The Righteousness of God Explained

[Christsfreeservant]

“Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” (Romans 10:1-4 ESV)​

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“But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.’” (Romans 10:8-9 ESV)​

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“For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” (Romans 10:12-13 ESV)​

If we really want to understand what this is teaching, we should go back and read Romans from chapter 1 through the entire book, but especially Romans 1, Romans 2, Romans 6, and Romans 8, for they spell it out for us quite clearly. And so we must read Romans 10 in the context of all of Romans.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (people), who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth; men (people) who exchange the truth about God for a lie and end up worshipping and serving the creation rather than the Creator (see Romans 1:18-32). And God is going to render to each one according to his works, and for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury (see Romans 2:6-8).

So, are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! For by faith in Jesus Christ we are crucified and buried with Christ in baptism into his death, and we are raised with Christ that we might walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. Therefore, we are not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies, to make us obey its passions, for if sin is what we obey, it will lead to death. But if obedience is what we obey, its end is eternal life (see Romans 6:1-23).

And God the Father, by sending his Son Jesus Christ in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, to that cross, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk (in conduct, in practice) not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For if our minds and actions are set on the flesh, the end result is death. But if our minds and actions are set on the Spirit, producing walks of obedience to our Lord, then its end is eternal life with our Lord (see Romans 8:1-14).

When Paul described his fellow Jews who had rejected Jesus Christ as their Lord, Savior, and Messiah, his prayer for them was that they would be saved from their sins and be in genuine relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit – and that they would have eternal life with God along with all the Gentiles who also believed in Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Messiah. But the problem was that they were ignorant of the righteousness of God, and so they sought to establish their own, and they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

So, to understand the righteousness of God please go back and read Romans 1,2,6 and 8. Jesus said it well when he said that if anyone would come after him he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for the sake of Jesus we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience, then we have the hope of eternal life. For not everyone who calls Jesus “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God (Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

So, the righteousness of God requires that we die with him to sin and that we live to him and to his righteousness, that sin is no longer what we practice, but that godliness, moral purity, honesty, integrity, faithfulness and obedience to our Lord and to his commands be what we practice. For if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to our Lord, then we are not in fellowship with Christ, we do not know God, we are not born of God, and we do not have eternal life with God.

But many people today are clinging to Romans 10:8-9 as their gospel of salvation and they are ignoring the righteousness of God, and they are seeking to establish their own righteousness, too. And so they are giving lip service to the Lord and they are claiming that they believe in Jesus, but their hearts have not changed. They have not died with Christ to sin, they are not denying self, they are not daily dying to sin, and they are not walking in obedience to our Lord’s commands. They believe they do not have to!

But when this says that Christ is the end of the law for everyone who believes, he is referring specifically to the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification and dietary laws and restrictions, including the requirement for circumcision. Jesus did away with these when he died on that cross, but we still have to obey our Lord’s commands, and we still have to live morally pure, upright, honest, and faithful lives to our Lord and to his word if we want to have eternal life with God.

And to call on the name of the Lord is not a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ. And that becomes extremely obvious the more that we read Scriptures in their context and we get the full message of the gospel and not just small portions which, taken out of context, are being made to say what they do not say. Lip service only to God will not get us saved from our sins nor promise us eternal life with God. We must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience to his commands (New Covenant) if we want salvation from sin and eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

I Will Call Upon the Lord

Words and music by Michael O'Shields

I will call upon the Lord
Who is worthy to be praised
So shall I be saved from my enemies
The Lord liveth and blessed be the Rock
And let the God of my salvation be exalted

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