We must first define righteousness before we can pursue it. The term “righteousness,” as it is most commonly rendered, can also mean “justice, justness, or divine holiness. In its broadest sense, It is “the state of being acceptable to God as made possible by God. True righteousness is defined by God’s standards, and His strength is what makes it possible. We will never have rightness unless God is its author. No amount of human effort will produce holiness. Being righteous is being right with God. A righteous heart leads to a life that bears “fruit.
The measure of human righteousness in the Bible is God’s own perfection in every trait, attitude, conduct, and utterance. Thus, God’s commandments, as revealed in the Bible, both depict His own character and serve as the yardstick against which He assesses human virtue.
The Righteousness of God in the New Testament
The New Testament word for “righteousness” generally concerns behaviour with respect to others, particularly in commerce, legal problems, and beginning with relationships to God. It is contrasted with wickedness, the behaviour of someone who, out of selfishness, neither reveres God nor respects man.
The Bible defines a righteous person as one who is just, who holds onto God and trusts in Him. On his own, man cannot achieve real and perfect rightness; the bar is simply too high. The good news is that genuine righteousness is possible for humanity, but only through Jesus Christ’s washing of sin and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Pursuing it entails admitting that we are unable to please God in our sinful state. We stop attempting to justify ourselves by our excellent works and instead seek God’s mercy. We want Him to change our minds and mould ourselves “to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29).
Men were pronounced righteous in the Old Testament when they believed God and followed through on it (Genesis 15:6). Prior to Pentecost, individuals sought righteousness by following God’s Law, pursuing holiness, and “living humbly with God” (Micah 6:8). No one was justified by following rules; rather, they were justified by their faith, which enabled them to obey God.
Why does Christ’s righteousness need to be imputed to us?
We pursue righteousness when we desire Christ’s character and prefer holiness over fleshly enjoyment. When we recognize that true holiness originates in godly humility, we resist the urge to become self-righteous (Psalm 25:9).
Sin affects us to our core, and no matter how hard we strive, we will never fulfil God’s ideal of perfection on our own. According to the Bible, all of our good works are like “filthy garments” (Isaiah 64:6). Our own efforts at goodness are simply insufficient. We need to inherit God’s rightness, and we look to Christ for that.
Conclusion
We don’t have the ability to achieve righteousness on our own. Christians, on the other hand, have Christ’s righteousness because “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we may become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is an incredible truth. On the cross, Jesus swapped our sin for His perfect righteousness, so that when we stand before God one day, He will see not our guilt but the spotless perfection of the Lord Jesus.
