RIGHTEOUSNESS
INTRODUCTION
It is hard to talk about the Bible without coming in terms with the word “righteousness “.
When considering righteousness, we must consider God.
In Greek, it has its translation as ” dikaisuna”. The new testament uses the term 228 times, at least, 40 in Romans. Righteousness and its counterpart Righteous, appear 540 times in 520 verses of the Bible.
The Word “righteousness” means “move in a straight line”. Thus, righteous (right wise) means in the straight (or right) way.
Used with reference to morality, it means living or acting in the right ways.
But What is the right way? In our society, people commonly say that everyone must determine what is right for oneself. However, the scripture offers a different standard. Indeed, the ultimate standard of rightness of righteousness is God Himself.
God’s character reveals what is absolutely right. It is the measure of moral right and wrong. He is the source of right living. God has done everything that needs to be done to restore things to the way He originally intended –the right way. He dealt with sin through Jesus’ death on the cross (Rom. 5:6-11) and He transfers the righteousness of Christ to those who trust in Him. (Rom. 5:1-2)
GENERAL BACKGROUND ON RIGHTEOUSNESS
(Matt. 5:13-20, Exo. 19:1-8, Deut. 28, Exo. 20, Deut. 27:9-26, Joshua 24:14-27)
God is the all-surpassing God and His righteousness is an all-surpassing one.
Righteousness is being like God, sinless and absolute obedience to His laws.
God’s laws tells us exactly what righteousness is. God’s law says, “Do this” and so it tells us exactly what God’s will is for our lives. God’s law has, built into it, a threat. “Do this, or else!” It says, “Do right, or get punished”.
We know exactly how to get the righteousness required of us by God: Obey the Law. But the problem is we cannot. We cannot do the righteousness God wants or demands.
Human beings tend to come up with two solutions to solve this problem of righteousness. These solutions are summarized by looking at two groups of people that followed Jesus Christ around, listening to His sermons.
- Tax collectors and prostitutes
- Pharisees and Teachers of the Law.
The Tax Collectors or the Publicans and Prostitutes did not confront the law. They ignored it. They tried to abolish it. The law commands honesty, Fairness, integrity. Tax collectors were known as liars, cheaters and thieves. (Luke 19:1-10)
The Law forbids immorality, greed and perversion. Prostitutes were guilty of these. These people ignored God’s will for their lives and tried to ignore the consequences of their actions. They tried to live like there is no law at all.
We see this approach in the world today. The culture of this world preach a message of ” do whatever you want as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else”. We engage in different sins forgetting that God detests sin.
The problem with this solution is that it is no solution at all. The answer to the problem of the law is not just to ignore it. That’s mor of the problem not less of it. It answers the problem of our sin by ignoring the law and sinning all the more.
The second group, how did they confront this problem?
They said to themselves, “Let’s do it!” They tried to obey the law. They tried to fulfil it themselves. The law commands us to separate ourselves from sin. The Pharisees separated themselves from the publicans, the prostitutes and sinners. The law demands perfect obedience. The teachers of the law poured over every letter of every word of the law to find an obedience they could do. The people committed themselves completely to obeying the law and to avoiding its punishments. They tried to live like the law was Thiers to obey and hoped that God would smile on their efforts.
We see this approach today too. Mist people consider themselves to be good people by their own standards and good works. This too, is a very human solution to the problem of the law to just pretend that righteousness is a thing we can do.
The problem with this, is that it is not a real solution either it is just as bad as the solution of ignoring the law, because it ignores the truth about our sin. The solution is a lie we tell ourselves that our own righteousness could ever be enough. We swell with pride and self I righteousness and sin, when we think God’s righteousness –obeying the law –could be achieved by us.
The result of every human attempt to deal with the problem of the law is more sin. And that is the real problem. Sinners cannot solve the problem of the law nor righteousness because the law is pure, holy, spiritual and just. (Rom. 7:12,14)
But there is an OPTION. The third solution exemplified by the third group of people that Jesus dealt with. The third group included many tax collectors, prostitutes, some Pharisees and teachers of the law. This group includes us too, the disciples. It is the believers. It is the people who have found the only solution, God’s solution to the problem. The solution is Jesus but He doesn’t abolish the law. (Matt. 5:17). Jesus withholds the law as the perfect description of God’s will for our lives. He also acknowledges the punishments of the law.
But most of all, Jesus uses the law for what it was always designed to do. He shows our sin. He shows how much we need Him. (Rom. 7:12-15)
And then, Jesus fulfills the Law, lives a perfect life, one perfectly in line with God’s will. And He takes the “or else” of the law on himself (punishment) and God punishes His perfect son with all if the death we deserve. Jesus used the law to show us our need and then gave us what we need – himself. Jesus gives us His own all-surpassing righteousness. He gives us a place in the kingdom of heaven.
