Righteousness 
Seek the Truth with all your heart.
Righteousness means: Holy living. Moral purity. Morally right thinking. Morally correct attitude. Morally correct conversation. Conforming to GOD’s will in thought, word, action, and purpose. However righteousness comes from GOD, not by your own so-called good works. We are justified by righteousness.
Ephesians 2:8-10 ‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of GOD; not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are GOD’s workmanship, created in Christ to do good works, which GOD prepared in advance for us to do.’
It is impossible for any human being to be good enough to enter heaven and eternal life. It can only be through our relationship with Jesus and GOD. We become changed, and the right qualities will follow.
We can only qualify - be enabled - be acceptable - for entry to heaven and eternal life, by making - having - Jesus as Lord of our life. GOD has to see us through Jesus, for us to be seen to qualify as being perfect in HIS eyes.
Psalm 5:12 ‘For surely, O LORD, YOU bless the righteous; you surround them with YOUR favour as with a shield.’
Psalm 7:17 ‘I will give thanks to the LORD because of His righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.’
Psalm 11:1-3 ‘In the LORD I take refuge. How then can you say to me: “Flee like a bird to your mountain. For look, the wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart. When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
Psalm 33:5 ‘The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the Earth is full of HIS unfailing love.’
Psalm 34:15-22 ‘The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and HIS ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the Earth. The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them, HE delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man (person) may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him (them) from them all; HE protects all their bones, not one of them will be broken. Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. The LORD redeems HIS servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in HIM.’
Psalm 37:16-19 29-31 & 39-40. ‘Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous. The blameless spend their days under the LORD’s care, and their inheritance will endure forever. In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.’
Verses 21-25 ‘The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously; those the LORD blesses will inherit the land, but those HE curses will be destroyed. The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in HIM; though they may stumble, they will not fall, for the LORD upholds them with HIS hand. I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.’
Verses 29-31 ‘The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever. The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just. The law of their GOD is in their hearts; their feet do not slip.’
Verses 39-40 ‘The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD; HE is their stronghold in time of trouble. The LORD helps and delivers them; HE delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in HIM.’
Psalm 85:10-13 ‘Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. The LORD will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. Righteousness goes before Him and prepares the way for His steps.’
Psalm 89:14 -16 ‘Righteousness and justice are the foundation of YOUR (GOD’s) throne; love and faithfulness go before YOU.
Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim YOU, who walk in the light of YOUR presence, O LORD.
They rejoice in YOUR Name all day long; they exalt in YOUR righteousness.’
Psalm 92:12-15 ‘The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The LORD is upright, He is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in Him.”
Psalm 112:6-9 ‘Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trust in the LORD. Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.’
Psalm 145:17 ‘The LORD is righteous in all HIS ways and faithful in all HE does.’
Proverbs 4:18 ‘The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
Proverbs 10:11, 16, 20-21, 24-25, 28, 30-32 ‘The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.’
‘The wages of the righteous is life, but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death.’
‘The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little value.’ ‘The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of sense.’
‘What the wicked dread will overtake them; what the righteous desire will be granted.’ ‘When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever.’ ‘The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.’
‘The righteous will never be uprooted, but the wicked will not remain in the land.’
‘From the mouth of the righteous comes the fruit of wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be silenced.’
‘The lips of the righteous know what finds favour, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse.’
Proverbs 11:3-6 ‘The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. The righteousness of the blameless makes a straight way for them, but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness. The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires.’
Verses 8-10 ‘The righteous person is rescued from trouble, and it comes on the wicked instead.
With their mouth the godless person destroys their neighbour, but through knowledge the righteous escape.
When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices; when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.’
Verses 18-19 ‘The wicked person earns deceptive wages, but whoever sows righteousness reaps a sure reward. The truly righteous person attains life, but whoever pursues evil goes to their death.’
Verse 21 Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free.
V 23 ‘The desire of the righteous ends only in good, but the hope of the wicked only in wrath.’
Verse 28 ‘Whoever trusts in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.’
Verses 30-31 ‘The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever wins souls is wise.’ If the righteous receive their due on Earth, how much more the un-GOD-ly and the sinner.’
Proverbs 14:34 ‘Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.’
Proverbs 15:29 ‘The LORD is far from the wicked, but HE hears the prayer of the righteous.’
Proverbs 16:8 ‘Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice.’
Proverbs 16:31 ‘Grey hair is a crown of splendour; it is attained in the way of righteousness.’
Proverbs 21:21 ‘Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity, and honour.’
Proverbs 28:12 ‘When the righteous triumph, there is great elation; but when the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding.’
Proverbs 29:2 & 7 ‘When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice: when the wicked rule, the people groan.’
‘The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.’
Isaiah 26:2 & 7 ‘Open the gates that the righteous may enter, the nation that keeps faith.’
‘The path of the righteous is level; O Upright ONE, YOU make the way of the righteous smooth.’
Isaiah 42:5-7 ‘This is what the LORD says, HE WHO created the heavens and stretched them out, WHO spread out the Earth and all that comes out of it, WHO gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it. I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind; to free captives from prison, and to release from the dungeon those who sit in the darkness.’
Isaiah 61:10 ‘I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my GOD. For HE has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.’
Malachi 3:16-18 ‘Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in HIS presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honoured HIS Name. “On the day when I act,” says the LORD ALMIGHTY, “they will be MY treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve GOD and those who do not.’
Malachi 4:1-6 “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the LORD ALMIGHTY. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere MY NAME, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,” says the LORD ALMIGHTY. “Remember the law of MY servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”
Romans 1:17 ‘For in the gospel a righteousness from GOD is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Romans 3:21-26 ‘But now a righteousness from GOD, apart from law, has been made known, to which the law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from GOD comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of GOD, and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. GOD presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of His blood – to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished – He did it to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the One Who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.’
Romans 5:17-21 ‘For if by the trespass of the one man (Adam), how much more will those who receive GOD’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
Consequently, just as one trespass (by Adam) resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act (by Jesus) resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man (Adam) the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one Man (Jesus) the many will be made righteous.The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord,’
1 Corinthians 1:30 ‘It is because of GOD that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us, wisdom from GOD; that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.’
2 Corinthians 5:21 ‘GOD made Him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of GOD.’
Only in human form could Jesus achieve this for us. His character was far above ours, but His physical presence had to be the same as ours, even though He had superior knowledge, sensitivities, and insights.
Every truly born again, transformed person, is justified by Jesus and becomes the righteousness of GOD.
Philippians 3:7-16 ‘But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for Whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I my gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from GOD on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ, yes, to know the power of His resurrection and participation in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it, but one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which GOD has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too GOD will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.’
1 Peter 2:21 ‘It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.’
1 Peter 3:12 ‘For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.’
1 Peter 4:18 ‘”If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the un-GOD-ly and the sinner?’
1John 1:9 ‘If we confess our sins, HE is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all un-righteousness.’