What is righteousness? That question has baffled scholars and intellectuals for decades. Some men came up with many religious exercises so that they could become righteous according to their standards. Others clung to one verse in the Bible that they took out of context. People want to jump all over Romans 3:10 and say, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” But you have to understand this in context. In Romans 3:9 Paul is talking about Jews and Greeks that are under sin. After this passage, in Romans 3:19, he talks about these people being under the law. So then, those that are just under the law are not righteous. What we do see though, is a man who was under that law, was counted as righteous. James 2:23 says, “‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God.” So then, even though Abraham was under the law, he believed God, and because he believed God, God treated him like he was righteous, even though he wasn’t.
Now, to fully understand what this means, we need to define righteous. Righteousness is defined as without guilt or sin. We could also define it as right standing with God. So even though Abraham was under the law, and was not able to obtain this righteousness, because he believed God, God treated him like he was righteous.
The good news for us is that we have a NEW covenant established upon BETTER promises. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” So, Jesus never sinned, right? He never did anything to deserve that sin being laid upon Him. But he took that sin on Him, He became sin, so that we, who didn’t do anything to become righteous, could then become righteous. So, because of Jesus’ sacrifice, God is able to treat us as if we have never sinned. That is why the Bible tells us to come boldly to the throne of Grace that we might obtain mercy and find that grace to help us in the time of need. (Hebrews 4:16) You see, the only way we are able to come to that Throne is because in God’s eyes, the second we ask for forgiveness, it’s like we never sinned. It’s like we are back in the Garden of Eden, and we can have the same relationship with Almighty God that Adam had before the fall.
How awesome is that. To be able to just sit down, and talk with the Creator of the universe. God wants to bring each and every one of us into that relationship with Him. He wants to treat every one of us like we have never sinned. But He can’t, unless you let Him. If you have never said, God, I need You in my life. I want to go to heaven. I want to have a relationship with You, or maybe you have made that commitment, and have fallen away from it, but now you want to get back to that right standing with Him, just pray this prayer. Say, “God, I know that I have made mistakes. You said that we all have sinned, and fallen short of Your glory. I am sorry for the things I have done. I want to have a relationship with you. I want you to be my Father. I believe that You sent Your Son, Jesus, to the earth. I believe He lived a life without sin, and then died. Three days later, He rose from the dead. Come into my heart Jesus. Make me a new creation. Thank you for washing my sin away, and bringing me into a relationship with you. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer, you are in the family. I want to congratulate you on making the best decision you ever could have made. I am so happy that you want to know God, instead of knowing about Him. Now, to grow in this, there are a few things that must happen. Number 1, find a good church. If you live in the Hartford area, I know of a great one. Number 2, get a Bible, and spend time reading it every day. Number 3, talk to God. Talk to Jesus. But listen too. It may be a little hard at first, but the more you spend time with Him, the more you can hear His voice, and it becomes familiar to you. If you prayed this prayer tonight, I would love to hear from you. Either send me a message on Facebook, or leave a comment here. Let me know anything that I can do to help you grow closer with the Lord.
Love all of you guys. Be blessed, and rejoice, we are in right standing with the Father.
I think a lot of what is stated in this definition is true, but there is one major error...Abraham was NOT under the law. The law was introduced in Exodus 19 and Abraham died early in Genesis (400 years before the law).
ReplyDeleteOne of the greatest mistakes people make in this area is that the entire OT is under the law. The truth is that the OT lasted 4000 years, and the law was only present for 1500 of those years.
If you want to break it down, the law was written down for those last 1500 years, but, that law was the Abrahamic Covenant written down for all to remember, as far as I can see. Curious who this is since it was posted as anonymous.
ReplyDeleteDave,
ReplyDeleteThis is great stuff. Do you mind if I use some of what you said for my small Bible Study?
But why be righteous in the first place? Why is it necessary to seek to be righteous?
