In Matthew 5:6 the true seeker of God is told that he will be blessed if he hungers and thirsts for righteousness. Nowhere in the Scriptures are we told to hunger and thirst for anything else–not ministry, not wisdom, not eloquence. Though these things are worth seeking and attaining, without righteousness they are meaningless. Many a world renowned church leader labors in vain due to a lack of righteousness (Mat. 15:9;7:22). Righteousness is the absence of sin; sin is the transgression of the Law (1 Jn. 3:4), therefore righteousness is obedience to the Law–the Ten Commandments–all of them. Notice that there are two vital concepts presented in Matthew 5:6: 1) hungering and thirsting and 2) righteousness.

Hunger and thirst (cravings) make up two-thirds of mankind’s most basic requirements for physical life, the third being oxygen which is imparted at birth when God gives the newborn the “breath of life.” The body then satisfies its oxygen need automatically until its death. Not so with hunger and thirst which must be satisfied by the individual on a continuous basis. These cravings are all-consuming in that, unless they are satisfied, man will soon die. For this reason he will do whatever is necessary to satisfy these two basic needs. We know from history that in order to do so man will break not only the laws of nature, but the laws of God, cannibalism and blood consumption being two well-known examples. Others have consumed such things as rotted meat, shoe leather, tree bark, grass, live birds and fish, their own urine and the urine of animals to satisfy their hunger and thirst. Humans have killed other humans in order to meet their bodily needs.

Though human beings do not condone some of their fellow man’s craving for drugs by which they satisfy their physical and psychological needs, they do understand that man can become so dependent on them that they feel they cannot survive without them. However, those same humans do not understand some men’s craving (hungering and thirsting) for righteousness which satisfies their spiritual needs. Most humans, including church people, do not understand that for such people the craving for righteousness is even more powerful than the drug addict’s craving for cocaine, opium, nicotine, alcohol, etc. Let us now search the Scriptures to determine what the true saint will do in order to meet his overpowering spiritual needs.

They who truly hunger and thirst for righteousness will keep God’s Ten Commandments–His Law–which He lovingly gave us as His road map to eternal life. See God’s Royal Law. With an open mind, cravers will diligently study God’s Holy Bible in order to understand His Way and walk. They will be willing to change when they realize their errors and will admit them. They will obey God’s commands to “Study to show yourself approved of God” (2 Tim. 2:15) and to “Prove all things” (1 Thes. 5:21). Alas, the masses of church people read rather than study and use church doctrine to prove what they want to be true.

Note that God’s command (not suggestion) is to STUDY His Word–all of it–in order to be approved by Him. I cannot simply read the Bible; I am compelled by the Lord to have pen and paper at hand because, even after thousands of hours and many years of Bible study, He is continually drawing me ever deeper into His Truth by showing me what I have not seen before. I am compelled to record what He teaches me. This website is the result of many years of being taught by Him.

The first concept one needs to understand when seeking the Lord is JUSTIFICATION–the removal of all sin by the blood of Jesus Christ by the grace of God. But this act of unearned sin removal is not a one-time-takes-care-of-all situation which is brought out in Romans 3:25 where Paul tells us that Christ died to erase our PAST sins–to justify us. What about future sins? In 2:13 he tells us that in order to retain our justification there are WORKS we must do: “For not the hearers of the Law are just(ified) before God, but the DOERS OF THE LAW shall be (remain) justified”–free of sin. Justification requires obedience to the Ten Commandments, including  #4, which professing Christendom refuse to obey, thereby becoming workers of iniquity (Lawlessness) and ineligible for salvation. See Justification and The Mark of the Beast.

Romans chapter six destroys the universally-accepted idea that God’s grace nullifies the need to obey His Law–the WORKS God requires in order to retain justification. Verses 14 and 15 tell us that, though we are under grace (have been justified by grace), sin must not have dominion over us because we are not under the (sacrificial) law. “What then, shall we sin because we are not under the law? GOD FORBID.” God forbids us to sin simply because we are justified by grace. This Truth is stated in 3:31: “Do we make void (nullify) the Law through faith? GOD FORBID. Yea, WE ESTABLISH THE LAW (by faith). See Faith Versus Works. To be continued. L.J.