A Recipe for Righteousness

As we prepare to enter into the Kingdom Movement that God is getting ready to release in the earth, we must understand that the Kingdom of God is a Kingdom of Righteousness. The Standard for the Kingdom of God is Righteousness. When Jesus returns to establish His Millennial Kingdom, He will rule with a scepter of Righteousness (Hebrews 1). This is why the scripture says in the 6th chapter of 1 Corinthians that those who indulge in acts of self-indulgence and the flesh will not inherit the Kingdom of God. So this is not something that God is playing with. If we want to truly be ambassadors of the Kingdom of God, it is imperative that we submit and subscribe to A Recipe for Righteousness.

Righteousness isn't something you just do, it's something you become (Romans 8). Righteousness isn't just about your behavior, it's about your being. That's why it's more of a recipe than simply a code of conduct. A beautiful witness of a Recipe for Righteousness is Job. When God brags on him in the first chapter of the book of Job, the Lord gives 4 distinct qualities that comprise a Recipe for Righteousness. God described Job as blameless, upright, one that feared God and one that shunned evil (New King James Version). Let's review this recipe very quickly.

Being blameless is not the same as being sinless. Only Jesus the Christ was sinless (2Corinthians 5). Being blameless means that there's no overt trespass or transgression that one is committing against the Lord. Remember, everyone sins, everyone comes short of the glory of God (Romans 3). But there is a point you reach in your maturity in Christ where the Holy Spirit has cleansed and sanctified you to where you are walking in the Divine Will of God for your life, blamelessly. It doesn't mean you don't make mistakes. But any area in your life for which you know represents non-submission to God's Divine Will and His Divine Word, has been repented of and appropriately addressed. Part of being righteous is walking in blamelessness (the King James Version says perfect).

In addition to being blameless, another part of a Recipe for Righteousness is being upright. One of the things that has to get stressed in the Body of Christ is Integrity. When you are upright, there is a standard of conduct and character that you abide by and subscribe to on a consistent basis. It's not based on circumstances and it's not based upon personnel (people). It's consistent, regardless of who's involved or the situation at hand. Righteousness carries with it a posture that says one is committed to the right thing, even when it may be more convenient or expedient to do what's wrong. That's Integrity. That's being upright.

The scripture then says that Job was a man that feared God. Saints, the church is in desperate need of a renewal of the fear of God. There are some things people wouldn't say and there are some things people wouldn't do if they had a stronger fear of the Lord. When you fear the Lord you know that you are accountable to God for your actions and attitudes. It doesn't matter what "people see", you're aware that God sees all. And because of the consciousness that you ultimately have to answer to Him, you avoid certain areas behaviorally and attitudinally because of your fear of the Lord.

Lastly, a Recipe for Righteousness includes shunning evil. Sometimes when you're standing for right, you have to proactively reject the wrong. Satan is always lurking (John 10). And since he is, when you're walking in righteousness, you have to develop a mind-set that is equipped and prepared to shun, reject and resist the temptations and snares that the Devil has prepared for the children of God. It's a mentality and a grace that the Holy Spirit will cultivate within you; but there has to be a commitment to say no to that which is against the Divine Will of God. If we're prayerful and ask God for Grace, He will truly produce in us the results for A Recipe for Righteousness.