Righteousness In Christ, In Covenant, In Power

Our God is a God of justice, and His kingdom is established on justice and righteousness. These are challenging concepts to grasp as our culture continues to dilute the application of standards and determine its own truth. These tendencies toward disrespecting boundaries of authority lead to rebellion, as the self is elevated above leadership, and confusion and chaos grow increasingly scrambled. King Solomon emphatically instructed even his son, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.” Proverbs 14:34 (NIV)

Merriam-Webster.com₁ defines righteous as “acting in accord with divine or moral law; free from guilt or sin; morally right or justifiable.” Likewise, Dictionary.com₂ adds that it is “characterized by uprightness or morality; morally right or justifiable; acting in an upright, moral way.” Merriam-Webster’s Thesaurus includes these synonyms for righteousness: “morality, virtue, integrity, goodness, honest, rightness.” All are pretty lofty characterizations for mankind’s sinful nature! However, as Christians, we are introduced to the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 (love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) and directed to train our thoughts on noble traits in Philippians 4:8.

From the beginning of Scripture, we find that God values righteousness and is seeking it in humanity. It allows us to be in relationship with Him, and He created us for that relationship. From Adam’s sinful disobedience in the garden, to the wickedness of Noah’s day, God grieved and was sorry that He had created man (Genesis 6:6), and so began His plan of redemption through Noah’s family and the Ark.

Man’s righteousness had been thrown off as filthy rags, but God had a way of restoring our robe of righteousness through His Son. By the payment of our sins on the cross, Jesus redeemed us from the penalty of eternal separation from God. What’s more, when we choose Jesus as our Savior, we are baptized into His death on the cross and raised up, in Him, to eternal life, a life that shines with righteousness. We have put on Christ’s right-standing, and we are justified. Just as the curtain of the Holy of Holies was torn at Jesus’ death, there is now nothing that can separate us from our heavenly Father.

In Christ, we are not “old sinners saved by grace.” This transaction goes far deeper than that. We are the Bride of Christ, chosen by the Father for His Son. We walk in His name and authority. We are empowered to accomplish Isaiah 61 – preach the Good News; heal the brokenhearted; proclaim liberty to the captives; free those who are bound; proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of God for those who reject Him; comfort mourners; console those who mourn for Zion, giving them beauty for ashes, oil of joy, and garments of praise; deliver the oppressed, and free the captives through the power of the Spirit of God in us. In John 14:12, Jesus proclaimed, “Amen, amen. I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.”

When God cut a covenant with Abraham, he prepared the way for righteousness to be restored. In a covenant, participants commit that “what’s mine is yours, yours is mine, and what I ask you to do, I will also do for your request.” Blood is shed to seal the covenant, such as the blood of circumcision, or the slaughter of animal sacrifices. When God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son of the promise, Isaac, it was a test of the covenant. Because Abraham did not withhold his son, God did not withhold His Son, Jesus, from the cross. Our righteousness, lost in the Garden of Eden, was restored by the covenant act of Jesus, the Messiah, as the sacrificial lamb.

It is essential to respect the righteousness of Jesus that has been bestowed upon us. We should walk richly in our heavenly garments, mindful of the price paid for us to wear the name. Like Jesus, let us walk and minister in the power of truth and freedom to others, never intimidated by the needs. Jesus just asks us to partner with Him in loving others. It is His guidance and His power that direct our witness. Fear, doubt, unbelief, and rebellion are a stain on our righteousness that we should quickly resist. Thanks to our loving God, we have been given the blood of Jesus to wash ourselves clean, and keep righteousness restored. With the power of Christ in us, we are destined to do His good works.

CITATIONS

₁ “righteous, righteousness” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2025

Web. 10 July 2025

₂ “righteousness,” Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, LLC, 2025

                        Web. 10 July 2025