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NASB | Revelation 19:8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Revelation 19:8 She has been permitted to dress in fine linen, dazzling white and clean--for the fine linen signifies the righteous acts of the saints [the ethical conduct, personal integrity, moral courage, and godly character of believers]. |
Bible Question: What consitutes a "righteous act?" - Is there anything "righteous" that we do on our own? |
Bible Answer: Hi, Mommapbs! It seems that it would be impossible for us to do anything righteous on our own. Devoid of God, “there is no one righteous, not even one.” Does that contradict Scriptures? No! Devoid of God we opt to satisfy the lusts of the flesh! But God is merciful and has allowed our spirit to find Him so that we may choose Him and His Righteousness instead of satisfying the appetites of the flesh! Several times Jesus commended individuals for their Faith in God (the centurion, the criminal on the cross, Zacheus, the woman from Canaan, the leper from the Samaria and Galilee region…), were these people more righteous than the whole of Israel? Not according to Scriptures! But they were receptive to God’s Spirit--even those who were not of the Jewish clan, those who had not the oral or written Traditions, were receptive to God and obeyed His Will and did one righteous act: they Believed! Zacheus and the leper not only believed, but they visibly demonstrated their conviction and their gratitude (Zacheus had a change of heart: he promised the Lord that he would give half of his wealth to the poor and he would make restitutions, fourfold, to anyone he had wronged: Luke 19:1-9; and the leper, a Samaritan, who out of ten cleaned from leprosy was the only one to return to Jesus, glorified God for His Love and Mercy by prostrating himself at Jesus’ feet while praising God!: Luke 17:11-19). We are capable of righteousness but we do not always choose to heed the Holy Spirit: And now a lawyer stood up and, to test him, asked, ‘master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? What is your reading of it?’ He replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.’ Jesus said to him, ’You have answered right, do this and life is yours.’ But the man was anxious to justify himself and said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ In answer Jesus said, ‘A man was once on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of bandits; they stripped him, beat him and then made off, leaving him half dead. Now a priest happened to be traveling down the same road, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite who came to the place saw him, and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan traveller who came on him was moved with compassion when he saw him. He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He then lifted him onto his own mount and took him to an inn and looked after him. Next day, he took out two denarii and handed them to the innkeeper and said, “Look after him, and on my way back I will make good any extra expense you have.” Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the bandits’ hands?’ He replied, ‘The one who showed pity towards him.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do the same yourself.’ (Luke 10:25-37) Since we are created in God’s image and likeness, the potential to be holy is there! The problem is being obedient and humble enough to God’s Will so that our potential can be realized (1 Peter 1:16 thru 2:16) God Bless! Angel |