HOW TO BE RIGHTEOUS

 

We need to know that we are reckoned among the righteous. Without this assurance, we remain fearful and insecure. However, we are often beset with many confusions and uncertainties about righteousness. Is righteousness (or holiness) a gift from God, or is righteousness a matter of attaining a certain level of accomplishment, like attaining a passing grade?

On the one hand, the Bible informs us that when we receive Christ we also receive His righteousness as part of the gift of God:

• And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption. “(1 Corinthians 1:30 ESV)

However, other verses claim that we have to attain righteousness by our own efforts:

• Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14)

This verse suggests that holiness is up to us, and our salvation depends on it. This forces us to ask, “How holy/righteous must I be to be saved?” and focuses our attention on ourselves to determine if we are holy enough. How depressing!

The context enables us to answer this all-important question. It gives us the example of Esau’s unholiness:

• See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance [or desire] to repent, though he sought it [the blessing] with tears. (Hebrews 12:15-17)

How was Esau unholy? He did not esteem the gifts of God and sold his birthright for a bowl of soup. Consequently, he was rejected by God, not because of his sin - we all fall short of God’s standards everyday - but because he never confessed and repented of his sin.

Once we confess and repent, we are promised forgiveness and cleansing from all of our sins, and this restores us to the righteousness and holiness of God:

• If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Consequently, holiness is the state to which we are restored as we repent of our sins by the prompting of the Holy Spirit. This makes holiness a fruit of the Spirit, the gift of God, even as we participate in this process (Philippians 2:12-13).

Evidently, King David had understood this. He had committed adultery with Bathsheba and even killed her righteous husband, Uriah. Although David would be severely punished for his sins, God had forgiven him. Afterwards, David wrote about his forgiveness:

• Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. (Psalm 32:1-2)

Had he also been restored to righteousness/holiness? He closed this Psalm on a surprisingly optimistic note:

• Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! (Psalm 32:10-11)

David knew that although he did not deserve God’s love, he had been granted it by a God who is always looking for any opportunity to bless His children. Therefore, David understood that he was now numbered among the “righteous” and “upright in heart.”

We too need to know that we are righteous and beloved before God. Later, David wrote:

• When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. (Psalm 34:17-19)

We righteous ones are often brokenhearted, because our Lord treats us as His children by correcting us (James 4:17; Hebrews 12:5-11) but also by blessing us by attending to our cries, drawing close and comforting us, and by delivering us from trials.

I need to know that the Lord is with me, working all things for my good (Romans 8:28). However, this assurance is sometimes slow in coming, but I thank God that it eventually did come.