The Paths of Righteousness (Part 3)
Psalm 23:3, “He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness”.
Oh the magnitude of the love that compelled the cross-work of Jesus Christ! That God should punish His Son the “righteous servant” and that Christ should endure “the travail of his soul” so that the Father would be “satisfied” (Isaiah 53:11), this is both amazing love and amazing grace! Yet Christ’s death was not merely for the purpose of satisfying the Father; it was also to the intent of sanctifying mankind! Titus 2:14 says, “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and PURIFY UNTO HIMSELF A PECULIAR PEOPLE, zealous of good works.” Yes, Christ died to take those “who were dead IN trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1), and to make them “dead TO sins” (1 Peter 2:24)! As we have seen, this change of our standing before God from unrighteous to righteous is what we would call POSITIONAL RIGHTEOUSNESS.
But what is the aim of positional righteousness? What is the purpose of God’s “imputing” His righteousness to our account? Obviously, it is to reconcile man to god. Certainly, it is to afford us the privilege of gaining eternal life. Assuredly, it is to open the door to Heaven, so that undeserving men might obtain an entrance by grace. But I believe there is even more! You see, God’s Word clearly reveals that the aim of the salvation that is wrought in Christ is not only to give us positional righteousness, but it is also to work in us a PRACTICAL RIGHTEOUSNESS!
Think about it dear friend! Christ’s sacrifice upon the cross, His shed blood, His death, His burial, His resurrection, all of it was to the end of changing the STATE of man, as well as his standing! The Bible is replete with passages that confirm this truth. 2 Corinthians 5:15 says, “And that he died for all, that THEY WHICH LIVE SHOULD not henceforth LIVE unto themselves, but UNTO HIM which died for them, and rose again.” Romans 6:6 says it this way, “Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that HENCEFORTH WE SHOULD NOT SERVE SIN.” Then, in 1 Peter 4:2 we read, “That HE no longer SHOULD LIVE THE REST OF HIS TIME in the flesh to the lusts of men, but TO THE WILL OF GOD.” This practical change in how a man lives is God’s design for all those who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ!
You see, there is only one thing, one term, one word that summarizes each of these concepts. There is but one truth that reveals what it means to “live…unto him”, to “not serve sin”, to “live the rest of his time in the flesh…to the will of God”, and that truth, that term, that word is RIGHTEOUSNESS. There it is friend! It has been clearly and plainly spoken for us! It is apparent that Christ not only died to bring us positional or IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS, but He also died to work in us a practical or IMPARTED RIGHTEOUSNESS. This is why 1 Peter 2:24 says, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins (Positional), should live unto righteousness (Practical): by whose stripes ye were healed.”
At this point, it is important to remind ourselves that these two truths are inextricably linked. The one is part of the other, or maybe we should say, the one is realized by the other. Through salvation, God has justified us by imputing His righteousness to our account through Christ. That justification, that imputing of righteousness, that changing of our standing and position is an immediate and completed work! But practical righteousness, though it is definite, is not immediate. In other words, it is realized in time.
This is exactly the point of Psalm 23:3, “He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness”! It is quite evident that this verse is speaking of the practical rather than the positional. Don’t misunderstand! We have examined the positional because the practical cannot be experienced apart from that, but this verse is ultimately dealing with God’s desire to bring forth practical righteousness in the lives of His people, and that the “paths” in which He leads us are always to that end.
As we said, positional righteousness is an immediate, full, and final work that is accomplished at the moment an individual trusts Christ and is saved! But what we are reading here in Psalm 23:3 is not immediate. Instead, the psalmist is speaking of a progressive path that unfolds through out “all the days of my life” (Psalm 23:6). Remember that the words “He leadeth me” in our text clearly indicate this truth. I would remind you that this phrase is in the imperfect in Hebrew; which, in this case, deals with an incomplete or repetitive action. In other words, it reminds us that God is ever leading us in these “paths of righteousness”. To put it simply, God has divinely determined our course, and in sovereignty, He has selected our paths in order to work in us and impart through us this practical righteousness.
