Lesson 4 The Holy Spirit is what makes us right in the eyes

of the Father.We are also right before God as he

The Basis of Ethics as revealed in The
Righteousness of God
The righteousness of God, one of the most
prominent attributes of God in the Scriptures, is
also one of the most elusive. Initially,
distinguishing the righteousness of God from His
holiness or His goodness seems difficult.
In addition, the righteousness of God is virtually
synonymous with His justice:
sees his Son in us.
 In the context of Christianity, of course,
“righteousness,” means to be right blameless or
just before God.
 Indeed, we might even say that,
“righteousness,” is a state of RIGHT-NESS
before God, because of Jesus Christ.

While the most common Old Testament word Closely related to the term, “righteous,” or,
for Just means ‘straight,’ and the New “righteousness,” is the term, “justify, justified,
Testament word means ‘equal,’ in a moral sense or justification.” These terms mean, “the act of
they both mean ‘right.’ declaring as righteous;
When we say that God is just, we are saying that to have been declared righteous.” Of course, once
He always does what is right, what should be again we need the Christian context:
done, and that He does it consistently, without
partiality or prejudice.  To be justified means, “to be declared
The word just and the word righteous are identical righteous; to be declared right or just by God.”
in both the Old Testament and the New
 So to be RIGHTEOUS means that I am
Testament. Sometimes the translators render the
RIGHT before God – according to God’s
original word ‘just’ and other times ‘righteous’
standards and definition.
with no apparent reason (cf. Nehemiah 9:8 and
 To be justified means that God declares
9:33 where the same word is used). But whichever
me as RIGHT before Him.
word they use, it means essentially the same thing.
It has to do with God’s actions. They are
Note: That when we say a person is RIGHT
always right and fair.
before God we are really saying that they are
RIGHT FOR GOD.
God’s righteousness (or justice) is the natural
expression of His holiness.
God is able to approve, accept, and then make
If He is infinitely pure, then He must be opposed
Himself ONE with a person who is RIGHT before
to all sin, and that opposition to sin must be
Him in Christ.
demonstrated in His treatment of His creatures.
When we read that God is righteous or just, we are
Christ, The Righteousness of God
being assured that His actions toward us are in
perfect agreement with His holy nature.
 Jesus Christ IS the righteousness of
God. He is the ONLY righteousness of God.
 What is righteousness?  Well,
And if Christ is in us, then He is our ONLY
“righteousness,” is a state of BEING right or
righteousness. We have none of our own. This
just.
one Truth, if we would truly grasp it, would
change everything about our relationship with
Note that: Righteousness means to BE – not just
God.
to DO.

