What is Righteousness?

At first glance, the question, "What is righteousness?" may appear deceptively simple. Yet, beneath the surface lies an answer demanding deep contemplation. Much like our instinctual understanding of everyday phenomena, our preconceived notions of "righteousness" can cloud our comprehension of its true essence within in the Bible.

To unravel the concept of “righteousness,” we turn to the Bible, which gives insight into its nature. Consider these verses: "He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment" (Psalm 72:2); "Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep" (Psalm 36:6); "In thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness" (Psalm 143:1); and "The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen" (Psalm 98:2).

These passages link “righteousness” with judgment, faithfulness, and salvation. It is clear that “righteousness,” according to the Bible, is not merely a static quality but an active manifestation of the living God’s character. This act serves as a cornerstone of the Bible’s philosophy, encapsulated in the profound truth of "the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man" (Titus 3:4).

The living God has a noble intention for our devotional conversation, yet our understanding of this intention often becomes muddied by traditional religious interpretations. This divergence can provoke discomfort, particularly when we confront the notion that the living God’s kindness may not be directed at humanity in the conventional sense. As articulated in John 4:24, "God is a Spirit," and, consequently, the beneficiaries of this Spirit’s kindness are aligned with the spiritual body rather than the physical.

This revelation invites us to reflect on the transformative potential of "righteousness," which urges one to "be renewed in the spirit of your mind" (Ephesians 4:23), encouraging a deeper engagement with the kindness of the Bible’s words, which kindness transcends mere human experience.

By examining the connections between righteousness, judgment, and salvation, we gain clarity. Righteousness emerges as a term that encapsulates an act—an act realized through a benevolent judgment and intended salvation. In Isaiah 51:4, we see, "A law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people." Here, “judgment” is framed as a guiding light, illuminating the path toward understanding “righteousness” as a useful inward experience.

In John 9:39, we encounter a pivotal moment: "For judgment I am come into this world." This declaration is not a self-centered assertion but a profound acknowledgment of the illuminating power of this useful experience. It echoes the message of Isaiah %1:4, reinforcing that the "light" proclaimed is indeed a judgment of the living God, resonating with the fact that "the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21).

So, why does this exploration of righteousness matter? It matters because it compels us to care for our faith's condition in alignment with the Bible’s intentions. When we embrace the kindness found within the Bible’s words, we open ourselves to experiencing “righteousness.” This kindness nurtures the well-being of our devotional character, guiding our interactions with ourselves and others.

By actively and positively internalizing the Bible’s words, we cultivate an environment where compassion flourishes. When we truly grasp the nature of its kindness, we not only treat ourselves with greater care and understanding, but we also extend that kindness outward, exemplifying the intended “righteousness.”

Learning about and demonstrating the Bible’s “righteousness” invites us to embark on a philosophical journey that transcends everything. Herein we are called to reflect on how the Bible’s words shape the existence of our devotional conversation. The goal is a transformative awakening—one that aligns our hearts and minds with the profound love of our conversation’s Creator. In doing so, we become vessels of “righteousness,” radiating intelligent light and kindness within a world that yearns for both.

The Liberating Power of Lovingkindness

"O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart," Psalm 36:10.

If it is that we do not know what the Bible’s "righteousness" is, we may now know, according to this psalm, that it is its "lovingkindness." "Lovingkindness" is, in the Bible, another term for "righteousness," even as it says, "I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness," Hosea 2:19, and, "I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart…I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation," Psalm 40:10.

What then is "the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man"? Titus 3:4.

The Bible’s “righteousness” is for the spirit of our conversation's mind, in that it would have our conversation "perfect, as pertaining to the conscience," Hebrews 9:9. What is according to the conscience is without external or outward manipulation, which is why it says, "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation," Luke 17:20. What is with "observation" is with religious deeds and labors, and if "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit," John 3:6, and if our mind is "to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man," Ephesians 3:16, and if "wisdom strengtheneth," Ecclesiastes 7:19, then the Bible’s salvation is a kindness mainly occurring within the mind.

We learn this fact from how it says, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: that the blessing of Abraham might come," Galatians 3:13,14

"The kingdom of God" is herein understood to be no literal or tangible kingdom, but rather a spiritual procedure to recover the organs of our devotional conversation. Because "God is a Spirit," John 4:24, and because "a spirit hath not flesh and bones," Luke 24:39, this goal cannot be achieved by ay deed or act. If we think that it should, we should question whether or not what is invisible ought to care for what is physical.

A reality without the religious law dominating the conversation's conscience is preached to us through the crucifixion. A transaction occurred on the tree, where one manner of "life" was abolished and where another manner of "life" took the place of that abolished "life." "Life," to the Bible, is a term denoting one’s personal devotional conversation. Through the tree, one type of religious conversation was blotted out while another replaced it, and we know what replaced that "old" religious form from how it says, "He took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham," Hebrews 2:16. 

In the Bible, the word "angel" is used to denote a minister or messenger of the scriptures. If the living God's chief apostle took on the "nature" or the "seed" of Abraham, and if this man Abraham received his blessing not "through the law, but through the righteousness of faith," Romans 4:13, it is then evident that the "nature" or the "seed" of the angel is contrary to this position.

The "angel" is a minister demanding that "righteousness come by the law," Galatians 2:21, while the "nature" of Abraham states, "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness," Romans 10:4. The issue at hand is how the word "righteousness" is defined: to the "angel," righteousness is but the appearance of sanctity through religious deeds and laws; to the Bible, “righteousness” is alleviation and continual growth and development of the heart and mind.

But there is an issue. If we would have the Bible’s lovingkindness, and if we would continually advance in its manner of righteousness, we must know its devotional character. This is why it says, "O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart," Psalm 36:10.

Our mind is to become a free canvas for the impression of the Bible’s devotional character. Its impression is not to be our impression. Its impression is not to be the impression of a political religious tradition. When once the mind is willing to stand alone, the mind can then experience its words for knowledge to live by, which is why it says, "Through knowledge shall the just be delivered," Proverbs 11:9. 

Our conversation's conscience is to be delivered from some thing, and "having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances," Ephesians 2:15, we may know that our faith's mind is to quit "the handwriting of ordinances," Colossians 2:14, of whatever Moses should preach, "You are justified by the law," Galatians 5:4. This is how we begin to have a right mind to live by.

What is preached through the illustration of the crucifixion is liberty of mind from the box of a political faith for the mind’s personal devotional growth and development. This life, according to the wisdom within the Bible, is absolutely too short for us to spend it in the box of personal and religious policies. Self-cultivated and inherited ethics limit who we are, and when who we are is limited, the things and people around us suffer. They suffer because we, by our philosophy, care to limit every thing and every one else.

The Bible’s counsel for our conversation’s conscience is the means whereby our heart’s mind is liberated to not only soberly love self, but to also know and love every word that has ever come out of its mouth. This is why it says, “Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him,” 1 John 2:3,4.