Righteousness in judgement

Photo: Andreas Loots and Noah Loots

Psalm 106:3 "Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times"

Psalm 106:3 does not suggest that blessings come from meticulously completing every task to achieve perfection in God's eyes. Rather, it emphasizes that blessings come from doing what is right and observing justice. Doing what is right means living in alignment with the Word of God.

People often equate righteousness with perfectionism, but perfectionism puts us under immense stress; it is a burden that can lead to sin. Perfectionism is self-righteousness and religion; it is following a set of man-made rules or "norms" and "customs" without having a God-given heart. "Righteous living" starts with choosing to abide in Christ, living in peace and in love, accepting yourself and others with grace, rather than being self-righteous.

We are not called to conform to the world and its demand to be perfect in the eyes of man by following their norms and rules. As Christians, instead of perfection, we must strive to live in faith, hope, love, we must have mercy, be forgiving towards one another, all of which emanate from our complete confidence in Christ - I believe that it is these attributes that makes us perfect in God's eyes. Proverbs 21:3.“To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.”

Righteousness comes through Christ - have you chosen to abide in Christ?

In Biblical times, the Pharisees imposed an additional rule for the Sabbath day law, which stated that failure to observe the Sabbath day would result in death; however, this rule contradicted the Torah's sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not murder". The added rule to the law of the Sabbath day also revealed that the Pharisees were not keeping the Sabbath day "holy” but rather turned it into a miserable burden to the people. James 3:18: "Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness".  

The self-righteous Pharisees corrupted God's pure laws, but then came Jesus and He disrupted their corrupt additions to the law.

Righteousness of Christ

The Pharisees frequently falsely accused Christ Jesus of violating Sabbath day law; however, this was not the case because Jesus was always filled with grace, love, mercy, and compassion; hence, He would not let a set of corrupted rules prevent Him from saving a desperate human being, thus Jesus was righteous in every word and deed.

Christ would not hesitate to heal the sick and help the needy on the Sabbath day. As you can see that Christ came to set the record straight, rectify and fulfill the law by demonstrating that doing God's work; praying for the sick, ministering, or even spending quality time with your children on the Sabbath day is not keeping the Sabbath day unholy but rather pure and filled with love. “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath” (Mark 2:27). These words of Jesus Christ, reminds us that the Sabbath day law was meant to be a blessing rather than a burden or a possible "criminal offence".

Righteousness In reference to the Words of Jesus in John 7:19-24

Verse 24 Jesus said "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment"

To illustrate what Jesus was saying in verse 24, He expresses to the Pharisees that healing people on the Sabbath day is not a sin; it is in fact holy. He was keeping the day holy by doing God's work such as healing the sick, which is the righteous (right) thing to do. On the contrary following the Pharisees corrupted rules in fear of going to hell, is a self-righteous thing to do.

Righteousness is acts of love in faith

In the book of Joshua Rahab the harlot saved the spies, in turn her choice saved many people's lives. One moment, and one choice saved her entire family and herself. With faith, Rahab cleverly reflected on God's deeds to make her choice. The "self-righteous" people see things at face-value therefore the call it "lies to sin", but the righteous people understand that her choice was aligned with God's deeds and words. Rahab's wise decision, makes me associate the word "Righteousness" with "acts of love" : Joshua 2:12-14 - ‘Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them – and that you will save us from death.’14 ‘Our lives for your lives!’ the men assured her. ‘If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.’

Righteousness in Judgement

In Matthew 7:2, Jesus explains that it is best not to judge people because we are all equally imperfect, and if you judge others, you too will be judged in the same manner. However, as expressed in John 7:24, through accurate holy discernment, if you are going to judge, it is best to judge righteously.

Righteousness is accurate discernment, which does not come from simply ticking all the checkboxes in the rule book and feeling good about yourself for being a good, hardworking steward who only counts his own rightful achievements yet hurt people along the way.

Righteousness is beyond looking at things at face-value such as your achievements, it is beyond following man-made rules and norms; instead, it is the ability to look deeper with Godly wisdom and to see with God's heart and eyes. Compassion, mercy, grace, forgiveness, and love are all characteristics of righteousness, and these are not found in a rule book nor in your great earthly achievements. The fog of pride, fear, hatred, and "self-righteousness" obscures accurate discernment.

Righteousness in leadership

The Pharisees were self-righteous people in leadership roles who aimed for perfection, yet they were corrupt in doing this, as they corrupted the law. It is crucial to be righteous leaders because it is God's people, God's creation, that we are leading and changing. A righteous person is able to see the true intentions of a person’s actions because a righteous person thinks righteously, purely without judging based on their own personal life's experiences, nor will a righteous leader have selfish ambition.

The Pharisees created unrighteous laws out of a Holy Law, which is meant for freedom; they deprived their sheep of true peace and keeping themselves in power.

A righteous leader feeds Christ's sheep in the same way that Christ did— in a compassionate way. A righteous person is a humble servant-leader.

A righteous person operates in the fruit of the Spirit

When we start operating in the fruit of the Spirit, we will begin to see clearly, think unbiasedly, we will strive to abide in the Spirit and live in Christ, because only in Christ are we righteous.

The Fruit of the Spirit clears the mind, provides accurate perception or discernment, and provides wisdom; it removes hatred, anger, pride, envy, and the biased way of thinking that fogs the brain. The fruit of the Spirit provides clarity of thought and discernment. Operating in the fruit of the Spirit causes you to think objectively, exactly as a righteous person should think."The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control..." 5:22-23 Galatians

There is No ”self” in righteousness

Righteousness is about being humble, giving hope, showing grace, mercy, forgiveness and love all without having selfish ambition. Let everything you do be done in love rather than perfectionism and "self-righteous judgement" because God will judge us rightly one day. 1 Timothy 6:11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

For by grace are ye saved through faith;

Christ fulfilled the law with Love, forgiveness, faith, hope, love, mercy, grace, compassion and in many more beautiful ways because we are imperfect people, who should not aim to be perfect but instead aim to be like Christ that is live in forgiveness, faith, hope, love, mercy, grace, compassion, and a relationship with God. We are saved by grace through faith in Christ, and not by self-righteous deeds. Therefore we must live in grace, strive for faith and love, and live daily in hope. Romans 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Matthew 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you"

Here is a little exercises to Seek His Kingdom and Righteousness:

1. Examine yourself, deeply, look at your social media accounts, look at what and who do you follow, and ask yourself why?

2. Search your hearts desires, look at who and what you admire, check if it right in God's eyes? Does it align with Godly love, and the Word of God, or does it align with self-righteousness and selfish desires?

3. Today I ask you to look at your loved-ones, your neighbours, and love them for who they are, love them unconditionally, don't judge them, just look at them with love, mercy, grace and forgiveness.

4. If your heart does not align with the Word of God, I ask you to fast, pray, engage in praise and worship, meditate on the Word of God throughout the day, until you experience what is true righteousness, just as Jesus exuded during His earthly ministry.

Remember With God all things are possible - especially if you are willing and persistent. Don't give into self-righteousness and don't give up praying. Psalm 106:3 "Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times"

God Bless you

from Natlie Loots.