“It is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God.” Romans 10:10 NLT
“Righteousness is the Bible’s description of ‘getting life right.’”
My thoughts today are about “getting life right.”
I think that every individual wants to live “right” but what if you don’t know what “right” is, or how to make that happen? I think that’s usually the problem. It’s a lack of knowledge and ability, not desire and intention. I observe that when you get life right, you tend to keep going that way. But when you let life go wrong, it tends to go more wrong. Some people have gotten so mixed up about life that they don’t really know for sure what is right or wrong. Things can feel right but be so wrong, causing pain and hurt to yourself and others. And people know things instinctively to be wrong, but will not restrain the inclinations and appetites that make them weak to resist wrong.
What’s the difference? Who decides? Is it left to you to figure out? Would such an individual responsibility be responsible? It’s rather simple really; God has established right from wrong and you should be grateful that He has. Society clearly shows that without an arbiter of right and wrong, we don’t do so well on our own. What if there were no speed limits or “rules of the road,” nor the penalties and enforcement to govern your obeying them? How well would it work for each driver to decide for themselves the right speed, or proper lane to drive in? Can you imagine the mayhem on our streets and highways by just letting every driver do what they think is right for them?
There was a season of time described this way, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25 NKJV. How does that work out? Here’s God’s opinion; “All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart . . there is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Proverbs 21:2/16:25 NIV. See Proverbs 12:15 NIV. Without a righteous standard, right and wrong is not possible to distinguish. Who but God is qualified to set that standard of righteousness? Righteousness is the Bible’s description of “getting life right.” Getting life right begins with getting yourself right with God.
The Bible says, “For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved . . for anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:9-10/13. Believing is not merely a mental exercise; “believing in your heart” is a deliberate decision and willful discipline of your spirit to believe God, accompanying your belief with consistent and corresponding actions of faith and conduct.
But there is a bit more to “believing in your heart.” I refinanced my truck recently; the bank gave me a certificate for a year of unlimited car washes. When my truck needs washing, I have no responsibility to pay for what has already been paid for me. The management of the car wash gives me credit as though I paid them the money. I only have to believe in the trustworthiness of my bank and the integrity of the management at the car wash to honor what has been paid for me. Romans 5:18-19 NKJV. Many people believe with all their heart things that are not true. What you believe has to be true. Your truth has to be God’s Truth. Getting life right is being true to the Truth.
My prayer for you today is that you will trust God who is righteous and just.