RIGHTEOUSNESS

'Righteousness' in this article refers to the important theological concept in Islam, Judaism and Christianity. In one sense, it is an attribute of God whereby He is said to ''be'' holy and ''righteous''. For what God ''is'' must be used to determine what God is ''doing''. In another sense it refers to the ''righteousness'' of man; either his inherent righteousness (or the lack thereof), or his potential ''right standing'' before God or as being "judged" or "reckoned" as righteous by God (as the patriarch Abraham was in Genesis).

Contents
Etymology
Righteousness in the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Definition of Righteousness
Righteousness in the New Testament
See also

Etymology


The English word ''righteous'' was coined by William Tyndale, who remodelled the word after an earlier word ''rihtwis'', which would have yielded Modern English
★ ''rightwise'' or
★ ''rightways''. He used it to translate the Hebrew root צדקים (''TzDYQ''), tzedek, which appears more than five hundred times in the Hebrew Bible, and the Greek word 'δικαιος' (''dikaios''), which appears more than two hundred times in the New Testament. Righteousness means "right doing".

Righteousness in the Hebrew Bible


Righteousness is one of the chief attributes of God. Its chief meaning concerns ethical conduct. (E.g., Leviticus 19:36; Deuteronomy 25:1; Psalm 1:6; Proverbs 8:20) It is used in a legal sense; while the guilty are judged, the guiltless are deemed righteous. God's faithfulness to His covenant is also a large part of His righteousness. (Nehemiah 9:7-8)
Righteousness also relates to '''God's''' role as saviour; God is a "righteous saviour"; (Isaiah 61) and a deliverer. (Isaiah 46:12-13) The righteous are those who trust that they will be vindicated by the Lord God. (Psalm 37:12-13).
Hebrew Definition of Righteousness

Righteousness:
:The Hebrew word for righteousness is ''tseh'-dek'', tzedek, Gesenius's Strong's Concordance:6664—righteous, integrity, equity, justice, straightness. The root of ''tseh'-dek'' is ''tsaw-dak', Gesenius's Strong:6663—upright, just, straight, innocent, true, sincere. It is best understood as the product of upright, moral action in accordance with some form of divine plan.
In the Book of Job the title character is introduced to us as a person who is "perfect" in righteousness. This does not mean that he is sinless. "Perfect" in this sense means that his righteousness permeates every relationship of his life as his working principle. The biblical definition of righteousness involves the inherent quality of God. God is right because He is righteous, therefore God can only act righteously. In one instance the word means being right; in another it is used to mean doing right; in still another case it means putting right. Job qualifies as a righteous person on each of these counts, so much so that he is commended by God as "wholly righteous" or, translated into our terms, "perfect."
Righteousness as it is understood in the Old Testament is a thoroughly Hebraic concept at variance with the common understanding of the term. The failure to comprehend its meaning is perhaps the most responsible for the view of the Old Testament religion as legalistic and as far removed from the graciousness of the New Testament.

Righteousness in the New Testament


The New Testament continues the Hebrew Bible's tradition of the ethical () and legal () aspects of righteousness, but adds the element that Jesus embodies righteousness, (). According to the New Testament, Jesus came to the world to address the needs, not of "the righteous", but of "sinners," (). Righteousness, like the Kingdom of Heaven, is God's gift through grace, (, ).
Paul of Tarsus speaks of two ways, at least in theory, to achieve righteousness: through the Torah, the law of Moses; and through faith in the atonement made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, (). The New Testament speaks of a salvation founded on God's righteousness, as exemplified throughout the history of salvation narrated in the Old Testament, ().
The apostle James speaks of the relationship between works of righteousness and faith (), saying that "faith without works is dead." Righteous acts according to James include works of charity () as well as avoiding sins against the law of Moses (). Righteousness means "right doing".
Saint Peter describes Lot as a righteous man in .

See also



Christian perfection

Holiness

Alien righteousness

Proper righteousness

Imparted righteousness

Imputed righteousness

Justice - Justice is the ideal, morally correct state of things and persons

Justification

Salvation

Sanctification

Tzadik

Righteous Among the Nations

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