The Gift Of Righteousness

[Albert Finch]

Matthew 6:33 -- "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things whall be added to you."

We all have things that we perceive that we need. What does God have to say to us about these concerns?

According to Matthew 6:31, He tells us, "Do not worry." God cares about us having these things. He wants us to have all these things. In fact, He wants all these things added to us. And He tells us that the way these things are added to us is by us seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Therefore, our number one priority every day ist to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. IT IS NOT TO SEEK TO ADD THESE THESE THINGS TO OURSELVES.

But what is righteousness? Righteousness is not right behavior. It is right standing with the Father. It is the clearance of all your guilt, which makes you able to stand before God. It is not something you get through right behavior. It is a GIFT from God. Paul calls it "the gift of righteousness" (Romans 5:17). And to "seek" this gift is to be CONSCIOUS OF THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE IT, TO CONFESS THAT YOU ARE RIGHTEOUS IN CHRIST.

So this righteousness, we are told to seek, is not right behavior, but right standing before God, which comes to us as a gift when we receive salvation. At the cross, Jesus didn't just remove our sins, He gave us His righteousness so that today, we can come boldly before the throne of God and receive freely everything that He died to give us!

Affirmations

I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

I seek the righteousness of Jesus, not my own righteousness.