Think about it for a moment! We have established that these “paths” are plural to remind us that God’s leadings carry us across many varied terrains and trails, through many different seasons and situations in order to accomplish “his purpose” (Romans 8:28) in our lives. And what is “his purpose”? Romans 8:29 says that it is, “to be conformed to the image of his Son”. You see, God has determined that every believer will be “conformed” to the “image” of Jesus, or, in other words, that we will “be like him” (1 John 3:2)! But what does it mean to be like Him? Does it mean that will shall some day achieve the status of Divinity and be equal to God? Absolutely not! So what does it mean?
According to Scripture, there are two ways in which we shall be like Christ. First of all, we shall be like Him in body. Philippians 3:21 says, “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be FASHIONED LIKE UNTO HIS GLORIOUS BODY”. We can be confident that one day, we shall have a glorified body, just as Christ! But then there is a second way in which we will be like Him; namely, that we shall be like Him in purity or righteousness. I believe that this is what God’s Word is speaking of in 2 Peter 1:4 when it says, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these YE MIGHT BE PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” Both in body and in purity, God has determined to fashion us in the likeness of Christ.
Oh what a blessed promise this is for the people of God! Oh the hope that we have in Christ , that one day God’s “purpose” to which He has “predestinated” us will be realized in full! Praise His name that “we know that, WHEN HE SHALL APPEAR, WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM; for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2) And, as John goes on to tell, this promise is the “hope” (1 John 3:3) of those who are in Christ! Yet what is fascinating is that he goes on to show us the effect that this “hope” will have upon the child of God. 1 John 3:3 says, “And EVERY MAN THAT HATH THIS HOPE in him PURIFIETH HIMSELF, even as he is pure.” You see, though the fullness of this conformity to Christ will not be completed until we reach Heaven, still God shows us that the working of that conformity has already commenced here on earth.
Consider that the word “purifieth” comes from the Greek word (hagnizo). The root of the word is (hagnos) which means pure or chaste, and the word (hagnizo) carries the idea of cleansing one’s self. In other words, those who have within them the “hope” of Christ-likeness are seeking to cleanse themselves in a practical sense here and now. They want to become more and more like Jesus presently.
It is also fascinating to note that the word “purifieth” is given in the indicative mood. The indicative is used to render statements of fact. This means that when God says, “Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself”, He is not speaking of what a believer could do, for then He would have rendered the statement in the subjunctive mood. As well, He is not speaking of what a believer should do, for then He would have rendered the statement in the imperative mood. Instead, He is speaking of what a true believer WILL do!
Think of what this means dear friend! Our faithful shepherd has made every provision necessary for us to walk in righteousness! He has supplied every necessary means to enable us to be like Christ! As 2 Peter 1:3 puts it, "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness". Think about it! He has promised that He “worketh IN you both to will and to do his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13)! And this He does indeed, by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit!
Then, here in our text, He has also promised that externally He is ever leading us in those “paths of righteousness”! And to what end? That we may not only know “the glory of the Lord”, but that we may be “changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18)! You see, He is presently and persistently leading us in those “paths” that will cultivate Christ-likeness and help us to walk in His righteousness! Thus, "He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness"!
Praise be unto God for the imputed righteousness that has justified me in His sight; and thanks be unto Him for the imparted righteousness that sanctifies me day by day; and Glory be to His name for the Christ who made it all possible! Though our standing be righteous, we have nothing in which to boast, for Christ alone hath “made us accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6)! If our state be righteous, we have no personal grounds upon which to glory, for Jesus only is “The Author and FINISHER of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2)! Whether we speak of positional righteousness or practical, one thing is clear, it is all of Him! Such truth compels me to cry aloud with Paul, “But God forbid that I should glory, SAVE IN THE CROSS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Galatians 6:14)!
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