Are you righteous before God? by Ken E Murray
Why is it so important to understand who is considered “righteous” in God’s sight and not righteous in our own sight? Jesus Christ prophesied who will be in His Kingdom, when He returns to this earth. “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Who has ears to hear let him hear” (Matt 13:43)
Did you catch the significance of what Christ is saying to us? It will be the “righteous” in God’s eyes, who will be in His Kingdom. So, how important is it to be considered righteous in God’s sight? Righteousness, obviously, is vitally important.
So what is righteousness? When are we considered “righteous” in God’s sight and not “self-righteous” in our own eyes?
Christ’s message to us
Did Christ’s message say anything about us being righteous? Jesus plainly commanded us to: “seek first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt 6:33). Notice, we should seek the kingdom of God and we should develop His righteous character.
So, what is righteousness?
Righteousness is being like God, and having the same character as our holy righteous God. To understand righteousness let’s examine Christ’s example.
Psalm 45:7 is a prophecy and description of Christ’s attitude: “You love righteousness and hate wickedness: therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows”.
Christ’s righteous approach is to love the way of God and to hate the way of evil.
Psalm 145:17 shows us how to be like God. “The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all his works”. Righteousness has a lot to do with our daily conduct.
Isaiah prophesied righteousness as one of the major attributes of Jesus. “Righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins…” (Isa 11:5). This guides us to be clothed with Godly righteousness and not pride in our own self-righteousness.
Jeremiah prophesied Christ righteousness. “Behold the days come, says the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth” (Jer 23:5). The righteousness of Christ is an example to us of being sound-minded.
Sound-mindedness means having God’s holy spirit within us so we do not have a “spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2Tim 1:7).
John prophesied Christ will come on: “a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he does judge and make war” (Rev 19:11). Here righteousness is connected to having faith in God and being true to His way of life. We also need to be faithful and true.
What does it take to be righteous?
When are we considered “righteous” in God’s sight and not “self-righteous” in our eyes? There are three (3) main legs of Godly righteousness:
1. Loving obedience to God’s laws and way of life
2. Faith in God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son, our Saviour; and
3. Repentance from sin …our wrong thoughts, words, and actions
Picture this amusing conversation between a Jew and an Englishman: “You Englishmen are always stealing our good ideas. Like the 10 commandments for example”, says the Jew. “Well you might well accuse us of stealing the 10 Commandments, but you certainly can’t accuse us of having kept them”, retorts the Englishman. Many a true word is spoken in jest. Our nations of the world have rejected God and His laws and we have sought to do our own selfish will, not the Will of God.
1. Loving Obedience to God’s Laws and His Way of Life
The first supporting leg of righteousness is to love God and show our love of God by keeping His laws.
John 5:3 simply explains, “this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”
Psalm 19 shows us the purpose of keeping God’s laws is a guide to becoming converted and righteous before God.
The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright (righteous), and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. (Psalm 19:7-13)
God’s laws lead us in the righteousness of Christ. We become converted in mind, wise in our decisions; happy in heart; enlightened to the right way to live; knowing good from evil; warned from stupidity; and led to great reward by God’s Way. When we ponder the purposes and benefits in keeping God’s law, why wouldn’t we want to develop this leg of Godly righteousness? It would be dumb not to.
Psa 19:14 significantly reveals the fountain spring of Godly righteousness. “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation (thoughts) of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.”
Notice how our words and actions stem from the thoughts we have.
Proverbially “a man is what he thinks”. So, righteousness stems from our thoughts.
As Paul said: “Not the hearers of the law are just (or righteous) before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified (or made righteous)” (Rom 2:13).
Keeping God’s law is important, if we are to be considered righteous before God.
2. Faith
A second supporting leg to being righteous before God’s, is faith.
Why is faith so important? Paul explains “but without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb 11:6).
After faithfully accepting Christ’s sacrifice for forgiveness of our sins, ongoing faith is important because:
· Faith drives us to pray and develop a close family relationship with God
· Faith drives us to study the bible to grow in God’s knowledge, understanding, and wisdom
· Faith drives us to lovingly live by God’s Way of life in love to God and love to all mankind.
This is possible only when Jesus Christ lives in us through His holy spirit. Paul explained: “…the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all of them that believe: for there is no difference” (Rom 3:22).
Abraham was considered righteous before God for his faith in God and his faithful obedience to God. So in like manner, when we express faith in God by our thoughts, words, and actions we are considered righteous before God.
3. Repentance
The third supporting leg to being righteous in God’s sight is repentance. Repentance simply means saying sorry for our sins. We turn away from temptation, lust and sin. We change and overcome sin, replacing it with the attributes of God’s character. We put away any addictions to anything which is contrary to God and His way of life.
Why is repentance so important to be considered righteous by God?
Well, through ongoing repentance after baptism, we’re cleansed of all unrighteousness. It clears the way for living righteously the way God would like us to live, for our own benefit. John encouragingly explained: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1John 1:9). So, it is vital we repent of our sins, change and become converted, to be righteous in God’s sight.
On Pentecost, Peter explained the way of unrighteousness is contrary to God. “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the holy spirit” (Act 2:37-38).
One prayer God always hears …is a prayer of repentance.
This truth is evident in the example of the Pharisee and the Publican, as explained by Jesus. “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortionists, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified (or considered righteous) rather than the other: for every one that exalts himself shall be abased; and he that humbles himself shall be exalted” (Luke 18:10-14).
Who was considered “justified” or righteous in God’s eyes? It was the Publican, because he was honest before God, by openly repenting of his sins, without excuse.
By comparison, Jesus insightfully described the Pharisee as a person who “prayed thus with himself”, because God was not hearing his self-righteous prayer.
Daily in our prayers, we need to repent of wrong thoughts, wrong words, and wrong actions. We then need God’s help replacing evil with good, to have right thoughts, right words and right actions.
Righteousness is not earned by law keeping
It is important to understand we don’t earn righteousness by self-righteously keeping God’s laws and claiming we are righteous. Paul explained we should be:
“Knowing that a man is not justified (or made righteous) by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” (Gal 2:16)
In other words there is a right sequence to becoming righteous in God’s sight. The sequence begins when we firstly come to have faith in the “true God” (1John 5:20).
Secondly, we grow in faith and see our sins. Our faith in God drives us to repent of our sins and be baptised. At this point we are forgiven by God’s grace (free pardon) and are considered righteous before God. Then we continue to remain righteous in God’s sight by living by His laws, and avoid transgressions (1John 3:3-4).
James clarified this by saying: “You see then how that by works a man is justified (considered righteous), and not by faith only”. (James 2:24) Once we set our course God’s way, by faith in Him and by repentance from our sins, we are to follow Him and His right way of life.
If we slip, we should exercise faith and repentance immediately and follow God’s laws. Each year we perform the foot washing during Passover, it is a reminder and renewal of us being re-cleansed, forgiven, and made righteous in God's sight.
Daily in our prayers and lives, we should put to death our carnal human nature and be renewed in our minds with God's Holy Spirit, to be converted. It is through daily faith, repentance and loving obedience we will be considered righteous in God’s sight.
Hosea summed it up when he encouraged us: “Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? Prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just (righteous) shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.” (Hosea 14:9)
Ken Murray is a Minister of the United Church of God, Pastoring some congregations in Australia.