There are many Old Testament scriptures that speak of the paths to righteousness. Paths is defined as courses of conduct; righteousness means adhering to moral standards. Some Old Testament writers certainly had a deeper revelation of paths to righteousness than just moral standards of conduct as the definition states.Perhaps, the most well known Old Testament scripture on paths to righteousness is Psalm 23:3, where the psalmist says, “. . . He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name sake.” In writing Psalm 23, David was looking back over his life, acknowledging that his paths of righteousness had come from a life of walking with the Lord. He called the Lord, “my Shepherd.” He realized that it was “his Shepherd,” who had led, comforted, provided for and restored him in good times and the bad times. He also knew that it was done out of the goodness of “his own Shepherd’s” heart (for his namesake), for there was nothing David had done to receive the Lord’s love, his goodness or his mercy!
I believe that the path of righteousness is a gateway to holiness; it was never meant to be a physical path. Before the New Testament Dispensation, God’s people did not have a knowledge of the only true way to righteousness in God and they sought to establish their own righteousness through the traditions of the Mosaic laws and commandments.
Under the New Covenant (the New Testament) righteousness is a gift from God that comes through faith in and acceptance of Jesus Christ. (Romans 10:2-3) Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the Way (the path), the Truth, and the Life.” Jesus is the culmination of the law. He is the only one who could and did fulfill perfect righteousness and it is credited by faith to all who believe in him. (Romans 10:4)
So, on our road (path) to righteousness, the first step is accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. We cannot make ourselves righteous, even if we are totally obedient to the commandments. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus. According to Romans 10:6, 9, “. . . the righteousness that is by faith says . . . If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” So, righteousness begins by accepting salvation through the merciful grace of Jesus’ atoning death and resurrection. We do not deserve it nor can we earn it.
The next step in the path to righteousness is seeking a deepening of our relationship with Christ through the Holy Spirit. Our spirit becomes activated at salvation and the Spirit of God begins to reside in us and testifies with our own spirit that we are children of God. (Romans 8:16) However, there should be a desire in believers for something more—a desire and yearning for the Holy Spirit to reign in their lives. In Matthew 5:6, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (Greek, diakaiosynen). The Holy Spirit, sent by the Lord, will begin to fill that vacuum deep down on the inside of those who give him control of their lives. (Galatians 4:6) When we surrender to him, he transforms our worldly, carnal natures. We begin to “walk by the Spirit,” and not “the desires of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16) When the Holy Spirit takes control, he: seals us; dwells in us; fills us; empowers us; comforts us; sanctifies us; guides and leads us; teaches us; intercedes for us; strengthens us; produces fruit in us; gifts us; and calls us. (See biblical verses documentation in “The Work of the Holy Spirit” under the Scripture References section.)
That third phase on the path to righteousness is the process of sanctification. That comes as we allow the Holy Spirit to take control. Sanctification is surrendering to Holy Spirit and being transformed into the image of Jesus. (2 Corinthians 3:18) By allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, we get a revelation of truth which is only found in Jesus. We can as Ephesians 4:22-24 states: “. . . put off the old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of our minds; and we can begin to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Sanctification does not come easily; it is a continuous process of “not my will but yours (the Lord’s will) be done.” (Luke 22:42) Our lives begin to change through the renewing of our minds. We begin to focus on the love of God, on his Word and on prayer. We begin to grasp the immeasurable love of a Heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Cycles of sin are broken in our lives. We will begin to exhibit the fruit of the spirit—love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
However, the path to righteousness brings opposition from the flesh, the world and the devil. However, as we move toward sanctification, we become more equipped to do battle against these enemies of our souls!
1. The Flesh becomes more easily discernible as the Spirit takes preeminence in our lives and sin no longer reigns. (Romans 6:12). We can recognize and put to death fleshly tendencies, those things that “gratify the cravings of our flesh. . . “ (Ephesians 2:3) Our old selves become crucified and we are no longer slaves to sin! (Romans 6:6)
2. The Fallen World System can no longer hold us captive. We can more readily discern what is of God and what is not. 1 John 2:16 states that, “For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. We are then able to reject those worldly things that seem right and that were once so appealing—cultural mores, value systems, morals, institutional practices—corrupt systems that do not line up with the Word of God.
3. The Devil is recognized as the formidable enemy that he is who comes to steal, kill and destroy. We realize that we are at war with the forces of darkness. Jesus referred to Satan, the devil, as the ruler of this world system. (John 12:31) We begin to discern the devil’s tactics which are to thwart God’s kingdom purposes here on the earth by destroying God’s creative beings. We become more vigilant. But more importantly, we can stand because we already have the victory through Jesus Christ who has triumphed over him on the cross.
So, walking down the path of righteousness is ultimately relinquishing control of our lives to the Holy Spirit. It is the path to sanctification and holiness. As Romans 12:1 puts it, we begin to “present our bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord” as we travel down the path to righteousness.
Be blessed.
Scripture References:
The Work of the Holy Spirit:
1. Seals us. Ephesians 1:13 . . . When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.
2. Dwells in us. 1 Corinthians 3:16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?
3. Fills us. Acts 4:31 . . . And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
4. Empowers Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
5. Comforts us. John 15:26 But when the Comforter, is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeded from the Father, he shall testify of me.
5. Sanctifies us. 2 Thessalonians 2:13 . . . God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
6. Guides us and leads us. John 16:13 . . . he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. Romans 8:14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
7. Teaches us. John 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
8. Intercedes for us. Romans 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
9. Strengthens us. Ephesians 3:16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
10. Produces fruit in us. Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
11. Gifts us. 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues
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12. Calls us. Ephesians 4:11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers.
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Other Scripture References:
Psalm 119:105 states that God’s “word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Proverbs 4:18 says, “But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn which shines brighter and brighter until full day.”
Proverbs 12:28 states that, “in the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death.”
Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life (eternal life) . . .
Proverbs 12:28 In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death.
1 Timothy 6:11 “But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.”
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