Now the law is a guide for us to live in the righteousness that Jesus won for us. It is not the harsh, “Do this or else!” anymore. It is simply a “Be this, because this is who you are.”
DEFINITION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
A layman’s definition of righteousness is simply, “right standing with God.”
W.E Vines Greek dictionary defines righteousness as the character or quality of being right or just. It was formerly spelled rightwiseness which clearly expresses the meaning. It is used to denote an attribute of God and that of the gracious gift of God to men.
Righteousness is the condition of being in right relationship with the Lord. This can only happen through total faith and dependence upon Christ. There is no other way and there is nothing we can add to our faith to obtain right relationship with the Lord. (Rom. 11:5)
Broadest use of the word is to observe divine laws.
It can also mean to be innocent, faultless and upright. It is to follow after the will of God.
A person is said to be righteous, if his ways of thinking, feeling and acting is conformed with the will of God.
Righteousness is not right doing but right being. (Gal. 2:16, 2 Cor. 5:21)
Righteousness is a lifestyle that distinguishes us as Christians and invites opposition from the world. (Matt. 5:10)
Righteousness starts in the heart and changes a person from the inside out. (Matt. 5:20)
Righteousness causes us to seek God’s approval above everything else. (Matt. 6;33)
Righteousness is the foundation of the throne of God. (Psalm 97:1-2)
Righteousness is the priority in the kingdom. Matt. 6:33
Righteousness is the main gene of our new nature. (Eph. 4:24)
The Hebrew word that are translates righteousness or uprightness describes ethical conduct that conforms to God’s standards and moral character that comes from a right relationship to the Lord and His word.
True righteousness is not just toeing the line and obeying the rules. As Jesus teaches in the sermon in the Mount that it is possible for us to obey the law outwardly while cultivating sin inwardly. (Matt. 5:21-48)
John the Baptist preached righteousness. Jesus also preached righteousness.
Jesus saying yes to God’s will required obedience to God’s commandments. (Matt. 3:15)
In the gospel of Luke, Men were called righteous because they were obedient to the will of God. (Luke 1 and 2, Luke 3:21-38, Luke 23:50-56)
The Holy Spirit convinces and convicts the believers regarding righteousness.
Paul declares that righteousness comes by faith. (Gal. 2:20, Rom. 10:6, Phil.3:9)
Paul also states that the believer is to be dedicated to righteousness in the sense of obeying God and His word. (Rom. 6:12-14, 2 Cor. 6:7, 2 Cor. 9:10, Eph. 4:24, Phil. 1:11)
Paul charges Timothy to be Strong for righteousness and tells us that the word is a training manual for righteousness. (1 Tim. 6:11, 2 Tim. 3:16)
Peter reports that we are to die to sin and live righteousness and to be prepared to suffer for it. (1 Pet. 2:24, 3:14)
John says to follow Jesus is to live a righteous life. (1 John 3:7-10)
Righteousness is a continuous act of surrender birthed in the presence of God.
Righteousness is a concept with origins in God’s very character and actions.
Our God is the God of righteousness because;
- He is a righteous God. (Deut. 32:4; Psalm 11:7)
- His word is righteous. (Prov. 8:6-9, Isa. 45:19, Psalm 119:138)
- God’s acts are righteous. (Jer. 9:24; Psalm 116:5, 129:4, 145:17, 18;30, 119:12, Dan. 9:14)
- God desires His people to be righteous. (Matt. 5:48; Eccl. 7:20, Psalm 7:11, 11:7, 92:12; Prov.10;30)
- God provides righteousness for those who will accept it. (Prov. 17:15; 1 Pet. 3:18)
For man, there is a standard of righteousness, which is God, Himself. However, for God, there is no standard except, again, Himself.
God’s righteousness is eternal righteousness. (psalm 119:142)
For us as fallen sinners, it is impossible to achieve God’s perfect standard of righteousness even for a second because God is God. He cannot relax His standards to allow us access to Him based on something less than whom He really is. How do we know what God’s righteousness is?
God’s righteousness is revealed first in His laws and then in His Son. In the Law of God, we see what God is like. All the commandments and statutes that make up His laws show us God’s very character. For example, when He says, “do not steal,” He condemns it because He never stole. His commands are simply demanding that we be like Him.
We must have God’s righteousness to be right with Him. Man’s dilemma is there is no righteousness within him or in the world to help him.
True God-accepting righteousness is only found through faith in Jesus Christ, His Son.
