Proverbs 2:20. So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous.
In the Old Testament righteousness is an extremely important concept. Above all else, God wants his chosen people to be righteous.
Often we reduce our relationship with God down to simply staying out of trouble, sin avoidance. But God wants much more for us than to just not do bad; he wants us to do good. He wants us to keep to the paths of the righteous.
Simply put: You can’t do nothing and be righteous.
In the Old Testament, righteousness is almost always connected to action. If Job was a righteous man it was because he DID good things. To be righteous means that you are actively doing the will of God as it relates to others. Meeting needs. Caring for others. Upholding justice. Even when it hurts to do it. There is no fear of the Lord without righteousness. There is no wisdom without righteousness.
Are you righteous? Do you walk on the paths of righteousness?
In the Old Testament righteous was a label that was earned. Righteous deeds made for a righteous person. But Paul’s words in Romans 3 reveal the problem, “there is none righteous, no not one.” Why is this? Because righteousness is not just a behavior issue, it’s a heart issue. Even righteous Job, who did all the right deeds, lived with a proud heart.
Job 36:8-9. 8And if [the righteous] are bound in chains and caught in the cords of affliction, 9then he declares to them their work and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly.
Job’s addition to wisdom and understanding is this – there is such a thing as a righteous sinner. That is, there is such a thing as a person who can do all the right deeds while still sinning in their heart. That’s what Job was, a righteous sinner. That’s what everyone who does good is, a righteous sinner. Which means there is actually none righteous, no not one. Not you. Not me.
Just Jesus.
Jesus earned his righteous label by always doing righteousness. He alone fulfilled Proverbs 2:20. He alone walked in the way of the good and kept to the path of the righteous. Even when that path led to the cross, still he never stumbled. And we aren’t just talking about his behavior. The heart of Christ remained righteous as well. Through it all, he never wavered in his trust in God.
The good news is that under the New Covenant Christ’s own righteousness is imputed to us by our union with him. Therefore, we must never live from any sort of pride or conceit, or live from our many self-justifications. Rather, we must let Jesus be our righteous substitute before God today and every day. Only by adopting this mindset of dependency on his goodness can we ever hope to be the instruments of HIS righteousness that God has saved us to be.
You: Do you practice righteousness in your relationships? Where have you seen yourself succeed in this? Fail in this?
You in Christ: Why do we need to embrace our unearned positional righteousness in Christ before we can walk in the path of righteousness?
Christ in you: What specific act of righteousness might Jesus want to do through you today?
Pray: Jesus, you are my righteousness! May I stay on your path today and every day. Amen.
To Live is Christ 