Righteousness means:
God sees me as always being faithful, and as always having been faithful to Him.
The truth of this statement is absolutely astounding to consider. Is God blind to my rebellion against Himself? Is He perhaps simply ignorant of the facts of the situation, not knowing my heart? Perhaps He is merely capricious in overlooking transgressions against Himself - sometimes looking the other way or "turning a blind eye", and sometimes not? But the Character of God, the creator and sustainer of heaven and earth and all they contain, does not allow for such frivolous explanations. So, how can such an amazing thing be? How can God declare me to be righteous - to be as if I always am and always had been completely faithful to Him?
Only God Himself has the authority and the power to make such an incomprehensible, yet fully effective, declaration:
1. Because of His promise to credit righteousness to me;
2. By my faith in His promise to credit righteousness to me;
3. By the fulfillment of His promise to credit righteousness to me.
4. By His public display of Christ Jesus on the cross.
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(Romans 5:19; 3:28)
"... through the obedience of the One [Jesus Christ] the many will be made righteous." And "... a man is justified [made righteous] by faith."
(Romans 4:11-13)
"[Abraham]... received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith... so that he might be the father of all who believe..., that righteousness might be credited to them.... For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was... through the righteousness of faith.
(Romans 4:5)
But to the one who... believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness..."
(Romans 3:25)
"... whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;"
(Hebrews 6:13-20)
"For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you.” And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us...."
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You are highly to be praised. Your greatness is unsearchable.
The splendor of your majesty is glorious. The power of Your acts is awesome.
You alone are altogether righteous. You alone are worthy of praise.
I worship and bow down before You O Lord.
