Righteousness
What does it mean to be righteous? In scriptures the Greek meaning means equity (of character or act) It means justification, to be innocent or holy, to be made righteous would mean fairness that follows the spirit rather than the letter of justice. Equity of redemption is the right granted by a court of equity of a mortgager to redeem his forfeited estate by payment of capital and interest within a reasonable time after the term of the mortgage has expired. So what does this have to do with Christians? Christ redeemed us while we were yet sinners from the curse and the letter of the law by his sacrifice at Calvary. We cannot become righteous on our own. We had nothing of value to redeem. Jesus however had something very precious and valuable. It came from within perfection. This gift of redemption was his blood. Christ met in our stead and behalf every demand of the law, and who is, by the act of God called imputation (James 2:23) made unto us...righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30). 1 John 3:7 " he that doeth righteousness, is righteous, even as he is righteous" This is the righteous life which is the result of salvation through Christ. The righteous man under the law became righteous by doing righteously; under grace he does righteously because he has been made righteous (Romans 3:22, Romans 10:3) Being clothed with righteousness is the only way we might be made fit for God's presence. Genesis 3:21 God made coats of skins and clothed Adam and Eve who had fallen from God's grace. They were naked before him because their sins were revealed. Being made righteous we no longer have our sin revealed but it is hid in Christ. God told Adam and Eve that if they would eat of the tree in the center of the garden or if they touched it that they would die. As the story goes, both Adam and Eve ate from the tree and lost their lives. They did not die on the spot but now they were subject to death whereas before death was not a reality. This is an example of fallen man without the righteousness of God. The bible tells another story of Enoch a man who walked with God in Genesis 5:24. God snatched Enoch away into heaven at the age of 365 years old. He never saw death. He was in intimate communion with God. Enoch did not experience resurrection he did experience glorification. Enoch is a perfect example of walking righteously with God. He is also a type of future "caught away church" who never experiences death, but is snatched off the earth at the Lords return. He also represents life, never seeing death as Adam and Eve saw it. Believers today may experience a physical death but our spirits will never die. So what has the Christian, who has been redeemed, "innocent of"? They are innocent of the blood of Christ, because as a believer, Jesus has forgiven us, whereas sinners are held responsible for his death thus making the believer innocent of his execution and worthy to inherit what he has prepared for those who love him. Ephesians 4:24 tells us to "put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness". God creates this new person of righteousness inside of us. Old things are passed away, lying, anger, theft, filthy language, he replaces what we were born with, with a forgiving heart. Our heart which was hard as stone, much like what the original commandments were written on is now by grace and God writes his commandments upon our heart of flesh thus bringing righteousness into our lives for the first time. If we have Christ in our hearts then we know by faith and the power of his resurrection of the hope of our salvation. Then what I am saying is that the person who calls Jesus Lord and believes in his heart that God has raised him from the dead, this person is made righteous through the redemptive act of the crucifixion thus shines as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
In Christ,
Dale Thompson