Good News for All

What is righteousness and what do I need to do to be right with God ?

Righteous and its derivative, righteousness, are English words invented specifically to translate the Hebrew tsadakah and the Greek dikayosunay. Rightwys is the English original form intended to convey the idea of being in a right state (right-wise) with respect to God and his laws. Several questions arise out of this.

• What is the idea conveyed by the Hebrew tsadakah?
• Do tsadakah and dikayosunay mean the same thing (ie. did the Greek translators of the Old Testament [the Jewish TNK] get it right), or is dikayosunay something slightly different?
• Is the concept behind right-wise a good English equivalent for the original Hebrew or Greek?
• Is there a common theme to the meanings of these words?

When the authors of the New Testament referred to righteousness using dikayosunay they did so because it was the word used to translate the Hebrew tsadakah of the Old Testament into Greek two centuries or more prior to the New Testament being written. Whether or not the terms are actually linguistically equivalent is something of a moot point, since due to cultural continuity everyone using dikayosunay in the context of the New Testament was clearly referring to the idea behind tsadakah of the Old Testament. Similarly we can ignore the nuances of any potential difference between the early English rightwys and either its Greek or Hebrew equivalent, since it is clearly intended to refer to the same thing, ie. tsadakah, either directly or through the Greek. Since all these words are intended to convey the same idea, the real question ought to be whether or not our understanding of righteousness today is reasonable in light of the original meaning of the Hebrew tsadakah. Purely as a matter of convenience, from here on the term righteousness will be used as a substitute for the Hebrew tsadakah.

Alternatives

There are a number of differing explanations of righteousness, incuding of course the current Jewish usage. We will consider these in a general manner as we seek to develop a comprehensive understanding of righteousness in its original Old Testament context. This journey is going to involve skirting some of the questions originally posed above. We must also consider whether there was any change in meaning for righteousness over the centuries of Jewish life during which the TNK was written and translated. Let us begin by considering some of the various ways in which righteousness is explained today, and any shortcomings which these may have.

Righteousness is most commonly understood in the context of behaviour. A righteous person respects and keeps God's laws, behaving accordingly. Everyone probably sympathises with the thoughts of Jesus in Matthew 5:20-48 where he denounces the superficial righteousness of the religious leadership, saying that true righteousness must please God and go deeper than mere observances. Most religions tend to present righteous behaviour as a route to pleasing God. Modern Judaism would explain behaviour in observance of the law of God, not as a way to become Jewish and gain favour with God, but more as an expression of how Jews live because they are Jewish. Jews would tend to say that they are following the covenant with which God has already favoured them. A great many would still likely think as most other religious people, hoping for favour from God through good behaviour.

Outwardly righteous behaviour can be an inadequate covering for inward corruption. God condemns mere behaviour as a standard for righteousness, denouncing it as being like "filthy rags" in Isaiah 64:6. The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) speaks of rightousness as a character attribute, describing it as alignment of one's person, mindset and intentions with God's views and purposes. That would necessarily result in behaviour intended to please God by conforming to his will as expressed in his decrees. The way in which we get to know the mind, will and character of God is by having a relationship in which we learn to know him. We could therefore say that true righteousness is about relationship, and righteous behaviour is a byproduct of friendship with God, not a way of obtaining such a relationship.

So far we have been considering righteousness from an anthropocentric point of view, however righteousness is first and foremost an attribute of God. Jesus directs us to the seemingly impossible task of being perfect, like God (Matthew 5:48). The word used is Greek, teleios, meaning 'complete or mature, to reach the end'. The idea is that righteous behaviour is the end product of an ultimate purpose of being like God in character. He calls us to a relationship with God that will bring us into an inner condition of conformity to the only one who is truly complete and fully formed in himself.

A peculiar characteristic that must be taken into account is the manner in which faith can apparently substitute for righteousness. The point being discussed in Romans 4:5-8 concerns the promise that lies at the root of Israel as a people and nation in Genesis 15:6. Abraham believes and receives God's promise, and God reckons, or accounts, or sees that faith of Abraham as equivalent to righteousness. What Abraham does here is expressed as 'attributing truth' to God, or 'counting God faithful'. This is the kind of faith that stands in opposition to the unbelief of Eve, and we recognise it to be, from our examination of faith, the source and foundation of a relationship with God. Faith of this kind is not a substitute for righteousness, but since it is what brings us into a relationship with God, faith ultimately leads us into to the practical expression of that right relationship in our manner of life.

