Does Holiness and Righteousness Bring God's Activity and Blessing?

What about them? I don't follow your question.

Mt 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 

How does the fact that we now have the righteousness of Christ applied to our lives play into this?

Could this be a clue to why there is more in the OT than the NT.

 

I thought the OP was addressing how we are blessed today...

 

I think it does. Only after conversion though. This is the Word of God.

But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
(Jas 1:25)

After we are born anew God wants us to walk with Him and He blesses us in our lives.

Understand, this has nothing to do with money.

He will provide for all our needs though.

James is a superb book.

I wish the whole wide Church would study James at the same time.

Brought forth by the Word of God.

Thank you Father.

 

If I understand the OP right, the question is - does God bless holy and righteous living BECAUSE of the act of living holy and righteous? He obviously did in the OT, but how do we reconcile that in light of the New?

As Sue stated, I know that we ought to live right because we love Him, not so that He will bless us. But I wonder too, does it somehow factor in? Or is that a works system?

 

I think it has a lot to do with it. Whose holiness and righteousness are you asking about, ours or God's? If ours, then His activity is already in our lives or we would be holy and righteous. We can't achieve it on our own withouut HIm.

 

Mark 10 should speak to this issue: "I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. 31But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

 

What is meant by bless?

Would the opposite of this question be as a christian, I would not be blessed if I don't live holy?

What are a couple of OT examples?

 

And yet we have the accounts in the OT where Abraham lied about who Sarah was.. and God still blessed him...

I know this could start a C/A debate.. but isn't righteousness given through grace?
And Grace is the unmerited favor of God, right?...

There is nothing we can do to earn our righteousness, for our righteousness is as filthy rags...

So doesn't it follow that blessings come from God based on His grace, and nothing we do?
IOWS, God blesses me, because of Christ's righteousness that God gave to me by grace through faith.

We don't live right to receive blessings...
We live right out of appreciation of the grace God bestowed upon us, and part of that grace is the blessings we now enjoy.

Does this mean that I should live like a sinner, so that grace may more abound? God forbid! (sound familiar?)

God chose to give his people blessings, through His grace.

In the OT, blessings were tied to the people's righteousness.
In the NT, blessings are tied to Christ's righteousness.

I don't deserve anything but Hell... But God gave me everything anyway..

That is Grace...

That is Love.

This is how I have reconciled this in my mind anyway... feel free to disagree.

 

1. This text seems to teach that in renouncing a life of sin for Christ and the gospel an individual will be blessed greatly in this life and the next.

2. When you renounce, you receive.

 

Without faith it is impossible to please God.

James says that faith produces works.

Our works done in faith are pleasing to God.

Does God reward our works? I think this is your question.

Under the Old Covenant it seems to be that way.

If Israel obeyed God, He blessed them greatly. If they disobeyed, He turned His face against them.

Not so under the New Covenant. We are saved by grace, not of works.

We as NT believers are always under grace and always experience God's favor.

However, we will be chastised by God when we are not behaving right, but at no time do we lose God's favor as His children bought by the blood of Christ.

As NT believers, saved by grace, we are not promised earthly wealth, possessions, and an easy life filled with "blessings". We are promised eternal life, but not without suffering on this earth because of our faith and devotion to Christ. (If they hate Me, they will hate you.)

Although, God does give us good things and for this we are thankful. But we know that God is not obligated to give because we are "good". All of God's gifts are given by grace.

Paul suffered greatly as did the other apostles, yet God's favor was most definitely upon them.

That brings us back to faith that pleases God.

That is our mission in life...to please God, with or without the rewards.

That is the true love that we give our Savior in return for His love toward us.


Does that make sense?

 

Even persecution is part of the package (Mark 10:30, but Rom. 8:28 comes to mind and we're reminded that God is the Master Weaver.

 

Absolutely. He said He would never leave us nor forsake us. He gave us His Holy Spirit to be with us and in us always.

If we are not living right, God will chastise us to bring us back into His will. That is one way that He conforms us to the image of Christ.

 

1. There's no doubt in my mind that God works in our lives, whether we're on track or not.

2. I believe when we are off-track, as a loving Father He uses discipline to get us back on track (Heb 12:11, "afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness).

3. When you think about it, it is a win/win situation with God, but oftentimes, we don't appreciate that.