We like to think of God as the God of love, and He most definitely is that. It’s difficult for many of us to think of God’s judgment on sinners as something that is good and right. 12 If there were no rewards and punishment, then God would be unfair, and thus unrighteous-which He can’t be, as that would go against His nature and essence. 11 By the same token, when one sins, there is punishment. God rewards the upright, those who live in alignment with God’s will, Word, and ways. Because God is holy, He can’t abide sin, and because He is righteous, it is necessary for Him to treat people according to what they deserve. ” 10īecause God is righteous in His nature, He is fair and equitable in all His ways, including in His interaction with humanity. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He. ” 9“He is the Rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just. “The Lord is upright He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. He is total integrity, goodness, and uprightness. Because He is the standard of righteousness, without fail He does what is right. The righteousness of God means that His being, His nature and character, is always righteous-good, right, and just He Himself is the ultimate standard as to what is right. At the top of the hill is a cross.- Max Lucado 8 Always good, right, and just The path of righteousness is a narrow winding trail up a steep hill. But “God has a way to make people right with him.” 6ĭavid said it like this: “He leads me in paths of righteousness.” 7
Yes, righteousness is what God is, and yes, righteousness is what we are not, and yes, righteousness is what God requires. “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” 5 Treat me as you would a sinner.”Īnd God did. The bigot, the liar, the thief? Do to me what you would do to them. Sweeping a hand over all creation, he pleaded, “Punish me for their mistakes. It was at once history’s most beautiful and most horrible moment. O use Paul’s analogy, “we’re sinners, every one of us, in the same sinking boat with everybody else.” 4 Then what are we to do?. If God accepted the unrighteous, the invitation would be even nicer, but would he be right? Would he be right to overlook our sins? Lower his standards? No. Will God who is righteous spend eternity with those who are not? Would Harvard admit a third-grade dropout? If it did, the act might be benevolent, but it wouldn’t be right. And when it comes to righteousness, we don’t know which end of the cue stick to hold. When it comes to righteousness, God runs the table without so much as a bank shot. He has always been and always will be right. He is never too late or too early, too loud or too soft, too fast or too slow. He has never rendered a wrong decision, experienced the wrong attitude, taken the wrong path, said the wrong thing, or acted the wrong way.
“Our God and Savior Jesus Christ does what is right.” 1 “God is a righteous judge.” 2 “The Lord is righteous, he loves justice.” 3 …