“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5: 6
Essentially what this means is… the mark of true conversion is that you want to grow. That is the striking difference between citizens of the Kingdom and everybody else. But what does it mean to hunger and thirst after righteousness? The Bible speaks of “Imputed Righteousness,” which in other words is a legal righteousness or justification – something only God can do on our behalf; God gives us the legal right to be righteous with Him through Christ, which is internally done at the second birth…
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” 2 Corinthians 5: 21
“But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.” Romans 3: 21-22
I’m a truth teller,and will always tell you what God says in the Bible… if I step on toes I am just the messenger. Let me spend a moment showing you what Paul says about Abraham…
“Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have something to boast about, but that was not God’s way. For the scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” Romans 4: 1-3
The Jews were proud to be descendants of Abraham. Paul uses Abraham as a good example of someone who was saved by faith. By emphasizing faith, Paul is not saying that God’s law isn’t important, but only that it’s impossible to be saved simply by obeying it.
“But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded. Why Not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law, instead of by trusting in him. They stumbled over the great rock in their path. God warned them of this in the Scriptures when he said,
There is a horrible teaching in some churches which says, “You can make Jesus your Savior without submitting to Him as Lord—you can trust Him to save you, but it’s really optional that you obey Him—it’s preferable, but it’s really up to you.” Let’s look at what Jesus says…
“If you abide in My word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31
So the fourth beatitude is essentially this… True believers can’t live without Him—just as a starving man can’t live without food. One more scripture…
“Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Philippians 3: 13-14
We are not content with just Salvation, we keep growing!
