“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith'” (Romans 1:17).
While many accept the premise that everyone possesses a moral compass, there are just as many who would undoubtedly view “right” and “wrong” as a matter of personal preference. However, a compass that aligns with our preferences may not provide an accurate reading. Therefore, the question of where that compass points is far more significant.
Romans 1:17 directs us to the “true north” of an accurate moral compass in referencing “the righteousness of God.” The word “righteousness” appears over eighty times in the New Testament Scriptures, and it represents a key theme within the book of Romans. In a broad sense, we can define righteousness as “the state of someone who is as he or she ought to be.” It also encompasses the qualities of integrity, virtue, purity of life, and rightness. Finally, righteousness involves the quality of being correct in one’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. (1)
When we say God is righteous, we mean that His character is completely devoid of any form of wrongdoing, dishonesty, or unfairness. The “righteousness of God” implies that His actions are always morally right, legally just, ethically proper, and perfectly consistent with His other divine qualities. Therefore, He serves as the measure of right and wrong with respect to our choices and decisions.
In addition to righteousness as a characteristic of God, we can also apply this concept in several other ways. For instance, we might view “righteousness” in the context of God’s moral law. When we act in accordance with those standards, we are acting righteously. When our conduct is misaligned with God’s moral law, we are acting unrighteously.
“Righteousness” also characterizes the state of right standing with God that He makes available to us through Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross. In this sense, righteousness is something that is imputed to us through faith in Christ and His substitutionary work of atonement on our behalf. 2 Corinthians 5:21 expands on this idea when it tells us, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
So, in speaking of “…a righteousness that is by faith from first to last” (NIV), our text from Romans 1:17 directs us to an important spiritual truth: we can only be made righteous (or attain a right standing with God) through faith.
Image Attribution : Evan-Amos, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
(1) See G1343 – dikaiosyne – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (kjv). (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1343/kjv/tr/0-1/