WHAT IS RIGHTEOUSNESS
Righteousness is the nature of God. It is the ability to stand in the presence of God without fear or any sense of inferiority or condemnation. Righteousness is a free gift from God. You cannot earn by working for it or by doing something to obtain it. It is a free gift made available to all through substitution work of our Lord Jesus Christ. God’s righteousness comes through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
You cannot grow or increase in righteousness but you can grow in the consciousness of your righteousness. This helps the communication of your faith become effective and productive (Philemon 1:6).
HOW IS RIGHTEOUSNESS OBTAINED?
It is a gift Romans 5:17; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 10:1-4; 2 Corinthians 4:1. We are born of God and just as a dog give birth to a dog, with its nature and attributes, God gave birth to us with his nature (righteousness) and attributes (the fruit of the spirit).
There is an erroneous belief that righteousness is the complete absence of sin, but righteousness is not sinless. A man no matter how well he barks or walks on his two legs and hands cannot be called a dog. Likewise, no matter how well a monkey or a dog walks on their legs they cannot be called men. Righteousness is not based on our inability to sin. The bible says in Galatians 2:21 “I do not frustrate the grace of God for if righteousness could come by the law then Christ died in vain”. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For he has made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him”.
We have God’s kind of life
Animals, trees and other living things have their own kind of life. The lifespan of a chicken is different from that of a mortal man. The life span of a tree is different from that of a dog. Now if we are sons of God, we have the same quality of life, the indestructible life of God.