Christian Living

Our Faith in Righteousness

by Thomas Kirkpatrick
12/17/21
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“Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6)

We are called to “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31) How can that be? If we, the called, live in the belief of the promises of Jesus’ word, our families will see His light in us and be drawn to Him. They, too, may hear His call. “As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.” (Matthew 9:9) They, too, may get up and follow Him.

Abraham was living in the land of Ur with his family. I think the Lord God saw in Abraham, who was then known as Abram, a man of faith. Many people have desires and wishes, but Abraham was a man who could believe in what was not seen. The Lord God called Abraham to leave his family and go where God would show him. It would be hard for me to leave my family and travel off to someplace without a known destination or purpose, but Abraham had faith in the Lord God and went. The Lord made some significant promises to Abraham that could be accepted in no other way but faith. Abraham was far from a perfect character, but his faith in God’s promises and instructions endeared him to the Lord God. The reward of Abraham’s belief was the credit of righteousness. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:3)

A topic I hate to even talk about is circumcision. If I was to be circumcised at my age or any period beyond one year old, and certainly if I had a choice, I would not rush to the doctor’s office. I am so thankful to be in the New Testament times and have the burden to face. Even as my father made that decision for me, all still need to be circumcised.

We all shiver to think about circumcision as we know the word means cutting away. There are two things I am allegoric to needles and scalpels. The biblical principle of circumcision cuts away the flesh’s lust to place God first in our actions. Removing that which causes us to indulge in sinful worldly pleasures. In the letter to the Roman Church, Paul describes circumcision as not a physical act but spiritual circumcision. “But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.” (Romans 2:29)

Spiritual circumcision is necessary no matter the age or the gender of the one to be circumcised. Circumcision is not a one-time event as it was in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, it was a mark, a sign, the believer had committed to following and serving the Lord God’s commands. It was a sign the person believed in the promises of God’s words and obedience to His will. It was a command for Abraham and his family and household, which is the same today. When we believe the Lord Jesus and commit to following Him, we need to be spiritually circumcised. “He received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them.” (Romans 4:11)

It is what the believer does when they come into the household of God. It is the spiritual mark they have repented from the old ways of the world to the new ways of God’s Kingdom. They have forsaken the old way of their sinful past through circumcision to grasp the new way of the upward call of Christ. They have accepted His mercy and grace because of God’s love and calling. There is no other way; there is nothing we can do, as it is willing to accept God’s gift of salvation. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8) God freely gives out of His love, but it cost a great price the death of His Son.

The Lord did not create humanity without a purpose. God has a purpose and plan for all He has created. The primary purpose is to glorify God. We glorify God in all we do. It does not just recognize Him but praise Him for all the blessings and challenges through the trials of this world. We have turned away from the world and live for the Kingdom to come. It is worshiping Him through our spiritual worship. We live in the guidance of His Spirit and in the flesh through faith in His word. “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” (Romans 12:1)

The world is going to question that. Their questions are either in curiosity or condemnation, and it does not matter which. Their question is an opportunity to tell them about what Jesus has done for you in their life. I love the song lyric “what He has done for others He’ll do for you. It is true, and they need to know. They may accept, or they may reject, but they will know. Who is to say that God can’t wake the knowledge up in the future? We have His power to speak His truth, and we could change a life for eternity. “But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”--that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.’” (Romans 10:8-10)

It is not work we do alone. It is His work, and we are the instruments of His work. We share His good news of the Kingdom of God to every ear that will hear in assurance He is directing our path according to His purpose. That makes the result His accomplishment, and therefore we do not bear the burden of success or failure. God’s will is done, and we must accept that. We have conviction in our hearts that started us on this journey, and it is never-ending, but it does rest in the arms of our Lord and the riches of His glory.

Like Abraham, our journey is a walk of faith. Faith is fueled by our trust in the Word of God. Trust is complete confidence that His word is the absolute truth, and we believe because we accept His truth as the underpinning of all creation. By our faith, we live the belief of what God’s Word means to us and what Christ did to assure our salvation, and for the unconditional love, we see the glory of Him, which will be for us. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Our faith is not a possibility as a wish. It is a conviction that gives assurance that what God has said will come to pass as He said. When His Spirit-powered word is presented, we not only hear but meditate on the deeper truth to be revealed to us. His truth increases our faith as we see it unfold before our eyes in our lives with Him. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17) The deeds we accomplish in faith in His Word justify our belief in the Almighty Lord and King of kings. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1-2)

Our faith in His righteousness proves to the righteous and the unrighteous we are children of God and born of His Spirit. “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.” (1 John 2:29)

Thomas N Kirkpatrick

First Baptist Church of Durant, February 18, 2021