Righteousness I. Prayer II. Introduction A. Explorations of righteousness generally prominently feature its definition and the "who, what, where, when" type questions B. Righteousness as the quality of being morally right or justifiable; righteousness as the state of having standing before God; righteousness as being in right relations with God and His people, etc. C. So many of these questions become the centerpieces of doctrinal disputes: matters of faith and works, the nature and ground of justification, sanctification as event or process, etc. D. To these ends "righteousness" all too often gets reduced to some kind of banner or slogan, and becomes freighted with loads of assumptions and tribal affiliations 1. We can get so lost in the doctrinal disputes about righteousness that we forget it was never about a dispute but a discipline and way of life 2. Righteousness all too easily gets defined by an in-group according to a particular set of affirmations, attitudes, or behaviors, and often to distinguish the in-group from out-groups 3. Righteousness is often seen as the exclusive provenance of the right type of people or the right group; taken for granted by insiders, the ground of holding outsiders in contempt 4. Righteousness can be seen as an insurance policy or as a prosperity gospel guarantee; in a similar vein, it becomes the blunt instrument by which the more fortunate rationalize what they enjoy and bludgeon those who are less fortunate 5. A hunger and thirst for righteousness has animated endeavors which have greatly benefited mankind; righteous indignation has blinded many into committing all sorts of ungodliness E. Thus, to perceive what God intends by righteousness, we will have to grab ahold of principles and attitudes in tension F. Only in recognizing the tension can we find the way which is truly righteous, and manifest righteousness appropriately to glorify God in Christ! III. Righteousness: the Law and the Word A. When a lot of people think of "righteousness," they generally start thinking of a list of things that reflect right thinking, feeling, and acting B. A Psalm 119:1-176 focus: paean to YHWH's torah, instruction, rendered nomos, or law, in Greek C. There is much to commend it 1. Righteousness as the quality of being morally right or justifiable; easily reduced towhat one thinks, feels, does 2. Exodus-Deuteronomy: a law of what to do, not to do 3. Galatians 5:19-21: works of the flesh, or things not to do D. And yet John 1:1-18: Jesus as the Word made flesh E. In Christ we do not follow a disembodied law code; we follow a Person F. We cannot reduce righteousness to a series of things to think, feel, and do on their own; what we think, feel, and do are anchored in what Jesus thought, felt, did G. Much to commend this as well 1. 1 John 2:3-6: for commandments, consider John 13:31-35 2. 1 John 4:7-21: love defined in what God did in Christ 3. Ephesians 4:1-6:18: note how Paul anchored all his exhortation in Christ H. We must resist a one-dimensional view of righteousness as a disembodied list of good and right thoughts, feelings, and actions; in Christ righteousness is manifest in Jesus, right thoughts, feelings, and actions are embodied in Christ, and we are to follow Him and His example IV. Righteousness as Standing A. Some see righteousness mostly in terms of conduct; others see it in terms of right standing or relationship with God B. We can see a blended version of this in the Pharisaic prayer of Luke 18:10:12: he prays to God as a Jew, confident in his standing because he is not a sinner like others C. Likewise the appeal to Proverbs 14:34, righteousness exalting a nation, but sin as a reproach to a people D. We have seen that righteousness does have conduct dimensions (appropriately rooted in Christ); the principle of Proverbs 14:34 is true, although we do well to stress that it is righteousness that exalts the nation, not mere principle, not myopic focus on a few principles to the exclusion of others E. Yet plenty of verses warn against a simplistic view of righteousness as our good deeds 1. Ephesians 2:1-10: all have sinned; all require grace 2. Isaiah 64:6: Isaiah laments how the "righteousness" of the people is as a menstrual garment, thoroughly polluted F. If our righteousness were based on our conduct, we would never have standing before God, for we have all sinned (Romans 3:20, 23) G. Likewise, Matthew 5:43-48: even those who are "sinners" do some good things, love those who love them, etc.; the line between good and evil goes through the middle of each human heart H. Thus, while righteousness can be understood in light of right thought, feeling, and action, we must remember that humans have never fully proved righteous; our standing before God is not based on how righteous we are, but on what God has done in Christ and our trust in Him V. Righteousness: An Insurance Policy? A. Many people pursue righteousness as if it might be an insurance policy: if one does what is right, one will receive appropriate honor, standing, and remuneration B. Furthermore, a lack of righteousness is the means by which the misfortune of others can be explained C. We can see these premises in passages like Psalms 1:1-6, 37:25 1. The righteous as anchored and would prosper; not begging bread 2. The wicked are not so D. Such can happen in this life, and ultimately will be reckoned on the day of judgment (Romans 