We can define righteousness in terms of relationship for ourselves, and in doing so find why God would reasonably consider faith to be a satisfactory equivalent to righteousness. This works from a practical, anthropocentric viewpoint. However, an understanding of this kind is lacking when it comes to righteousness as an attribute of the character of God.

Clues in the Hebrew

If we turn our attention to the Old Testament (TNK) perhaps we may discover some help for understanding the meaning of tsadakah. In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, which contains a number of explanations and origin stories for the basic ideas in the rest of scripture, we can find some interesting things about righteousness.

Two of the leading chracters are described as righteous: Noah (Genesis 6:9), who is righteous in comparison with his compatriots, and Abraham (Genesis 15:6), who is deemed righteous through his trust in God. Later, Abraham has a discussion with God about justice and righteousness (Genesis 18:22-32). In Genesis 38 we get a story in which there is a comparison of the righteousness of two people, Tamar and Judah (verse 26). In Genesis 44:16 we find the only instance of the passive concept of being made righteous.

It is interesting to note that very few people are referred to as "righteous" (tsadaqim). Among that limited number explicitly stated to be righteous, none were perfect ‐ for example, Noah got drunk and Abraham lied about his wife. There were a few things Noah and Abraham had in common:

• They stood out in behaviour for their trust in God
• They are the only two with whom God individually covenanted
• As a result they were founders of select populations

The covenant connection is of particular interest. A covenant was an exchange of promises between two or more parties, a treaty that might be for mututal defence, or a non-agression pact. It was sealed with blood, symbolic of the commitment involved in the solemn covenant oath. Parties to the covenant were committing all of their resources, manpower, wealth, possessions, family, even to their own life itself, to fulfill their covenant promises. If they were to fail in their duties then their own life would be forfeit. Several examples of covenant can be found in Genesis, with Abraham involved in two of them ‐ one with his neighbours that led to Lot's rescue, and one with God regarding his progeny and property.

It is inspiring to appreciate that when God entered into covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15) he was intentionally committing all of the resources of heaven, without limit, up to and including his own life, to providing Abraham and his descendants with all of this and other promised covenant benefits. Moreover, it extends to all who, like Abraham, commit themselves in faith to God (Romans 4:16-25). As the New Testament record shows, God did exactly as he promised, through Messiah surrendering his life to fulfill this obligation, to free Abraham, his descendants, and all who would join them in faith, from bondage to sin and death.

Covenants can only be made by those who are competent to make them. Normally, no contract signed by a minor, drunk, or anyone suffering mental incompetence is deemed legal or valid. Similarly a covenant can only be made by those able to bind themselves with the oath. No one would covenant with someone who had a history of broken promises, whose reputation carried no honour. The parties must also have authority to bind themselves and their subordinates to the promise. A chieftan or head of a household could covenant, committing his family and retainers along with himself, but subordinates would need consent to covenant in any way that might potentially infringe on their allegiance.

This reasoning is in part presented in the laws relating to oaths (Numbers 30) as pertaining to women. A woman could make a binding personal commitment, but only with the explicit or implied consent of her father (if unmarried) or husband (if married), though a divorcee or widow was independent as head of her own house. This begins to get interesting and relevant if we recognise righteousness as a fundamental requirement of competence to make covenant. Noah and Abraham had both been tested and found faithful. Noah was found faithful and dependable (Genesis 6:8, 9, 22, 7:5), and so received the covenant of Genesis 9:9. Abraham was found dependable in following the instructions of Genesis 12 to leave Ur for Canaan, and God had determined he was a leader (Genesis 18:19) competent to covenant for his family. Such a reputation of high quality was basic to righteousness as we see from Genesis 44:16, when Jacob's sons are asking how they could be made righteous in view of their reputation being trashed because of the "stolen" cup.

If we see righteousness as primarily meaning "covenant-capable" then things begin to make more sense. We could call it promise keeping intent, demonstrable through past behaviour, but the fundamental requirement is simple but genuine trust in God. It gets more interesting when we notice that there are no righteous women in the Old Testament. Women could be virtuous, upright, pure or holy, but were not righteous, since they could not make covenants, with just one astonishing exception.

