“No, O people, the Lord has already told you what is good, and this is what he requires: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” Micah 6:8

I recently enjoyed watching an online show about a fictitious Orthodox Jewish family living in Jerusalem.  It was interesting to hear young, engaged couples expressing their desire to establish they what they called a righteous Jewish home.  You don’t hear that word righteous much these days.

In a biblical context, righteous means upright, just, in conformity with what God requires.  The words were used gave the idea of a scale that had accurate weights and measurements, hence it was just. The same word was also used of individuals who had integrity and were upright and just.

The prophet Micah came as close to defining the word as anyone, saying, “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

Yet the Old Testament uniformly shows how men failed to live up to that standard.  In the New Testament Paul said, “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10).

But Paul says that there was One who was righteous, and He both died and came back to life, and that God extends His righteousness to those who believe on Him and follow Him.

Righteous describes the worst sinner in the world whose faith is in Jesus Christ.  Yes, God says that individual is upright and just in God’s sight. In Christ, we can meet the requirements of God’s way of honesty, and integrity. Perfect, no. Redeemed, yes! Even righteous.

 

Resource reading: Romans 3:1-31