The Biblical Teachings on God's Righteousness

The Biblical Teachings on God's righteousness

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Table of Contents

1. God’s Perfect Righteousness 4

2. God the Perfect Judge 12

3. God's Justice 18

4. God's Righteousness in Paul's letters 24

5. The Humanistic View of God's Righteousness 26

Appendix 6: Relevant Hebrew words for righteousness 31

God’s Perfect Righteousness

Described

God’s righteousness refers to the fact His nature, thoughts, feelings and actions are always right or correct. God’s righteousness means He Himself is the final absolute or perfect standard of what is right and just. What He is by nature is right. What He has decided is right is right and just is just. What is contrary to His nature is wrong. What He has determined is wrong is wrong and unjust is unjust. No one decided for God what is right and wrong, just and unjust.

God’s righteousness also refers to the fact all His commands, rewards and punishments are absolutely just and right and involve no favouritism towards anyone. (As we will see later in Chapter “Rewards 1”, some of God’s rewards are based to some degree on His unmerited grace also.)

God is absolutely righteous in the sense there is nothing in His nature, thoughts or actions which is contrary to His own perfectly right standards. God is also perfectly righteous in the relative sense that He never treats any human, angel or demon in an incorrect or unjust manner.

Explained

God’s righteousness was not given to Him by someone else. He always has been and will be perfectly right in everything He is, thinks, feels or does. His righteousness had no beginning. God’s righteousness is His own total consistency with His own nature and being. Harris, Archer and Waltke describe the standard of God’s righteousness “being His own will and nature as the Supreme Being”. [1] God is inherently right by nature.

In Psalm 89:14, we observe one of the foundations of God’s throne is righteousness or justice: “Justice and judgement are the habitation of thy throne…” (King James Version). Psalm 97:2 speaks similarly.

Psalm 33:5 shows God loves righteousness and associated perfect judgement: “He loveth righteousness and judgement…” (King James Version). Psalm 11:7 says similar things.

Psalm 19:8-9 states that whatever God commands or judges is right or just: “The statues of the Lord are right…The judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.” Isaiah 45:19 shows whatever He says is right: “…I, the Lord, speak righteousness. I declare things that are right.”

God’s righteousness is linked to His holiness

God’s righteousness is closely linked to His holiness. His absolute holiness expresses itself in:

the establishment of right commands or standards for humans and angels.
the rewarding of those who follow His right commands.
the punishment of those who reject His right commands (see Genesis 2:17, Romans 1:32 and Hebrews 2:2). The holiness of God demands that evildoers be justly judged and punished (see Revelation 6:10).

Isaiah 5:16 shows God’s holiness expresses itself in His perfectly right nature, thoughts, decisions and actions: “…God who is holy shall be hallowed in righteousness.”

His righteousness is His justice and some other key things

Everything about God’s nature and acts is righteous or right. His nature and acts include His justice, faithfulness to His covenants, His saving grace, mercy, love, redemption of believers, reconciliation of believers to Himself, judgements, supreme rule and so on. So each of these are expressions of His righteousness. Therefore in a broad sense, God’s righteousness includes far more than His justice.

But note in many contexts in the Old Testament, God’s righteousness means solely His justice. God’s justice is an expression of His twin roles as Supreme Ruler and Judge. When God dispenses His justice, He does this not merely like a judge in a court. His Throne-room and Court-room are combined. Psalm 9:4 refers to God sitting “on the throne judging in righteousness.”

In Psalm 98:9, the Hebrew words “sedeq” and “mishpat” are used together in relation to God’s righteous judgements. “Sedeq” means “righteousness” and “mishpat” means “judgement, justice”. [2] Psalm 98:9 states: “for He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world…”

In Psalm 9:4, 9:8, 98:9 and Jeremiah 11:20, the Hebrew words “sedeq” and “shaphat” are linked together in reference to God’s righteous judgements. “Shaphat” means “judge, govern; act as law giver, judge or governor; decide controversy; execute judgement: vindicating, condemning and punishing”. [3] Psalm 98:9 states: “for he is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity.” Psalm 9:7-8 declares: “But the Lord shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgement. He shall judge the world in righteousness, and He shall administer judgement for the peoples in uprightness.”[4]

Jeremiah 12:1 and Zephaniah 3:5 link the Hebrew words “saddiq” and “mishpat”. Brown, Driver and Briggs say in these two verses, “saddiq” means “just, righteous in government”. [5] Zephaniah 3:5 says: “The Lord is righteous, He is in her midst, He will do no unrighteousness. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He never fails, but the unjust knows no shame.” In Jeremiah 12:1, Jeremiah questioned God about His earthly judgements of the wicked: “Righteous are You, O Lord, when I plead with You; yet let me talk with You about Your judgements. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously?”

Psalm 7:11 refers to God’s role as just or righteous judge: “God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day.”

This section proves righteousness in many contexts in the Old Testament can solely refer to justice.

