WHAT IS RIGHTEOUSNESS IN CHRISTIANITY

The Concept of Righteousness

Righteousness is the nature of God. It is the ability to stand in the presence of God without fear or any sense of inferiority or condemnation. Righteousness is a free gift from God. You cannot earn by working for it or by doing something to obtain it. It is a free gift made available to all through the substitution work of our Lord Jesus Christ. God’s righteousness comes through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

You cannot grow or increase in righteousness but you can grow in the consciousness of your righteousness. This helps the communication of your faith become effective and productive (Philemon 1:6).

HOW IS RIGHTEOUSNESS OBTAINED?

It is a gift Romans 5:17; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 10:1-4; 2 Corinthians 4:1. We are born of God and just as a dog gives birth to a dog, with its nature and attributes, God gave birth to us with his nature (righteousness) and attributes (the fruit of the spirit).

There is an erroneous belief that righteousness is the complete absence of sin, but righteousness is not sinless. A man no matter how well he barks or walks on his two legs and hands cannot be called a dog. Likewise, no matter how well a monkey or a dog walks on their legs they cannot be called men. Righteousness is not based on our inability to sin. The Bible says in Galatians 2:21 “I do not frustrate the grace of God for if righteousness could come by the law then Christ died in vain”. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For he has made him be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him”.

We have God’s kind of life.

Animals, trees, and other living things have their own kind of life. The lifespan of a chicken is different from that of a mortal man. The life span of a tree is different from that of a dog. Now if we are sons of God, we have the same quality of life, the indestructible life of God.

Righteousness is a nature

The Gospel Unveils God’s Righteousness

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith… (Romans 1:16-17).

Through the years, men have sought righteousness, wanting to be righteous before God. However, the latter part of our opening scripture explains the reason for their inability to attain righteousness or even comprehend what it means. The righteousness of God is only revealed in the Gospel of Christ. The Gospel of Christ is the unveiling of God’s righteousness; it’s the Gospel of God’s righteousness. Therefore, until one accepts the Gospel of Christ, he or she will never be able to live a righteous life or know what the righteousness of God is.

Righteousness gives you the ability to stand in the presence of God without condemnation, guilt, fear, or a sense of inferiority. It’s the ability to stand in fellowship with God and have the rightness of God in your spirit. There’s no other way to come into this extraordinary life of righteousness and oneness with the Lord except through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is why we can’t afford to be quiet about the Gospel. It’s the answer to man’s cry. Let’s not act as though there’s another way. There’s no other way for men to learn of the righteousness of God, receive the righteousness of God, or understand the righteousness of God, outside of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So, don’t be quiet in your locality, city, town, or nation; make the message of salvation known.

You hold the key to the salvation of men; therefore, preach the Gospel and unveil the righteousness of God to them. Be the answer to their search for God’s righteousness.

RIGHTEOUS BY NATURE

For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous (Romans 5:19).

Romans 6:14 says, “For sin shall not have dominion over you…” This is because the man or woman who’s born again is born sin-free. On the other hand, the unregenerate man, the person who isn’t born again, is a sinner by nature and enslaved to sin. He can’t but sin, even when he doesn’t want to, because he has the nature of sin.

However, this isn’t the case with you that are born again. Righteousness, which is the nature of God, was imparted to your spirit at the New Birth. You didn’t ask for it or do anything to become righteous; you’re righteous by nature. God made it so. Your righteousness is the righteousness of Christ, and has nothing to do with your “performance”; it’s a gift from God (Romans 5:17).

Just as there’s nothing you could have done on your own through your own human perfection to become righteous, in Christ, there’s also nothing you can do or not do that’ll take away your righteousness. You’re as righteous today as you could ever be. Better than that, you’re as righteous as Jesus is righteous, considering that He gave you His own righteousness. He substituted His righteousness for your sin-nature when you confessed His Lordship over your life.

Righteousness is the nature of a Christian

You might be forced to ask, “How about when I do something wrong, does it affect my righteousness?” First, your righteousness wasn’t pre-conditioned on your good works. Ephesians 2:9 says, “Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Think about it this way: A baby doesn’t get more human as he grows. He’s one hundred percent human already. Then, he starts learning how to use all he’s got; his human faculties: his legs, his hands, his eyes, his brain, his mind, etc.

Now, during the process of training and educating that child, if he makes a mistake or does something wrong, that doesn’t mean he’s no longer human. He’s human by nature, not by actions. It’s the same thing with our righteousness. We’re righteous by nature; thus, it’s our “default setting” to produce fruits and works of righteousness. Therefore, learn to live the God-life. Glory to God.

CONFESSION

I’m the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus; therefore, I can please God every time and in every way, because I live by the faith of the Son of God who gave Himself for me. I’m sin-free because Christ has given me a new life. I’m alive to God, and live unto righteousness, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY:
Romans 6:11-14 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13 Neither yield ye your members [as] instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members [as] instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law but under grace.

Romans 5:17 For if by one man’s offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Your Nature of Righteousness

The Bible's definition of righteousness doesn’t mean right living; right living is a result of righteousness. You can’t live right until you’re righteous. Thus, righteousness, essentially, is nature; the nature of God that produces in a human person, the rightness of God.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

The man who’s born again is a completely new species, one that never existed before. He has only one nature, which is the divine nature—the nature of righteousness.

For if by one man’s offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ (Romans5:17).

Now that you’re born again, the life and nature of God has completely supplanted the human life and nature with which you were born by your biological parents.