Righteousness in the Bible
In You, O Yahweh, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; save me by Your righteousness.
Today we have many religions with their own concepts of righteousness. Commonly these concepts are based on person’s good deeds. The difference between them is the definition of "good". When it comes to Christianity the concept of righteousness gets noticeably blurry, mainly due to the doctrine of "imputed righteousness". So let’s get to the truth of what righteousness is and what it is not according to the Bible, as our salvation and eternity may depend on it.
In Hebrew the word for righteousness is צֶדֶק (tsedeq) and צְדָקָה (tsedaqah), and δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosuné) in Greek. Righteousness often comes hand in hand with justice and sometimes is translated as justice. In essence righteousness is the right action according to God, the opposite of sin.
Concept of Righteousness in the Old Testament
I, Yahweh, speak the truth; I say what is right.
Righteousness is:
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Trusting Yahweh
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Observing Yahweh’s commandments
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Honesty and fair judgement
Examples of unrighteousness:
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Showing partiality to the poor or favouritism to the rich
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Excepting a bribe
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Doing wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow
6 Abram believed Yahweh, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed. 19 For I have chosen him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of Yahweh by doing what is right and just, in order that Yahweh may bring upon Abraham what He has promised.”
16 At that time I charged your judges: “Hear the disputes between your brothers, and judge fairly between a man and his brother or a foreign resident. 17 Show no partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God…
24 And Yahweh commanded us to observe all these statutes and to fear Yahweh our God, that we may always be prosperous and preserved, as we are to this day. 25 And if we are careful to observe every one of these commandments before Yahweh our God, as He has commanded us, then that will be our righteousness.”
18 You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that Yahweh your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment. 19 Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. 20 Pursue justice, and justice alone, so that you may live, and you may possess the land that Yahweh your God is giving you.
10 When you lend anything to your neighbor, do not enter his house to collect security. 11 You are to stand outside while the man to whom you are lending brings the security out to you. 12 If he is a poor man, you must not go to sleep with the security in your possession; 13 be sure to return it to him by sunset, so that he may sleep in his own cloak and bless you, and this will be credited to you as righteousness before Yahweh your God.
3 This is what Yahweh says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place.
Principles of Righteousness in the Old Testament
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The one who practices righteousness may abide in Yahweh’s tent
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The one who practices righteousness at all times is blessed
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Righteousness brings deliverance from death and hunger
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The one who sows righteousness reaps true reward
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Genuine righteousness leads to life
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The righteous hate falsehood
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Righteousness guards the man of integrity
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Righteousness exalts a nation
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The righteous are satisfied with little
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Righteous and honest lips are beloved by kings
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Righteousness and justice is better than sacrifice
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One man’s righteousness does not deliver another man
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A man is righteous as long as he practices righteousness
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Past righteousness does not deliver from present sin
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The fruit of righteousness is loving devotion
1 O Yahweh, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy mountain? 2 He who walks with integrity and practices righteousness, who speaks the truth from his heart, 3 who has no slander on his tongue, who does no harm to his neighbor, who casts no scorn on his friend, 4 who despises the vile but honors those who fear Yahweh, who does not revise a costly oath, 5 who lends his money without interest and refuses a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.
3 Blessed are those who uphold justice, who practice righteousness at all times.
2 Ill-gotten treasures profit nothing, but righteousness brings deliverance from death. 3 Yahweh does not let the righteous go hungry, but He denies the craving of the wicked.
18 The wicked man earns an empty wage, but he who sows righteousness reaps a true reward. 19 Genuine righteousness leads to life, but the pursuit of evil brings death.
5 The righteous hate falsehood, but the wicked bring shame and disgrace. 6 Righteousness guards the man of integrity, but wickedness undermines the sinner.
34 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.
8 Better a little with righteousness than great gain with injustice.
13 Righteous lips are a king’s delight, and he who speaks honestly is beloved.
3 To do righteousness and justice is more desirable to Yahweh than sacrifice.
12 And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 13 “Son of man, if a land sins against Me by acting unfaithfully, and I stretch out My hand against it to cut off its supply of food, to send famine upon it, and to cut off from it both man and beast, 14 then even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in it, their righteousness could deliver only themselves, declares the Lord Yahweh.