ReplyDeleteTo answer Paul, righteousness is being free of sin. Simply God and sin are contrary, and to get to heaven and have a good relationship with Christ, we need to eliminate sin, as that separates us from God in a Christian walk(Sin is the reason for us dying in the first place). It does not make sense to not seek righteousness as a Christian, and it commands in the bible that we seek righteousness. I don't know if that made sense but there is my take.
ReplyDeleteYou are all very shallow thinkers. Why was Jesus baptized? He said "to fulfill all righteousness" Could baptism have anything to do with righteousness? hmmmmmmmmm.
ReplyDeleteShallow is as shallow does. May God grant you all true knowledge of what His Righteousness is all about.
ReplyDeleteThere is not a single verse in the bible that says 'pray this prayer and you get to go to heaven'. Salvation cannot and should not be lowered to just saying a few words.
ReplyDeleteMark 1:15 - tells us to repent and believe. This is a lifelong process.
Romans 12:1-2 - tells us to offer out bodies as a living sacrifice.
Christians in the first century were placed before Roman guillotine's and commanded to renounce Christ or die, and many of them would not abandon their faith even in the face of death. How can we then say we are saved just because we pray a prayer?
Remember Hebrews 12:14 - without holiness no one will see God.
it's kind of funny that you have to hear stuff twice before it actually hits you. thanks for re-revealing this to me. it's exactly what i needed. May God Bless You.
ReplyDeleteTo Mr anonymous, salvation comes by praying a single prayer according to Romans 10 vs 9-10.Don't be confused the integrity of Gods word stands forever.
ReplyDeleteI have a question. Romans 10:10 says "for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation." Now that I understand what righteousness is (thank you for writing about that, by the way), I am wondering how it is different from salvation. For righteousness, I must simply believe. Then I will be gifted right standing with God. But salvation requires that we confess with our mouths Jesus as Lord. I suppose I always thought of salvation as right standing with God, but I get the sense now that I don't have a clear understanding. How are righteousness and salvation different and why do they require different things?
ReplyDeletethere is a righteousness jmputed to us by virtue of making that confession according to Romans 10: 10. that righteousness is a free gift that comes with salvation. This righteousness is not and cannot be obtain by any good work it come by believing in the finished work of grace which Jesus did on the cross. Read Romans 4: 1-14. I will like to quote the 14th verse; And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:
DeleteNote that it says righteouness might be imputed unto them.... who are are the them? they "them that believe, though they be not circumcised.
but there is a righteousness imparted. this has to do with our character and it can only be accomplished by carrying our cross daily and dying to self. Sin that we are saved from is not acts of sin but sin as a personality and that personality is satan. When we become born again we are transmitted from the kingdom of darkness (satan) into the kingdom of light (Christ) and that impute into us righteousness. as you must know that Christ is righteousness personified. coming into your life when you received him by believing and confessing him makes you righteous. it makes you the servant of righteousness and deliver you from being servant of sin according to Romans 6:20. it is a faith thing. but imparted righteousness is obtain by being yoke with Christ. that means you have to a stage where you can't do what you want anymore but what he want. it is obtain by carrying our cross and learning of him and not about him. imputed righteousness deals with our spirit and imparted righteousness has to do with the salvation of our soul. Hope the Lord give you light.
if you have more question you can e-mail me on mailsolomondavid@gmail.com
i like that you stated "when you ask for forgiveness" God wipes away the sin. My worry about righteousness with todays pastors is they make it sound like even when you are in sin 'you are righteous' I am saying this becasue I once believed that I until spirit refused it. Most pastors dont preach about sin. Pastors hype up people to believe they are righteous cos Chrsit died for them. It grieves my spirit to see many belive in this lie that is leading many to destruction.
ReplyDeleteit seems to me as i read the scripturs regarding righteousness,that our right standing with God does not require us to be without sin for that would be works, but that we can come boldly to his throne of grace and he is faithful and just to forgive our sins. I believe thats what Jesus died on the cross to give us. He who knew no sin became sin for us. What is required of us is that we set our minds on the things of the spirit so that we are not controlled by our sinful nature. So as we hear the word of God that produces faith,so we believe in our hearts, then we confess with the mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and we are saved! it really is simple.
