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Called in Righteousness

Yeshayah (Isaiah) 42:5-6
5 Thus says Elohim YHWH, “He that created the heavens, and stretched them forth; He that spread abroad the earth and that which comes out of it; He that gives breath to the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein;
6 “I, YHWH, have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand, and will keep you, and give you for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;”

YHWH has called each one of us to walk in righteousness.  He has not called us to walk in the way of unrighteousness, also rightly understood as lawlessness.  What is righteousness according to Scripture?  Let us see if we can discover what Scripture teaches us concerning righteousness so we will be better able to walk in it before YHWH our Elohim.

B‘reshit (Genesis) 15:6 
And he believed in YHWH; and He reckoned it to him for righteousness.
 
The first thing we find is that one must actually believe YHWH for there to be righteousness.  Of course, when one believes YHWH, what must follow is right action, or actions based solely upon that belief in YHWH.  One could also understand the word “believed” in the above verse as “trusted”.  Therefore, Avraham believed and trusted in YHWH.  What did he believe and trust?  He believed and trusted that what YHWH had told him was true and that he could depend upon it, which Avraham did.

B’reshit (Genesis) 18:19 
“For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of YHWH, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that YHWH may bring upon Avraham that which He has spoken of him.”

Please note that righteousness according to the passage above is something one does.  In addition to that, we find that righteousness is not only doing what is right according to YHWH, but righteousness is also teaching one’s children and household also to follow the righteous path of YHWH.

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 6:25 
“And it shall be righteousness to us, if we observe to do all this commandment before YHWH our Elohim, as He has commanded us.”

The only righteousness we can attain is when we do His will, His commandments.  A person cannot follow after his own heart and attain righteousness.  Also, please note that it is not a partial doing of His commandment; rather complete obedience is considered righteousness.  Therefore, as Scripture says, knowing the right thing to do and not doing it is considered sin in the eyes of YHWH our Elohim.  In order to be considered righteous by YHWH one must obey all of His commandments, not just the ones one likes or considers convenient.

Mishle (Proverbs) 14:12 
There is a way which seems right to a man;
But the end thereof are the ways of death.

Only the way of YHWH leads to righteousness and to life.  Any other way is the way of death, and there are numerous paths that lead to death, while there is only one path that leads to life.  Yeshua spoke to this same truth in declaring that the way to destruction was wide, but the way that leads to righteousness and eternal life was narrow.

What Righteousness Does

Yeshayah (Isaiah) 42:7 
“to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house.”

When we walk in righteousness, we will do as Yeshua our Mashiach has done; we will bring light to those who sit in darkness.  We will not bring our own light, but we will bring His light, for His light delivers one out of the darkness.

The darkness His light delivers us out of is a prison of darkness.  He sets us free from this prison so that one now has the freedom to know, understand, guard, keep, and obey His commandments.  While one is a prisoner of the darkness, he does not have the ability or the freedom to obey His commandments.  However, once Yeshua our Mashiach sets him free, he is free indeed!
 
Who Sits on the Throne?

Yeshayah (Isaiah) 42:8 
“I am YHWH, that is My name; and My glory will I not give to another, neither My praise to graven images.”

YHWH clearly states He will not share His glory with any other person or thing.  Now, this is an interesting passage, particularly in our day, as there are those who point to this and then proceed to twist its meaning into something other than what it actually states.

There is a teaching going around that states that when Mashiach returns to claim His kingdom, He will reign and no one will reign with Him on His throne. 

However, here is exactly where this teaching is flawed.  Yeshua is now sitting on the throne and reigning as the King.  It is not so much that He will be King, as He is the King now, not in some far off future time.  Sure, Scripture teaches us He will one day return and set up His earthly kingdom, but this action is only a reflection of what is already true in the heavenly realm.

So the question here each one of us must answer is this:  Who sits on the throne in your life?  The answer to this question will reflect whether one is walking in righteousness or not.

Past and Future
 
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 42:9 
“Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.”

Each and every person has a past.  There are things in that past only the Blood of Mashiach can effectively deal with.  It is the only true remedy.  Once that something has been placed under the Blood of Mashiach, there is no need to be pulling it out and reexamining it.  However, this is what many people would like to do.

Recently, I was told a story by a man who had gone to an assembly, and before this person would be allowed into the life of the assembly, he had to tell them everything from his past.  This assembly is walking in the flesh and not in the Spirit.  Why is that?  When a person or group sets themselves up to judge another person’s past, he or they are usurping the rightful place of YHWH, even to the point YHWH has already judged such a person and placed his past under the Blood of Mashiach.  What such a person or group is doing in taking up the task of again judging another is declaring that the judgment of YHWH and the Blood of Mashiach is not sufficient and that they must determine for themselves whether such a person is worthy to have fellowship with.  Can you see the danger in doing this?  Doing things of this nature is not walking in His righteousness.

Yeshayah (Isaiah) 64:6 
“For we are all become as one that is unclean, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”

Not a single one of us is worthy of His grace, mercy, or being a part of His kingdom.  However, He has offered to extend to each one of us grace and mercy, if we will but accept it and then walk in it.  It is not the past that should concern us; rather it is the present and the future.  The real question is this:  Is a person walking in the Spirit and exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit?  This is the real test.  However, this takes time and effort to discern.  It is also necessary for one to be walking in the Spirit himself.  Otherwise, one cannot properly discern if one is truly walking in His Spirit or in the spirit of another!

YHWH has declared to us the future.  He knows the end from the beginning.  If one will take the time to read, study, and pray about His prophetic word, He will show us what He is doing in this world.  However, here is the thing about this:  We must put aside all our prejudices, notions, and preconceived ideas in order to be able to hear His Spirit clearly.  For all these things, and things like them, hinder one’s hearing of His Voice.  

The opening portion of Scripture is worthy of reading and study.  In it, YHWH contrasts those who cannot hear or see with those who can hear and see.  In other studies, we have discussed how one reproduces after his own kind.  If a person is spiritually blind and deaf, he will quite naturally produce spiritually blind and deaf offspring. 

If one is going to produce offspring worthy of His kingdom, he needs to be able to see and hear himself.  The only way one can do this is if he walks in righteousness.  This quite simply means he hears and obeys His Voice and walks in the Spirit. 

Brothers and sisters in Mashiach, we have entered into a time in history in which only those who are willing to invest the time getting their own hearts right with YHWH our Elohim, and who spend time not just praying, but listening to Him, who will walk through the valley of death without fear or harm coming to them.  He is our Rock and He is our Redeemer!  He is worthy of our trust and obedience.

YHWH has given us a call to come out of unrighteousness and into His righteousness.  Are you willing to answer that call and give up all your own plans in favor of doing His will, His plans, instead?

ABBA YHWH, please fill us with Your righteousness that we may walk in the fullness of all of Your commandments; in the name of Yeshua our Mashiach.  Amein.

Zerubbabel ben Emunah
www.onetorahforall.com
zerubbabel@onetorahforall.com

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