12 Therefore, son of man, say to your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his transgression; neither will the wickedness of the wicked man cause him to stumble on the day he turns from his wickedness. Nor will the righteous man be able to survive by his righteousness on the day he sins.’ 13 If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but he then trusts in his righteousness and commits iniquity, then none of his righteous works will be remembered; he will die because of the iniquity he has committed. 14 But if I tell the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and he turns from his sin and does what is just and right— 15 if he restores a pledge, makes restitution for what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without practicing iniquity—then he will surely live; he will not die. 16 None of the sins he has committed will be held against him. He has done what is just and right; he will surely live.
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness and reap the fruit of loving devotion; break up your unplowed ground. For it is time to seek Yahweh until He comes and sends righteousness upon you like rain.
Warnings to the Unrighteous
22 Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and champions in mixing strong drink, 23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice.
9 My soul longs for You in the night; indeed, my spirit seeks You at dawn. For when Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. 10 Though grace is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness he acts unjustly and fails to see the majesty of Yahweh.
5 You welcome those who gladly do right, who remember Your ways. Surely You were angry, for we sinned. How can we be saved if we remain in our sins? 6 Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind. 7 No one calls on Your name or strives to take hold of You. For You have hidden Your face from us and delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.
In this verse the “righteous acts” are only righteous in the eyes of the people who actually live in iniquity or sin, as we can see from the context.
Amos 5:21-24 (Genesis 4:7, Isaiah 29:13, Matthew 5:24)
21 “I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies. 22 Even though you offer Me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; for your peace offerings of fattened cattle I will have no regard. 23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. 24 But let justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Here you can see a picture of hypocricy which God hates, people living is sin pretending to be righteous.
Amos 6:12-13
12 “Do horses gallop on the cliffs? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—13 you who rejoice in Lo-debar and say, ‘Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?’
Promise of the Coming Righteousness of God
26 I will restore your judges as at first, and your counsellors as at the beginning. After that you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.” 27 Zion will be redeemed with justice, her repentant ones with righteousness. 28 But rebels and sinners will together be shattered, and those who forsake Yahweh will perish.
1 Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of Yahweh will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of Yahweh. 3 And He will delight in the fear of Yahweh. He will not judge by what His eyes see, and He will not decide by what His ears hear, 4 but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips. 5 Righteousness will be the belt around His hips, and faithfulness the sash around His waist.
5 …in loving devotion a throne will be established in the tent of David. A judge seeking justice and hastening righteousness will sit on it in faithfulness.
5 Yahweh is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
8 Drip down, O heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open up that salvation may sprout and righteousness spring up with it; I, Yahweh, have created it.
5 My righteousness draws near, My salvation is on the way, and My arms will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look for Me and wait in hope for My arm. 6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its people will die like gnats. But My salvation will last forever, and My righteousness will never fail. 7 Listen to Me, you who know what is right, you people with My law in your hearts: Do not fear the scorn of men; do not be broken by their insults. 8 For the moth will devour them like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool. But My righteousness will last forever, My salvation through all generations.”
1 This is what Yahweh says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for My salvation is coming soon, and My righteousness will be revealed. 2 Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
15 Truth is missing, and whoever turns from evil becomes prey. Yahweh looked and was displeased that there was no justice. 16 He saw that there was no man; He was amazed that there was no one to intercede. So His own arm brought salvation, and His own righteousness sustained Him. 17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on His head; He put on garments of vengeance and wrapped Himself in a cloak of zeal.
10 I will rejoice greatly in Yahweh, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom wears a priestly headdress, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its growth, and as a garden enables seed to spring up, so the Lord Yahweh will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.
1 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep still, until her righteousness shines like a bright light, her salvation like a blazing torch. 2 Nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You will be called by a new name that the mouth of Yahweh will bestow.
5 Behold, the days are coming, declares Yahweh, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name by which He will be called: Yahweh Our Righteousness.
24 Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city to stop their transgression, to put an end to sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.
3 Seek Yahweh, all you humble of the earth who carry out His justice. Seek righteousness; seek humility. Perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of Yahweh’s anger.
