Instruction In Righgteousness

282 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:16,17 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16,17) We have established how vital it is for the follower of Christ to be convinced that the inspiration of ALL scripture comes from God. Now let's continue to look at some areas in which this inspired Word of God is useful for the believer. Today we come to the phrase. “instruction in righteousness” The idea here is summed up in training in Christian character. It is an ongoing process, where the disciple, the believer is trained in the ways of God. As we read the Scriptures and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us through them and believe them to the point of acting on them, we start to characterize the qualities of Jesus in our day to day living. The Scriptures reinforce the fruit of the Spirit that is present in the life of believers: There indeed is such a thing as right and wrong and the Bible helps us to discern the difference. This difference for the Christian is evidenced in Ga 5:19-23, “ Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (The Word of God is useful in training us to break these habits of sin! And as we respond to it, the Word trains us in the areas of right living mentioned in Gal 5:22,23!) 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. The Ten Commandments, when used as a guide will help produce this fruit in the life of a Christian! Paul reiterated how useful the law was to him in training for righteousness in Ro 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, "You shall not covet." Treasure God's Word! It is useful in your ongoing sanctification. Lord help me to be a willing student and be trained by Your Word!