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Let’s get it right about Righteousness
This is a good time to talk about righteousness. People are often confused by terms like, imputed righteousness, infused righteousness, and other phrases that are meant to identify church beliefs, but often lead to confusion. A lot of this we have discussed in bits and pieces, but some things need to be clarified. Understanding righteousness does matter. How I view my ability to be righteous determines how I live out my faith.
Imputed righteousness
As we observed earlier, God used Abraham as the example of faith and how it affects our righteousness. By God’s design, faith was revealed before the law. The reason is made clear throughout the New Testament. God showed how His righteousness is accredited to us before giving the law so that we could understand that righteousness is by faith and not by works. The Bible says that we were saved by grace through faith, and that it is not of ourselves.[1]
It is the work of God that reaches down and calls man out of sin, and places the righteousness of God within the hearts of those who believe. Righteousness is first accredited to us – or imputed. Then it is produced in our lives by the work of the Holy Spirit. It’s important to understand these things because good doctrine is well balanced. To say we are credited with righteousness; therefore, we don’t need to live rightly is a common but false belief. Yet because people only see certain passages without seeing the context, it’s easy to draw incorrect assumptions.
It is also false to say that I must do something to become righteous. The Bible must be taken as a whole. Once I was asked who I believed, Paul who said faith is apart from works, or James who said faith is by works? In truth, both Paul and James provide the same teaching, but begin by addressing different audiences. Paul addresses those who seek justification by keeping the law. James begins by addressing an apathetic church who claimed to have faith but show no evidence. At the end of this discussion, we’ll compare these to apostles and see that both are saying the same thing but addressing different problems.
The truth is that the Bible never makes us choose between contradicting teachings. Scripture is a complete revelation and is to be taken as a whole. The Bible tells us to be diligent to study so we can rightly divide the word of truth[2]. We rightly divide by taking a doctrine from the scriptures, examining it to understand how it applies to our life, and then examining each doctrine in light of the entire Bible.
It takes time and diligence to study the word. This is why God said he teaches us precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little[3]. Each time you study the word, you build upon what you’ve already learned. Incorrect assumptions are also corrected by the rest of scripture when we study. Just as the weakness of the law was man, the weakness of doctrine is also man. Once we add ideas to scripture based on personal opinions and assumptions, our doctrines begin to stray from truth. Yet the Bible corrects this when we diligently study. Consider 2 Timothy 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Notice one of the purposes of scripture. To correct. There’s a saying that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. This is also true when it comes to the Bible. New Christians bring a lifetime of assumptions to the word, but as someone studies faithfully, errors fall by the wayside as the scriptures correct our false beliefs. Most false teaching arises from people bringing in their personal beliefs and applying it to the Bible. Instead, we should be taking the Bible and applying it to our lives.
Misconceptions are found throughout Christendom, and you will find times when your own beliefs are corrected by scripture. Just because everyone around you believes something to be true doesn’t make it true. God has provided a firm foundation in the word, and we should never reject scripture in order to hold to a pet belief.
Diligent study dismantles false beliefs. That’s why we must study the whole word. We can’t build a solid foundation with bits and pieces of the word.
This same issue comes into play when we discuss righteousness in the Christian’s life. External beliefs coming in can muddy the waters, but the Bible clarifies itself. Let scripture be the interpreter of scripture.
Is righteousness an accounting term, or a legal declaration, or a practical way of living rightly? At times groups will claim one of these as the meaning of righteousness but miss the fullness of what the Bible teaches on this subject. It’s all these things. Often people misunderstand because they are taught that the Bible says righteousness is only an accounting term – we are accounted as debt free, but then need to work to become personally righteous. Others say it’s only a legal declaration, but not individual righteousness. We don’t choose one or more. The Bible explains how all of these things apply to the Christian life.
Legal declaration
The Bible declares us legally just from our sins. This does not mean that the bible only declares us legally just. It is only one of the declarations of scripture referring to our righteousness, and it is the first step in our justification. Justification simply means, “The act of God declaring men to be free from guilt.”
There is an interesting passage regarding this. Look at Romans 3:25-28
25 [Jesus,] whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.
28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.
