Righteousness of God

"... the essence of the righteousness of God is his unwavering faithfulness to uphold the glory of his name. And human righteousness is the same: the unwavering faithfulness of uphold the glory of God... The righteousness of God consists most basically in God's unswerving commitment to preserve the honor of his name and display his glory... When he says that "none is righteous" (Rom. 3:10), he means that all of us have failed to glorify God as we should. we do not "seek God" (Rom. 3:11)."

Nothing Better

Question 60. How are thou righteous before God?


Answer: Only by a true faith in Jesus Christ; so that, though my conscience accuse me, that I have grossly transgressed all the commandments of God, and kept none of them, and am still inclined to all evil; notwithstanding, God, without any merit of mine, but only of mere grace, grants and imputes to me, the perfect satisfaction, righteousness and holiness of Christ; even so, as if I never had had, nor committed any sin: yea, as if I had fully accomplished all that obedience which Christ has accomplished for me; inasmuch as I embrace such benefit with a believing heart.

I continue to be encouraged and amazed by the wonderful truths propounded in the Heidelberg Catechism as well as the commentary of that doctrinal statement by Kevin DeYoung in his book The Good News We Almost Forgot.

Daily my conscience accuses me that not only am I guilty of transgressing God's commandments, but also that sin 'crouches at the door' and I regularly invite it in! But daily-moment by moment-the Spirit also reminds me that "the perfect satisfaction, righteousness and holiness of Christ" has been granted and imputed to me! God considers me righteous despite my sin and it is "as if I had fully accomplished all that obedience which Christ has accomplished for me!" Seriously, what's better than that!

God's righteousness, and man's

Therefore, these prophetic writings, along with many other texts, impress upon the careful reader of the Old Testament that all God's saving deeds spring ultimately form his loyalty to his own name. This impression then functions to confirm for the reader the insight derived elsewhere from numerous explicit connections that the righteousness of God consists most basically in God's unswerving commitment to preserve the honor of his name and display his glory. Thus if God ever abandoned this commitment and no longer sought in all things the magnifying of his own glory, then there indeed would be unrighteousness with God...To treat adequately the implications of this thesis for the righteousness of man in the Old Testament would require too much space here...The basic implication as I see it is that man's righteousness will be seen now as radically God-centered. The relational accent is in no way diminished, but it receives a distinct orientation: the righteousness of man in relation to God is (reflecting God's righteousness) to love the honor of God's name, to esteem above all things God's glory (especially as it has been mercifully experienced in his saving deeds), and, finally, to do only those things which accord with this love and esteem. (Piper, John. The Justification of God. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1993. 119)

Piper on God's Righteouseness

From The Future of Justification (Piper, John. The Future of Justification A Response to N. T. Wright. New York: Crossway Books, 2007).

Piper is discussing how God's righteousness should be defined. He begins with a 'simple' definition: "The simple way is to say that God’s righteousness consists in his unswerving commitment to do what is right." (63)

Piper, however, recognizes that this definition, though true, may not be satisfying.

"It is not very satisfying simply to say that God’s righteousness is his commitment to do what is right, because it leaves the term “right” undefined. We don’t feel like we have gained very much in defining “righteousness” if we use the word “right” to define it." (63)

And this definition, according to Piper, may not be ultimately satisfying because it leads one to questions such as these: “How does God decide what is right? Who tells God what is right? Is there a book of laws or rules that God has to obey?” ((63) The answer to these questions is where Piper is heading, "Answering those questions gets at the deeper meaning of righteousness. What is the “right” to which God is unswervingly committed?" (64)

And the following is the conclusion, written as only Piper can write it, to the investigation into God's righteousness:

The answer is that there is no book of laws or rules that God consults to know what is right. He wrote the book. What we find therefore in the Old Testament and in Paul is that God defines “right” in terms of himself. There is no other standard to consult than his own infinitely worthy being. Thus, what is right, most ultimately, is what upholds the value and honor of God—what esteems and honors God’s glory.

The reasoning goes like this: The ultimate value in the universe is God—the whole panorama of all his perfections. Another name for this is God’s holiness (viewed as the intrinsic and infinite worth of his perfect beauty) or God’s glory (viewed as the out-streaming manifestation of that beauty). Therefore, “right” must be ultimately defined in relation to this ultimate value, the holiness or the glory of God—this is the highest standard for “right” in the universe. Therefore, what is right is what upholds in proper proportion the value of what is infinitely valuable, namely, God. “Right” actions are those that flow from a proper esteem for God’s glory and that uphold his glory as the most valuable reality there is. This means that the essence of the righteousness of God is his unwavering faithfulness to uphold the glory of his name. And human righteousness is the same: the unwavering faithfulness to uphold the glory of God. (64)