Righteousness connected to court cases before judges

Jeremiah 11:20 states: “ But, O Lord of hosts, You who judge righteously, testing the mind and the heart, let me see Your vengeance on them, for to You I have revealed my cause.” In the context of God judging righteously, Jeremiah revealed his cause or case to Him. In Hebrew, the word “cause” here is “rib”. In this verse, “rib” means “dispute”. [6]

The Hebrew noun “rib’ is used in Exodus 23:2, 23:3, 23:6, Deuteronomy 17:8, 19:17, 25:1, 2 Samuel 15:2, 15:4, Proverbs 18:17, Jeremiah 20:12, Ezekiel 44:24, Hosea 4:1 and 12:2 in relation to court cases before human judges or before God the Supreme Ruler and Judge. Deuteronomy 25:1 says: “If there is a dispute between men, and they come to court, that the judges may judge them, and they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked.” Hosea 4:1-2 refers to God bringing a charge against the people of Israel in His combined throne room and court: “Hear the word of the Lord you children of Israel, for the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: ‘There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land. By swearing and lying, killing and stealing and committing adultery, they break all restraint, with bloodshed after bloodshed.’”

The Hebrew verb “rib” means “conduct a (legal) case, suit” [7] or “to maintain a cause before a judge” [8] in 1 Samuel 24:15, 25:39, Psalm 43:1, 74:22, 119:154, Proverbs 22:23, 23:11, 25:8, Isaiah 1:17, 3:13, 50:8, 51:22, Jeremiah 50:34, 51:36, Lamentations 3:58, Micah 6:1 and 7:9. Isaiah 3:13-14 refers to God pleading the case of the poor in His court against the unjust princes and elders of Judah: “The Lord stands up to plead, and stands to judge the people. The Lord will enter into judgment with the elders of His people and His princes: for you have eaten up the vineyard; the plunder of the poor is in your houses.”

Isaiah 50:8-9 states: “He is near who justifies Me; who will contend with Me? Let us stand together. Who is My adversary? Let him come near Me. Surely the Lord God will help Me; who is he who will condemn Me…” In 1 Samuel 24:15, “rib” is translated as “case” in relation to God’s action as combined Supreme Ruler and Judge: “Therefore let the Lord be judge, and judge between you and me, and see and plead my case, and deliver me out of your hand.”

In Job 31:35, the word “rib” is used by Job to refer to God as his “prosecutor”. The Book of Job does not refer specifically to God’s covenants. Instead this Book has a strong emphasis on God’s judgements in a combined throne-room and court-of-law sense.

Micah 7:9 states: “I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him, until He pleads my case and executes justice for me; He will bring me forth to the light, and I will see His righteousness.” In Hebrew, the word “case” here is “rib”, “justice” is “mishpat” and “righteousness” is “sedaqah”. Here once again, God’s righteousness is in the context of a court case and His associated judgements or “mishpat” as Supreme Ruler and Judge.

Commenting on the Hebrew word “rib”, Harris, Archer and Waltke say that in numerous verses “it takes on a legal – judicial significance…It is worth noting that about a third of the appearances of ‘rib’ (verb) are in the Septuagint Greek translation of the Old Testament rendered by ‘krino’, a word with prevalently legal-judicial overtones.” [9]

God and the Messiah judging righteously

In the original Hebrew Old Testament, the word “din” means “act as judge, minister, judgment” in relation to God in Deuteronomy 32:36, Psalm 7:8, 9:8, 50:4, 96:10, 135:14 and Isaiah 3:13 and in reference to the Messiah in Psalm 72:2. Proverbs 31:9 links “din” or “judge” to righteousness when it refers to humans judging righteously: “Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.”

In Psalm 72:2 and 96:10, God links his judgments or “din” in Hebrew to His righteousness. Psalm 72:1-2 states: “Give the king Your judgments, O God, and Your righteousness to the king’s Son. He will judge Your people with righteousness, and Your poor with justice.”

Psalm 72:1-2 uses the Hebrew words “sedeqah” and “mishpat” (verse 1) and “sedeq” and “din” (verse 2) together in relation to the Messiah judging His people righteously. “Sedeqah” means “righteousness”. [10] Harris, Archer and Waltke say “din’ “represents God’s government as both among his people (Israel) and among all peoples” and relates to the “whole range of activities of government”. [11] “Mishpat” and “sedeq” were previously defined.

Psalm 96:10 and 13 say: “Say among the nations, ‘The Lord reigns; the world also is firmly established, it shall not be moved; He shall judge the peoples righteously’…For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth.” In Hebrew in verse 10, the word “reigns” is “malak”, “judge” is “din” and “righteously” is “meshar”. “Malak” means “be king…reign”. [12] “Din” was previously defined in relation to acting as a judge and ruler. Brown, Driver and Briggs say that in the context of Psalm 96:10, “meshar” means “in (an) ethical sense, uprightness of government”. [13] In Hebrew in verse 13, “shaphat” is used twice and “sedeq” once. As stated earlier, “shaphat” relates to judging and governing. So “sedeq” or righteousness” is used in the context of Psalm 96:10 and 13 in relation to God judging and governing justly or rightly. [14]

Psalm 9:7-8 records: “But the Lord shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgment. He shall judge the world in righteousness, and He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness.” In Hebrew, the word “judge” here is “shaphat”, “righteousness” is “sedeq”, “judgment” is “din” and “uprightness” is “meshar”.