ReplyDeleteI believe that first we ask God to come into our lives, acknowledge that Jesus is, was and always will be our savior, our strength and our redeemer. Then The Holy Spirit does the rest for us. He convicts us when we sin to repent, he calls us to be baptised, he lets us know when we are headed down the wrong path or the right one, he gives us the words to say that the Father would have us say when we are to say them. He is there when we are to perform the acts the Father would have us perform for the Kingdom, He helps us to discern lies from truth. He reveals the truth of the Word to us when we are to see it. The first step is to do as Dave had encouraged us to do; pray and the rest will come with the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit as it did in the past and will do until Jesus return. God is the same yesterday, today and forever, He never changes. So I believe and please do correct me if I am wrong; Pray to God, Seek fellowship, read His word and watch and listen for the opportunity to serve. But we must also remember that out time is not Gods time and we must learn patience and wait on the Lord. In His Mighty Hands, your sister in Christ, Theresa
ReplyDeleteWhy be Righteous?
ReplyDeleteThe Bible says in Psalm 92:
The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;
To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
What did God say to Adam? (Gen 1:28)
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
I think it says a lot about your blog entry and the amount of people who have commented that your words are led by God. I wanted you to know I am one of those who has the relationship with the Holy Spirit that is very "chatty" he is my comfetor, teacher, and my love, my protector and its just such a wonderful positive relationship there arent really the words to describe what he has done in my life. I found your blog after being directed by the Holy spirit to search under righteousness as he is currently teaching me about my identity in him and so God used your blog entry to help me understand what it is, at the right time, his time.
ReplyDeleteIf deosn’t matter that you miss layed a date or fact, GODS LOVE and how we communicate it to the World is ALL that matters. Did you know that God wants to put his Bride on display in front of all time? That we are his flowers, the original flowers, the flowers of the field have our name on them, but they are just copies, we are the original, we are the forfillment of his promise, those who are designed to shine with him, those designed to be held extra close by him, we are perfectly formed sculptures and we are a work of art he wants to show all time, he is proud of his Bride and he waited all time to come into each one of us, he is our other half, our hearts were specifically designed for him and him for us, he always wanted us to fly, he loves us very deeply and he wants us to know he keeps his promises, that he can see us as we are, naked before him and that he loves us for who we are and that we are perfect in him, we are clothed with him, he is our love, he is our promise and his cross stands as shelter in a storm, his light guides us to all truth, his fire will never burn us, he holds us in his arms and promises to never let go. The World has been teaching the worst lie for so long, that you have to be strong and if youre not strong you are weak, that you are nothing, its the Devils biggest lie because God designed his children to never be whole without him, because he is our other half, we specifically were never designed to be alone, he was always meant to be our strength, we are delicate and are designed specifically to be his home, his temple, so rejoice in your brokeness, and know it is a sign you were always Gods child, ask him to come in and eat with you and he will bring you more Strength, Joy, Peace, Love and Prospetity than you could ever imagine and in the process he will help you to become others shelters in the storm, through him, resting in him, our God is great, his name is Jesus! : )
I'm looking to define righteousness because I'm trying to figure out how to make "sacrifices of righteousness", as it talks about in psalm 4:5. Is it as simple as not sinning? It's a behavioral thing then? If I want to curse out some jerk who made me mad, I make a sacrifice of righteousness and be cool to him? If it is defined as a "right standing with God," then I sacrifice being in a wrong standing with God? Can anybody dumb it down for me?
ReplyDeleteRighteousness is simply right standing with God. What that means, is once you accept the free gift of salvation, God has put you in right standing with Him. Sacrifices of righteousness relates more to the Old Testament, where they had to offer up sacrifices. Jesus is the final sacrifice for us, offered up once and for all.
