The Three Kinds of Righteousness (6)

His Righteousness

The third kind of righteousness is His righteousness. Jesus put it this way in Matthew 6:33:

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (NKJV)

This righteousness is different from the righteousness of the Pharisees or the righteousness of the Law. Paul stressed the difference in Rom 3:21:

But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets…(NKJV)

This righteousness of God is “apart from the law”, meaning it does not come from the Law, has nothing to do with it. In fact, the Law and the Prophets point us to this righteousness, telling us that we can have this righteousness. This is indeed good news! The righteousness of the Pharisees is pretty worthless; the righteousness of the Law we can never hope to attain; now the righteousness of God has come on the scene, how do we have it? Paul continued in Rom 3:22:

… even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe…(NKJV)

That’s it: just believe in Jesus. Receive His righteousness from Him; He said He has done everything. There’s nothing for us to do; this righteousness is a gift! (See Rom 5:17) Some may ask, “How can this be since we do nothing?” Precisely! We do nothing because Jesus has done everything. In the beginning of the Sermon, in Matthew 5:6, Jesus said:

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. (NKJV)

Note that it says we “shall be filled”, it gives the connotation that we receive something. It doesn’t say that we need to do anything. Yes, if we hunger and thirst after it and seek it, we shall be given it and be filled with it – the righteousness of God. We first need to recognise that we need it badly and want it badly, then we can receive it from God free of charge! If you say it’s too good to be true and you are wary of such free gift, think again. When God told Abraham that his descendent would be as numerous as the stars in the sky, Scripture says “he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” (Gen 15:6, NKJV). Abraham didn’t do anything to become righteous, he simply believed God.  

No free lunch in the world eh? True, in this world but not in His Kingdom.

Scripture Link: BibleGateway.com