We can take great comfort in knowing that our God is righteousness.  The word righteous is used in three ways in the Bible.  It refers to the justification that is imputed to us by our obedient faith (Romans 1:17; 3:21-22), the sum total of all that God commands us to do (1 John 2:29; 3:7), and the just character of God (Romans 3:25-26).  It is this third usage of the term righteousness to which I am referring in this blog.  God’s personal righteousness is always on display.  It is demonstrated by the unfailing integrity, virtue, purity, fairness, uprightness, and correctness of everything He ever says or does.

It is because God is righteous that we can be sure we will be treated fairly on the day of judgment.  In Romans 2:5 Paul refers to “God’s righteous judgment.”  Ironically, in that passage, Paul is speaking of the wrath of God that will be experienced by the Jews of his day due to their disobedience.   God’s righteousness will not allow Him to ignore sin or sweep it under the rug.  This is why Jesus had to die on the cross.  Someone had to pay the price for sin if man was going to be justified and God was to remain just.  Speaking of the redemption that is found in Christ, Paul wrote the following concerning our Savior:

Romans 3:24–26 (ESV)
²⁴ And are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. ²⁶ It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

God justified the faithful who lived under the first covenant because He knew His Son would shed His blood which would ultimately cleanse them from their sins.  The Hebrews writer wrote of this reality.

Hebrews 9:15 (ESV)
¹⁵ Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

The death that occurred was Jesus dying on the cross.  His blood washed away the sins of those who were faithful to God in Old Testament times, allowing God to be just and the justifier.

This reminds us that our God is righteous, just, and pure.  Another demonstration of this is that He is not a respecter of persons.  We will all be treated fairly in judgment, getting exactly what we deserve, according to the stipulations of the gospel.  Paul made this clear in Romans 2 when he simply writes that God will “render to each one according to his works” (ver. 6), and then, after describing various forms of behavior on the part of man, both good and bad, concludes by saying, “For God shows no partiality” (vers. 11).

This is due to the righteousness of God.  While we do not deserve heavan, if we live according to the gospel, it will be our home after a while because God has promised it to us on that basis, and a righteous God cannot lie (Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18).  On the other hand, if we fail to live according to the gospel, we will experience eternal damnation because God has warned us about that as well (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).  Everyone will get what is due to them because God is a righteous God.

2 Corinthians 5:10 (ESV)
¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.