Psalm 9:7-8 links God’s judgments to His throne. This shows that God is the combined Supreme Ruler and Judge and His throne room and courtroom are combined.

God’s right nature demands He punishes sin

God’s righteousness demands that all sinners must be punished severely (see Hebrews 2:2). Nahum 1:2-3 states: “God is jealous, and the Lord avenges; the Lord avenges and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies; The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked…” Note God says here He “will not at all acquit the wicked” (N.K.J.V.) or “will not leave the guilty unpunished” (N.A.S.B.). [15]

The set punishment for sin is physical death and eternal separation from God – also called spiritual death (see Isaiah 59:2 and Romans 6:23). God cannot establish commands and penalties for breaking these commands, and then not sooner or later punish those who disobey them. If He did not punish, He would be unjust.

God’s justice is not coldly clinical

One false view of God’s justice sees it as being coldly clinical like that of a totally just human judge who has no emotional feelings towards the accused. The truth, however, is God is the Creator, loving Father, Supreme Ruler and Judge combined, and not just a Judge alone. As Creator and Loving Father, He has deep love and other emotional feelings towards humans accused of sin.

God’s righteousness and His Kingdom

In Matthew 6:33, Jesus revealed the close relationship between God’s Kingdom and His righteousness: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” An exact literal translation of the Greek original of part of this verse is “the kingdom and righteousness of him”. God’s Kingdom involves Him being the Supreme Ruler and Judge.

As King of kings, God rules through His combined Throne and Court of divine law. His judgements, rewards and punishments are expressions of His reign as King. In Psalm 10:16-18 and 98:6-9, we see the close relationships between God’s role as King and His judgements and righteousness. Psalm 72:1-4 and Isaiah 9:6-7 prophesy the Messiah’s rule as King, His judgements done in righteousness and His justice.

But note God’s Kingdom also relates to His salvation by His unmerited grace and mercy. The Gospel is called “the gospel of your salvation” (see Ephesians 1:13), “the gospel of the grace of God” (see Acts 20:24) and “the gospel of the kingdom” (see Matthew 4:23, 9:35, Luke 4:43 and Acts 8:12). Many New Testament verses refer to sick people asking Christ on David’s Throne as King to show mercy to them (see Matthew 9:27, 15:22, 20:30-31, Mark 10:47-48 and Luke 18:38-39). They understood the concept of kings showing mercy to their subjects.

Psalm 20:9, 24:5-10, 74:12, 95:1-3, Isaiah 33:22 and Zechariah 9:9 refer to the relationship between God being King and His salvation of His people. Psalm 74:12 says: “For God is my King from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.” Isaiah 33:22 states: “For the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King; He will save us.” Therefore when His righteousness and Kingdom are related together, His righteousness refers to:

His perfect justice.
His salvation through His grace and mercy.
and His faithfulness to His covenant promises to save by His grace. His covenants are expressions of His rule as Supreme King. As King, He is faithful to fulfil His promises to show undeserved mercy and grace to believers.

God’s righteousness manifested through His Covenants

One but not the only expression of God’s righteousness is the ways in which He deals rightly within a covenantal relationship with humans and/or His natural creation. God has established various covenants through which He acts rightly always (see Nehemiah 9:7-8). God’s covenants are also expressions of His holiness, love, grace and mercy – character attributes which are right or righteous in themselves.

One humanistic modern view sees God’s covenants only in relation to His roles as Creator and Father and in reference to His love, mercy and grace. The supporters of this view have no Holy Spirit-given revelation of the fact God’s covenants are also expressions of His roles as righteous Supreme Ruler and Judge. As a result, they, for example, regard His punishments as only ever the remedial discipline of a Father. But note eternal punishment in hell is not the remedial discipline of a Father, but is the deserved judgement of a righteous Ruler and Judge.

All of God’s covenants are manifestations of His combined nature as Creator, Father, righteous Supreme Ruler and Judge. Unless we understand covenants in relation to all these features of Him, we will be putting God in a limited “little theological box”. Too many people try to describe God in terms which fit current worldly philosophies, instead of the full revelation of the written Word.

God’s righteousness expressed in His faithfulness

Psalm 143:1 and Romans 3:3-5 show God’s faithfulness is one expression of His righteousness. Everything God does is right or righteous. So obviously His faithfulness is one aspect of His righteous nature. [16] In the original Hebrew of Psalm 143:1, there is no “and” between the words about God’s faithfulness and those about His righteousness. This either suggests in some contexts, God’s righteousness can equal His faithfulness or there is at least some overlap between the two concepts on those occasions.