My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I greet you all in the precious name of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

                       A very famous character in the Bible is Abraham, who is hailed as “friend of God”, “father of nations” and “father of faith”. When Abraham was ninety nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said: “I am Almighty God; walk before me and be thou perfect” (Genesis 17:1). Abraham lived for hundred and seventy five years. Either way ninety nine years is not childhood. He had already established a relationship with God and exhibited total obedience to Him. The Lord had already accepted him to be righteous as it is said: “And he believed in the Lord; and He counted it for righteousness”. (Genesis 15:6).

                      Hebrew Chapter 11 is accredited for its description of the “most faithful” bible characters who ever lived.  The word of God says in Hebrew 11:39, “And these all, having  obtained a good  report through faith, received not the promise.

                    The Hebrew word for “righteousness” is “TSADAQ” and the closest meaning is “someone received deliverance from condemnation (acquittal), which is very surprising considering the conventional interpretation of the English word “righteous” as “right way of living” / “upright”. That means someone cannot claim to be righteous himself but needs accreditation.

                         The finer answer lies in Hebrews 12: 2, which says “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame”. Jesus is the “promise”. That is why the old testament heroes of faith could not achieve the promise as the Messiah came later Who is the Author of faith.

                  Even the most faithful cannot claim or attain to be righteous all by himself, as the righteousness was complete only on the Cross when Jesus redeemed us (acquitted us) by His extreme sacrifice.

                       Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is new creature; old things are passed away; behold all things are becoming new. (II Corinthians 5:17).

Prayer:

Dear Lord,

We praise you and we confess our sins and our iniquities before you and seek holiness. Make us clean and white as snow. Please bless us to remain faithful forever and be righteous, in You, forever. Amen.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all our unrighteousness. (I John 1:9).