Evil, Good, Righteousness

Here is something to think about, that I know most do not, simply because it has taken 60 years for me to be brought to this conclusion. Most people only view things as good or evil. And I say most, because there are those who say there are some things that are neither good or evil, and then there are some who say that some things can be both good and evil. What most miss out on is understanding the difference between “what is good” and “what is righteous”.

In what I have come to understand through my studies is: When we take a law ….. the law that says: do not steal. We know for a fact that it is evil to steal and that it is good not to steal. But do we, in our own understanding connect righteousness with being good? What I mean by this is: we know it is good not to steal, but if we don’t steal, does the fact that we do not steal, make us righteous? I myself, don’t believe so ….. what makes us righteous is “to give”. Simply put:

What is considered to be evil is “to steal”
What is considered to be good is “not to steal”
But what is considered to be righteous is “to give”

….. like wise with killing:

What is considered to be evil is “to kill”
What is considered to be good is “not to kill”
But what is considered to be righteous is “to give life”
(simply because we already understand that “to kill” is “to take life”)

In understanding the difference between “the covenant of law” and “the covenant of grace”, we know that the “law” is good and that it should be obeyed, but do we love the law more than we love Jesus? If Jesus is “righteous” (that being "righteous" is an attribute of Jesus) and that “being good” is an attribute of the law, and we know that the Father gave us both. He gave us both the law and He gave us Jesus, that He gave us the law under “the old” covenant of the law and that He gave us Jesus under “the new” covenant of grace, more so to usher in "the new" covenant of grace.. Have we come to love “what is good” (the law) more than “what is righteous” (Jesus)? And have we come to love “being good” through the law more than we love “being righteous” through Christ?

For me, to understand the difference between “what is good” and “what is righteous” is so misunderstood because the mind can believe that they are exactly the same thing when they’re not. Because even people of religious teachings know that that there is a big difference between just “being good” and “being righteous”. And do we misunderstand that our obedience to the law is “just being good”, but our obedience to Christ is “being righteous”? But this comes down to “the reason” for doing something, in other words, it comes down to our “motive” FOR doing something.

Understanding the difference between “have to” and “want to” is very important at this time. Because what is our “motive” FOR giving? Do we give because we “have to” (that it is law to be obeyed) or do we give because we “want to” (out of love)? In other words, do we give because it is “law” written “ON” our hearts and we “have to” obey that law, OR, do we give because it is “grace” “IN” our hearts and we “want to” obey that grace? Do we see that this “grace” IN our hearts is different than “the law” written ON our hearts?

The disciple John wrote down these words of Christ in the book of Revelation:

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” (3:20).

Have we opened the door to our hearts and let the “Grace” of God in? And when we look upon our own heart, do we look beyond what is written ON our hearts (the law) and see what is IN our hearts (grace)? And do we understand that when we give, it is Christ IN us “wanting to give” to another rather than ourselves of law “having to give” to another? And by this, do we get a better understanding of these words of John:

“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4).

That it is a greater thing to give because you “want to” through Grace, than to give because you “have to” through law? Have we BECOME the Grace of God, having entered into the New Covenant of Grace or have we REMAINED in the law of God, remaining under the Old Covenant of the Law?

The apostle Paul writes these words:

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” (Galatians 3:24).

This word “faith” is G1402 with the definition of “persuasion”, taken from the word G3982 which means “to convince”. So, with this in mind, shouldn’t we understand that this definition of “persuasion” is understood in the context of “to persuade” or “to convince? And that when we bring in the concept of “the law”, that it is to be understood as “being persuaded” or “being convinced”, what is good and what is evil? That the law itself can convince us “what is good” and “what is evil”? But, do we realize that “what is righteous” comes through Christ? In other words, does the law teach us to give? Does the law teach us to give life? Which is why I believe the apostle Paul states what he does in that the law is our schoolmaster to teach us good and evil, but that it is to lead us to Christ to understand “what is righteous” so that we can be justified by being persuaded; being convinced (faith) of “what is righteous” through Christ.

This is also why I believe what Paul says when he states:

“For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.” (Romans 10:3-4).

For they being ignorant, lacking in understanding God’s righteousness (that is “to give”), and going about to establish their own righteousness (thinking it is righteous “to not steal”), have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God, that righteousness of God being “to give”, not just “to not steal”, For (because) Christ is the end of the law for righteousness, thinking it is righteous “to not steal”, to everyone that believeth.

Do we believe that this is what the apostle Paul meant when he had these words written down in his letter to the Romans? Or do we still lack understanding “what is good” through the law and “what is righteous” through Christ? For me, it is the understanding of: under the old covenant of the law, it was righteous (good) not to steal, but under the new covenant of grace, what becomes righteous is “to give”.

Another reason I believe this is because of the short phrase Paul wrote with the words: “what the law could not do” (Romans 8:3), that the law could not show us “what is righteous”, in other words, it could not show us that it is “righteous to give”, it could only show us what is good. Again, in other words: it could only show us it was “good” not to steal.

I have no idea if you ….. the reader ….. understand these things that I have written. I hope that you do and that I have not caused you any confusion. That is the last thing I want to do. So, all I ask is, if you are confused in understanding this: then consider me a liar and let God be true. Take this directly to Him and live the words:

“let God be true; but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4)

I too, am just a man, so consider me a liar. I put myself out there to be judged by you, and I put what I write out there to be judged by you. I don’t have to give you any authority to judge me or judge what I write, you already have that. All I ask is that you try to understand the point I am trying to make by thinking about it first; thinking about it “before” you come to a verdict of whether I am a liar or not.

The reason I say all this is because; when we take into consideration the other law I was talking about, that it is evil “to kill” and that it is “good” not to kill; do we also understand that to be righteous is “to give life”? Which raises the question: How do we, being just a human being, give life to someone else, when we know that only God can literally give life to someone?

So, by this, thinking from a different perspective, have we ever considered that “to give life” to someone can be understood differently than what we have been taught? If “God is Love” and “Christ is Life” and if we have seen Christ, we have seen the Father; wouldn’t it stand to reason that to give “love” to another is to give “life” to another? Do we see this when we read the words:

“And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:39),

That if we are giving “love” to our neighbor, we are giving “life” to our neighbor? Do we not yet understand that the understanding of: the Father and the Son are one, is the same as saying: “Love” and “Life” are one? It has taken over 13 years of studying for me to be brought into this understanding, I hope it takes others less.

Blessings