What is righteousness?

Elli Poysti, a very spunky cowgirl-turned-city-slicker, asked me, "What does being righteous mean? What does righteousness look like?" Those are really great questions. I'm hoping that Mike and Nettie Clouse and the rest of our study group get some good answers. It should make for an awesome study. 

As much as I'd like to say that God gives a couple of bullet-points on this topic, reading His word shows that God says a TON on righteousness, so it's important to know what it means. For example, He says, "And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever." (Isaiah 32:17) He also compares being good with being righteous, notes that there was righteousness in the Law, but a type which did not give life, that we must ourselves have "righteousness which exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees," or we won't have eternal life, and points out that faith is inextricably intertwined, and thus partially defined, by righteousness. 

Anyway, some things to consider. Afterward, answer the questions originally asked based off these passages.  

1—The Greek word "dikaiosune" means ""the character or quality of being right or just;" it was formerly spelled "rightwiseness," which clearly expresses the meaning." The root word, "dikaios," means to be "just," as in justice. Righteousness, applied to us, means, " right action."(Vines Theological Dictionary of Greek: http://www.menfak.no/bibelprog/vines?word=%AFt0002409)

2—Righteousness is an aspect of being saved: "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator" (I Peter 4:17-19). 

3—Righteousness is a part of our decision-making as Christians. ""Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." (Jn 7:24)

4—Righteousness can be of the wrong variety, such as the Jews who: "have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God" (Romans 10:2-3).

5—Righteousness is critical to salvation: ""For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven."

6—Righteousness is faith, "For what does the Scripture say? "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS."

——>And this faith is borne out by actions. "By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed [i]by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.  By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;  for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God." (Heb 11)

7—Righteousness doesn't necessarily mean "goodness." "For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. (Rom 5:6-7)

8—Righteousness in the Law (which we are no longer under) could be a harsh mistress. Paul said of himself, "as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless." (Phil 3:6)

9—Rightousness and justification/salvation are not the domain of the "undeniably perfect," "religious leaders," etc., and may come from surprising places. However, rightousness lives in action, and grows from a desire to love and live like Christ, and to please God.  Check out this little stunner: "In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?" (James 2:25)

TLDR: Righteousness is following Christ, which makes sense, as He said, "“If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). It is demonstrated in our lives, and we exhibit it because of God, and the working of belief in us. Ultimately, it is an expression of our character, and is notable for making us appear more like Christ, and less like the world. It can be of a type that does us no good: self-righteousness, or righteousness based off our own thoughts (ignorance) and not God's.  

Righteousness, however, is not merely making the right actions. It is not merely justice. It is tied up in our character and our motives. 

Here is one thing I studied a while back, though, about being GOOD and exceeding being merely righteous.  https://www.facebook.com/notes/lucas-necessary/son-of-encouragement/720620628033106

What is faithfulness?

BQ:  What is faithfulness? 

A: Throughout the Bible, God is referred to as being faithful without deviation. Many portions of the Bible look at specific ways in which He is faithful, such as, "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is FAITHFUL, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (1 Cor 10.13) All theological lexicons which examine the original Greek and Aramaic agree that the word for faithful means, "reliable." 

Consider the verse above. When we're tempted, God is reliable in providing us with avenues for escape. I used to make excuses for doing some pretty worldly things; in essence, the people I was hanging out with and the things I was doing WERE my life. I couldn't imagine "just sitting around being Christian." But when I decided to change, all of a sudden I had tons of Christian friends who wanted to do things that were a total blast! 

I wasn't reliable at first, but God was. I avoided developing deep friendships with my spiritual family, and instead spent all my free time with worldly people, and ended up looking much like them. If you have that sort of issue, realize that God is faithful and is providing you other opportunities which are far better—you just have to pursue them. 

PS-If you haven't caught on yet, I've been doing minor word studies on words from Gal 5:22-23, which says, “But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, FAITHFULNESS, gentleness, self-control.” 



