by Nestor Ravilas
Jesus in the Book of Matthew underscores that it is impossible to enter the Kingdom of God apart from being righteous. He even qualifies it more by saying that it has to surpass the righteousness of the prominent religious leaders of his time – those who were culturally accorded with such pious signification. Some people might tend to pick other pertinent vocabulary within the economy of words of the gospel, but we could not do away with the word “righteousness” as it is inextricably associated with our entrance to eternal bliss. What does the word “righteousness” mean therefore is crucial in understanding the gospel.The word came from the root word “right”.
This is a seminal analysis of the topic; hoping that a more sufficient inquiry will follow in the coming days. My interest in the subject was prompted by an incessant objection of one participant in a seminar we held on climate change and together with other social issues. Moved by his conviction, he relentlessly objected to our call for the care of nature and insisted instead that humans are the only objects of God’s salvation. He barraged us with biblical verses to prove his point and convince us of our alleged departure from truth. The encounter pulls me back to the proverbial philosopher who is sitting and musing deeply the biggest questions of life. What bothers me is the thought that the man could be a representative of significant portion of Evangelical Christians that we have to be seriously concerned about.
Burn After Reading 