 Righteousness – being upright blameless

To understand RIGHTEOUSNESS – it is not so
or morally right;
much in terms of DOING – but rather, in terms of
who or what I AM.
to act with justice. We are made righteous through
the loving action of God.
 “Righteousness,” means I am a RIGHT creature,
as opposed to a WRONG creature. It means I am
TRUE unto God, rather than FALSE unto Him.
It means that I fit God’s design, rather than
violate it.
I am what God desires a human being to be – I am
a right expression of God’s mind.
Of course, God declares me righteous ONLY
because of Jesus Christ.
 The incredible Truth about righteousness
before God is that it is NOT based upon who
You are to Him. Rather, it is based upon who
Christ is to You.
We are righteous only if we are IN CHRIST – or
to put in another way – the righteousness of the
believer is Christ Himself; Christ in us. He is
made to be unto us RIGHTEOUSNESS. (see I
Corinthians 1:30)
But Why must a person BE righteous before
God?
 Because God is righteous and holy, and we are
to spend eternity living with God.
 The need to be righteous is not merely so that
we can escape, “the wrath of God.” No. The
need to be righteous is so that we can live
with God forever.
Eternal life IS a righteous life – it is that by
nature. Why? Because Christ IS our life, and
Christ IS our righteousness. In other words, we
are not merely talking about doctrines. We are
talking about a Living Person.
Justification by Faith
The word justified means “pronounced or treated
as righteous.” For a Christian, justification is the
act of God not only forgiving the believer’s sins
but imputing to him the righteousness of Christ.
The Bible states in several places that justification
only comes through faith.
 Romans 5:1 - Therefore, since we have
been declared righteous by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
 Galatians 3:24 - So then, the law was our
guardian until Christ came, in order that faith has
come we are no longer under a guardian.
Justification is not earned through our own
works; rather, we are covered by the righteousness
of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8; Titus 3:5).
The Christian, being declared righteous, is thus
freed from the guilt of sin.
Justification is a completed work of God, and it
is instantaneous, as opposed to sanctification,
which is an ongoing process of growth by which
we become more Christlike (the act of “being
saved,” 1 Corinthians 1:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:23).
Sanctification occurs after justification.
The Christian doctrine of, “justification by faith,”
states that if we put our faith in Jesus Christ that
God will impute our sin to Him, and will impute
to us His righteousness.
This is a great explanation of how God is able to
LEGALLY and MORALLY justify the sinner
because of Jesus Christ.
(I Corinthians 6:17)  Our human spirit is united
with Christ who dwells in us by the Spirit of God.
All that is of Jesus Christ is contained within this
union. But all that is outside of that union remains
of the natural man.
There is NO righteousness outside of our union
with Christ – that is – no righteousness in our
natural man. And there never will be. God does
not make our natural man righteous, nor does He
ever declare it so. Rather, God declares us
righteous because we are united in Spirit with
Jesus Christ, who is made to be the righteousness
of God in us.
 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of
God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness,
and sanctification, and redemption: that,
according as it is written, He that glories, let him
glory in the Lord. (I Cor. 1:30-31)
Passages like this one from I Corinthians 1 state
outright that Jesus Christ is our righteousness.
We are being told that all the glory for what the
believer has become belongs to Jesus Christ –
Christ in us IS our wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. HE IS. Contrast
that over and against what most of us have
thought:
Faith:
Faith is not just a matter of believing I am
righteous because of Christ – that certainly is an
essential – but there is more. Faith is also a matter
of depending upon Christ AS my righteousness –
to be my righteousness continually – I depend
upon Christ as my very life.
This is why Romans 8:1 is able to say, “There is
now NO condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.”
By faith we maintain our position in Christ and
rely upon Him to be all that we cannot be. Even
when we sin, He is our righteousness.
Now, don’t misunderstand. When I say, “By faith
we maintain our position in Christ,”
I am not suggesting that anything we do can
change that position. That position of victory is
forever in place. But WE can change. It is by faith
that we stand in that position.
The Bible may assure us that there is no
condemnation, but if we choose not to believe it,
we are not in the position of victory – we are in
unbelief. Thus, nothing can change the position of
victory in Christ – He is our righteousness. But
WE can change from faith to unbelief.
How do I pursue righteousness?
So we’ve covered what righteousness is, and how