2:5-11)! E. But is righteousness a guarantee of prosperity? F. We can have confidence in God that He will provide basic necessities (Matthew 6:25-34), yet consider 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 and the sufferings of the Apostles (and Jesus Himself; Matthew 16:24-28!) G. Consider also Luke 13:1-5: Jesus resists defining the misfortune of a few in terms of their sin, encouraging all to see their sin and to repent H. It will unsettle us, but righteousness is not a worldly insurance policy; in Christ it may lead us to eternal life, but it will cost us everything; the misfortunes of others are not merely about their sin, since we all have sin, and none deserve anything but death VI. Looking Upon Unrighteousness A. Another big challenge with righteousness involves how to handle unrighteousness; righteous indignation is a powerful thing B. We can see evidence that part of righteousness is lamentation over unrighteousness 1. Ezekiel 9:4-6: those to be preserved get a mark based on whether they had sighed and cried over the abominations being done in the town 2. 2 Peter 2:7-8: Peter's testimony about Lot being vexed over the unrighteousness of Sodom 3. Lamentations, Revelation, etc. C. Yet James 1:19-20: the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God D. We must walk a humble line when it comes to unrighteousness 1. We cannot endorse it or allow ourselves to be deadened by it; we must lament over it 2. It must not lose its power to shock and hurt 3. And yet we have no standing or right to bring down righteous anger upon those who have sinned, for we ourselves have sinned, and vengeance and judgment belong to God 4. The anger of man does not produce God's righteousness; no indignation of ours can truly be righteous E. Sin and unrighteousness ought to cause us to mourn and lament, ours and that of others; we should want all to come to a knowledge of the truth and be saved (1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9) VII. Righteousness A. Righteousness does speak to conduct, is about standing before God; and yet all of us have done some right things and some wrong things B. We understand righteousness by seeing it embodied in Jesus C. Righteousness is not the unique property of a particular group of people by their birth or circumstance; it is not the means by which to explain prosperity for some and misfortune for others D. We are to hunger and thirst for righteousness, and mourn unrighteousness, yet recognize our anger cannot produce God's righteousness E. To this end, how can we well explore righteousness? 1. We are to seek sanctification in the Spirit (2 Thessalonians 2:13) 2. To do so, we must manifest His fruit (Galatians 5:22-24) 3. We can only understand this fruit in terms of how it has been displayed in Jesus 4. When considering the fruit of the Spirit, we must recognize that it is not about our perfection, but God's love and grace in Jesus, and our righteousness is relational, bringing us ever closer to the image of God in Christ, ever less like the ugliness of the corruption of the world F. May we seek righteousness in Christ in manifesting the fruit of the Spirit to find life in God! G. Invitation Scripture, Meditation, and Application 1: But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who was made unto us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). When we think of righteousness, we often think of a particular code of right thinking, feeling, and acting. Righteousness is to be manifest in such things, yet today we can only truly understand them as made known in Jesus. It is for us to follow His way. May we follow the Lord Jesus in righteousness and obtain life in Him! 2: Even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace have ye been saved) (Ephesians 2:5). Some seek to pursue righteousness so they can prosper. It is also easy to blame the misfortune of others on their unrighteousness. Some righteous people prosper; many suffer for their unrighteousness. Yet many who pursue righteousness suffer; some who pursue unrighteousness profit in this life. We have all sinned; on its own our righteousness is not sufficient in the sight of our God. May we trust in God in Christ for salvation by grace through faith! 3: For we are all become as one that is unclean, and all our righteousnesses are as a polluted garment: and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away (Isaiah 64:6). People easily think highly of their righteousness. They focus on the good they do. And yet our righteousness is polluted and stained by our sinfulness. Our good is never good enough; we have failed and we have sinned. We must trust in God in Christ for standing and the ability to truly pursue righteousness in Him through the Spirit. May we find life and righteousness in God in Christ through the Spirit! 4: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God (James 1:20). The world is saturated in sin. As Christians pursuing righteousness we must never become complacent or dulled to it. We must lament and mourn the abominations done around us. But we must take care lest we become indignant, for the anger of man cannot produce God's righteousness. Not a few have transgressed into unrighteousness through their anger at those who sin. May we lament and mourn sin while leaving judgment to God, and encourage all to come to a knowledge of the truth and find salvation in Jesus!