RIGHTEOUSNESS
The righteousness of God is the perfect standard by
which God keeps His promises and makes judgments.
The
Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy
in all his works.
Psalm
145:17
(KJV)
But
now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by
the law and the prophets;
Even
the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon
all them that believe: for there is no difference:
For
all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Being
justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Whom
God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare
his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the
forbearance of God;
To
declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the
justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
Romans 3:21-26King James Version (KJV)
Man’s futile attempts at self-righteousness are filthy rags in the sight of a holy and righteous God.
But
we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;
and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us
away.
Isaiah
64:6 (KJV)
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
Even
so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of
hypocrisy and iniquity.
Matthew
23:27-28
(KJV)
What
then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both
Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
As
it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
There
is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
They
are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is
none that doeth good, no, not one.
Their
throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the
poison of asps is under their lips:
Whose
mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
Their
feet are swift to shed blood:
Destruction
and misery are in their ways:
And
the way of peace have they not known:
There
is no fear of God before their eyes.
Now
we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under
the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty
before God.
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.
Romans 3:9-20 (KJV)
Man’s only hope at obtaining the perfect righteousness God requires is to be justified and declared righteous by faith in Christ Jesus. His righteousness is given as a gift to those who trust Him.
For
what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for
righteousness.
Romans
4:3 (KJV)
For
if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive
abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one,
Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:17 (KJV)
For
he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him.
2 Corinthians 5:21(KJV)
Those who are born of God practice righteousness. Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God.
If
ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness
is born of him.
1 John 2:29 (KJV)
In
this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever
doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