Earlier we looked at sin as being an affront to the nature and character of God. To be right with God, we must be just. To be just is to conform to the requirements of the law so we are able to approach a holy God. But we are not just by nature, for human nature is corrupt. We were born with a bent toward sin. Some baulk at the idea that we are born with a sin nature, but as we have seen earlier, any parent knows children have a propensity to sin without seeing that behavior in others. It’s part of the sinful nature we are born with. We use consequences to restrain behavior, but the heart is not changed. Though an acceptable standard of behavior is learned, the tendency to sin and act selfishly remains within each of us.
In the passage above, the Bible is addressing the problem of our guilt. God paid for our guilt with his own blood. The word propitiation simply means for one person to stand in the place of another. Once again, faith is the key to the whole process. By faith, we receive the gift of God. He becomes our righteousness, and took our guilt upon Himself.
Also note, God remained just. At no time is the law violated by grace. The legal requirements of the law remain in place regardless of God’s expression of mercy. The wages of sin is death and the consequences for our sins are to bear the penalty of judgment. God will not violate the law. In society, when a judge is soft on sentencing a criminal, we are outraged. We consider it injustice to see a murderer or sex offender get a slap on the wrist. A soft judge is an affront to the law that was designed to protect citizens.
It’s no different with God’s law. The law demands judgment and we are guilty because we have broken the law. The Bible says that every sin will be judged by God – and indeed they have been – as explained in the passage above.
God remained just, while becoming our justifier. This is the sacrifice of Christ. He remained just by standing in judgment in our place, so that through His sacrifice, He became our justifier – or the one who declared us just before God. Jesus did this by becoming the one who was judged for our sins. We are declared just, but the penalty of sin was still satisfied – through Christ.
When God looks at you, He sees justice through Christ. It is a legal declaration. You are declared just, because the penalty has been paid through Christ. Legally you are free from the guilt of sin.
So is our imputed righteousness a legal declaration? Yes. But not only a legal declaration. We must first be declared not-guilty before we can become an heir. The promises of God are only to those who belong to Him. Consider John 1:12-13
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Through Christ, we have the right to become the children of God. The guilty have no rights. A convicted felon is led away in handcuffs and no longer has the normal rights to citizenship. The same is true with becoming a citizen of heaven. We have no right to become a child of God, citizen of heaven, or joint heir with Christ, until we are declared just. To be just we must be perfect under the law. Our imputed righteousness is a declaration of justice. The penalty was paid through Christ and He was declared guilty for our sins so that we could be declared just before God.
Accounting of righteousness
Jesus made a declaration on the cross moments before his death. He cried, “It is finished.” The words he actually declared were in Greek. The word was ‘tetelestia’. Tetelestia is a Greek word used in accounting. When someone paid their debt, this word was written on the records. It literally means, “Paid in Full”. Jesus was accounted as the debtor so that we could be credited with his righteousness. Look now at 2 Corinthians 5:21
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
In Christ, we become the righteousness of God. It is not our righteousness. It is God’s righteousness credited to our lives. The Apostle Paul addressed this in his own life. He was a Pharisee. Not all Pharisees were evil. Some truly tried to keep the law in sincerity and by faith. Nicodemus is a good example. He’s stood up for Jesus when the other Pharisees were trying to find a way to arrest Him[4] and he came to Jesus to understand the scriptures[5].
Like all other religious people, the Pharisees were only condemned when they chose to seek self-justification. They tended to rely on their own works to become righteous. The Apostle Paul was such a man until God intervened to show him mercy. Once he saw the truth of Christ, he abandoned his old ways and made the following statement, “I count all things as garbage that I may gain Christ and be found in Him. Not having my own righteousness…but that which is from God by faith.[6]”
Here is a man who lived to fulfill the law by his own efforts, now saying we cannot be righteous by our own works. In fact, Isaiah 64:6 tells us that all of our righteousness is filthy rags in God’s sight. Like Paul, everything we do for God is garbage. It’s worthless and worthy of nothing but the trash heap.
It sounds harsh and often offends people, but any student of the Bible knows that God will offend those who look anywhere but to Him. Anytime someone looks to their own efforts as a method to increase their own righteousness will only produce worthless works. As Jesus said, “The flesh profits you nothing,” and “unless you abide in me, you can do nothing.” Righteousness is found in Christ, and unless your righteousness is the righteousness of God, it is worthless.
Righteousness is credited – or imputed to us. Let’s go back to the example of Abraham again. Look at Romans 4:20-25
20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,
21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.
22 And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
23 Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him,
24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,
25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.
