Sunday June 29, 2025

There is an important connection between faithfulness and righteousness.

• God is righteous. God is faithful.

“I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness In the great assembly; Indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O Lord, You Yourself know. I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth From the great assembly.” (Psalm 40:9–10, NKJV)

• God’s word is righteous and faithful.

“Your testimonies, which You have commanded, Are righteous and very faithful.” (Psalm 119:138, NKJV)

• God shows His righteousness by being faithful to His word.

“Hear my prayer, O Lord, Give ear to my supplications! In Your faithfulness answer me, And in Your righteousness.” (Psalm 143:1, NKJV)

• A righteous city is a faithful city

“How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; Righteousness lodged in it, But now murderers.” (Isaiah 1:21, NKJV)

“I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.”” (Isaiah 1:26, NKJV)

• Righteousness is revealed in faithfulness

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”” (Romans 1:16–17, NKJV)

• The righteousness of God is revealed through faith in Christ Jesus

“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:21–26, NKJV)

• Our faith in the faithful and righteous one imputes the righteousness of God to us.

“But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,” (Romans 4:5, NKJV)

• The promises of God are passed on through the inheritance of faith in the faithful

“For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all” (Romans 4:13–16, NKJV)

• Faith is a stumbling block to those who think they can earn righteousness through works.

“What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. As it is written: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”” (Romans 9:30–33, NKJV)

• Faith speaks and righteousness acts. Faith and righteousness together produce the manifestation of salvation.

“But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, “ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:6–17, NKJV)

• The righteousness of God is ours and it is being manifest in us as we walk by faith in His righteousness.

“For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” (Galatians 5:5, NKJV)

• The righteousness which comes through faith connects me to both resurrection power of Christ and to the sufferings of Christ Jesus. We may not need to suffer the cross but we do need to say no to the flesh. We are uniquely empowered through faith in Christ and through the righteousness of God to say “Yes” to God and “No” to the flesh.

“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:7–11, NKJV)

“But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.” (1 Timothy 6:11, NKJV)

“Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” (2 Timothy 2:22, NKJV)

“who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,” (Hebrews 11:33, NKJV)