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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

RIGHTEOUSNESS

The establishment of a right relationship—primarily between God and people, secondarily between people themselves. Righteousness is the fulfillment of just expectations in any relationship, whether with God or other people. It is applicable at all levels of society and is relevant in every area of life. Therefore, righteousness denotes the fulfilled expectations in relationships between man and wife, parents and children, fellow citizens, employer and employee, merchant and customers, ruler and citizens, and God and people. Depending on the fulfillment of one’s expectations, an individual could be called righteous and his or her acts and speech could be designated as righteous. The opposite of righteous is “evil,” “wicked,” or “wrong” (cf. Ps 1:6; Zep 3:5).

In Israel the concept of righteousness transformed all of life, both religious and secular. Israel had been called into existence as a separate nation through which Yahweh was to witness to the nations concerning his universal rule, his nature, and his expectations of life on earth. This meant that Israel required a revelation from God so that they might learn his will and be instructed in maintaining a relationship with him. The quality of a person’s relationship with God is directly linked to his relationship with his fellow human.

God is righteous (2 Chr 12:6; Pss 7:9; 103:17; Zep 3:5; Zec 8:8). His righteousness is dynamic, since it describes his acts on behalf of his people and also the nature of his relationship with them. All of God’s acts are righteous (cf. Dt 32:4; Jgs 5:11; Ps 103:6), and God’s people rejoiced in the righteous acts of God (Ps 89:16). Because God is righteous, he expects righteousness of others, who are to reflect the nature of their Creator. The expected response to God’s rule is in the form of righteousness, that is, conformity to his rule and will. In this basic sense, Noah is called “righteous” because he walked with God and showed integrity in comparison to his contemporaries (Gn 6:9). After humanity’s fall and acts of rebellion, culminating in the Flood and the dispersion at Babel, God renewed his relationship with humanity in Abraham and his descendants. Abraham was righteous because he ordered his life by the revealed will of God (15:6; cf. 17:1; 18:19; 26:5).

The Lord revealed to Israel even more clearly how they were to relate to him and to each other. The law in Israel was for the purpose of helping the people of God to live in conformity to the will of God and thereby be righteous. The person who was devoted to the service of God in worship and life was called righteous (cf. Mal 3:18). Thus, righteousness is a state of integrity in relation to God and one’s neighbor, expressing itself in one’s acts and speech.

The hope for an era characterized by righteousness was rooted in the prophetic revelation of the messianic rule and the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth (Is 11:1-9), whose rule will extend to the nations (vv 10-16) and last forever (9:7). Isaiah developed the revelation of the glorious, victorious entrance of the kingdom of God in a most exquisite way, when his enemies will be subdued and his people will be gathered together and will live in a state of peace in his presence. The acts of restoration, extending from Israel’s return from exile until the final coming of the external kingdom are, in his prophetic purview, the demonstration of God’s righteous acts. He forgives, restores, remains faithful, loves, elects, and sends his Spirit to renew his people and to bestow on them all the benefits of the renewed covenant relationship. Both Jews and Gentiles will be the recipients of his righteous acts (Is 45:8, 23; 46:13, 48:18; 51:5, 8, 16; 56:1; 59:17; 60:17; 61:10-11).

Out of concern for the salvation of his people and the establishment of his everlasting kingdom, God revealed his righteousness in the sending of his beloved Son. The coming of Christ marks an era of renewal of his relationship with people, the renewal of the covenant and renewal of his kingdom on earth. The older covenant was mediated by Moses; the covenant was renewed by the Son of God, who came “to fulfill all righteousness” (Mt 3:15). The message of Jesus is consistent with the OT in the close identification of God’s kingdom with his righteousness (6:33; 13:43). Jesus also taught that God expects all people to live in harmony with his will (7:21). Jesus is God’s final revelation of what God requires of individuals so as to enter the kingdom and to live righteously.

But individuals cannot attain this righteousness by their own merits; it is a gift from God (Rom 3:21–5:21). There is no righteousness apart from Jesus Christ. In the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus we discover that “it is through faith that a righteous person has life” (Rom 1:17; cf. Hb 2:4). Therefore, the Father requires acceptance of his Son as his appointed means of justification (Rom 3:25-26; 5:9). God declares people to be righteous when they put their trust in his Son (Rom 8:33-34; 2 Cor 3:18; 11:15). God pardons sins, is reconciled with sinners, and grants his peace to them (Rom 5:1, 9-11; Eph 2:14-17). Those who have been declared righteous enjoy a new relationship. They are “sons of God” by adoption. The Father relates to his children righteously and expects them to relate righteously to him.

The fullness of righteousness will be manifest at the coming of the Lord Jesus, when all those who have been justified will also be glorified (Rom 8:30). The goal of salvation history moves toward the final glorious manifestation of God’s kingdom, when all creation will be renewed in “righteousness”—that is, all creation will be right with God (2 Pt 3:13).