How would you define righteousness?

[DaveM1936]

How would you define "righteousness"?

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Righteousness is right doing.

2. Righeousness is conformity to the law of God.

3. Righteousness is holiness.

4. Righteousness is love.

Here are some texts that have definitions of righteousness:

2 Sam 22:25: The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight. (NIV)

Job 27:6: I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.

(NIV)

Ps 7:8: let the LORD judge the peoples. Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High. (NIV)

Ps 119:172: My tongue shall speak of Your word, for all Your commandments are righteousness. (NKJ)

I Jn 3:10: In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. (NKJ)

Do you agree with any of these definitions? Maybe you have one of your own not listed.

Your friend,

Dave M

[Gerr]

Quote:

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How would you define "righteousness"?

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Righteousness is right doing.

2. Righeousness is conformity to the law of God.

3. Righteousness is holiness.

4. Righteousness is love.

Here are some texts that have definitions of righteousness:

2 Sam 22:25: The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight. (NIV)

Job 27:6: I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.

(NIV)

Ps 7:8: let the LORD judge the peoples. Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High. (NIV)

Ps 119:172: My tongue shall speak of Your word, for all Your commandments are righteousness. (NKJ)

I Jn 3:10: In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. (NKJ)

Do you agree with any of these definitions? Maybe you have one of your own not listed.

Your friend,

Dave M

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[:"blue"]Agree with all of the above!

Consider also: Righteousness is Christlikeness. [/]

Gerry

[Nicodema]

I would define righteousness as,

"To do justly,

to love mercy,

to walk humbly with thy God."

Righteousness is Christlikeness; Christlikeness is love and compassion lived out as verbs. Honesty is righteous. Consideration of others is righteous. Compassion is righteous.

Everything I do is tainted with selfishness somewhere in the mix. The only real righteousness is that of Christ. When He lived in me I used to have a strong sense of when He lived His life out through me. I don't have that anymore which is why I'm so screwed up. But I remember what it was like. It was like a living reality of "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." I was highly cognizant of the difference between Christ living something out IN me versus me trying to do something on my own. I wish I could have that back. I miss having Him live in me.

[Gerr]

Quote:

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I would define righteousness as,

"To do justly,

to love mercy,

to walk humbly with thy God."

Righteousness is Christlikeness; Christlikeness is love and compassion lived out as verbs. Honesty is righteous. Consideration of others is righteous. Compassion is righteous.

Everything I do is tainted with selfishness somewhere in the mix. The only real righteousness is that of Christ. When He lived in me I used to have a strong sense of when He lived His life out through me. I don't have that anymore which is why I'm so screwed up. But I remember what it was like. It was like a living reality of "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." I was highly cognizant of the difference between Christ living something out IN me versus me trying to do something on my own. I wish I could have that back. I miss having Him live in me.

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[:"blue"]Nico, I feel for you. But let not your anguish or your past discourage you. Where sin abound, grace much more superabounds! Like Jacob, keep wrestling with God until by faith you win. Keep telling Him "I will not let you go until you bless me."

"It is not wise to gather together all the unpleasant recollections of a past life, - its iniquities and disappointments, - to talk over them and mourn over them until we are overwhelmed with discouragement. A discouraged soul is filled with darkness, shutting out the light of God from his own soul...." SC 117.

I have to go to work, Nico, but please read the whole chapter. Remember, if there was hope for Mary Magdalene who was delivered by Jesus again & again, only to be devil-possessed again & again, but who finally gained the victory, there is hope for all of us.[/]

Gerry

[Robert]

• 1 Cor 13:5 "Love...it is not self-seeking."

  DA, 19: "In the light from Calvary it will be seen that the law of self-renouncing love is the law of life for earth and heaven; that the love which 'seeketh not her own' has its source in the heart of God; and that in the meek and lowly One is manifested the character of Him who dwelleth in the light which no man can approach unto."

[Norman Byers, N.D.]

This is my mind on righteousness. Our works reveal the fact that we are righteous or they reveal that we are not. This may sound strange but think it through, our works do not make us righteous or unrighteous. "By their fruit ye shall know them" By "works" I mean either good works, bad works or commandment keeping etc...