To properly appreciate this exception we must first replace our morality mindset with something more primitive. In Genesis 38 we hear of Tamar, who was married to Er, eldest son of Judah. Er died before fathering any children, but it was the practice to maintain family lineage, property and inheritance by Levirate marriage. This was the custom of having the closest male relative father an heir for the deceased through the widow, thereby enabling her to fulfill her marriage vow responsibility, maintain her status in the family, and provide for her eventual support through her child. Onan, Judah's son, refused to do this, and also died childless. When Judah withheld his third son, Shelah, and was himself widowed, Tamar made careful plans. She concealed her identity, and in the guise of a prostitute seduced Judah in order to conceive by him, being sure to take evidence to identify him as the father.

By modern standards we have deception, seducton, prostitution, fornication, incest and theft. By the standards of that day they were ready to burn Tamar to death for adultery, since she was deemed to have broken a marriage obligation to Shelah. In fact we find a woman who was taking what was rightfully hers, dishourably and improperly withheld from her, and in doing so was faithfully and courageously fulfilling the only marriage covenant obligation remaining to her dead husband, Er. She was completely exhonorated once she proved Judah was the father, as he was obligated to be since he had withheld Shelah. She was declared righteous in properly honouring her covenant with her husband, the only actual covenant a woman was deemed competent to swear, even at risk of her own life. Tamar is the only woman of whom it is said in the Old Testament that she was tsadakah ‐ righteous.

In Summary

We have learned:

• A righteousness person is a covenant keeper.
  1. ‐ God is righteous in keeping his covenant promises.
  2. ‐ We are righteous in maintaining our covenant allegiance to God.
• Covenant offered by the grace of God is the only means of access to God and relationship with him.
  1. ‐ A person who enters into covenant with God is righteous.
  2. ‐ Faith is the sole adequate means of entry into that covenant.
  3. ‐ The person who believes is a covenant keeper by grace, since the Spirit will help each believer maintain their commitment.
  4. ‐ As a deemed covenant keeper the believer is immediately and completely righteous.
• Righteous behaviour is a product of a right relationship with God, not a means of obtaining or maintaining such a relationship.
  1. ‐ Sin, fault or failure does not make a righteous person unrighteous, though it would be reason to repent.
  2. ‐ Righteousness remains intact unless and until covenant is terminated by intentionaly, deliberately and knowingly revoking allegiance to God.
• Relationship with God will grow character and improve behaviour over time.
  1. ‐ Covenant relationship results in knowing God and spending time with him, and will tend to develop character.
  2. ‐ A natural desire to please God will result in avoidance of behaviour inappropriate to the relationship.
  3. ‐ Behaviour characteristic of righteousness is the natural product of a right relationship with God.
  4. ‐ A lack of change in behaviour ‐ long term persistence in bad behvaiour and an absence of good behaviour ‐ suggests a lack of relationship.

Now we can readily understand how righteousness was instantly conferred on many people in the Bible. Faith is the entry to the new covenant because unbelief was how the original old one was lost. Believers are immediately considered righteous on receiving Jesus as the Messiah (Christ) irrespective of past dishonour or moral failures. Righteousness has no direct connection to merit or behaviour, so there is no need to imagine the behaviour of Christ is somehow transferred to us or substituted for ours. God is not blind to our sins or faults. His Spirit often rebukes us for them as he works on our character. Our behaviour does matter since we are God's representatives, meant to advertise his character. Yet, our failures are no hindrance to our relationship. Our relationship and salvation remain secure so long as we maintain our allegiance.

What do I need to do to be right with God?

It is really very simple.

Do you believe God loves you and will keep his promises? Do you want a relationship with him, knowing it will change you, your values, and how you live your life?

Jesus was sent as the anointed of God (Messiah) to offer the whole world, and you in particular, a covenant relationship of allegiance with God. If you want it, say, "Yes." If you want change in your life, to get free of pride, jealousy, greed, lies, lust, hate or anything else then tell him so.

Beginning is simple, but as with any relationship you have to work on it. It is a lifetime commitment to answer the call of Jesus and to follow him. If you are willing, say, "Yes," then do it, with his guidance and support.