What Does it Mean to be Righteous?

When I was a kid, my favorite moment in the school year was the minute the last exam finished. “Time’s up, pens down. Please remain seated until your paper is collected.”

Can you remember the sweetness of that moment?

All the work and the study were behind you; all the tests had been done. Into your mind came one of the sunniest thoughts a young person can have: School’s out for summer!

This is how it is for the believer when the gospel of righteousness takes root in their heart.

The first reaction is one of sweet relief. “Really? Jesus did it all? I don’t have to work to impress him? I can stop studying for the exam? Oh happy day!”

Many are dreading the final exam. The good news is there is no exam. Jesus already took it on your behalf, and guess what? He passed.

School’s out forever!

For he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21, NKJV)

New covenant maths

How many sins did Jesus commit before he was made sin? None. And how many righteous acts did you do before you were made righteous? None. God did it all.

The moment you put your faith in Jesus, you were stamped “righteous” for all time and eternity.

At one time you were unrighteous, but you were washed, you were sanctified, and you were declared righteous in the name of the Lord (1 Cor. 6:9–11).

What does it mean to be righteous?

To be made righteous means you have had a complete renovation, a Holy Spirit renewal, an entire rebuild. You have been straightened out. You are no longer the crooked person you used to be.

Whereas in Adam you had bent inclinations that led you towards sin no matter how hard you tried to avoid it, in Christ you are inclined to walk straight and true. You have a Holy Ghost gyroscope inside you that keeps you stabilized and on course. Your desire is to please the Lord.

I’m not saying you are incapable of sinning. It’s just that sinning no longer appeals. When you do occasionally sin it bothers the socks off you—“I wish I hadn’t done that”—testifying that this sort of behavior is contrary to your new nature.

“But Paul, if I’m so righteous, how come the Holy Spirit keeps convicting me of my sin?”

He never does that. That’s an extra-Biblical myth that needs to be busted. Adam didn’t need God’s help in recognizing his sin and neither do we.

Any guilt you have over wrongdoing comes from a condemning source and not the one called Comforter. There is no condemnation—not now, not ever—to those who are in Christ Jesus.

The Comforter’s conviction

The Holy Spirit will seek to convince you of your righteousness (John 16:8–10). When do you most need convincing of your righteousness in Christ? It is when you are feeling unrighteous. It is when you have just sinned.

When you sin the Holy Spirit will seek to remind you that you are still righteous because you are in Christ the Righteous One.

I appreciate this is completely different to the message many of us have heard (and some of us have preached). We have been told the Holy Spirit is like a heavenly cop who issues warnings whenever we stray.

But that’s not what Jesus said.

He said the Holy Spirit would “glorify me” (that’s Jesus), guide us into all truth (also Jesus), and convince us of our righteousness (Jesus again).

The Holy Spirit is not closing his eyes to your sin; he is trying to open your eyes to Jesus. Just as a gyroscope in a plane will always reveal the true horizon, the Holy Spirit will always point you to the Righteous One. He will always encourage you to fix your eyes on Jesus.

Having been declared righteous, then, by faith, we have peace toward God … (Romans 5:1, YLT)

Do you know why so many believers have no peace in their relationship with God? They would tell you it is because God is angry with them and their sin, but the real reason is they are ignorant of him and his righteousness.

In the kingdom, peace always follows righteousness. If you are more conscious of your sin than his righteousness, you will never enjoy peace with God.

The gospel of righteousness

When you stumble and sin, an old covenant preacher will say, “Look at what you did!” But a new covenant preacher will say, “Look at what he did!”

An old covenant preacher would have you turn from every sin until you’re a dizzy sinner. But a new covenant preacher will release the grace of God that empowers you to sin no more (Tit. 2:12).

Under the old covenant you were righteous because of what you did, but in the new you are righteous because of what he did. You are declared righteous, recreated to be like God in true righteousness.

What does God want you to do with the gift of his righteousness? He wants you to receive it, walk in it, enjoy it, and to rule and reign with him in righteousness.

The gospel is not a list of things you must do to inherit eternal life. It is the blessed announcement that the righteousness you need to enter the kingdom of heaven—the righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees and law teachers—comes to us as a free gift through faith.

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Extracted and adapted from The Gospel in Ten Words. Did you know The Gospel in Ten Words now comes with a free study guide?

Learn more about your righteousness in Christ or check out these answers to common questions about righteousness.

Why not share this good news with friends today!