Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

(Mat 5:6)

By Nick Bibile

What is the meaning of righteousness?

To make it simple what is the meaning of right? It means the truth. So righteous means the man who lives according to the truth. The truth is God’s word, obedience to God’s word brings righteousness. Righteousness is living up righteously, in the truth. We see today in a horizontal way how one can be more righteous than his neighbor. However the truth is the word of God. True righteousness is not to be taken horizontally but vertically before God and man.

Before the fall, Adam had perfect righteousness with God, he enjoyed perfect happiness or blessedness. After the fall when Adam sinned as he violated the word of God he and his seed became unrighteousness.

Rom 3:10 There is no one righteous, not even one.

Man lost the first righteousness but today many religions believe we can attain righteousness by good works. They say the way to heaven is by doing good works. But the Bible says just the opposite.

Romans 4:6 David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works.

Jesus obeyed all of the law which we have broken, he lived in truth as he is the truth, he said, I am the way the truth and life, no one can come to the Father except through me. (John 14:6;Rom 10:4) When a sinner believes in Christ by faith, Christ’s righteousness is imputed to the sinner.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor 5:21)

If we are righteous it is because God has restored again the righteousness which man lost in the paradise. Now man can be happy again because of the second righteousness which came from Christ Jesus.

Now if we see the Beatitudes as we said before they go step by step up on the ladder.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, the ones who realize they are sinners before God, they are poor spiritually before God as they have sinned against God. Blessed are those who mourn, then they will mourn of their sins, they feel very uncomfortable, cry unto God with repentance asking God to forgive them for their sins, then blessed are the meek. No proud person can do this, need to be humble before God. God gives them a supernatural strength so they will have endurance and patience, strength under control. Now they will hunger and thirst after God. We cannot be truly happy if we live in sin but live righteous before God, live in holiness hating Sin. Now we can do good works as a result of our salvation. A true Christian will produce works because of his genuine salvation.

James 2:17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Now we have laid a good foundation, let us build upon this subject so we can understand better. Hunger and thirst doesn’t mean that when a person is always physically hungry and thirsty they are blessed. No, there is righteousness involved. This is again to be taken spiritually.

However we can take a lesson from physical hunger and thirst. There is a great desire for a person to hunger and thirst for very tasty foods. There is a craving in the body for such tasty foods. Once you eat these delicious foods which you have craved you are satisfied, well temporally. So there is an appetite in man for delicious foods.

Now when a man is born of the Spirit, a true Christian there is a great appetite for God’s spiritual food. There is a craving for God’s word. God’s word brings great satisfaction. There is a sweetness of God’s word which surpasses the sweetness of the worldly food. The true Christian eats God’s word and it nourishes his soul and changes his heart, the result is that his character is changed. He realizes that he is now right before God, give glory to God through Christ Jesus as Christ has imputed his righteousness and now he is righteous before God and live in holiness and not in sinfulness. He is happy as he is pardoned of his sins, he is happy as he is justified now. Justified means now the believing sinner is legally righteous before the Holy God. He is righteous before God.

Every human creature born into this world came naked. And since birth the cry is, give me, give me more, I want, I need, I like are the words as everyone is craving for happiness. However, happiness if just temporary, as they look for more and more sweetness of happiness. You will be never happy unless your souls if fed. The flesh will look for happiness until you die. The answer to fill your sweetness and happiness is Jesus Christ. Jesus told the woman at the well to draw water, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again.” (John 4:13) Yes, when you are very thirsty, you drink a cool glass of water and you are satisfied but it is just temporary, later you will be thirsty again and again it never ends. That is how this life is. You think if you buy this and buy that or get married, get a nice job you will be happy. No, it is just temporary. In this, world men are never content. But Christ said, “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (Joh 4:14) Beloved it is the sweetness and the happiness of Christ that fills your soul.

Satan shows us the delicacies of this world, the sweetness of worldly enjoyments, the sweetness of worldly entertainment, the sweetness of worldly amusements, the sweetness of worldly pleasures, the sweetness of worldly materialism. Satan is deceiving many as telling them, it’s ok to come to church, it’s ok to read the Bible and pray but do not meditate and think of Jesus all the time, think of the world, yourself those are important to your life. What he is saying is to worship him more than God.

How can I compare my Lord and Master to the harlot of this wicked world? How can I compare the materialism of this world to the solid gold of heaven? How can I compare the righteousness and sweetness of Christ to the sweetness of this world?

We are not to behave like sinful men of the world but to, "put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." He thirsts to be "renewed in knowledge, after the image of him that created him." He cannot be content till he is himself like Jesus, who is the image of the invisible God, the mirror of righteousness and peace. (Eph 4:22-24)

Hungering not after sin, but now hating that you loved before, running away from sin but running to God. Because God has taken you out of your old life and puts you into a new life.

He hungers for godly company; he thirsts to see the unholy made holy; and there he cries out in his daily prayers, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." With hunger and thirst he cries, "Lord, end the reign of sin! Lord cast down idols! Lord, chase error from the earth! Lord, turn men from lust, Lord save souls. Note hunger and thirst for righteousness.

This man who is born again, does not crave for twenty, thirty things but for One thing.

Ps 27:4 One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.

Psal. 42:1, 2, "As the deer panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God; my soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?” Psal. 63:1, 2, "My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee, in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary." Rev. 21:6, "I will give unto him that is a thirst, of the fountain of the water of life freely.”

This is a holy hunger, not a worldly hunger, holy thirst not a worldly thirst.

Remember Mary and Martha. Jesus and the disciples at their home. Martha is so busy preparing food, but Mary is at the feet of Jesus listening to every word that is spoken. Martha became upset and told Jesus tell my sister to come and help me, she doesn’t care. But what did Jesus say to Martha?

Luke 10:41-42 Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one this needed. (note one thing) and Mary has chose that good part. Which will not be taken away from her.

My beloved. This man does not hunger for wealth, fame, worldly things, but he would rather be poor and be righteous, than be rich through sin. He first seek the kingdom of God and he is aware that all these other things will be added unto him.

Before we were enemies of God now there is a transformation when we are born again, now there is a fervent love for God. Love the Lord with all your heart, mind and strength. Like Mary we cannot leave our Master away, love for his word is more satisfying than preparing physical foods.

There are many today who live like Martha as they food physical things before God’s holy word. I have to cook first, I have to clean the house first, I have these things that I have to attend, when I am done I will go and listen to the word of God. You will not receive a blessing if you happen to be this way. God’s word is first. One thing I have desired is sit at the feet of Jesus. We love Jesus because he loved us first. Although we have not seen him yet we love him. (1 Pet 1:8)

My beloved you will never be filled unless you hunger first. You must hunger and thirst after Christ. Look to Jesus, for he alone can satisfy you. Believe on our Lord Jesus Christ. Believe on him now, for he is our righteousness; and if you want righteousness you will find it in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Only begotten Son of God.