The one thing

Just one thing is important for the Christian to know: having and calling Christ by His name by which He is called today: “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS,” as prophesied by Jeremiah (23:6.) Every other bible knowledge is pointless, even dangerous, for the one who professes Christ but does not have Christ as his righteousness. With Christ as our righteousness, all of the things that we need are added to us. See the word of Christ Himself in Matthew 6:

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

When one seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, everything else is added. But understand what these two things that we are to seek mean. They have nothing to do with obeying the Ten Commandments in order to get from God, get right with Him or make it to heaven.

Romans 14:17 tells us what the kingdom of God is all about:

“[After all] the kingdom of God is not a matter of [getting the] food and drink [one likes], but instead it is righteousness (that state which makes a person acceptable to God) and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

Righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Not one of these three are we able to acquire by human effort, even righteousness, “For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.” Romans 3:20. All three are gifts for believers in Christ and cannot be earned by good works.

See Romans 5:19 for His righteousness that we are to seek:

“For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.”

No other brand of righteousness will suffice for God to accept anyone, so He provided Christ as our Righteousness. We are made righteous by Christ's obedience and not our puny efforts at keeping the law. All of our own efforts at being righteous by keeping the law are like a menstrual rag according to Isaiah 64:6. This is the fate of those who seek their own righteousness by trying to obey the law or by doing good things-

“For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.” Galatians 5:4.

We are to seek His righteousness, not ours; but in many places of worship, people are taught this verse to mean that we are to seek our own righteousness (from works of the law.) This is to reject the gift of righteousness that Christ died that we might have. This is to reject Christ (God's grace personified.) The result is being severed from Christ; falling from grace and into the curse of the law. Galatians 2:21 says:

"I do not reject the grace of God, for if righteousness comes by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."

God's grace (undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour) is in vain in the lives of those who reject the righteousness that Christ died that we might have for their filthy rags righteousnesses that proceed from trying to be righteous by obeying the law.

But this is the result of relying on God's gift of righteousness to us in Christ and forsaking ours (self-righteousness) which comes from trying to obey the Ten Commandments, etc:

“For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:17.

With the abundance of God’s grace and His gift of righteousness, we get to live in triumph over sin and death aka everything that troubles mankind as a result of Adam’s disobedience- acts of sin, fear, worry, sickness, lack, silly mistakes, envy, discontent, depression, debt, fast-tracked ageing, oppression,etc, physical death and the second death; we have victory through Jesus Christ. All the bad happens because one man disobeyed; all the good happens to us who have Christ as our righteousness because one Man obeyed.

Without this gift of righteousness that Christ died that we might have, all the law-keeping, bible knowledge acquired and good works done in order to be godly (be like God the Righteous, just like Eve tried to do) is quite useless, "For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands..." The result is still death, no matter what part of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil one eats from. The tree is a picture of the law which gives the knowledge of good and evil. Doing the good part kills just as fast as doing the bad. The letter kills.

Sin also has dominion in the lives of those who believe that it is their ability to keep the Ten Commandments and do good things that gives them right standing with God. We see this in Romans 6:14- “For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under grace.” But many have this verse backwards and strive to get right with God by human effort at law-keeping. Paul who knew the Torah inside out and wrote most of the New Testament wrote extensively on this in Philippians 3:

“…You know my pedigree: a legitimate birth, circumcised on the eighth day; an Israelite from the elite tribe of Benjamin; a strict and devout adherent to God’s law; a fiery defender of the purity of my religion, even to the point of persecuting the church; a meticulous observer of everything set down in God’s law Book.

7-9 The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God’s righteousness.”

Paul's former life as a Pharisee (persecuting the church) is a reflection of the lives of many “Christians” today. People are still preaching what pre-conversion Paul preached: obey the Ten Commandments…or else. Pay tithes…or else. This is the law. The law is not of faith and without faith it is impossible to please God. No grace here. Christ is on the side of grace, not the law. The good that one does under law kills just as fast as the bad. But God opened Paul's eyes to His grace…literally too. The first person that Paul saw after his sight was restored was Ananias. Ananias means God's grace:) After he saw Grace, Paul wrote this in Romans 3:26-28 “…and He makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus.

27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith.28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.”

The most important thing to seek and to know is that as believers in Christ, Christ is our righteousness. He paid the price for our sins- past, present and future. With Christ as our righteousness “all these things shall be added unto you,” everything, including the power to go and sin no more. He is the Good Shepherd that leads His sheep on the path of righteousness. He shows us the way to live right and gives us grace to do so too. See Philippians 2:13.

In Christ, having Him as our Righteousness and our Strength, we don't HAVE TO live right, we GET TO live right.