Righteousness
Brian
one become righteous?
Mike Dugger
relationship with God. "Righteousness" as a word comes from
"right" (that which is literally straight) and is the state of being
in which one is in a relationship with God that God approves. A
righteous man is one then who is lined up properly with God (Psalm
119:172; 1 John 2:29).
In more plain terms, "righteousness" is " right doing; to be righteous
one must do right" (1 John 3:7).
"Righteousness" explained by Thayer is, "the state acceptable to God
which becomes a sinner's possession through that faith by which he
embraces the grace of God offered him in the expiatory death of Jesus
Christ, and the faith by which this blessing is appropriated is a
conviction, fully of joyful trust, that Jesus si the Messiah-the
divinely appointed author of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God,
conjoined with obedience to Christ... 'righteousness' in a broad sense
is the state of one who is such as he ought to be...the condition
acceptable to God."
Arndt and Gingrich assert "since righteousness constitutes the
specific virtue of Christians, the word becomes almost equivalent to
'Christianity.'"
The lexical definitions above are confirmed overwhelmingly by the
Bible writers, for example:
Act 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I
perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
Act 10:35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh
righteousness, is accepted with him.
1Jo 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth
righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
>From John above, what is the character of the man who is righteous? He
is one who does righteousness! He who does righteousness is right; but
he who is righteous is one who does right; therefore, he who does
right possesses righteousness.
>From the above it is clear that righteousness is that state or
condition wherein one is approved of God, but God approves of those
only who di right (keep His commandments); therefore to possess the
approval of God and the righteousness which He requires, one must do
right, by keeping His commandments. To be righteous, one must do right
(1 John 2:29).
Christ is the reason one can do right and be regarded as righteous
before God. Were it not for the blood of Christ no amount of 'doing
right' would ever regard one as 'righteous.' Christ cannot give us the
right doing that He did, but He does give all those who obey Him His
blood, which means those who are washed in it are made righteous when
they do righteousness. Justification does not eliminate the fact of
sin; it simply releases the sinner from the guilt thereof. Christ's
blood enables an ordinary man who does right to be accepted by God,
despite his shortcomings (1 John 1:7; Rom. 8:1-4; 5:17).
Mdd