So much is said in the Bible about being 'righteous' that we might ask who is a righteous man? The simplest answer is this: A righteous man is one who is right with God and has been accepted by him. Of course this is only because of Jesus Christ. We are accepted by God in and through Christ alone. But the Bible also teaches that a man will show he is right with God by his daily life. That is what David is saying in this Psalm. Can you imagine David asking the question in the first verse, then sitting and quietly putting down four more verses just as they come to his mind? What does he say? Count them up for yourself. There are five things that a righteous man is or does and five things that he is not or does not do. A righteous man is one whose life is open and honest. He does not say one thing when he means something else. He is very careful who his friends are. He keeps his promise, even if it means he loses by doing so. He is generous with his money and honest in all his dealings. But those things are not always easy to do. What if someone gives us more change in a shop than they should? A man did that to me recently and when I handed him back the extra five dollars, he was absolutely surprised. While he thanked me, he wondered why I did it. I had to do it, if I wanted to be right with Christ myself. We don't do these things to be accepted by God. We do them to show that we have been accepted by him and belong to him. David says in verse 5 that if we follow this pattern, our hearts will be at rest. The Bible pictures the unsaved as restless, but reminds the saved that they can know what it is to rest securely in God and be at peace in their own hearts. A Question: Can people around me see that I am a Christian without my telling them? |
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