we get it.
Let’s finish with how we pursue it.
In 2 Timothy 2:22, when Paul talks about turning
from our lustful desires and pursuing
righteousness, he doesn’t mean trying to earn or
achieve it.
He means pursuing God’s character, because it is
the desire of our new nature to become more
Christlike.
To pursue righteousness means
1. To turn away from your natural, sinful desires,
and 2. turn to Christ and His perfect and righteous
ways.
3. Through obedience to this command, God is
preparing us for eternal life with Him aligning us
with our righteousness through Christ.
Our righteousness began in Christ and is
completed in Christ.
Follow Him and pursue it daily.
He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of
righteousness for his name's sake. (Psalm 23:3 )
The Righteousness of God
‘We sometimes fall into the trap of thinking we
are the worst people on the face of the earth and
that nobody does as many wrong things as we do.
But Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and
fallen short of the glory (excellence) of God.
Every man, woman, or child who was ever born,
or ever will be, has a problem with sin. But the
good news is that God has provided an answer to
our dilemma’, writes Joyce Meyer.
When Saint Augustine found the answer in
386AD, ‘a clear light flooded [his] heart’. When
Luther found the answer in 1515, the Reformation
began. When Wesley understood the answer in
1738, his heart was ‘strangely warmed’, and the
seeds of a revival began.
In each case, their lives were radically changed
through understanding ‘the righteousness of God’.
The moment anyone comes to understand this
expression, it changes their life. It certainly
changed mine.
1. God’s righteousness gives us his peace
Psalm 85:8-13
‘I grew up in an atmosphere of strife’, writes
Joyce Meyer, ‘and that was all I ever knew. I had
to learn an entirely new way of living. Now I am
addicted to peace. As soon as my peace
disappears, I ask myself how I lost it and start
looking for ways to get it back’
God has promised ‘peace’ (v.8) to his people. This
does not necessarily mean outward peace. The
pressures, difficulties, trials, battles and busyness
may not disappear. But in all this, God has
promised to give us his peace. This peace comes
from listening to what ‘God the Lord’ says (v.8).
It is very closely connected with righteousness.
The psalmist says, ‘righteousness and peace kiss
each other’ (v.10b). In the same way that love and
faithfulness go together (v.10a), so do
righteousness and peace. Peace comes from living
in a right relationship with God (Romans 5:1).
God, thank you for your righteousness. Thank you
that you make it possible for us to walk in a right
relationship with you. Help me today and always
to keep walking in a right relationship with you
and to enjoy the peace that follows from that
relationship.
2. God’s righteousness is a gift we
receive
Romans 3:9-31
We long for peace. We long to be in a right
relationship with God and with other people. But
how do we receive this ‘righteousness from God’?
Paul continues his argument that no one is
righteous on their own. ‘There's nobody living
right, not even one’ (v.10b, MSG). ‘They’ve all
taken the wrong turn; they’ve all wandered down
blind alleys’ (v.12, MSG). Righteousness is the
way to peace, but the reality is that ‘the way of
peace they do not know’ (v.17).
Paul concludes his argument in this section: ‘And
it’s clear enough, isn’t it, that we’re sinners, every
one of us, in the same sinking boat with
everybody else?’ (v.20, MSG). The two little
words that follow are of huge significance: ‘But
now...’ (v.21).
Having set out the problem, Paul now moves on to
describe God’s amazing solution – ‘a
righteousness from God’ (v.21). This
righteousness from God cannot be achieved
through the law because no one (apart from Jesus)
has ever kept the entire law. The Old Testament
(the Law and the Prophets) testifies about this and
points towards God’s solution (v.21).
‘This righteousness from God comes through faith
in Jesus Christ to all who believe’ (v.22). This
righteousness from God cannot be earned. It is a
pure gift that we receive ‘through faith in Jesus
Christ’. It is a gift ‘to all who believe’ (v.23).
Paul then uses three images to describe what
Jesus’ death on the cross has achieved. Each is
like a facet of a diamond. Each image is
intertwined with the others:
The law court: the penalty of sin has been paid
We ‘are justified freely by his grace’ (v.24).
Justification is an expression from the law court.
God is a just judge. He could not ignore our guilt.
He came in the person of his son Jesus Christ to
die for us: ‘He did this to demonstrate his justice,
because in his forbearance he had left the sins
committed beforehand unpunished – he did it to
demonstrate his justice  at the present time, so as
to be just and the one who justifies those who
have faith in Jesus’ (vv.25–26). He paid the
penalty himself.
We are justified ‘freely by his grace’ (v.24). Grace
means undeserved love. It is free. There is no
merit on our part. We cannot earn it. It is a gift.
Therefore, there is no room for boasting (vv.27–
31).