It can’t be denied that the Bible teaches that our righteousness is imputed – or accredited to us. And this is done without any works on our part. Faith is not an act of work. Faith is given to us by God. The Bible says that the Lord has measured each person a portion of faith[7]. Then we are told that God reveals Himself to us by faith. Then we receive Christ by faith. From beginning to end it is the work of God. The only time man is involved is when he resists God and tries to justify himself by his own methods. Methods which God rejects.
According to the scriptures we’ve examined so far, God declares us righteous legally, and He credits (imputes) His righteousness to us. Now let us look at practical righteousness and how it affects our lives. To understand this, we should look at the two approaches to this subject given by the Apostles Paul and James.
Practical righteousness
Righteousness is not only being counted as right before God, but also doing what is right as God commanded. The Bible says that the one who knows to do good and does not do it, to that person it is a sin[8]. It isn’t possible to live a righteous life while refusing to live out the Christian life. So is it our actions that make us Christians? Or is it our actions that reveal the new life God has placed within us?
This is the conflict being addressed by both Paul and James. The Apostle Paul wrote the books of Romans and Ephesians, along with approximately two-thirds of the New Testament. The book of James is the only letter we have that James wrote to the church. Let’s look at a few passages that are often misunderstood as a contradiction.
Since we are digging into the writings of two apostles, we’ll use a few more scriptures in this section, but don’t let this overwhelm you. We’ll start in Romans 4, but let me first mention what Paul is discussing prior to the beginning of this chapter. He begins in chapter two with a discussion about circumcision and how it pointed to the covenant of Christ. After a detailed explanation in chapter three, he makes the statement, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.”
To understand what Paul is addressing, take a little time to read Acts 15. As the gospel spread, many gentiles (or non-Jews) came to faith. Jewish Christians still believed the law was applicable in order to be in God’s covenant. They were raised in that mindset and had a hard time grasping that the Old Covenant was replaced by the New Covenant. In the past, gentiles had to convert to Judaism and be circumcised in order to enter God’s covenant.
These well-meaning, but badly misinformed Jews were going into churches and telling the gentiles that they couldn’t be saved unless they were circumcised according to the Law of Moses. Paul addressed this heavily in the book of Galatians when he said, “You who attempt to be justified by the law have fallen from grace and are estranged from Christ.” In this passage, Paul is specifically addressing gentile Christians who were being circumcised thinking they were meriting God’s favor.
In other words, to attempt to justify oneself by something they do by human effort is a denial of the faith. In this case it was circumcision, but it could be anything we think we are doing to earn God’s favor. So as we examine the passage in question, keep this in mind. Paul is addressing this specific issue. He is not saying Christians will not have works. In fact, he says the opposite throughout his letters to the churches. He is addressing the belief that works justify us, rather than trusting in the work of Christ – who is our only justification. Now look at Romans 4:2-10
2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.
5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,
…
9 Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness.
10 How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.
Abraham was credited with righteousness before entering the covenant of the Old Testament through circumcision. Therefore, Paul is pointing out that the law introduced through the covenant was not the source of Abraham’s righteousness. God was the source of Abraham’s righteousness, and it was given without any effort on man’s part. It was merely believing God – by faith. Circumcision came as God introduced the covenant and Abraham obeyed – another act of faith. But he was already just and righteous before doing any works, religious practices, or obeying the law.
The verses I skipped speak about God not imputing sin, but forgiving us and giving grace. If you look at this passage in the context of Paul’s entire thought, it’s clear that the issue is the false belief that our justification is obtained, in whole or in part, by human effort rather than by faith in Christ’s completed work on our behalf. God, in His foreknowledge, revealed justification by faith to Abraham before commanding him to be circumcised.
Let me summarize again for clarification. Circumcision, which we discussed earlier, was the sign of the seal of the covenant. However, it was not what made Abraham righteous. Abraham was declared righteous and justified when he believed God. When it came to entering God’s covenant, the circumcision was man’s submission to God. The act of circumcision didn’t make Abraham right with God. Abraham was first accredited with God’s righteousness, and then he entered the covenant.
This is the same truth taught in the New Testament. We are first declared legally just because our debt of sin was paid, then we are made righteous by being given the righteousness of God, and then we are called to act according to that righteousness by good works. It is God’s faith, God’s righteousness, and the works that God prepared before we were even born. Then we are called to walk in God’s good works. This is explained in Ephesians 2:8-10
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Emphasis added)
Notice again that grace comes first. We are made right through God’s mercy by faith, and there is nothing we have done to make ourselves righteous in any way. Why? Because as we saw earlier – no flesh can glory in God’s presence. The same is taught here when Paul says, “Lest anyone should boast.”
