Pastor John MacArthur provides a helpful summary of this key concept using three words: Law, Grace, and Obedience.
1) Righteousness is defined by Law.
You want to know what righteousness is? What it is to be right with God? Holiness is defined by the Law. The holy Law of God defines perfect righteousness (see Rom. 7). Our Creator's holy character is revealed in the righteous Word of truth (see Psalm 119). As we gaze into God's righteous Law it reveals our many blemishes and moral imperfections (like a mirror).
We need to be opposed to the light of God's word to not affirm that "there is none righteous, no not one" (Romans 3) and that we "ALL fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23; 6:23). This leads to a very important question: How are you going to be righteous?
2) Righteousness is empowered by Grace.
First of all, righteousness is imputed to us by grace and then it's imparted to us by grace (Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4). So righteousness is defined by law and empowered by grace. We can't keep the law and therefore we must throw ourselves on the mercy of God. His holiness becomes ours through imputation (2 Cor. 5:21). By and through God's sanctifying grace we are empowered to keep the law of God and grow in godliness. The fruit of faith and love is obedience (Eph. 2:8-10). This transitions us perfectly into a third key principle.
3) Righteousness is demonstrated by Obedience.
It is defined by law, it is empowered by grace, and it is demonstrated by (Spirit-empowered) obedience. In the Old Testament, God said his servant Job was "blameless, upright, God-fearing, and sin shunning" (Job 1:8), In human terms his righteous standing before God was demonstrated in his sanctifying life of obedience (see James 2). In the New Testament, Zacharias and Elizabeth are also said to be, "righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in the commandments and requirements of the Lord" (Luke 1:6). Verses 18-20 of Luke 1 remind us that v. 6 does not imply that this couple was without sin. Their is only one perfectly righteous Man and His name is Jesus Christ. Having said that, the redeemed of God are called to be holy as He is holy (see 1 Peter 1:15-17; Leviticus).
Understanding God's holiness and what the Bible teaches concerning righteousness is very important and can keep us from two all too common errors. Namely, Legalism and Antinomianism (see previous articles on hyper-grace sanctification).
Legalism is law without grace. Antinomianism is grace without law. Self-righteous (legalism) is obedience to the externals of the law without the internal power of grace. May God grant us grace to keep from either extreme position as we seek to live lives that are pleasing to Him (see Col. 1:10; 2 Cor. 5:9)
This article follows an outline and practical instruction presented by John MacArthur in one of his expository sermons. Text-driven exposition provides a firm foundation for theological instruction which leads to balanced Christian living. James Montgomery Boice. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and John MacArthur provide wonderful examples of this kind of preaching.
We minister in a time period where the masses do not put up with sound doctrine (see 2 Timothy 4:3) and prefer moralistic, how-to homilies over meaty, text-driven expositions.
