The concept of the righteousness of God is often understood as a fundamental attribute of God, describing His moral perfection and the justice of His actions. The word “righteousness” means ‘equity, justice, integrity.’ The fundamental idea presented is ‘conformity to a standard.’ Righteousness means to give each man his due based upon his conformity or lack of conformity to the divine standard of perfect holiness. Conformity to the holy character of God in His word brings blessing. A failure to conform to the divine standard brings a curse. Any falling short of this standard of moral perfection brings the full curse of God upon the offender. This reveals how holy God is and how serious any breach of His Law is. The righteousness of God is thus, the divine attribute that describes God as acting always in a way consistent with his character. God is righteous in himself, he demands righteousness, he provides righteousness, and he rewards for the righteousness he gives.
Let us further try to understand this in layman’s language. When we go to the marketplace, it is obvious we are in for some kind of purchase. The merchant who is approached for the purchase of the commodity indicates the price at which the good is to be sold. Having established the price, the good is weighed on the scale. He would pour onto one side of the scale a measure of the commodity and would then take a corresponding metal weight and place it on the other side of the scale. This weight became the standard by which an equivalent amount of grain would be measured. If the merchant saw that the commodity weighed less than the standard, he would pour more commodity onto the scales until the scales were balanced. Then the two sides of the scale were “righteous,” meaning both sides were in perfect harmony and conformity with each other.
Romans 3:23-25 states “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 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;” That is how the word “righteousness” was used by the apostle Paul in explaining the gospel. He teaches that the perfect standard by which God measures our lives is His absolute holiness. The requirement to be righteous in the sight of God and acceptable in His sight is that we stand in perfect conformity to the morally pure holiness of God. Divine holiness means that He is morally perfect and personally flawless in His being, words, actions, and judgments. Measured by this standard of perfection, we have all been weighed in the balances and found wanting. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
Romans 1:17 states “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” The words, “of God,” make an enormous difference in how we are to understand what is being taught. This means that this righteousness that we desperately need to find acceptance with God comes from God. It is God’s own righteousness that He provides in the gospel. In this context, the word “of” indicates the source of this righteousness. This means that this righteousness comes from God and is provided for sinful mankind who are without any righteousness of their own. Everyone in the human race must be clothed by God’s own righteousness in order to be received into God’s holy presence with acceptance. Isaiah 64:6 “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.” But God provides the righteousness that we need to be right with Him in the gospel.
Dr Ashwin Drummond
Laddertoheaven.co.in