Where is our justification? By works? No. Just as Abraham was justified prior to being circumcised or doing any action, we are saved and declared right by God and welcomed into His Kingdom prior to any acts on our part. God opens our eyes through faith, and we either believe and accept His grace, or we reject it. Sometimes that rejection is man declaring that he can’t believe God’s grace is sufficient, and he attempts to use his own efforts in place of Christ’s completed work. True faith is believing on Christ for our justification and righteousness; however, it doesn’t end there.
We are God’s workmanship. He created us in Christ by the miracle of His own power. Did God save us so we could live in apathy? No. He created our new nature for good works. Works that God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. In other words, God created us, redeemed us, made us into a new eternal creation, prepared the way for us to do good works, and He now calls us to walk where He has prepared the way.
We’ll examine works in more detail later, but for now, take note of the fact that Paul is teaching that we are created for good works, and we are called to walk in obedience. Now let’s look at how James addresses the same issue. Look at James 2:14-26. It’s a long passage, but full of good instruction.
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?
17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe — and tremble!
20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?
22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?
23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.
24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. (Emphasis Added)
Is James in disagreement with Paul? He is not. It can appear that way if you only look at a few isolated verses, but if you look at both Paul’s writing and what James wrote here in context, you will see that they are in full agreement.
What is James addressing? He’s confronting those who are apathetic to the needs of others within the church. These people who claim to be children of God are walking past those in need within the church, and doing nothing to help them. Believers are passing by and casting a few meaningless words toward those in need. While they have extra food and clothing, they hoard what they have and say, “Be warm and full.” An empty blessing. They have the blessing God provided in their possession. They care more about their closet than the needs of people in their very circle of fellowship.
James then goes on to make a few comparisons. With empty words, these people claim to believe God, but the evidence of their life is contradictory. To drive home this truth, James points to demons. You say you believe? Big deal. Demons believe and tremble, but what profit is it? Even a demon can believe in God, so us claiming to believe in Him means nothing. James calls this type of faith dead.
Consider the weight of the words of James. The Bible calls the works of the flesh dead. Everything about our life before Christ was called dead. We were dead. Our spirit was dead. Our faith was dead. It was dead because it was rooted in the flesh that is cursed by sin and destined for the wages of that sin – death.
Life does not come until the Spirit breathes life into our dead soul. This is why the Bible says things like, you have been made alive in Christ, you were buried in the likeness of Christ’s death, and then raised in newness of life. Or we are like a grain of wheat. It must fall into the ground and die before it can have life. When we die to our body encased in lifeless sin, God raises us by faith and makes us alive, together with Him.
Human faith is dead. Mustering up faith by your own efforts is dead. People who sit in the church and say, “I believe the Bible,” but never surrender to its life-changing message are dead. Consider the words of Hebrews 4:2
For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.
These people heard the word, but did not benefit from it because it was not received by faith. They died in their sins. In this passage, Israel is the group of people who heard the word. They had a pretense of belief, but when God put them to the test, they refused to obey. Their faith was dead and they all died while wandering in the wilderness.
In the same way, James is drawing a contrast between dead faith and true faith. Dead faith is human beliefs, but living faith is God-breathed. It’s alive because it was given to us by the Spirit. Human beliefs cannot save, but true faith calls us to obey God and surrender our lives to His will. We believe His promises, so we don’t feel the need to cling to our possessions, ambitions, or anything else that prevents us from obeying.
James is confronting those in the church who claim to be Christians, but show no more works than the enemies of God. That’s the evidence against someone’s claim to faith. After showing a stark example of worthless faith, James moves on to the example of Abraham’s life to show how true faith stands out differently. Dead faith is demonic and apathetic. True faith stirs the love God has poured out in our hearts and calls us to action.
Abraham truly believed, and what happened? He was willing to do whatever God asked of him – even to the point of offering Isaac, his only son, upon an altar. In hindsight, we know what God was doing, but Abraham did not.
It’s interesting that James chose the same examples Paul used. Most likely, James is addressing a church that has done as we see in our churches today. They are picking and choosing only the scriptures that don’t interfere with their lives. Therefore, James is taking the instruction Paul gave them, and is expounding it more clearly. He is being blunt and brutally honest so those who misapply the scriptures can’t miss his point.
