Gen 30:32+33, let me pass through your entire flock today, removing from there every speckled and spotted sheep, and every black one among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and such shall be my wages. So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come concerning my wages. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, will be considered stolen." 
	In our last consideration of this passage, we spent our time in the Old Testament, looking at those scriptures which pointed ahead to the fact that God would establish His righteousness for His people. We began with the reality that we are to treat all people in every situation in the manner in which our honesty and integrity is never questioned. This is in terms of how we represent the testimony of the Lord in the walk that we have on this earth. This is at the core of Jacob’s dealings with Laban, even though Laban defrauded and took advantage of Jacob from the very beginning of their relationship. Through Jacob’s efforts, Laban became very wealthy in all his flocks and herds. On that basis, as Jacob prepared to go back to his own land, he wanted to make certain that Laban could never accuse him of theft or dishonesty.
	This should be at the heart of how we operate on this earth as representing Christ. As Christians, our actions and our motives and our demeanor need to be established in the full truth that we are who we are because of the indwelling Lordship of Jesus Christ through the effective ministry of the Holy Spirit in absolute line with the Word of God. How we interact with others needs to be manifested in the righteousness of God so that no one can ever find any basis of truth in any of their accusations or allegations of impropriety. 
	The Apostle Paul faced this responsibility over and over again as he was accused, defamed, slandered, and threatened by the religious leaders of his day. In everything, he presented himself in the light of being the servant and the witness of Jesus Christ, not having any righteousness of his own, but only that which was given in Christ the Lord. 
If you would please follow along in your Bibles, Acts 24, verses 10-16. Acts 24:10-16, And when the governor had nodded for him to speak, Paul responded: "Knowing that for many years you have been a judge to this nation, I cheerfully make my defense, since you can take note of the fact that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. "And neither in the temple, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city itself did they find me carrying on a discussion with anyone or causing a riot. "Nor can they prove to you the charges of which they now accuse me. "But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law, and that is written in the Prophets; having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. "In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men. 
The Apostle knew that all that he did and said would be used to try to discredit his witness of Jesus Christ. The Jews were so fervent I their desire to abolish this so called sect that they were seeking every opportunity to besmirch and destroy all those who were testifying in Jesus’ name. Therefore Paul was extremely careful and diligent in all his dealings. As he so proclaimed, In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men.
	This was the heart with which he counseled the believers in Corinth as they were dealing with those issues and situations which could hamper or even damage the testimony of Christ Jesus. 2 Cor 13:4-8, For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we shall live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you. Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you —  unless indeed you fail the test? But I trust that you will realize that we ourselves do not fail the test. Now we pray to God that you do no wrong; not that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, even though we should appear unapproved. For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth. 
	The key to this is the fact that we know that there is no righteousness of ourselves to present to others. If that were the case, we would continually fail and fail miserably. Any faith that would be placed into us on account of our abilities and our efforts would soon be shattered and we would be dismissed as frauds and charlatans. 
The Apostle Paul is not encouraging the readers of his letter to drum up any perceptions of honor and dignity and right-standing through their own efforts and words. He is asking them to seek after the Lord to show them Who He is and how, by His indwelling Spirit, they are made righteous before God and before man. This requires an understanding that the only power that is capable of all this is found in Jesus Christ as we respond and obey and desire for Him to manifest Himself as our very life on this earth.
	The Apostle Peter carries forth this same encouragement in another aspect in 1 Peter 3:8-17. Please turn to it so we can read it together. 1 Peter 3:8-17, To sum up, let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. For, "Let him who means to love life and see good days Refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile. "And let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. "For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, And His ears attend to their prayer, But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." And who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. 
	There is a cost involved in being the living witnesses of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. We will face the brunt of all those attacks that would strive to disprove the reality of our service to God in Christ. We will suffer all the evil that was arrayed against our Lord, even to the point of nailing Him to the cross at His crucifixion. But the truth is that as He was raised in all the power and the sovereignty and the majesty of God’s fulfilled plan and purpose, so are we covered and directed and blessed in Him. Our ready defense against all the arguments of the forces arrayed against us is our complete reliance and hope and faith in Jesus Christ to see us through. We put forth the truth that we are not perfect of ourselves, but that by His grace and His mercy and His power and His faithfulness, we are being made ever more clearly and surely into a truer and more accurate testimony of His overruling and abiding Lordship on this earth. 
