What Can the Righteous Do?

1. What Can the Righteous Do? If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do? (Psa. 11:3)

2. Foundations Being Destroyed • Morality and Decency • Fornication, adultery, abortion, homosexuality not looked on as sinful by most people. • Corruption, cheating, lying: acceptable business practices. • Gambling: a legitimate way for gov’t to raise money. • Foundation of truth is ignored by many. • Churches of Christ are not exempt. • Many practice things not found in the Word. • Feel no constraint to follow the pattern of truth.

3. What Can the Righteous Do? • The righteous can remain righteous. • For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:16-17). • …And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved (Acts 2:47). • …For all Your commandments are righteousness (Psa. 119:172).

4. What Can the Righteous Do? • The righteous can be vexed. • and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked – for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds (2 Pet. 2:7-8). • Never sanction anything that is a transgression of God’s law. • Sin is no light manner and the righteous should not treat it as such.

5. What Can the Righteous Do? • The righteous can be separate. • Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you (2 Cor. 6:17). • And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Rom. 12:2). • This is possible or the Lord wouldn’t have commanded it.

6. What Can the Righteous Do? • The righteous can keep their light shining. • Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matt. 5:16). • For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you (1 Pet. 4:3-4). • Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation (1 Pet. 2:11-12). The darkness needs the light!

7. What Can the Righteous Do? • The righteous can keep teaching the truth. 1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables (2 Tim. 4:1-4).

8. What Can the Righteous Do? • The righteous can keep trusting in the Lord. 3 If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do? 4 The LORD is in His holy temple, The LORD’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men (Ps. 11:3-4).

9. What Can the Righteous Do? • The righteous can remain righteous. • The righteous can be vexed. • The righteous can be separate. • The righteous can keep their light shining. • The righteous can keep teaching the truth. • The righteous can keep trusting in the Lord.