170. Righteousness and Praise
Isaiah 61:11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
The metaphor of vegetative growth is used by the Holy Spirit to reveal what happens spiritually to the believer in Jesus Christ. The Lord God promises to cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. This promise is for us through Christ. The Gospel is sown in the heart and it will grow in an honest and good heart to produce up to a 100 times the original seed. This kind of growth is promised for every person in whom the Spirit has created faith in Christ. We who are baptized and believe will grow spiritually. The flowery growth looks like righteousness and praise. The people of earth will see the flower of righteousness and praise.
“They will see your good works and give glory to your Father.” This witness to the glory of God is what God expects His people to give by the life they live. We do not always see the results of the effect our Christian lives have on the lives of others, but we are to believe that each Christian life has a positive effect on the world around us; we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Our job is to hear the Gospel and focus on the love of Christ; the Word and the Spirit’s job is to produce the growth, the fruit, and the blossoming flower of a beautiful life reflecting the love of God for all people.
We believers do and say righteous things, giving thanks to God for all things. The world around us responds by living better lives and giving God glory. As branches, we do not try to produce fruit; we simply abide in the Vine: then growth happens and fruit grows naturally. The fruit and the growth is the fruit of the spirit, not the works of the flesh. In other words, it is not our effort that makes good works; it is he moving of the Spirit that causes righteousness to spring forth. If someone says, “He/she is a good person,” we reject that and say, “Only God is good.” God gets the credit and the praise for anything good that a “righteous” believer does. That is a wonderful promise.