Sunday News 13 July 2025

In the paths of righteousness

The world has appropriated many Biblical sayings, some along the lines of what appears to be intended in scripture, others variously misapplied or even taken to mean the opposite of what, from a viewpoint of faith, appears to be intended. An example might be the phrase, ‘a fall from grace’.

In the Bible, Paul uses the phrase to admonish the Church of the Galatians concerning their attempts to fulfil the law of Moses, especially by way of religious rituals such as circumcision. Nonetheless, Paul’s teachings concerning the law are not limited to rituals only, but relate to the complete replacement of our own personal record of good works – if there be any – by the perfect and complete work of Christ, which we appropriate as our own by faith in Christ.

By contrast, the world interprets ‘a fall from grace’ as committing some unpardonable sin – essentially, an irreparable stain on a person’s own record of good works; the ruining of their reputation. This is the opposite of what Paul speaks about. In fact, recognition that our own record of righteousness is irreparably stained is a prerequisite for entering into grace – not a fall from it. Which is not to say that sin is of no account, it is to be avoided.

Following is another scripture which has been widely appropriated in popular culture, ‘conventional wisdom’ and in various religions.

‘Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.’ (Matthew 7:12)

This has been popularly termed ‘the golden rule’. But while the above scripture is rightly revered, being the teaching of Jesus himself, and is a wonderful and useful guide to our behaviour, it nonetheless remains that the failure of our efforts to perfectly keep ‘golden’ or any other rules point to our need for more than a code of conduct. Which is not to find fault with Jesus’ words, but with ourselves.

An earlier statement by Jesus in Matthew 7 has likewise found expression in popular culture:

‘For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.’ (Matthew 7:2)

The related phrase in current, secular New Zealand usage is, ‘what goes around, comes around’. Well, this is closer to the original I suppose than a secular take on ‘fall from grace’, though I suggest it cannot, without grace, be cause for much hope as a life principle.

Jesus gives a further example of this ‘do unto others’ idea in his teaching on prayer, and this is one that really got me thinking.

‘For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your trespasses.’ (Matthew 6:14-15)

Recently, contemplating the above scripture, I found myself taken aback. Because when we speak of forgiveness before God, this is the basis of our entire faith and hope in Christ. Can Jesus be saying that this is in our own hands? Because, while I accept the above scripture wholeheartedly (and have found some useful tools to help me forgive, which will have to wait for another article) I must say my own record of forgiving is patchy at best.

How can we reconcile these ‘get what you deserve’ scriptures, such as those above, with ‘get what Jesus deserves’ scriptures, which are the basis of our faith?

Why is Jesus telling us what to do so that we can be forgiven by God? Seeing that no matter what we do, we certainly do not deserve to be forgiven.

I will tell a story which I think is not a very good illustration of how our attitude can affect what we can rightly receive, but it is the best I have been able to come up with.

A couple who are struggling financially have a young son who is keen on cycling. Let us say, for example, he likes to do tricks at the skate park on his bike, and he is showing some considerable talent and ability. But his bike is old, in poor condition, and unsuited to this type of cycle sport.

As the son’s birthday is approaching, the parents have a discussion about how they might be able to give their son a bike that is of better quality and will encourage his interest and achievement in the sport. Their son has asked them for a bike like that. They do not want to discourage him or burden him with the full extent of their financial difficulties; he is aware they are not rich.

The parents manage to find a suitable used bike which is in poor condition and needing repair. It is still a stretch for their budget, but by taking on a few extra hours in their respective jobs, they can buy it. Secretly they undertake the repair and reconditioning works themselves in a friend’s shed, so that the bike will appear almost as new and be in good order to give to their son.

As the birthday approaches, the parents overhear their son talking to his friend.

‘I’ve asked Mum and Dad for a bike for my birthday. But you know how stingy they are. They would never spend that much on my present. They never think about what I want anyway. They will probably just get me something dumb.’

This is a very sad twist in the story, because the son, by his attitude and lack of faith in his parents, has made something good into something bad. Because it is now an affront to his parents love for him, shown in their self sacrifice and hard work, to reward his bad attitude with such a precious gift. They want to do it – but it simply isn’t right any more. Something will need to change before it can be good for them to give the gift.

If you or I found ourselves in such an unhappy position, I expect we would find a suitable time to have a chat with our son. We would try to get to the bottom of why his opinion of us is so low, and see if he can be encouraged to take a fair and more charitable view of his parents. Perhaps an apology is required on his part.

We are prepared to compromise. We would try to make things better. We still love our son and very much want to give him the gift, so we would make the best of it and hope that the gift in itself would go some way to correcting our son’s evil view of us.

But the point of the story is that our attitude, as shown by the couple’s son, can affect what is right for us to receive. And God differs from us in that he only ever does what is completely right, and never compromises. So he will only ever give us any gift when it is completely right for us to receive it.

In the example Jesus gives about forgiveness, it is not right for God to forgive us while we refuse to forgive others. That doesn’t mean forgiving others earns us the right to be forgiven. It just means we aren’t doing something that could make it wrong.

The only way we can ever qualify to receive anything from God is through Jesus our Lord. Even our faith in him is from God.

‘For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:’ (Ephesians 2:8)

Nonetheless, we should take heed how important it is to God that things are right. And while Jesus only is righteous among men, we should have some idea when he ‘leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake’ (Psalm 23:3) what those paths look like. And we should expect our lives by the grace of God to trace patterns of righteousness in honour of the One who is our righteousness.

For example, what does it look like to receive the gift of forgiveness in practice?

Could it in fact appear to us as an opportunity to forgive someone else? So that in taking that opportunity, and forgiving, we are able to receive our own forgiveness?

We receive forgiveness by faith; and forgiving another could be that very act of faith by which we receive it.

Or – what does it look like to have an opportunity for our soul to be saved – that we should be received into the house of God forever?

Could it in fact appear as one seeking shelter in our own house, around our own table? That to receive such a person when it is not convenient (or when they are not to our natural liking) is an act of faith, by which we receive our own invitation, by faith?

To receive Jesus is not a formula, it is a life. A life made in the image of our Saviour.

I do not wish to supplant the doctrines of grace by some false emphasis on our own conduct and attitudes. I aim to shine a light on how the life of grace to which we are called may appear, so that we may recognize it and enter into it as we find it, and it finds us.

Let us be mindful that the acts of our daily lives are our confession of faith, more than any words alone. The life to which we are called is one that abounds with hope, thankfulness, forgiveness, and love – things which are natural to those who have received our Lord’s ‘unspeakable gift’ (2 Corinthians 9:15); who have begun to see how wonderful and vast is his love and calling for us.

This is our greatest honour, that our lives reflect the greatness of all that Jesus is, and all he has done.

Praise, honour and thanks be to our Lord for ever and ever.

Amen.