The word “righteous” has two distinct meanings in the Bible.
Firstly, it can refer to someone’s character and behaviour: they live in a way that is pleasing to God. For example, Joseph didn’t want to humiliate Mary when he learned that she was pregnant “because he was a righteous man” (Matthew 1:1:19).
Secondly, it can mean being right with God. “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). Abraham certainly had good character, but that wasn’t what made him righteous; he was “credited” with righteousness because he trusted God.
Paul makes a big deal about this in several places in the New Testament, pointing out that Abraham’s standing was a result of his faith in God, not because of anything he did (see Romans 4:1-25 and Galatians 3:6-23). As Christians, we are “children of Abraham” in that we are made righteous by faith too: “He is the father of all who believe ... in order that righteousness might be credited to them” (Romans 4:11).
For some Christians, the idea of being accepted because of their good behaviour is deeply ingrained in their psyche. So when they read that God has made them righteous, the logic goes something like this: “God has given me power to live up to the high standards Jesus set, so now I can live a righteous life and be acceptable to God.”
That is effectively going back to the Law to make ourselves OK. But God has already declared us OK! We have been credited with the perfect righteousness of Jesus once and for all time: the second meaning of righteousness. We have been given new life and are in the process of being transformed to be like Jesus, so the first kind of righteousness applies too, but that isn’t what makes us OK.
The bottom line in our relationship with God is not our behaviour. The bottom line is that we are embraced, accepted and enjoyed as we are without changing a thing; then everything else follows.
For reflection:
Old Testament figures like Abraham, Moses and David are sometimes held up as examples of people who were particularly godly, and therefore had special access to God: “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” (Genesis 18:17); “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend” (Exodus 33:11); “I have found David ... a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22)
But all of them sinned badly during their lives. Out of fear, Abraham lied and risked his wife’s safety (Genesis 12:11-19). Moses murdered someone and hid the body (Exodus 2:12), and David had a man killed to conceal his own adultery (2 Samuel 12:9). Those actions had consequences, but they didn’t disqualify these men from having an intimate friendship with God.
You can think of it in two ways. Everything that has requirements, we have already been qualified for. Or: there are no more requirements on our side. Everything in the kingdom of God is for free!
“... giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light”
(Colossians 1:12)
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