Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Psalm 34:8 ¶ O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Psalm 34:8 ¶ O taste and see that the LORD [our God] is good; How blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who takes refuge in Him. [1 Pet 2:2, 3] |
Bible Question:
Dear Pemican, ... Thanks for your thoughts. ... Pemican, you wrote, “The "rules", as you put it, that God follows relate to the fact that He will not and cannot violate His own essence.” And the “essence or character of God consists of,” among other things, is “His attributes of ... righteousness...” Agreed. This is what his Word affirms: Ps. 11:7 “For the Lord is righteous; He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face.” .........¶¶ Now, for man, God gives a rule, “don’t eat the fruit of a certain tree;” or “don’t work on this day of the week. And as long as the man keeps this rule he is righteous. But if he transgresses, he has sinned and he is no longer righteous or “upright”, but unrighteous. ........... ¶¶ Now you say that God will not violate his essence, one of which is his righteousness. Is there a rule for God’s righteousness? It is not abstaining from a certain fruit or resting on a certain day of the week, is it? What is it?......... ¶¶ Thanks again for your thoughts. Peace, Lionstrong |
Bible Answer: I think I already answered your question as best I can. It boils down to the fact that God does not possess righteousness; He is righteousness. Perhaps someone else can add to this. If you are looking for a "unified theory" of righteousness, what comes to mind is Matt. 7:12 the "Golden Rule" passage. But I will address one other thing. When God gives a command it is not necessarily a test of righteousness. In this situation, disobedience to the command would be a sin, but only the sin of disobedience. Many times God gave commands for other purposes, such as to teach a principle. When God commanded animal sacrifices, performing the sacrifice did not pay for sin and make one righteous. It taught the principle of the need for a payment for sin which could only be fulfilled by Christ. In His Grace, Pemican |