	This, then, brings us to the fact that we are to fully and absolutely rely upon God to meet the every need of living lives that are holy and righteous, in reality, on this earth. This can only be genuine as we come into a most personal and living relationship of faith in the Lord to make Himself known in our every day-to-day walk on this earth. 
	Our Lord, Himself, so shows us the way of living by faith in Him in Matt 6:31-33. "Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'With what shall we clothe ourselves?' "For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. 
It is as we seek Him to be our everything that we will come into the reality of what it means to live by faith, in complete trust in Him to supply all that each day requires. This is not a theoretical reliance upon Him, as espoused by dogma and theological writings and doctrinal dissertations. This is an absolute and utter counting on the Lord to see us through every situation, every dilemma, every need, and every daily crisis. When we seek Him and seek to live by Him in all His righteousness and His faithfulness, we will truly and fully be brought into the kingdom of God on this earth. 
	His kingdom is not for some time in the future, in heaven, after we have dutifully faced all that this realm can throw at us. It is not a time of hoped for relief after we have been laid in our graves. His kingdom is now! It is evident in the fact that as He reigns this moment over all of creation as the faithful and enthroned Lord of lords, so is His plan and His purpose and His sovereignty to be experienced right now, today! Where King Jesus reigns, and He reigns right now, right here, there is His Kingdom established and functioning and unassailable. As we live in the knowledge of His kingship, so do we live in the daily application of His faithful righteousness.
	 The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans, has very much to say about this as he highlights how this affects our lives this very moment in Chapter 1, verses 16+17. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "But the righteous man shall live by faith." 
Because we are covered over in the very righteousness of King Jesus, we are enabled to experience life in His Kingdom today. In the full course of all that is entailed in the Kingdom of God, we come to know what living by faith completely encompasses. The every portion of our lives and livelihoods comes under the sovereignty and the grace and the economy of God’s faithfully dealing with us as His own children after whom He watches and supplies with the full bounty of all the storehouses of Heaven in Jesus Christ. 
	The greatest gift of God, in the giving of His Only Begotten Son, is the fact of our eternal salvation by His death and resurrection. Please turn to Rom 3:21-26. Rom 3:21-26,  But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
	 Please recognize that the every aspect of this marvelous and free salvation is in the Hands of God. As we believe upon Christ, so does He work to establish us in His Righteousness and His Justification and His Holiness. We are not required to prove ourselves in any manner whatsoever. It is not a matter of earning credit toward our salvation or ever being worthy of it. All that we must do is to accept it through faith, and even that faith is a gift of God in us to believe.
	The Apostle further highlights the reality that is ours in Jesus Christ in Rom 5:15-21. Romans Chapter 5, verses 15-21, But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. And the Law came in that the transgression might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
	This then brings us full circle to the fact that our lives on this earth are to manifest, in every manner and reality the fact that we belong to God and are living forth with the desire that His righteousness will be in evidence in our every dealings with others. We do so as a testimony of our love for Jesus Christ, by Whom we have received eternal life. As well, His righteousness in us is our testimony to the fact that all who call on Him will be saved. We are those living witnesses now, on this earth, of the power of God in even such as us. 
As the Apostle Paul so summarizes our life before God and man in 1 Cor 1:30+31, But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, that, just as it is written, "Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord." 
Who we are now is all because of Jesus Christ. All our dealings with everyone who is part of our life, must be characterized by the truth that Jesus Christ is our life now and ever more. So be it!
And the Law came in that the transgression might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

This morning’s benediction is Ps 48:10-14. As is Thy name, O God, So is Thy praise to the ends of the earth; Thy right hand is full of righteousness. Let Mount Zion be glad, Let the daughters of Judah rejoice, Because of Thy judgments. Walk about Zion, and go around her; Count her towers; Consider her ramparts; Go through her palaces; That you may tell it to the next generation. For such is God, Our God forever and ever; He will guide us until death. Amen.