DEFINING WHAT IS RIGHTEOUS AND HOW TO BE RIGHTEOUS

1 John 2:29. A person can only be defined as righteousness if God abides in them. This is because all righteousness comes and is given from God. God is the ultimate authority of what is right and wrong. God has revealed his righteousness through his commandments, his prophets, and through Jesus Christ. We cannot know true righteousness unless we know God.

1 John 2:4. So many people will say they are a Christian or they attend church regularly, but in reality they continue to make wrong choices about the way they live their lives. Many of us continue to place things above God such as sex outside of marriage, love of money, self-pride, and much more.

1st John 2:5. By us accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, God gives us the spirit of power, love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.") He has given us a part of him.

1 John 2:16. When you display selfish behavior you are showing the pride of life in you. You are putting yourself above God. You reveal to God that you are "not of the Father, but ... of the world" (1 John 2:16, "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.).