The Nature of Righteousness

God’s supreme overarching command is to be holy as He is holy (Leviticus 11:44; 1 Peter 1:16). True morality or ethics is that which resembles God. It can be called holiness, godliness, or Christlikeness. It can be called righteous living, biblical living, or walking in the Holy Spirit. God requires holiness and forbids unholiness. Jesus was perfectly holy and perfectly free from unholiness.

God’s two great commandments are to love Him above all things, with all that we are, and in all that we do or say; and secondly, to love each other as ourselves (Matthew 22:34-40; Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18). Many sports require you to play offense and defense. The overarching goal is to play well, but you must apply that in two ways. You must play well on offense; and you must play well on defense. Only when you play well on both offense and defense have you truly played well. God’s overarching command is to be holy, but this applies in two ways. You must be holy by loving God as God deserves; and you must be holy in loving others as those made in God’s image. Love is the way of holiness; love is the obedient path. What does holiness look like? Perfect love for God and neighbors. Jesus loved God perfectly and loved his neighbors perfectly. Jesus also loves enemies in such a way that He gives them new hearts and turns them into friends.

God’s ten commandments (Exodus 20:1-7; Deuteronomy 5:6-21) elaborate what love for God and love for neighbor look like (Romans 13:8-10). We love God by honoring Him as God and nothing else, by worshiping Him in Spirit and truth and not with idols or images, by using His name reverently and not irreverently, and by remembering and celebrating our Sabbath rest in Christ according to Scripture. This is the first tablet of the ten commandments; it shows us how to love God.

The second tablet shows us how to love others. We must honor our parents and not rebel against them, we must not murder or act murderously but do all we can to protect and preserve life, we must not commit adultery or any kind of sexual immorality but do all we can to uphold and stand for biblical marriage, we must not steal or perpetrate injustice but must stand for justice and fairness in life, home, and society, we must not lie, slander, or gossip but use our words in truth, grace, and compassion for the upbuilding of others, and we must not be driven by a worldly greed or lust for money, things, influence, or name, but must at all times seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33; cf., Matthew 5:17-48!).

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, [20] but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. [21] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

Jesus always did what each commandment required in heart, mind, word, and deed. He never did what any command forbids in heart, mind, word, or deed. He fulfilled the law (Matthew 5:17). He lived in all righteousness (Matthew 3:15). Jesus was obedient—the obedient Son of God. Jesus loved God his Father and He loved all His neighbors. Jesus was holy; and His righteous life shines forth the holiness of God.

Blessed by the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ;

By His righteousness we are saved.

The integrity of His life is the value of His death;

His body and blood our bread and life,

The love of God displayed.

If only Jesus has obeyed God, how is there hope for the rest of us?

The Path to Righteousness

Jesus is a sinner’s only hope. He is like a medic to a man bleeding out on the street. He is a rescue party for a man fallen into a pit. Jesus is life to the dead (Ephesians 2:1-10).

Jesus is the only path to righteousness before God because only Jesus lived righteous before God. The reward for obedience is life, and only Jesus obeyed (Ezekiel 20:11; cf., Genesis 2:17). That is why the Father rewarded Him with resurrection life in the Holy Spirit after His righteous life and sacrificial death (Acts 2:27-31, 33). And, this is why you and I must go to Jesus if we are to receive the gift of eternal life, the gift of resurrection life in the Holy Spirit (John 5:21; 1 Corinthians 15:45) We are not righteous, but in Christ there is a way to righteousness.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

God’s law is holy, and you and I have violated it backwards and forwards. We are unholy. God’s commandments are good, we are not. His ways are Spiritual, we are not. Natural man despises God’s commandments and ways. But Jesus walked on earth in perfect obedience to the whole law. He kept every commandment and walked in every way. This deserves an encyclopedia of praise. Jesus was holy as His heavenly Father is holy. He loved the Lord His God with all His heart, soul, mind, and strength. He loved His neighbors as Himself. He loved, dear friend, even His enemies. He holds a hand of grace to haters and thieves.

He is Jesus; and He saves sinners (Matthew 1:21).

Jesus did not begrudge God’s will or God’s commands. He loved them both. Jesus loved God’s righteous law because Jesus was righteous. He loved holiness because He loved God; and God is holy. Can a man love a woman but despise how she acts, looks, speaks, thinks, and believes? No. Those things reveal what the woman is like. They show who she is. There are limits to this illustration. The point is that God’s holy commands show us God’s holy character. If you love God, you will also love his commands. If you secretly despise God’s commands—but force yourself to try to keep them because you want to go to heaven—then you do not love God; and you are not on your way to heaven.

There is a way for the sinner to be holy. He must come to Christ in faith, Christ will make him holy by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is sanctification, God’s gift of holiness to undeserving sinners. There is a way for the sinner to be righteous in God’s eyes. He must come to Christ in faith, Christ will count for Him as righteousness. This is justification, God’s irreversible declaration that a sinner in Christ is innocent rather than guilty, and that he shall be rewarded rather than condemned.

Both sanctification and justification are found in Christ. A freezing man must go sit by the fire because that is where warmth is found. A fire far off does not benefit him. Or, he can wrap himself in a thick blanket. But a blanket folded by his side will do him no good. No! He must take it. He must put it to use. The benefits of a fire and blanket must be embraced and enjoyed by personal experience. Go, sit by the fire and be warm. Here, wrap yourself and be warm. Warmth is the byproduct of the gift; the gift itself is what the freezing man must embrace.

So it is with the sinner in need of Christ. The blessings of holiness (sanctification) and righteousness (justification) can not be enjoyed while you are far from Christ. You must receive the gift to enjoy the byproducts of the gift. You must come to Him in faith. You must wrap yourself in Him to be saved.

On what basis? We embrace Christ by faith on the basis of His righteous life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection. There is no other way to God. There is no other bridge to this city. Before He died and rose, Christ lived a righteous life. His righteous life in the past makes eternal life possible for us in the present. You can be with God in heaven because Jesus obeyed God on earth. He shines forth the holiness of God.

There are more beams of divine glory that shine forth from the treasure of the gospel. We will look at them next time. We have looked at three so far. First, the person of Christ shines forth God because Christ is the eternal Son of God. Second, the incarnation of Christ shines forth the incomparable and incomprehensible power of God because in it, God came truly clothed in human flesh while truly remaining infinite God. Selah, the central miracle of Scripture. Third, the righteous life of Christ shines forth God’s holy character because God’s commands reflect God’s character, and Jesus obeyed them all to wondrous perfection. I am astonished because, after all, we have yet to reflect on Christ’s miracles and teaching and all that follows. We have only peeked at the light of the gospel.