Through his death on the cross, Jesus paid the
penalty for our every wrong action, word and
thought. The moment we put our faith in Jesus, we
are justified. We have nothing to fear. The penalty
has been paid. We have received the gift of
righteousness from God.
The market place: the power of sin has been
broken
The second image Paul uses comes from the
marketplace: ‘through the redemption that came
by Christ Jesus’ (v.24).
Debt is not a problem confined to the present day;
it was a problem in the ancient world as well. If
someone had serious debts, they might be forced
to sell themselves into slavery in order to pay
them off.
Suppose a person was standing in the marketplace,
offering themselves as a slave. Someone might
have pity on them and ask, ‘How much do you
owe?’ The debtor might say, ‘£10,000.’ Suppose
the customer offers to pay the £10,000 and then
lets the person they’ve paid for go free. In doing
so, they would be ‘redeeming’ them and paying a
‘ransom’ price.
In a similar way for us, ‘redemption  ... came by
Jesus Christ’ (v.24). Jesus, by his death on the
cross, paid the ransom price (Mark 10:45). In this
way we are set free to have a relationship with
God. Our relationship is restored. We receive a
righteousness from God.
The temple: the pollution of sin has been removed
Paul’s third image in this passage comes from the
temple. ‘God presented him as a sacrifice of
atonement, through faith in his blood’ (v.25).
In the Old Testament very detailed laws were laid
down regarding how sin should be dealt with.
There was a whole sacrificial system which
demonstrated the seriousness of sin and the need
for cleansing from it, as sin was passed from the
sinner to the animal, which was then killed.
The writer of Hebrews points out that ‘it is
impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take
away sins’ (Hebrews 10:4). The sacrificial system
in the Old Testament was only a ‘shadow’
(Hebrews 10:1) of what was to come. The reality
came with the sacrifice of Jesus. Only the blood of
Christ, the ‘once for all’ (Hebrews 10:10) sacrifice
of atonement, can take away our sin and remove
its pollution. This is because Jesus was the perfect
sacrifice. He alone lived a perfect life. Through
his blood we receive a righteousness from God.
Lord, how can we ever thank you enough for the
gift of ‘the righteousness from God’ by faith in
Jesus. Thank you that we can walk in this right
relationship with you as a result. Thank you that it
is a free gift, that we do not (and could not ever)
earn. Thank you that we receive it by faith. Thank
you that it transforms our relationship with you
and that you see us as righteous in your sight.
Thank you that you forgive our sins and cleanse
us from all unrighteousness. Thank you for your
love and mercy revealed to us in Jesus.
3. God’s righteousness challenges us to
right living
Over and over again God speaks to his people in
an attempt to draw them back to him: ‘The fact is,
God, the Master, does nothing without first telling
his prophets the whole story’ (3:7, MSG). ‘Yet’,
he declares, ‘you have not returned to me’ (4:6,8–
11).
When we understand this Old Testament
background, it makes it all the more staggering
that the apostle Paul writes, ‘This righteousness
from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to
all who believe’ (Romans 3:22). Jesus has paid the
penalty for us.
Lord, thank you that your desire is always that we
return to you and walk in a right relationship with
you. Thank you that you have now made that
possible through Jesus – through ‘a righteousness
from God, apart from law [which] has been made
known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify’
(Romans 3:21).
Amos 4:9
‘ “Many times I struck your gardens and
vineyards, I struck them with blight and mildew.
Locusts devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you
have not returned to me,” declares the Lord.’
In our vicarage garden the rose has mildew, the
squirrels have dug up the bulbs and bindweed is
taking over the whole garden. Either I need to
repent more or work harder in the garden.

Amos 3:1-4:13

As Amos turned to speak the word of the Lord

against Israel, the Lord said, ‘Out of all the
families on earth, I picked you. Therefore, because
of your special calling, I’m holding you
responsible for all your sins’ (3:2, ).
James L. Mays writes in his commentary on this
verse that Israel is the people in whose history
God’s desire ‘for righteousness  becomes visible
in that all their sins are punished.’
The people are condemned in what is almost a law
court. ‘ “Hear this and testify  against the house of
Jacob,” declares the Lord, the Lord God
Almighty’ (v.13).
It is as if God calls witnesses to testify against his
own people. ‘Listen to this, you cows of Bashan
grazing on the slopes of Samaria. You women!
Mean to the poor, cruel to the down- and-out!
Indolent and pampered, you demand of your
husbands, “Bring us a tall, cool drink!” ’ (4:1, ).
The only thing these women lived for were bigger
and better parties. They are condemned for their
superficiality, self-centred indulgence and their
treatment of the poor and needy.