THOSE WHO NEED GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS
All men need God’s righteousness. (Rom. 3:22-23)
THE ONLY PLACE GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS IS FOUND
It can only be found in Jesus Christ. (Rom. 3:24; Gal. 2:16)
HOW DOES ONE RECEIVE IT?
By Faith. (Rom. 3:22)
WHAT DO YOU RECEIVE?
The life of God or the very nature i.e. the righteousness of God (John 3:16)
Justification, redemption and propitiation are received. (John 3:26, Rom.3:24-25)
WHY DID GOD DO THIS?
To show us His Righteousness. (Rom. 3:25)
RESULTS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
- Boasting is excluded (Rom. 3:27-28)
- There are no distinctions (Rom. 3:29-30)
WHAT IS THE DETERMINING FACTOR IN GOD’S JUDGEMENT OF OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS?
it is commonly thought that our actions are the determining factor to attaining God’s righteousness. That’s not true. Truly, there is a relationship between our actions and our right standing with God. The right relationship with God produces actions and not the way round. We are not made righteous by what we do.
Righteousness is a gift that comes from the Lord to those who accept what Jesus has done for them by Faith. (Rom. 5:17-18) The gift of salvation produces a change heart that in turn, changes our actions. Actions cannot change our hearts. It is the heart of man that God looks upon (1 Sam. 16:7) and we must be righteous in our hearts to truly worship God. (John 4:24)
When we rely on our actions, we are more or less like the Pharisees. (Matt. 23:25-26) actions are truly indications of what is in our hearts. Actions are the fruit the heart produces. The change comes from faith in the gospel which contains the power of God and not by human efforts. (Rom. 1:16) The law only affects actions. The gospel changes hearts.
IS RIGHTEOUSNESS THE SAME AS HOLINESS?
Righteousness is not the way we act, but it is what we are. Holiness is our conduct as a result of our separation from the world unto God. Righteousness is what we are – the nature of God.
THE PATH TO TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS
- There is a standard and God is this standard. God’s righteousness is the standard by which everyone must be measured. ( Matt. 5:48)
- Man’s shortcomings
- Man is declared a sinner by God. (Rom. 3:23, Gal. 3:22, Rom. 3:10-18)
- The very best man can produce is flawed and corrupt. (Isa. 64:6; Phil.3:9, Rom. 3:10-12)
- At our very best, we fall short of God’s standard -Jesus Christ. (Romans 3:23; Isa. 53:6; James 2:10)
If we are weighed in the balance against God’s righteousness as Belshazzar was (Dan. 5:1-31), we too would come up short. God’s righteousness is always more in quantity and quality than ours with ever be.
- God’s Solution
- God knows the depth and extent of Man’s fallen nature. (Psalm 103:14)
- God knows man can never earn himself righteousness.
- God’s plan is a multiple step plan that is guaranteed to bring man into a state of true righteousness, holiness and perfect standing before God. (Rom. 5:6-9, 2 Cor. 5:21, Rom. 5:1)
- His plan is an old plan. (Rev. 13:18)
- His plan involved a death on Calvary. (2 Cor. 5:14; 1 Pet. 1:18-19)
- His plan involved a resurrection (Matt. 28:1-6; Rom.4:25)
- His plan involves the conviction of sin. (John 6:44)
- His plan involves the grace of God. (Eph. 2:8-9, Romans 5:20)
- His plan involves faith apart from works. (Romans 10:9-10, 13; Acts 16:31)
- His plans involves total justification. (1 Cor. 6:9-11)
- His plan involves eternal life -John 10:28; John 3:16; 1 Pet. 3:5)
- His plan involves an eternal heavenly home. (Rev. 21:4; 1 Cor. 2:9)
- His plan involves an ironclad guarantee. (Heb. 7;25; Heb. 13:5)
Once we have been declared righteous, God then wants us to:
- Live righteously. (1 Pet. 1:15-17)
Through Christ, man had the power to live righteously. (Romans 5:17, Gal. 2:20)
- Practice righteousness (Matt. 5:6)
The practice starts from hunger. We must need to have continuous appetite for righteousness.
This hunger can be satisfied by studying and doing God’s word. (2 Tim. 3:16-17; Jer. 15:16)
- Bear fruits of Righteousness (John 15:16)
- The fruit of inward attitude. (Gal. 5:22-23)
- Fruit of outward actions. (John 15:7-8; Phil. 1:22, Phil. 4:17-18, Heb. 13:15, James 3:18)
- Uphold the purpose of righteousness (Phil. 1:11; Psalm 23:3; John 15:8)
The purpose is the glory and praise of God. God is glorified when we bear fruits.