Let’s look closer at the illustration James used. It’s likely he’s referring to what Paul taught in Romans. It could have been any church Paul started or taught in. Human nature exists within the church and attempts to turn the word into a selfish gospel.
When using the illustration of Abraham and Isaac, Paul explained that Abraham believed God, who was able to give life to the dead[9]. This is important, for it gives an insight into Abraham’s view of God. By promise, God declared, “In Isaac will your name be called.[10]”
Isaac was the life through whom the promise would be carried for generations to come. After telling Abraham that the promise was in Isaac, God then called Abraham to sacrifice his son on the altar. Without wavering, the Bible said Abraham rose early in the morning and set out to find the mountain where God had directed him. Though it was not known at the time, that mountain would be named Golgotha and would be the place where Jesus was crucified. Again we see the Old Testament foretelling God’s plan through Christ.
Abraham journeyed three days until he found the mountain, and then said to the men who came with him, “You stay here. The lad and I will go and worship, and we will come again.[11]”
That’s an interesting statement. This tells us that Abraham had two possibilities in mind. One, God would have to raise Isaac from the dead. Two, God would have to provide a substitutionary sacrifice. Until God stopped Abraham’s hand as he plunged the knife, he did not know which it would be. But God stopped him and declared that Abraham had proven his faith and not withheld the son whom he loved from the Lord. Abraham saw a ram caught in a thicket, and that became the sacrifice in Isaac’s place.
It wasn’t Abraham’s son that would die for sins. Jesus, the Lamb of God, was foreshadowed in the sacrifice of the ram in Isaac’s place. The true sacrifice was to come in Jesus Christ. The thicket became a crown of thorns and He ascended that same hill and God did not withhold from us the Son He loved. But Jesus became the redemption that pardoned Abraham and all those who are called God’s children.
This is the example James is pointing to. Abraham proved his faith by not withholding what he loved. In fact, he was willingly giving back to God the very blessing and promise God had given him. He believed God enough to give back as God required. Yet within the church, James saw those who claimed to be people of faith, but wouldn’t even give a spare coat to someone in need. This was not the life-changing faith of Abraham.
So we don’t miss the point James is about to make, he says, “Some will say they have faith… Show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works.” From this statement he goes on to explain the difference between true faith and dead faith. Dead faith is empty words without evidence of works. True faith produces good works. This is so because it’s the work of God in our heart that calls us into the work God has prepared beforehand – that for which we were created in Christ Jesus to do.
Also keep in mind that there are no good works outside of what God produces. Remember those who presented their deeds to Jesus and He declared, “You are a worker of lawlessness”? There are good deeds done through human effort, and there are good works done through God’s plan and foreknowledge. We are saved for good works. Those who shun God’s path of obedience have no right to claim to be followers of Christ. Nor do those who try to create their own righteousness by good works and human effort.
Works will be examined more clearly when we discuss it in two chapters. For now, let’s look at works as the evidence of faith. James is not saying we earn salvation through good works. He is saying if we have true faith (for we are saved by grace through faith), it will produce good works. When I am obedient to God, I know I’m justified for my works prove that my faith is true.
Jesus also testified to this when He said, “By their fruit you shall know them.” Love is of God and is the fruit of the Spirit. If the fruit of the Spirit is absent, the Spirit is also absent.
This teaching by James is not for you and I to judge the fruit of others. It is for you and I to judge ourselves. As Paul said, “Examine yourselves to see if you are in the faith.” I don’t know what God has called someone to do, and if they are serving God as they ought, I may never know. According to the Bible, those who broadcast their good works have their reward – the praise of others. But those who serve in secret God promises to reward openly.
Unless God calls you to serve in an area where you are in the public eye, few people will know your service to God. And you can’t know what someone else is doing or is called to do. A mother nurturing her children and teaching them how to love God is making disciples. Who will know other than her and those in the same home? So, the purpose of this passage is not for us to look around and see who is of faith, but to look inward.
These things are given so you and I can examine our lives and see if our faith is genuine. If we have been taught incorrectly, this gives us instruction. It may be that we never understood our calling and now realize we’ve fallen into apathy. James’ words become a call to action. Even true faith can be obscured by getting caught up in the selfish cares of the world. This is why the Bible reproves and corrects, while giving instruction and doctrine[12].
