Self Righteousness or God’s Righteousness?

Just a short note on a very powerful truth today. While in the belly of the great fish, the prophet Jonah spoke something that was and is universally true, and unfortunately is continually fulfilled: “They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy” (Jon. 2:8). What this statement means is that believing erroneous religious things always parallels not coming clean before God about the state of one’s heart. And nobody can obtain mercy from God and become a partaker of his righteousness as long as they hold anything back from him. The ancient proverb tells it plainly: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Prov. 28:13). That is what false doctrine is designed for, to mask sin by finding a way for it to be acceptable to God. Sin is by no means acceptable to God, and in fact he sent his only Son to make a way for sin to be eradicated from the lives of those who truly believe on him (Rom. 8:3; I Jn. 3:8). That way is to be baptized by Jesus with the holy Ghost, and to continue in the holiness obtained through that experience (Mk. 1:7,8; Jn. 7:38,39; Rom. 8:14; Col. 2:6; II Cor. 3:17). The entire modern ‘Christian’ religion is full of doctrines and traditions which make certain that sin REMAINS in the lives of those who “observe [the] lying vanities” of this modern age. The sin-friendly falsehoods of the modern Christian religion can be summed up in the famous “sinners saved by grace” mindset, but the whole religion dictates nothing but self righteousness to those who are under it, and turns its observers away from the only true righteousness of God - the power and love from God that the holy Ghost imparts to those who receive it and continue in it (Acts 1:8; Rom. 5:5; Mat. 24:12,13).

The holy Ghost baptism is the one and only true Gospel experience, which results from full repentance from sin and total faith and dependency on Jesus to TAKE SIN AWAY. The apostle Paul made it clear what is the only place that the righteousness of God can be found: “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but RIGHTEOUSNESS, and peace, and joy IN THE HOLY GHOST" (Rom. 14:17). Much of Christianity does not even acknowledge the present day reality of the Spirit baptism, and those affiliations that do allow for it, disesteem this glorious experience by not setting it forth for what it truly is - the only new birth experience that exists, meaning the only true remission of sins that Jesus suffered, died, and rose again for (I Cor. 12:13; II Cor. 5:17; I Cor. 6:11; Tit. 3:5). Therefore the experience is blocked out of the lives of those who ‘observe’ the modern traditions of Christianity, and the effect of the experience is greatly diminished in the lives of those who DO receive it; because it is relegated to the second tier by the modern 'new birth' doctrines of the Pentecostal affiliations that do acknowledge it (Mat. 23:13; Gal. 5:4). And so the same spiritual disease has infected the entire body of Christ today, that the apostle spoke of regarding Israel: “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Rom. 10:3). Let me conclude with the exhortation of the great apostle to the Gentiles, who would surely be saying the same if he were here today: “Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God” ( I Cor. 15:34). Amen.