AM I RIGHT?
The Bible clearly indicates that no one will stand before God in their own righteousness because, “…all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags…” (NKJV Isaiah 64:6). Therefore, in order to stand before God, our righteousness must be imputed to us by one who is righteous; Jesus Christ. Knowing this biblical principle to be true, there are precious few other things more important for us to know in this world, and that is why the Apostle Paul went to great lengths in the book of Romans to explain the concept of what it means to be in right standing with God.
No other book or passage of Scripture gives us more information on the topic of righteousness, than does Paul’s monumental Epistle to the Romans. Among other things that Paul writes exhaustively about in Romans, i.e. the gospel, law, grace, etc., righteousness takes center stage to a large degree, throughout the book. To say that it is an important aspect of the gospel message would be a gross understatement and that is why it occupies such a prominent place in the epistle. Beginning early on in chapter one, Paul declares concerning the gospel that, “…in it the righteousness of God is revealed…” but that, “…the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…” (Rom 1:17-18). So we can see that while God clearly desires to impart this righteousness to us, through the Gospel of His Son Jesus, there are those who seek to suppress the truth of His righteousness, because of their own unrighteousness.
This is not an entirely new concept within Scripture; as a matter of fact, it goes all the back to the garden, when the serpent uttered those words, “Has God indeed said” (Gen 3:1)? Indeed, Paul’s representation of this truth spans all of Scripture, and Allen Ross agrees by saying that, “The central idea of the Gospel, promised in the Old Testament and now revealed fully in Jesus Christ, is “the righteousness of God” …meaning, it is conferred on people; it signifies being in the right relation to God” (5). Paul boldly declares that, “It is God that justifies” (Rom 8:33), which completely settles the issue of righteousness as being, “…ours by imputation; it is credited to us by God. Therefore, the term “the righteousness of God” refers to an imputed righteousness” (Ross 5).
Thayer’s Definition of this Greek word for righteousness implies that it is, “…the condition acceptable to God… a state approved of God…” (Thayer), which helps us to understand that, more than being just desired, righteousness is a requirement. This demand that God makes of us to be righteous, highlights the need for us to recognize how it may be obtained, which Paul goes on to describe as being, “…through faith in Jesus Christ… whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness…” (Rom 3:24-25). Westerholm concurs by stating that, “…not only is the requirement of dikaiosness [righteousness] given with the creation of human beings; their compliance is subject to the scrutiny and, ultimately, the (dikaios) judgment of God, who is committed to upholding the goodness of creation’s order…” (267).
Another theme that dominates Paul’s discourse in this letter, is the establishment of the fact that keeping the Law of Moses, i.e. obeying ordinances, circumcision, observing the Sabbath, etc., doesn’t make you righteous, but rather, it has always been our faith in God, which compels us to obey His commandments, and that is what makes us righteous before God. That is why Paul said, “…to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness…” (Rom 4:5). This was an absolutely mind-blowing revelation to all of Judaism, and they struggled to come to grips with it, but Paul clearly explains to them that, “…the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets…” (Rom 3:21).
Now that these foundational principles have been laid, Paul can proceed in his exhortation to, “…not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God” (Rom 6:13), and this will become one of his anthems for the remainder of the book. As a point of application in his effort to free us from our own unrighteousness, Paul demands, “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness” (Rom 6:16)?
This line of Paul’s reasoning, ultimately leads us to his intended goal of establishing Jesus as our righteous Lord and Savior, to whom we must become slaves, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Rom 10:4), to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Paul modeled this idea of becoming a slave to righteousness for us; “Paul’s identification of himself is that of a servant under the authority of Christ, a messenger called to a new life work, and a devoted minister of the Gospel. Clearly, the person of Jesus Christ was to Paul an unparalleled authority” (Ross 2).
In the final analysis, Paul’s treatment of the subject of righteousness in the book of Romans is not only profoundly moving, but it is equally challenging, theologically. The definitive nature of this work, on such an important aspect of our personal salvation experience cannot be overstated, and one can think of no greater expression of this truth than when Paul said, “…with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom 10:10).
By Pastor Glen Mustian
Works Cited:
NKJV New King James Version. Holy Bible. Thomas Nelson. Nashville, TN: 2000. Print.
Ross, Allen. The Revelation of Righteousness. The Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans Series. Bible.org. 08 Jun, 2004. Web. 02 Sep, 2015.
Westerholm, Stephen. Perspectives Old and New on Paul. Eerdmans. Grand Rapids: 2004. Print.
