Righteousness

Definition of Righteousness of an individual

• According to Google – it’s the quality of being morally right or justifiable.
• Ethicalness, saintliness ,purity ,noble – mindedness, piousness
• In worldly sense you are judged righteous by your deeds, hence it can be earned. One may seem as “righteous” to the world but in God’s eyes they are far from it.

Definition of Righteousness of an individual in God’s word

• Believing God and in his son Jesus Christ
• Having Faith In the Lord and trusting him ,despite the obstacles we face
• Abraham believed God when he promised him descendants as numerous as the stars. He simply believed without doubt and it was credited to him as righteousness
• It cannot be earned by work or effort ,it is given by the Lord .Hence when He declares a person righteous , they really are ,despite what the world thinks

Genesis 15: 5-6

“And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He declared, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 Abram believed the LORD, credited to as righteousness.”

Abraham was in a strange predicament; He was in his 70’s, his wife in her 60’s at the time when God gave them this promise. It was a well-known fact that she was barren, and the likelihood of bearing healthy children in menopause was actually not biologically possible, to this day it isn’t. On top of that, God tells him that his offspring would be as numerous as the stars! To bring it into perspective , I checked out the number of stars in the  Milky way galaxy  (that’s  a tiny part of the universe where the earth floats about) ,turns out there are approximately 100 – 400 Billion stars according to google ! There’s no way Abraham would have been able to count them, let alone sire that many a population. Oh and by the way, the 400 B stars are only in our galaxy and there are a total of approximately 100 Billion galaxies…..you can do the math.

Now, that we see the full picture of the promise given to Abraham, no amount of technology or pseudoscience or law of attraction can make that possible, only the LORD Almighty! And He promises, no matter the known facts of your situation, if you simply believe in him, then you are righteous in his sight!

Romans 1:17

¹⁷ For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith”

Romans 3: 20 -24

“Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness is given through faith in^[h] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

The Gospel refers to the teachings and revelation of Christ Jesus. This reveals something totally new to the people that righteousness comes from God. One no longer had to do works to tick out check boxes to prove that they are righteous ,this instead came from the Lord Almighty land it is HE who decides if one is righteous or not. This righteousness was given to one who believes that Jesus died on the cross to saves souls of men and through.

Benefits of Righteousness

This understanding now allows us to fully claim all the promises that were given to the righteous .There are many instances where the bible speaks about this attribute and those who have it and the blessings that have been given to them.

The LORD has given promises to those who pursue righteousness. One can claim them boldly  in speech and in prayer. He has promised to deliver them and to strengthen them.

He promises that though they go through trials ,and when they cry out to  him ,he will hear and deliver them.Here are a few examples of this;

“The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD he is their stronghold in times of trouble .The Lord helps them and delivers them from the wicked and saves them because they take refuge in him”. Psalms 37: 39

“The name of the LORD is a strong tower the righteous run to it and are safe”  
Proverbs 18:10

Psalms 34: 15 – 17 & 19 – 20

“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
    and his ears are attentive to their cry;
¹⁶ but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
    to blot out their name from the earth.

¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
    he delivers them from all their troubles.

The righteous person may have many troubles,
    but the Lord delivers him from them all;
²⁰ he protects all his bones,
    not one of them will be broken”

Psalms 97:11

“Light shines on the righteous
    and joy on the upright in heart.”

How to develop an attitude of Righteousness –pursuing righteousness

Now that we can see clearly that it is not earned, but rather it is given by the Lord most high, the bible tells we should seek it out and pursue it even!

^{Timothy 2:22
“}Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

“Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous,
    and praise his holy name.” Psalms 97 :12

“Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” 2 Timothy 6:9 -10

 “But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness”
2 Timothy 6:11     

These reveal to us that to pursue righteousness we need to cultivate an attitude of praise and worship of the Most High .We need not praise only when things are going great for us but also during challenges and when facing obstacles.

It also urges us not to pursue evil or harmful desires that will make us wander from the faith ,but rather to righteousness and a godly life that is pleasing to the LORD.