We can only be saved when we have the righteousness that exceeds anything we could ever produce through our own efforts and that is by Jesus. (Matt. 5:20)
Man is not righteous and could never earn one. However by simple faith in Jesus Christ, God declares him righteous. (Rom. 4:18-25)
Jesus was in right relationship with God as no one else can be. He is the son of God. He is God manifest in the flesh, yet he became sin for us. (2 Cor. 5:21) He took our sin in His body on the cross. (1 Pet. 2:24, Isa. 53:4-5) In return for Jesus taking our sin, those who put their faith in Him get His righteousness instead of their own. It is our trust in Jesus that imparts the righteousness of Jesus into our born-again spirits and makes us acceptable to the Father. (Rom. 10:3, Rom. 11:6; Gal. 5:4)
KINDS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
- Righteousness in the eyes of God (Righteousness Coram Deo)
This is the first kind of righteousness. It is also called passive righteousness, the righteousness of faith, the righteousness of the gospel, alien righteousness. It is the righteousness of identity because it restores Man’s identity as a child of God.
We Receive this righteousness from God to be in right relationship with God, when we simply receive the imputed obedience of Christ and the forgiveness of sins through faith. This righteousness is passive and comes apart from the law.
This holds that man is not righteous in God’s eyes because of His character, his emotion, piety or intellect but he is righteous because the Father chooses him from the foundation of the world. (Eph. 1:3-14) and declares him righteous on account of Jesus’ atoning death and justifying resurrection. (Rom.3:21-28, 4:18-25)
This is the kind of Abraham’s righteousness. (Genesis 15:6) Righteousness by faith which does no depend on any works but on God’s favour and his reckoning, on the basis of grace.
It is likened to marriage. When a man and a woman are married, they share all things in common. Through faith, man is married to Christ. Through faith in Christ therefore, Christ’s righteousness and all He has becomes ours; rather, He Himself, becomes ours.
Man’s relationship with God has always been defined by God’s promises and faith. Even before the fall into sin, Adam and Eve were righteous in God’s eyes, not because of their obedience but because God declared them good and they believed. Thus righteousness before God cannot depend on human achievements or merit.
- Righteousness in the eyes of the world. (Righteousness Coram Mundo)
This is also known as active righteousness, the righteousness of character because it deals with a person’s attitudes and behaviors. A person is righteous coram mundo when he is in right relationship with the rest of creation and this is done through man’s actions.
Without the first kind of righteousness, this righteousness is but dead works. The righteousness is active, that is, the righteousness of works. The righteousness achieved by the workings of the Holy Spirit through a man that has yielded. This righteousness is informed by the law i.e. the good will of God.
Unlike the first dimension where the law accuses, in the second dimension, the law acts as a guide. The law shows man how God designed the world to work and warns that there are often temporal consequences to sin.
The purpose ultimately is the welfare of the kingdom in relationship with God.
It is also the active righteousness to the new obedience of Christians and believers who have become right through faith in Christ. They have first of all the righteousness of faith that is reckoned to them and there after the righteousness of new obedience to Christ or good works that are begun in them. (Titus 2:12)
This can be likened to the fruits or products of righteousness coram deo.
BENEFITS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
- God orders the steps of the righteous (Psalm 37:23, Prov. 11:5)
- God watches over the righteous. (psalm 34:15; psalm 37:25)
- God upholds the righteous. (Psalm 55:22; Prov. 12:21; Prov 18:10)
- God blesses the home of the righteous. (Prov. 3:33, Psalm 84:11, Psalm 5:12, Isa. 3:10, psalm 34:10, Prov. 8:20-21)
- God bless the righteous with joy. (Prov. 10:28)
- God listens to the prayers of the righteous (Prov. 15:29, 1 John 3:21-22; Prov. 10:24)
- God brings security to the righteous. (Prov.10:3,25; Psalm 140:13; Psalm 34:17; psalm 37:39; Psalm 55:22)
- God keeps the righteous from trouble. (Prov. 11:8)
- God assures the righteous of life everlasting. (Prov. 11:18-19)
- It is always well with the righteous in every situation. (Isa. 3:10; Rom. 8:28)
- God withholds no good thing from the righteous. (Psalm 14:11)
- What the righteous desires would be granted. (Prov. 10:24)
- The righteous will thrive. (Prov. 11:28; prov. 13:21)
- The righteous is unstoppable. (Prov. 24:16)
CONCLUSION
1.Righteousness comes by faith alone.
- The gospel includes a call to righteousness
- Righteousness is required to walk in the will of God.
- The Holy Spirit deals with us regarding righteousness
- Believers are required to purse righteousness.