Concept of Righteousness in the New Testament
Let’s see if the concept of righteousness has changed now that we are in the New Testament. We will skip Paul’s letters at this point, as that’s where confusion comes in, and focus on the gospels, acts and other apostles.
Righteousness:
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Is fulfilled by keeping God’s commands
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Is an action you perform
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Is a measure we’ll be judged with
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Is sown in peace
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Is opposite of sin
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Is practiced by the one who has been born of God
Matthew 3:13-15 (Exodus 40:12, Numbers 8:6)
13 At that time Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15 “Let it be so now,” Jesus replied. “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness in this way.” Then John permitted Him.
1 “Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
30 Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”
17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness.
24 He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.
29 If you know that He is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous. 8 The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him the glory. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. 8 She was given clothing of fine linen, bright and pure.” For the fine linen she wears is the righteous acts of the saints.
11 Let the unrighteous continue to be unrighteous, and the vile continue to be vile; let the righteous continue to practice righteousness, and the holy continue to be holy.” 12 “Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
Principles of Righteousness in Paul's Letters
Now let’s take a look at Paul’s writings and see if the concept of righteousness changed here or if it’s still the same.
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Righteousness comes by faith in Jesus
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Righteousness of God is revealed apart from the law
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The faith of the one who believes in Jesus is credited without work as righteousness
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Righteousness is a gift through Jesus Christ
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Through obedience of Christ many will be made righteous
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In Christ your body should be an instrument of righteousness
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Freedom from sin leads to being a worker of righteousness which leads to holiness
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In Christ your spirit is alive because of righteousness
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Righteousness has to be pursued in faith
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God’s righteousness is different from men’s righteousness
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The kingdom of God is a matter of righteousness
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Christ is our righteousness
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In Christ we become the righteousness of God
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Righteousness should not fellowship with wickedness
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Righteousness does not come through the law
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The foundation of righteousness is faith expressed through love
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All scripture is useful for training in righteousness
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Discipline leads to righteousness
17 For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Romans 3:21-26 ( Philippians 3:1–11 )
21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets. 22 And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Him as the atoning sacrificei through faith in His blood, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand. 26 He did this to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and to justify the one who has faith in Jesus.
4 Now the wages of the worker are not credited as a gift, but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. 6 And David speaks likewise of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are they whose lawless acts are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” 9 Is this blessing only on the circumcised, or also on the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. 10 In what context was it credited? Was it after his circumcision, or before? It was not after, but before. 11 And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12 And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
23 Now the words “it was credited to him” were written not only for Abraham, 24 but also for us, to whom righteousness will be credited—for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our trespasses and was raised to life for our justification.
17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive an abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! 18 So then, just as one trespass brought condemnation for all men, so also one act of righteousness brought justification and life for all men. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. 20 The law came in so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
13 Do not present the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and present the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness.
16 Do you not know that when you offer yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey, whether you are slaves to sin leading to death, or to obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you once were slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were committed. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to escalating wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.
10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.
30 What then will we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. 32 Why not? Because their pursuit was not by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is for their salvation. 2 For I testify about them that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge. 3 Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law, to bring righteousness to everyone who believes. 5 For concerning the righteousness that is by the law, Moses writes: “The man who does these things will live by them.” 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 or, ‘Who will descend into the Abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9 that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.
17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
30 It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”
21 God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? 15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?
20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through the law, Christ died for nothing.
5 But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. All that matters is faith, expressed through love.
21 Surely you heard of Him and were taught in Him—in keeping with the truth that is in Jesus— 22 to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be renewed in the spirit of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, 9 for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. 10 Test and prove what pleases the Lord.
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to test and prove what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to righteousness in the law, faultless.
Here Paul gives us an example of what self-righteousness looks like.
11 But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.
22 Flee from youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.
8 From now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but to all who crave His appearing.
13 For everyone who lives on milk is still an infant, inexperienced in the message of righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil.
11 No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it.
As you can see, it’s still the same concept, and although Paul puts an emphasis on righteousness being dependant on our faith in Christ and not the works which we consider righteous, evidence of true righteousness is still in our actions.