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Righteous (Righteousness)
If someone is righteous, they do what is right according to what God says people should do (see: Matthew 1:19; Mark 6:20). However, no one always does the right things. Therefore, for people to be righteous, God has to think of them as if they did the right things. He can do this because Jesus died for the people’s sins. When a person believes in Jesus, God no longer thinks about the bad things the person did. Instead, he thinks about the good things Jesus did. Then, the person is at peace with God. This is because God justifies the person. That is, he says the person is righteous.
Only God is righteous (see: Isaiah 45:21-24; Jeremiah 12:1; Ezra 9:15; Nehemiah 9:33). Everything he does is right. Because God is righteous, he never sins and he cannot be near anyone who sins.
Anyone who does not obey God is called “unrighteous.”
See: People of God; Sacrifice; Justify (Justification); Atone (Atonement)
More information about this topic
Noah is the first person called a righteous man in the Bible (see: Genesis 6:9; 7:1). Noah did the things that honored God while everyone else did not honor God.
“Righteous” can also mean “innocent” (see: Genesis 20:4).
Isaiah spoke about “the righteous servant.” This servant justifies many people (see: Isaiah 53:11). Jesus fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecies about the righteous servant. Jesus said he judges people in a righteous way. This is because he only does the things that his Father wants him to do (see: John 5:30).
God justifies only those who believe in Jesus (see: Romans 3:21-22). Paul speaks of “the crown of righteousness.” This is given to all the people waiting for Jesus to return to earth (see: 2 Timothy 4:8). That is, when Jesus returns, he will reward the righteous people. He will reward them by causing them to live forever with God.
See: God the Father; Justify (Justification); Prophecy (Prophesy); Crown; Judge (Judgment); Jesus' Return to Earth