I wouldn’t call this article a follow-up to last week’s article but rather an emphasis on what has already been established last week. We established that righteousness is the state of being in right standing with God and it is something every Christian has through faith in Christ.
Obedience is another way we are made righteous (Deut. 6:25; Rom. 6:16). Obedience and faith go hand in hand. Abraham obeyed God’s instruction to sacrifice Isaac because he had faith in God and this was counted unto him as righteousness.
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
Heb. 11:8 NIV
By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son.
Heb. 11:17 NIV
What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Rom. 4:3 NIV
Many of us have misunderstood what it means to be righteous. We think of it as behavioral modification or the outward appearance of being holy. But it is not. Righteousness is a heart transformation powered by the Holy Spirit. It is not about what you do or wear or say, or by your desire to be seen as holy.
I’m not saying that our actions and words are insignificant, they are very important. However, they’re not what leads up to righteousness. Rather, they are the transformational changes that come with being righteous. This is what the Pharisees failed to understand. They thought that by wearing the scripture on their arms or foreheads and observing sabbaths, staying far away from sinners, praying loudly, and giving alms publicly, they were building themselves up to righteousness but they were completely wrong. Those were self-righteous acts that amounted to nothing. They wanted to draw their righteousness from their ability to do good and pile up works, but it doesn’t work that way. (Php. 1:9-11 NLT)
Many of us are no different. We just want to appear righteous and do those good deeds so we can say “Yeah, I did that. Look, God, I’m righteous now”. We do it not for the glory of God but for our self-gratification. The scripture tells us that man’s attempt at being righteous of his own power is seen as filth before God (Isa. 64:6). Any righteousness that is not God-derived and God-dependent is God-rejected. True righteousness can only come from God, and attempts to achieve it apart from Him are futile and rejected. (Php. 3:9)
Jesus is the One that clothes us in righteousness (Isa. 61:10). It is not earned by works, it is bestowed on us by faith. The moment we come to this understanding, we begin to see just how great God’s mercy is towards us. We would realize that we are not different from unbelievers, and it is only by the righteousness of God that we have been made righteous. It is through faith in Jesus, that you move from being a worthless sinner to the righteousness of God. (2 Cor. 5:21)
Pursuing righteousness does not mean you try to earn it or achieve it through your works. What it means is to pursue God’s character. How can I embody love? How can I be more humble? How can I help people more? How can I be more dedicated to the advancement of God’s kingdom? These are the types of questions you should ask yourself and reflect on often. You would discover a change in your heart, mindset, and actions that comes so naturally to you. This way of reasoning could stem from the new nature you’ve received but conscious efforts to self-evaluate with what God expects of us is what pursuing righteousness is all about.
The Psalmist said in Psalm 23:1, “the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”. This was his declaration and faith in God. We then see a close follow-up in verse 3 “He leads me in the path of righteousness for His name’s sake”. Three things to note here: the path of righteousness starts with faith, God Himself leads us through that path, and we are led to the glory of God. You are led by God through the path of righteousness because of your faith in Him. The difference between self-righteousness and true righteousness is that self-righteousness is based on works, not faith, and is not intended to, nor can it bring glory to God. True righteousness is faith-based, God-inspired, and God-glorifying.
One thing about God’s righteousness is that is that it is everlasting (Psa. 111:3; 119:142). Drawing our righteousness from Him means we are covered forever. If it were up to us, there is no definite way to say we would never fall short or do things that put our relationship with Him at stake. But we can be sure that God’s foundation laid through Jesus Christ is ever sure.
Faith+blog 