We have all heard of righteousness by faith, but what about righteousness by inheritance? This is my way of describing the righteousness that is the worlds in Christ.

To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 2 Cor 5:19

If trepasses are not imputed then in what state are we left in? I mean our trespasses are not held against us!!! Praise God. Oh how I need to think about that! God is not imputing sins because Jesus has borne the world's sin on that cross that we all deserve to be nailed to. We can have the assurance that we will be in heaven just as did Paul, Peter and the other Apostles, they had no doubt but new that their salvation was in Christ not because they were good Christians. (although they were)

To make that righteousness ours, we believe and then righteouness is imputed, righteouness by faith. Then good works (loving people) and the love of God and His law become reality. (Indwelling of the Holy Spirit)

Just as all was lost in the garden through one man, all is won/gained by one Man. In the garden it was all about what they believed, the lie (God doesn't really love you) or the truth and it comes down to us today. Do you believe that God is love (God really loves you, look at the cross)(Righteouness by faith) or do you want to establish your own wisdom and righteousness by listening to the serpent. How then can you get God's approval? It will be a never ending frustrating waste of a life. There's alot more I could say, but I don't want to go on too long.

[DaveM1936]

I thank those who took time to enter posts. I brought up the subject because it seems to me from associating with fellow church at my church that none of them could give a biblical defintion of righteousness. How we will approach God will depend on what we think. If one person believes that God requires hard work on our part, he starts working on being saved.

If another believes that God doesn't care what we do because we have been forgiven, then he will not see the necessity of overcoming wrong habits and weaknesses of character.

This is my definition. Righteousness equals Jesus. We have no righteousness apart from Him. Righteousness is a Person. As long as we have Jesus we have righteousness. But without Him, we have not hope for righteousness. Since Jesus IS righteousness, He cannot give it to us. That is why the Bible is full of invitations to "come". In the presence of Jesus, our righteousness, we have righteousness. Out of His presence, we have none.

EGW states that the reason Jesus did not go to Lazarus immediately, was that he could not have died in the presence of Jesus. Death cannot occur in His presence.

That is why the main objective in the Christian life is to learn to stay in Jesus's presence all the time.

Your friend,

Dave M

[Gerr]

Quote:

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This is my definition. Righteousness equals Jesus. We have no righteousness apart from Him. Righteousness is a Person. As long as we have Jesus we have righteousness. But without Him, we have not hope for righteousness. Since Jesus IS righteousness, He cannot give it to us. That is why the Bible is full of invitations to "come". In the presence of Jesus, our righteousness, we have righteousness. Out of His presence, we have none.

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[:"blue"]Along the same line of reasoning is this: [:"red"] "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." 1 Jn 5:12 NKJ.

[/] [/]

Gerry

[Clio]

I would define righteousness as being the one thing I lack and I can receive only from Jesus. When I put on His righteousness, I must accept by faith that Abba Father no longer sees my unrighteousness, only Jesus' Righteousness.

And what that is, then is borne out in my life as fruit of the Spirit.

[Robert]

Quote:

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I would define righteousness as being the one thing I lack and I can receive only from Jesus. When I put on His righteousness, I must accept by faith that Abba Father no longer sees my unrighteousness, only Jesus' Righteousness.

And what that is, then is borne out in my life as fruit of the Spirit.

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Yes...but in actuality! God sees you "in Christ" in the heavenly places. See Eph 2:6

[Clio]

Well of course He does. What an awesome thing.... I never said He didn't. When I put on the breatplate of Righteousness... am I not then IN the breastplate? Is not that Righteousness that of Jesus and am I not IN it? What a great place to be!

But I also have had the experience where Abba Father knows my name, and has called me by it. Being woken from a sound sleep with the voice of Abba ringing in your ears and the command to "Pray!" thundering in your spirit.... It's an unforgettable experience. So I believe He also "sees" me!

Yes... that's the difference... Abba Father THUNDERS... I gotta go add that to the Touching Jesus thread.