BQ: Yesterday we saw that God is faithful or reliable, and that He provides us with ways to escape sin 100% of the time. When you examine yourself, are you reliably worldly or reliably like Jesus? Does it matter if you're not that reliable/faithful?
 

A: "Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful?" (1 Cor 4:2) If we want to be true stewards, we must be faithful.  Consider yourself. Are you faithful to God? Do you treat your relationship casually? If you were married, would you treat it the same way? Will God call you a faithful servant? Or a servant who considered being faithful but didn't make the effort to build the relationship? How can you become a more reliable servant?

BQ: In the past however many years, I've come to realize that one huge aspect of finding a mate is finding one who is faithful. As we've come to learn, faithful doesn't just mean not sleeping around on your spouse; rather, it means being wholly reliable. I've met a lot of people who are like I was—not faithful, but with a desire to become so—and a lot who are like I currently am, which I'd define as "not there yet, but getting a lot better!"
 

Are you one of those people who isn't very faithful to Christ, but wants to get there? Do you ever do something you know He won't be happy with and then regret it? The cool thing is that God understands and is patient, and He encourages us to grow. Consider this about Moses, "just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house” (Hebrews 3:2). Did you know that Moses had a really rough, unreliable start?  In fact, from Exodus 3 and 4, look at what Moses said when he was called to lead the people, he had these excuses: 

1.) "Who am I?" (11) 
2) “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” (13)

3) “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘Jehovah did not appear to you.’” (4.1)

4) “I am not eloquent ... I am slow of speech and of tongue.” (4.10)

5) “Please send someone else.” (4.13)

Moses wasn't exactly batting a thousand at first. Drop the excuses and learn from Moses! Master your desires and choose to serve God and become faithful! A rough start doesn't preclude a ferocious, faithful finish! 

BQ: We've learned a lot about various words from Galatians 5. Words like justice/righteousness, mercy/kindness, and faithfulness/reliability. Some people hold to a form of religiousness without accomplishing God's will. What does God say about that?

A: Mt 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others."

There are those words again. Look at them carefully. God's "chosen" people failed. They polished the outside of the cup, but inside it was gross and worldly. How are you inside? Are you clean inside and out, or is there still nasty, dark junk deep inside?  Notice how God words the sentence, too. It starts with righteousness, which is succeeded by mercy, and which is trumped by faithfulness. Faithfulness is the ultimate goal. It is reliability. It is an attitude of justice but painted with love and mercy and patience.

How's the inside of your cup? 





BQ:  Today is our last recap of faithfulness, which is defined as trustworthiness and reliability. Proverbs 20:6 says, "Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?"
 

It took me about 24 years to REALLY get the guts to examine myself. Up until that age, I'd look at myself briefly, but I'd quickly stop. In Acts 24:25, Felix held Paul prisoner and questioned him. The situation went like this: "And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you.”

I was the same. I proclaimed steadfast love, but like Felix, when I would try to examine myself versus the truth, I'd become afraid and push it out of my mind and pretend that it didn't happen. At some point, though, we all need to look at the bad habits that we're choosing to keep and admit them. The first step is always admitting that we have a problem. The only way to become reliable is to start getting rid of everything that makes you unfaithful. Don't put it off. Look for ways to start replacing evil with good. 

What is "good?"

BQ: What is good or goodness? Various lexicons, both theological and not, use the following descriptors to define them: uprightness of heart and life, kindness, useful, pleasant, excellent; honorable. The Bible defines goodness also by using comparison and contrast. Can you guess what it compares goodness with? 

A: Strangely, the contrast used to define goodness is between it and righteousness! For example, in Romans 5:7, God says, "For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though for a good person one would dare even to die." 

What? We're so used to striving to be righteous (in our own minds) that we get terms somewhat muddled. Goodness is set about righteousness here, because righteousness is equated with pure justice.   A just man is one who gives to men what is their due. Goodness, however, is the quality which is out to do far more than that, and which desires to give a man all that is to his benefit and his help; it is the generosity which gives a man what he never could have earned. 

I am very blessed to know people who are so good that one would dare even to die for them. What about you?