our life is those choices.
I wish we didn't have this faith/works dichotomy in salvation.
Our works don't save us because we can't achieve perfection.
But God can see who is trying.
He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Jesus said no one is good except for Father God.
Did He mean it was impossible for even the Word
in a human body to be considered good?

Re: your bold ... IMO, He rewards with eternal life.
The new covenant (like the old one) demands co-operation with God.
Believers actually have a part to play in their salvation!
They're NOT given the faith to believe and then just ride on the gravy train.
No OSAS ... no easy believism unto an unconditional free grace!

Otherwise, we need to determine if all of His dozens of dire warnings
about losing salvation are merely bluffs, exaggerations, lies, or what?

The unbelievers in God's word weakly say ...
the warnings are misunderstood, taken out of context, etc.

 

[Job8]

Practicing righteousness PROVES that one is righteous. NOT practicing righteousness PROVES that one is NOT righteous.

There's no disputing this. At the same time it is essential that all Christians understand clearly that because they have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, they have been declared righteous by God, and are also deemed to be righteous with the righteousness of Christ. This is imputed righteousness. Therefore they must now practice righteousness. Even so, it will always be the imputed righteousness of Christ (as well as the blood of Christ) which will ensure their entry into Heaven.

 

[ZacharyB]

If one looses their salvation, how do they get it back?

But the big qvestion remains:
If you loose your mule from his stall, will he lose the comfort of his stall forever?

 

[ZacharyB]

It is continued, and it is continued by grace, through faith.
You are promoting the idea that we begin by faith and then we switch to works.
That's precisely what the issue was in the Galatian church.

I continue to need to repeat over and over again ...
Co-operating with the indwelling Holy Spirit is NOT doing good works/deeds!

This co-operation is simply our reasonable service (Romans 12:1 + other verses).

 

[ZacharyB]

... because they have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, they have been declared righteous by God, and are also deemed to be righteous with the righteousness of Christ. This is imputed righteousness. Therefore they must now practice righteousness. Even so, it will always be the imputed righteousness of Christ (as well as the blood of Christ) which will ensure their entry into Heaven.

However, the word says ...
-- only those who practice righteousness actually are righteous
-- only the righteous may enter the kingdom of God
Do you see the logic of this?
So, what happened to that imputed righteousness?

As I have said all along ... justification, imputed righteousness, etc.
happens when one INITIALLY receives the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
All of the dozens of dire warnings are about CONTINUING this blessed condition.
Which has nothing to do with doing good works/deeds towards your fellow man.

I just realized more clearly ...
-- doing good works/deeds is ministering to man
-- co-operating with the Spirit is ministering to God

 

[brotherjerry]

Now Zach I have to say your last post

I just realized more clearly ...
-- doing good works/deeds is ministering to man
-- co-operating with the Spirit is ministering to God

This helps out tremendously as far as understanding your position. Up until this post the implication of your point of view was that people had to do works in order to keep their salvation...or to be co-operating with God. This makes much much more sense to understand. Thank you.

However, it still misses the mark as far as what people who believe in the eternal salvation believe. If we go with what you said here that co-operating with the Spirit is how you keep your salvation, then people who believe in eternal salvation would say that once you are saved, you can never not co-operate with the Holy Spirit. Because we have become new creatures in Christ, this new creature involves having the Holy Spirit as being part of that new creature in Christ. The Bible never describes a situation in which once the Holy Spirit is indwelt, that it leaves the person. We never see an example of someone kicking the Holy Spirit out of themselves and becoming the old creature again.

 

[EmSw]

But the big qvestion remains:
If you loose your mule from his stall, will he lose the comfort of his stall forever?

He loses it until he returns.