Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 14:6

As Truth is a person, so is The Way.  As surely as any understanding of who He was and what He taught could be expressed, it cannot be understood outside of the person of Who He Is, What He Did and Why He Did It.  The Path of Life therefore, as it were, is following Jesus.  For the original twelve apostles, this was through both observing who Him directly, as well as by hearing Him teach.  Today, while we do not see exactly how He lived the words He preached, we have His Spirit within us to guide us into all truth.

But, most assuredly, His Words are to be obeyed.  None of His Words can be fully embraced without the provision of His Spirit, but through Him, and His enabling power, we are able to overcome through faith.

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Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

2 Corinthians 7:1

You see, it is, at least in part, up to us, how we will walk this Christian walk.  Verse after verse, command after command, the writers of the New Testament, in the shadow of the cross, call, exhort, and train us to live godly, after our example and High Priest of the faith, Jesus Christ.

Not one moment may we forget that it is the pure in heart that shall see God.  Nor, let us falter into the way of unbelief and die in the wilderness.  But, in the same way, let us not make this journey of our own effort, or of the devices of the flesh, but by the power of the Spirit, we do put to death the misdeeds of the flesh, and so live unto God!

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Therefore, lo, I am enticing her, and have caused her to go to the wilderness, and I have spoken unto her heart, and given to her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for an opening of hope, And she hath responded there as in the days of her youth, and as in the day of her coming up out of the land of Egypt.

And it hath come to pass, in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah, Thou dost call Me — My husband, And dost not call Me any more — My lord.  And I have turned aside the names of the lords from her mouth, And they are not remembered any more by their name.

Hosea 2:14-17 YLT

The bridegroom woos his beloved to restore her.  He entices her to barrenness in order to restore her.  He causes her to depart from all else, or order to free her.

Surely, in the valley of Achor, that is, the valley of trouble, He has created the doorway of hope, and in the place of destitution, He has ordained deliverance for the wayward wife.

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The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.

John 7:7

The world hates followers of Jesus.  The verdict against humanity is this, that men, even though confronted with their own sin in the light, prefer to kill those who show them they are wrong, rather than coming with humility before an Almighty, merciful God (John 3:19).  Rather than feeling with their heart, they justify, set up road blocks, walls, and excuses that they cannot tell right from wrong any more.

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Isaiah 5:20

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Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

Psalm 97:2

The question of the ages, of the universe, and of the world, is that of righteousness.

When we approach what I like to call the million dollar question, why do born again believers not behave according to their new-creation nature, we have come to the very bedrock of the Christian faith, and also the most pressing issue of the universe, period.

The issue is righteousness.

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Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

Matthew 19:16

The man came to the Master, asking for Eternal life.  Jesus, the truth, never told any lies, or exaggerated anything, but told Him the honest answer.  He had to sell everything.

We know, of course, the Teacher never was interested in our possessions, per se, but rather, our hearts.  Obviously, the man had issues in his heart, for he valued the treasures of this world above that of the world.  But, these were Jesus’ words, that the man might be perfect.

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Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

Isaiah 42:1-6

The eyes of the Lord are perfect, they are whole.  The knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ was perfect upon the Earth.  While it may not need to be said, while he walked upon the Earth, He only walked in perfection while in His flesh.

Consider the woman caught in adultery.  No doubt, she had many sins in her life other than the adultery.  Assuredly, there were underlying factors to this, this led to that, which led to that, which always occurs when someone eventually commits adultery.  It never comes out of thin air, but there is usually a host of other problems that leads one down the wrong road. But, Jesus barely addressed the issue directly, only to tell her to sin no more, lest something worse happen.

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Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.

John 5:33-35

Light reveals.  Light illuminates.  Light is righteousness, and darkness is evil.

In all places, the true light that gives light to every man, Jesus Christ, is always a portrait of illumination, but also of righteousness.  It is the voice of Him who is above, who is true light, the Father of Lights.

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For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:20

The flesh profits nothing, it is the Spirit that gives life.  For there is no work, no deed, nor anything else that God would regard as righteous, but only such as those that come from Himself.  For, there is none that is righteous, that is, in their flesh in themselves, that could ever perform any good thing, for all have turned aside and gone after their own way.

What righteousness could we do?  We can hear, we can obey, and we can follow.  Those good works that God has prepared in advance for us to do, we do, and because it is by faith, God counts it as righteousness.

They are pure works, so long as they are in, by, and only of Him.  Though they are performed by our hands, they are His deeds, and therefore, so long as they are fully surrendered to Him, those parts of the deeds are flawless.
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For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Philippians 1:21

Who cares what this life will bring?  Why do we involve ourselves with what will come in this life?

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.

1 John 2:16

For surely, whether I live, I live for the Lord, and whether I die, I die for the Lord.

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