Both Paul and James are teaching the same thing. While Paul is battling a false faith masquerading as good works, James is battling a false faith masquerading as apathy and easy believe-ism.
Infused or Integrated Righteousness
I saved this topic for last because it’s something that needs to be addressed after understanding how the Bible defines righteousness. Before we can look at what righteousness is not, we must first understand what it is. I’m sure this has different connotations to different people, so I’ll define it based on my own experiences. Infused righteousness is the idea that mankind becomes good and can produce good by human effort. The idea is that God saves us, and then we must do righteous acts and produce good works to continue toward complete justification. It is the belief that we partner with Christ to produce righteousness.
Infused righteousness is the belief that God infuses our bodies with righteousness and we continue to become better by good works. The Bible has much to say on this topic. We’ve already seen that Paul stated, “Not having my own righteousness, but that which is in Christ.” He also makes an interesting statement in Romans 7:18
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.
The truth is that God is the source of righteousness. Man cannot produce righteousness. He takes what is given, and lives according to God’s own goodness. Even Jesus refuted this idea. Remember when we looked at the rich young ruler? When he looked at Jesus from a human perspective and called Him good, Jesus rebuked him saying, “Why do you call Me good? There is one good and that is God.” But later when Jesus was pointing to His divinity and calling for people to follow Him, He declared, “I am the good shepherd.”
In the first instance, the focus was on human goodness, but the second is focused on Jesus’ divinity. The flesh profits nothing. The Spirit gives life and peace. Each time someone looks toward the flesh, the Bible rebukes them. But when the Spirit is the focus, it is called truth. Righteousness isn’t what we do, but rather when we yield ourselves so God’s goodness reigns without hindrance.
We are never called to make our bodies good. Nor does the Bible ever call our bodies good. Nor does the Bible remotely imply that righteousness is infused into us. Paul lamented the sin that dwelled in his members – the flesh of his body. Then he cried, “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Finally, he gives the answer in Romans 7:25
I thank God — through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
In a later chapter, we’ll discuss what it means to walk in the Spirit, but in this situation, Paul indicates our minds are the battle ground for resisting the flesh and serving God. The flesh always serves sin. The mind, if in Christ and in the Spirit, serve the law of God. Serving God is always through abiding in Christ so that we can walk in the path of good works God has predestined for us to walk in[13]. It’s not your works or your righteousness. Everything in scripture focuses on God’s works created for you, God’s righteousness placed within you by the Spirit inside you, and your need to die to your own works and live by walking in faith.
Each time we see our bodies mentioned in scripture, it is in reference to bringing it under subjection. “Do not yield your body as an instrument of sin, but yield to God.” “I discipline my body and bring it under subjection.” “I am crucified with Christ.” This theme continues throughout the New Testament. Though our inner man has been redeemed and made alive in Christ, sin remains in our physical bodies until the time of adoption. Look at Romans 8:23
Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
Our bodies will one day be redeemed, but for now, we wrestle against the flesh so it doesn’t recapture our mind and bring us back into captivity to sin[14]. There is nothing to infuse. We receive the Holy Spirit, and He is our righteousness. The Spirit convicts us of sin, righteousness, and judgment[15]. The world is convicted, but so are we. If the Spirit is in us, we are convicted of sin, we are instructed in righteousness, and we are shown good judgment – the ability to see right from wrong according to scripture.
According to the Bible, God has already given us all things pertaining to life and godliness through His divine Spirit[16]. Our role is to bring the flesh under subjection so the things of the Spirit can reign unhindered in our lives.
When we look at the Bible’s teaching on righteousness, we can see that true faith first declares us just, then credits us with God’s righteousness, and finally calls us to righteous works. We do not choose only one, nor do we neglect any part of righteousness. All are in agreement and necessary for our walk of faith.
As we shall see in the chapter on works, once we are yielded to God’s will, good works are the natural result. Walking in the will of God is a partnership of faith, righteousness, and good works.
[1] Ephesians 2:18-19
[2] 2Timothy 2:15
[3] Isaiah 28:9-10
[4] John 7:51
[5] John 3:1
[6] Philippians 3:8-9
[7] Romans 12:3
[8] James 4:17
[9] Romans 4:17
[10] Genesis 21:12
[12] 2 Timothy 3:16-17
[13] Ephesians 2:10
[14] Romans 7:23
[15] John 16:8
[16] 2 Peter 1:3