Faith and Righteousness

Original Quiet Time date: Jan 5, 2022

Romans 1:17

For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith]. As it is written, The man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith.

A righteousness that is not ascribed from God is not by faith and does not lead to faith. This means that the righteousness which comes from God must satisfy these two conditions:

Come by faith.
Lead to more faith.

If any is not satisfied, then that form of righteousness is not that which God ascribes. Why would the righteousness of God require faith? Where is faith required? Why did God choose faith? Trust and confidence in Jesus springs from faith in God.

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being proof of the things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].

Faith is required where something is not revealed to the senses. God chose faith so that we can have trust and confidence in His Son which springs faith in Him. The righteousness of God requires faith because the evidence will not be immediately revealed to the senses. In other words, physical evidence may contradict the reality of faith. Nonetheless, faith is required to believe the truth of God’s word instead of what our senses tell us. That is why the righteousness of God is by faith.

The righteousness of God requires faith because the evidence will not be immediately revealed to the senses. In other words, physical evidence may contradict the reality of faith.

Habakkuk 2:4

Look at the proud; his soul is not straight or right within him, but the [rigidly] just and the [uncompromisingly] righteous man shall live by his faith and in his faithfulness.

Does faith lead to humility? It seems people who are self-righteous breed pride within themselves, as a result, his soul is not straight or right within him. If the Bible is contrasting self-righteousness and the righteousness of God, could it be that those who are righteous by faith are humble? Faith does not deny the reality of a situation but chooses to believe in someone or something with a stronger foundation; that which does not fail. The righteousness of God brings us to the end of ourselves and makes us realise our need for God and leads us to trust Him and have confidence in His Word that He has made us righteous by His Son’s finished work. We cannot make ourselves righteous, but believing that we are justified by faith, that’s the righteousness that comes from God— and this righteousness starts from faith and leads to more faith.

This is the life God wants us to live: not for us to be justified by our works but to believe in the God who justifies the ungodly.

This is the life God wants us to live: not for us to be justified by our works but to believe in the God who justifies the ungodly. We do not need to be godly to be justified by God. Just as we are, we are accepted and made righteous when we receive Jesus. That is not because God is soft on sin … NO! This is made possible because Jesus died for the forgiveness of all our sins and was raised from the dead to declare us righteous. The proof of our sins being forgiven is the death of Jesus on the cross. The proof of us being made righteous before God is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

The proof of our sins being forgiven is the death of Jesus on the cross. The proof of us being made righteous before God is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

This is the righteousness by faith and the just shall live and they live by faith. This is what it means to live in the grace of God. It is the unearned, unmerited and undeserved favor of God.

All scripture verses are taken from the Amplified Version of the Bible unless otherwise specified.