The Tribune

By PASTOR MATTHEW ALLEN PSA.37:25. "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." The King James Version of the above passage of scripture is one of the most quoted among today's religious folks. Below is the New Living Translation of the same passage of scripture: Psa.37:25. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the uncompromisingly righteous forsaken, or his seed begging bread." A key word in the NLT version is "uncompromisingly". As believers we can't live compromising lifestyles and deceive ourselves by thinking we are righteous. Before you seek to argue and misappropriate the scriptures as it relates to the word righteous, I pray the eyes of your understanding be opened via the holy spirit regarding righteousness. This word righteous in Hebrew is tsaddiyq, tsad-deek, which means just, lawful, righteous (man). It is of the utmost importance that we understand that when it comes to obeying the word of God, partial obedience is nothing more than disobedience. Living a compromising lifestyle that is contrary to God's word will always put us on the opposite side of being righteous, regardless of how consistently we quote scriptures pertaining to God's blessings upon our lives, or purchase books and other material, or attend conferences, and have religious leaders lay hands upon us. Twisted religious views and incomplete teachings will allow a person to make a very compelling argument about living a righteous life thereby opening a door of compromise and excuses. How many times have you heard portions of the following scriptures used out of context by the religious people to downplay an ungodly act by a person who may name the name of Christ? None of us are righteous, or all of us have sin and come short. Here is what the scripture says in Roman 3:10. As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one. Roman 3:23 states: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God". Please note, the scripture says "for all have sinned" in the past tense. Here is what the scripture says in Roman 5:19. "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous". How is it that even though acts of disobedience and obedience are clearly stated in the above passage of scripture many who claim their righteousness through Christ would argue and try to justify their disobedience? Christ himself was obedient even to the point of death? Phil.2:8. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Again, let us go back to the foundation scripture and take into account all of the drama that King David had in his life. (Psa.37:25. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread). If David could get a message to today's saints, I believe the message would sound something like this: Don't live a compromising lifestyle and try to avoid the pit falls and mistakes that I have made. I am speaking from experience, as in my youthful days I have made some costly mistakes that's brought the sword in and against my house / generation. But now as an old man that is living a righteous life before God and seeing my seed not forsaken by Yahweh or begging for anything, I make this declaration. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. Saints, whether you hold an office in the church or not, as you are reading this article the choice is clearly yours to make; you can repent of the mistakes made yesterday, last night or even a few moments ago and move away from living a compromising lifestyle. God wants to brag about you as he did about Job. Job.1:8. And the lord said unto Satan, hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? My brother and sisters, do not allow the enemy to hold you hostage any longer and the spirit of self condemnation to lock you into the position of unrighteousness. All you have to do is confess your fault unto God and continue pressing towards the mark. 1 John.9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. :10. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. * For questions and comments contact pastormallen@yahoo.com.