To be righteous means to do the right thing.
Goodness is a state of being, and righteousness is an act of doing.
God is righteous because He is good, and He only does good. And since all He ever does is good, we can ascribe righteousness as one of His inherent attributes. God doesn’t just do good sometimes, He is good. He doesn’t just do the right thing sometimes, He defines what the right thing to do is, and does it. So, He IS righteous.
To put it into modern theological terms, righteousness is the works-based aspect of faith. Paul tells us that we are saved by faith alone (and not by works), but James encourages us to live out our faith in righteousness because faith without works is dead. What James is getting at in His letter in the New Testament is the very heart of righteousness. Paul tells us that we cannot be saved and then go on sinning, and John agrees with him saying that anyone who has been saved cannot possibly go on sinning. And they are both agreeing with James - anyone who loves God and has the Holy Spirit active within them, through faith, cannot help but to do righteousness - because God (the spirit in them) is righteous.
You see, it is not by our own efforts that we become righteous, but by marriage to our savior Jesus Christ (where the two shall become one flesh) that we take on His righteousness. It is our faith that binds us to Christ, and it is His righteousness that is borne out through us after that.
And God’s righteousness is not just in relation to us, or what we think is good. God’s righteousness envelopes everything. We see things happening around us and we label them as good or bad. We even question God about why He would let things happen that we label bad. But God is not threatened by the things that we call bad. There is no bad that God cannot turn into good. When someone we love dies, we call that bad, but God has the power even to reverse death - and we certainly call that good. No matter how bad we might think things are, God has the power to do good in it, and to use it for good - because He is righteous, and He always does good. There is nothing so bad that God cannot do good in it and from it.
It is through God’s righteousness that He created everything that exists. His goodness radiates outward as His love, and together they form the foundation, inspiration, and motivation for everything He does. They are not distinct attributes of God, but we identify them with different labels by ascribing them to God in particular ways. God is good in and of Himself. God is love in His goodness in relationship to us. And God is righteous in the goodness of all His actions. You might even think of them as a trinity of God’s attributes. Three attributes all with the same essence.
As for us, when we are righteous we are acting out God’s presence within us. We are, in fact, acting in and as His image. And it is through righteousness that we spread God’s kingdom through the world. Remember that righteousness is the outward act of the inward good and love of God, and that is why Paul says to the Corinthians that any act done without love is meaningless. There can be no righteousness without goodness and love.
And it is through righteousness that we become trustworthy to God. As we act out God’s goodness and love more and more, He gives us more opportunities, more challenges (to grow from), and more responsibilities to continue in righteousness. This reminds me of the story of Job…
Job was righteous and faithful to God, so much that God trusted him to withstand the attacks of Satan so that God could prove a point to Satan. Satan didn’t come to God with the intention to hurt Job. God pointed Job out to Satan, and then Satan, of course, wanted to attack Job. But God didn’t hesitate to let Satan attack Job, because He knew He could trust Job. God only told Satan not to kill Job, and then, after the attack was over, God rewarded Job with twice as much as He had before.
And, if you think that was mean of God to do, how do you think Job feels about it now that He’s in heaven? It might not have been a pleasant experience to go through, but I’m sure Job’s rewards in heaven are even greater than the ones he received back on earth. And what might have seemed like a bad thing in the moment turned out to be something that God used for the good of His kingdom, and for the good of everyone who has read the book of Job in the Old Testament.
God only does good. And when we are bound to Him, and united to Him, in faith, we can do good. There is no good without God, there is no love without God, and there can be no righteousness without God. Because He is all of them, all at the same time, in every moment, fully and completely.
For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. (Romans 11:36)
Psalm 145:17 (NASB95) The LORD is righteous in all His ways And kind in all His deeds.
Jeremiah 9:24 (NASB95) but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.
James 2:14-26 (NLT)What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”
You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.
Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.
Romans 6:1-2 (NLT) Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?
1 John 3:6 (NLT) Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.
1 John 3:9 (NLT) Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God.
Job 1:8 (NASB95) The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.”
Job 2:3 (NASB95) The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.”