Seeking Righteousness

Introduction

As I read the Bible, especially the Psalms I was struck by how many times "righteousness" is mentioned. A quick text search revealed that the word is mentioned around 600 times in the Bible. I was intrigued, a quick Google search reveals that righteousness is defined as - the quality of being morally right or justifiable. In this human sense however it seems confusing because what feels "right" to some people, might feel wrong to other people. So I dug down in the Bible trying to figure out what righteousness means for God as a follower of Jesus Christ.

What I learned can mainly be grouped around two themes mentioned below.

Only God is truly righteous

Psalms 11:7 For the righteous LORD loves righteousness; his countenance does behold the upright.
Psalms 92:15 To show that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
Psalms 111:3 His work is honorable and glorious: and his righteousness endures forever.
Psalms 119:142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and your law is the truth.

God is pleased with the righteous

This actually got me started in the first place. There are tons of blessings promised for the righteous.

Psalms 5:12 For you, LORD, will bless the righteous;
with favor will you surround him with a shield.
Psalms 15:1-2 Who shall abide in your tabernacle?
who shall dwell in your holy hill? He that walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.
Psalms 34:15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
Psalms 92:12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Psalms 146:8 The LORD opens the eyes of the blind: the LORD raises them that are bowed down: the LORD loves the righteous:
Prov 10:30 The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the land.
Prov 15:29 The LORD is far from the wicked: but he hears the prayers of the righteous.

These verses are of course just a selection of the promises for the righteous. I was all in, I want these blessings! I want to be righteous before God, how can I be one?

Righteousness ... but how?

If we look from our human perspective, righteousness should be achievable by following a set of laws. There must be a list somewhere which says here are the hundred things you should follow and if you do them (and never do the opposite) you will be declared righteous. And of course, that is how it used to be, God gave a lot of commands in the Old Testament and that is why the word "righteousness" is heavily featured in the Old Testament as compared to the New Testament which is during and after the life of Jesus. In Deuteronomy 6:25 it is stated -

And it shall be righteousness for us, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.

However, as Jesus comes along the requirements of righteousness change. Jesus himself barely mentions righteousness, some examples are -

Matt 5:6 Blessed are they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Matt 5: 20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness
shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven
Mark 2:17 When Jesus heard it, he said unto them,
They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

St. Paul then flips the requirements of righteousness, what was achievable through works is now freely available through faith. St. Paul argues that the sin brought judgement in the world and now in the same way the sacrifice of Jesus brings righteousness.

Romans 5:19 Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation;
even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

Since all of us stumble at one point or the other, none of us can claim to be righteous by simply following the law.

Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight:
for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

So the sacrifice of Jesus makes us righteous in the sight of God since by our own attempts it is absolutely impossible.

Romans 3:21-22 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known,
to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,
2 Cor 5:21 For he has made him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

So to achieve righteousness all we need to do is to believe in Jesus, acknowledge His love and sacrifice. It could be super simple or it could be super hard, depending on our hearts.

Righteousness is free ... so?

Does this mean that once we acknowledge Jesus we are free to do what we want. Can a person who acknowledges Jesus and continues to hate people, accept bribes, mistreat the poor still claim to be righteous?

St. Paul again tells us the answer for this, the righteous (through faith in Jesus) should follow the example of Jesus who gives them this righteousness. This of course is easier said than done and I do not have all the answers on how to be a perfect follower of Christ. Also, I do not think it will be easy to find a follower of Christ who has no sin in them. I myself am probably the worst in this regard.

What we need to do is to constantly strive to follow God and glorify Him in all we do. St. James gave us precise instructions on this -

James 2:14-17 What good is it, my brothers and sisters,
if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?
Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.
If one of you says to them,
“Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

What we need to do is to cling on to every word of God, turn our lives around and discard everything that does not give glory to God. Our actions should now match our faith, out of thankfulness and reverence of God.

Conclusion

I do not know everything as a beginner in Christ, I just feel that righteousness is a two step process (based on my brief study) -

  1. Have faith in Jesus, everything starts here
  2. Seek and pursue righteousness

The second point means that I feel I can never claim to be perfect but I need to keep trying and pushing. I need to follow God and keep asking Him what He wants me to do and how I can please Him and Him alone. To end I would like to quote some words from Jesus himself on this topic.

John 7:18 He that speaks of himself seeks his own glory:
but he that seeks his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.
Matt 6:33 But seek you first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you.

What I like about these verses is that they have a common term "seek". To me it seems that we as humans cannot claim perfection in righteousness, we can only put our faith in Jesus completely and constantly seek His will and that is the closest we can get to righteousness.