Lesson Nine • Do Not Be Anxious
Devotion 5: Letting Righteousness Rule
Pastor John Carter
Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Over the last couple of days, we have examined the negative side of what might consume our thoughts and minds with anxiety, worry, and pessimistic thinking. It is easy to say not to do that and just walk away. In other words, if we focus entirely on the negative thoughts and do not give direction on His promises, then we are not effectively teaching what Jesus says. I love that Jesus says to replace the negative with something that is right and truly positive. Putting this all into context, we see Jesus telling us what not to focus on, and in contrast, to focus on the Kingdom of God and His (God’s) righteousness!
This is actually one of the major themes in Jesus’ message. As we have examined the Sermon on the Mount, we see that Jesus tells us, all the way back at the beginning of His message (in what is known as the Beatitudes), an interesting thought. Matthew 5:6 says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
Taking what we learned regarding the provision of the Father, it is amazing how the Word of God is linked to helping understand the true priority Jesus is directing us to. Instead of allowing your mind and heart to worry or be anxious about physical food and nourishment, make sure you understand and seek out (hunger and thirst) the Word of God and His righteousness.
What is the righteousness of God? Where do we go to seek it out? Looking back through Jesus’ message known as the Sermon on the Mount, we see this theme of righteousness being of significant importance.
- “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matthew 5:6
- “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10
- “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:20
- “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 6:1
- “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33
If you just take Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount, you will see the following:
- Righteousness is something that we should desire like we desire food and water.
- Righteousness is something that we will be persecuted for.
- Righteousness is something that can exceed that of the religious people.
- Righteousness is something we should practice, but it should not be flaunted or done for the purpose of others seeing it.
- Righteousness is something we are to seek after.
In the Gospel of John, we see Jesus also says this regarding the work and purpose of the Holy Spirit. John 16:7-11 says, “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” Jesus says the primary role of the Holy Spirit is to convict those who seek righteousness. He helps define what is right and what is wrong and how to judge correctly. He equates sin with disbelief, unrighteousness toward the Father, and judgment with the devil.
Paul, in the book of Romans, deals with the subject of righteousness. Romans 6:15-19 helps us understand what righteousness is, “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.” Paul is walking us through the difference between what we say versus what we believe. He uses this metaphor of slavery and creates an incredible contrast to the One we obey. We have a choice to either disobey and be a slave to sin or we can obey and be a slave to righteousness. Paul defines one as lawlessness and the other he defines as righteousness that leads to sanctification. John uses the very same imagery in 1 John 3:4-10, “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”
Sin is lawlessness! When we go back to Matthew chapter 6, we see Jesus telling us to, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” As we look at what Jesus is telling us, we start to see that there is a completely contrasting idea of what is right in the eyes of God versus what the devil tries to tell us is right. In fact, from the very beginning in the Garden, the devil has been trying to get us to question the very words and promises of God. When we stop listening to the words of God and start to allow the lies of the devil to creep in, we soon find ourselves walking in contrast to the righteousness of God. This is what we call sin. Paul reminds us of the value of God’s Word in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
Paul points us back to where we learn what righteousness is and that it is rooted in, the very words of the Father and the words of Jesus. In the Gospel of John we see Who it is; that is the Word of God. John 1:1-3 records, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” John 1:14 completes the thought, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
“The Word [of God] became flesh.” That is talking about Jesus. When we are told to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and His righteousness, Jesus is basically saying, “Seek me first! I am the righteousness of God!” If you have bread to eat, water to drink, and clothes to wear, but do not know Him, you have missed it all! Spending time in the God’s Word (the Bible) is where we learn how to be trained in righteousness. In other words, it is where we learn to mimic and act out the behavior and character of God and His Son. Take today, and ask yourself, “Am I seeking out the Word of God? Am I seeking Jesus first? Before anything else, I am seeking Him. Be encouraged today that it is not impossible. God gave us the Holy Spirit so that we can confidently know what is right and what is wrong. We have to choose to obey Him and walk in the truth.