ReplyDeleteThis article was great until I read about the prayer. Even in Acts 2 it states one must repent and be baptized in order to have a complete relationship with God. Yet, you do not mention that. It would also help if you mentioned what constitutes a good church. There are thousands of churches out there to choose from. One needs to find a church that is biblically-based and helps to hold one another accountable. Do they do Bible studies? Do they baptize? Do they have discipling partners? Etc. I'm a novice at this, but I know these are important. PS-I tried posting this as a google account, but it wouldn't let me, so I have to post as anonymous.
ReplyDeleteOk, thanks Dave. I get it now.
ReplyDeleteSeek first his kingdom and his righteousness... thanks for the clear explanation of this peace of righteousness, that it is our right standing before GOD not behaviour.
ReplyDeleteive been on a bit of a search to find what rightousness actually is...i want to have a better relationship with my Saviour, and want to draw closer to him. Thankyou for your post..! Bri
ReplyDeleteThe bible says that we are all born into sin and are shapen into iniquity.In the eyes of a loving and caring God because of our SIN we are seperated from him.
ReplyDeleteThe old Testament law was a school master leading them to christ. It was designed by God to show them how to live a life through sacrifice of bulls, goats, etc that was pleasing to God never designed to remove sin only push it ahead for the period of 1 year.
When God robed himself in flesh and died on the cross he took upon himself the sin of man. Our own goodness in the eyes of God is a pile of dirty rags.
Acts 2:38 tells us how to remove the sin that's in our life and bridge the gap back to God. For us to remain righteous in the eyes of God we are told that daily we have to die out to our flesh and be obedient to the word of God in our actions.
we only remainrightous in God's eyes when we are obedient to him in everything that he says
Steve, the Bible says Abraham believed, and it was counted to him as righteousness, and then tells us we're to follow in his footsteps. So, according to that, I need to have faith in God, and in the Word of God, and God will count me as righteous too, regardless of what I have or haven't done. (He doesn't desire you to stay in sin, but that you grow, but the second you believe, you are righteous.)
ReplyDeleteHi so when i believe Jesus died for me then i'm righteous, so what if i sin?
ReplyDeleteIf you sin, you repent (which means to change), and move on. That's it. Jesus has already forgiven it. You just need to follow the patten established in 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
DeleteSo, confess that you sinned, "Lord, I sinned. I did it. It was me." And then receive your forgiveness. "But, I thank You, Sir, that you died on the cross for this. And right now, by faith and through grace I receive my forgiveness, and I repent of this sin now, in Jesus' Name. Amen."
That's it. You're in perfect right standing with God. :)
ododo, dave u are right!
ReplyDelete"He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." (Mark 16:15).
ReplyDeleteWhat is the good news? The gospel of salvation, the message of righteousness.
The more of the good news you hear(the message of righteousness) the more of a better Christian you become. When you teach people to be righteousness conscious indirectly you are teaching them to live a sin free life, hence the need for pastors to preach/teach more about righteousness than sin....... "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin." (Romans 3:20).
I think by saying salvation and righteousness is the same thing, we are missing-out on a greater truth. Salvation is the start of a journey of my relationship with God, while righteousness is coming back to God’s original dream for individual people that is fare bigger than just salvation or not trying to continually choice right above wrong. When Abraham believed God’s plan for his life God called him righteous. So are all the other people in Heb 11. In plan English: Righteousness seems to be a place where I am in the right standing with God, because I believe in God’s original plan for me personally. A detailed plan for my (Hein) live and who I (Hein) am called to be. Planned before I (Hein) was born.
ReplyDeleteI can only be truly righteous before God is I am who he intended me to be, or else my whole life, even if I am saved, is outside of His perfect will for me. Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Gideon all new who they were.
(1st Paragraph) Abraham was not UNDER the Law -- he was BEFORE the Law! The Law came with Moses, who was much later.
ReplyDeletethanx though -- good article.