The Missing Key
What is the truth? We could guess and say that it represents all that is good, and that would be true. But what represents all that is good? God does. Furthermore, if God represents good, then His laws, commandments, precepts and judgments represent only what is good, because they come from God (Psalm 119:142, 30, 151).
By practicing mercy and truth, your sins are forgiven. This is how you show reverence and respect to God, thereby departing from evil and living a life of love and charity (Prov. 16:6). Practicing truth, then, is how one departs from evil (Is. 59:15; John 3:21; Psalm 37:27). This “missing key” is what keeps the gospel locked. It keeps the Bible from being understood. Only when you practice the truth, will the gospel be unlocked to you (John 3:21).
Jesus told the Pharisees of His day, “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire compassion [mercy] and not [animal] sacrifice’” (Matt. 9:13). Jesus repeats this statement in Matthew 12:7, “I desire compassion [mercy] and not sacrifice.” Had the Pharisees looked into the Scriptures, they would have found Proverbs 21:3, which says: “To do righteousness and justice is desired by the Lord rather than sacrifice.” In Psalm 106:3, God’s word says: “How blessed are those who keep justice, who practice righteousness at all times.” This is God’s covenant with man, the covenant He made with Abraham that was to last for 1,000 generations. A generation is 30 years, so that’s 30,000 years (Psalm 105:8-9)!
Psalm 145:17 states that God is righteous in all His Ways and kind in all His deeds. If you will practice righteousness in all your ways and be kind in all your deeds, you will be imitating God (Eph. 5:1). When you practice the truth and only show love to others, the Lord will forgive all your sins and answer all your prayers, because this is how sins are atoned for (1 Peter 4:8). Practicing righteousness and justice (mercy, compassion and love) towards all others is how you keep God’s Ways! Notice what the Lord said about Abraham in Genesis 18:19: “For I have chosen him [Abraham] in order that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the ways of the Lord [How?] by [practicing or] doing righteousness and [practicing] justice...”
The Hebrew word for charity is “tzedaka.” It is derived from the root of “justice.” Practicing charity, mercy, compassion, kindness and acts of righteousness continually towards others is how a person keeps God’s Ways, and thus, lives a repentant life before God. God’s Ways are His commandments, His laws, His statutes, His precepts. They are all fulfilled when we continually practice charity towards all others by keeping God’s Ways—His works, which is the true definition of the word truth! This is how you worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24).
Now you can clearly understand what Jesus said in Matthew 5:16: “God in heaven is glorified [worshiped] by a life of good works and that is how a true disciple of Jesus Christ lets his light shine before others.” When you look up the word “glorify” in a dictionary, it says, “worship.” God is worshiped by a life of good works. The very word “truth” represents good works. Ephesians 2:10 says that we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Doing good works for God is how we walk in God’s love. Doing good works is walking in the truth (2 John 4). Doing good works, which is practicing the truth, is how we keep the commandments Jesus received from the Father, which will judge us in the last days (John 12:47-50). This is how we love our neighbor (anyone in need) and show love to all (2 John 5-6). This is how we abide in the teachings of Christ (2 John 9). God’s word says that if anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or even give him a greeting (2 John 10). They are all antichrist (2 John 7)! Now you know how to keep Jesus Christ’s commandments and overcome Satan and sin in your life (1 John 2:14). Just keep Jesus’ works by practicing righteousness or doing good to others daily for God (Rev. 2:26; Matt. 6:1).
What you are reading in this article is literally the key to entering the kingdom of heaven. These are the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the doctrine that conforms one to a life of godliness (1 Tim. 6:3-4). Practicing the truth (doing good works of love for God) is practicing godliness (Titus 1:1). This is how to love your neighbor, which is the second greatest commandment. This is how to love your neighbor with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, just as Jesus did. It’s how you worship Him and show your love for God continually. It’s how you put on Christ, live like Christ, clothe yourself with Christ and have Christ’s nature formed in you (Gal. 4:19). It’s how you live to the Spirit and put to death the evil deeds of the flesh for God (Psalm 37:27; 1 Peter 3:10-11; Rom. 8:13). It’s how you walk in the Spirit so you will not carry out the evil desires of the flesh (Gal. 5:16). This is how to be led by the Spirit and be sons of God. It is how you become partakers of God’s divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). It is how we crucify the flesh with its evil passions and desires, and thus, belong to Christ (Gal. 5:24). It is how we live by the Spirit, as well as walk by the Spirit (Gal. 5:25). Practicing the truth by doing good works of love is how the gospel is unlocked and revealed to you by God (John 3:21). It is how to obey Christ and come out from under the wrath of God (John 3:36). It is how to obey Jesus Christ daily and have your sins forgiven or be covered by Christ’s blood (1 Peter 1:2).
He who does God’s Will comes into the understanding of what the gospel truly says (John 7:17). God’s Will is righteousness and doing good with God’s love.
The truth is Jesus’ words. The truth is God’s word, the Bible. The truth is God’s commandments. The truth is God’s law. Practicing the truth, practicing righteousness towards others daily to please the Lord, is walking in the truth. It is how one worships God. God’s word is clear; the person who will not practice righteousness for God remains of the devil (1 John 3:10).
1 Peter 4:18 says: “If it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved [the one who practices righteous good works of love towards others daily, which is practicing the truth and is God’s Will], what will become of the godless man and the sinner [those who are goats in Matthew 25:33 and 41]?” In the second chapter of James, the righteous are those who practice good works of love continually.
Salvation is the inheritance of the righteous. Now you know how to be righteous before God (James 4:17). Will you be found a sheep or goat by the Lord when He returns soon? Now you know the truth so you can be found a sheep at the Lord’s return (Matt. 25:34, 40- 41).