Righteous，-Pious.ppt

* *For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the saving acts [righteousness, faithfulness] of the?Lord.” (Micah 6:4-5 ESV) *”For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the?Lord, who has compassion on you… ?”In righteousness you shall be established... This is the heritage of the servants of the?Lord and their vindication [righteousness] from me, declares the?Lord.” (Isaiah 54:10-17, selected vv. ESV) *I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban. I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy, and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know. (Job 29:14-16 ESV) Bailey, p. 77: Jesus does not say, “Blessed are those who live righteously and maintain a righteous lifestyle.” Rather he affirms, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.” The statement presupposes that righteousness is something the faithful continually strive after. The blessed are not those who arrive but those who continue, at whatever cost, in their pilgrimage toward a more perfect righteousness. The constant, relentless drive toward righteousness characterizes the blessed. *How will the pursuit be satisfied? Who will satisfy? *And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. (Isaiah 32:17) * * *What does it mean for Jesus to “fulfill the law?” A number of interpretations exist, but the best is perhaps one that understands Jesus’ saying to mean, “I came to interpret the Law in the way God means for it to be understood.” *Correctly interpreting the Law was a goal of every Jewish teacher of t