RIGHTEOUSNESS

Righteousness is exclusive to God (Matthew 19:16-17). We therefore can only be counted righteous on permission from Him (God). It is extended to all who come to God by the grace which is only provided for  through God's only begotten Son Jesus Christ.

On account of that therefore, there is no way that we can be righteous minus Jesus. No one is ever counted righteous without ever getting to accept God and His will. God's will is only revealed in His Son Jesus Christ. Once more, righteousness is exclusively of God and God alone.

As to define what the meaning of  righteousness is; can be done in a range of versions depending on how we would want to approach it and what we are aiming to achieve out of the question. Yet all in all, it is an item that can't be owned using money. It required Jesus to come so as to make it affordable to all who come to Jesus Christ who is God's only Son. The following are some of the versions:

In one sense, we could say; righteousness is the mind of God. The mind of God is all good intentioned. God is never moved by emotions. When God makes decisions, He does so independently. Rather God is the sovereign Lord. God is never compromised nor is He influenced in any way when He does anything.

God never favors anybody on account of mere friendship, proximity, looks, or biological relationship. He looks out for those who have a mind like His own. Righteousness is the only point where from everyone who love God could derive their spiritual strength (Isaiah 54:14).

Righteousness is the point where we connect with God. It is by righteousness that we are identified for God. It only comes by the grace granted to us through Jesus Christ. It is the ultimate product of our acceptance of Jesus Christ. For righteousness is the ultimate proof that we have been cleansed from our sinful nature. Thus the sinful man of Adam is gone, and the new man of Jesus is in place (2Coritnhians 5:17). That new man only is by and in Christ.

In another way, righteousness can be defined to mean standing right with God and true goodness (1 Timothy 6:11). By being righteous, God is ever loving, caring, peaceful, faithful, bearing. As mortal men, we are more often than not influenced by a number of factors when we make decisions some of which are; biological closeness, tribe, family, friendship etc. On the other hand, God is influenced by none of such. God's excellence is above the excellence of men.

We are also counted righteous when we are upright and in right standing with God (1 Peter 3:12, (Hosea 10:12). How are we upright and in right standing with God? Most of what manifests in our body is more often than not manufactured in the heart and decided in the mind. If our heart and mind are influenced by other factors rather than to do the right thing, we produce results similar to what has crossed our mind.

For example, in the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, the visible action is not what is counted as sin, but where it originates or manufactured from and that is the heart and the mind (Matthew 5:28). Jesus also taught that what defiles a man is not what comes from outside of him. What defiles man comes from within him (Mark 7:14-15). For it comes right from his heart (Mark 7:18-19). Things as evil thoughts, adulteries, fornication, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, pride, foolishness, blasphemy, and the like all come from the heart and it is these which do defile man (Mark 7:20-23).

But if we yearn for righteousness, we will make decisions which may not necessarily favor us but keep us standing right with God. To choose not to steal even when conditions dictate that you should is out of the desire to be right with God. It is the heart and the mind which agree to that and it is therefore counted righteousness to choose the way of God despite causing suffering to the physical man.

Righteousness is choosing to do God's will by accepting all He may have asked you to do and do just that (James 3:18). The Prophet Isaiah was commanded by God to walk naked and did just that, he was being righteous by accepting and doing the command of God (Isaiah 20:2). He didn't question God's command nor did he attempt to reason with God, despite knowing that walking naked is shameful to the observers.

Why did Isaiah not question God when He (God) instructed him to undergo such a shaming act?

Isaiah was well aware that God is all holy and all righteous. He knew that God is supreme. Whatever God tells you to do, He knows exactly what He wants to achieve out of it, for He is Omniscient. We can never reason with God. He is God because He is unimaginable, unpredictable. God is Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient. He does as He wishes. We keep on misunderstanding God basically because we want to reason with Him. Yet we terribly can't. For we are mere mortals. We can never disapprove God (Isaiah 55:9).

Righteousness thus could be defined as fulfilling God's will wherever we may be and that is it! For the Lord God is the very reason we are. Rather the Lord God is our everything.

Righteousness is also obedience to God. Thus we learn that it is people who heed God's word who are counted righteous. Equally so, everybody who stood to challenge God (if at all one could), were always counted unfitting for God (Matthew 22:37-40), (Luke 6:46), (John 8:44), (Acts 5:29).

No one can ever receive any revelation from God if they keep reasoning and seek to challenge Him. For if you carry on seeking to challenge God, it directly implies that you have made yourself an entity (if at all you can). Yet all this will only add on your desperation.

Rather it can only translate into self defeat. You will only further (rather dangerously) isolate yourself from God. But if you submit to God, He will readily avail Himself to you. For God can never reveal Himself to you out of your unbelief or at the worst; atheism. Let me assure you that; the disobedient are doomed to hell.