… and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man,
Summary: The Bible gives us two definitions of righteousness. Understanding the difference between the two helps us to better understand the concept.
Why did God consider Lot to be a righteous man? Do you know? Is Lot a name that comes to mind when you think of the word “righteous”?
Lot was the nephew of Abraham and spent the better part of his life living with Abraham. The two men were blood relatives. Abraham was the older of the two. It was Abraham who Lot turned to for guidance and direction, not the other way round.
As we discussed in “The Barn Boat” (2 Peter 2:5), Abraham was considered righteous because of his faith in God, not because he was righteous under the Law. (The Law would not be given for over four hundred years.) Abraham had a unique relationship with God. He was chosen by God to be a prophet (Genesis 20:7). God and he had conversations (Genesis 17:1). Whatever God told him to do, Abraham did (Genesis 17, 23-27; Genesis 22: 2-3). Not only did Abraham do what God told him to do, but he did it immediately.
While Lot may not have had the same relationship with God that Abraham did, he followed in Abraham’s ways. But what does this mean? Where is the dividing line between the righteous and the unrighteous?
We have already noted Paul’s New Testament statement that “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10). Is this true, or is the Bible contradicting itself?
There is a very interesting statement in Genesis that might help us understand:
“Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6)
The word “believed” is translated from the Hebrew, ʼâman. In English, we consider a person believes something if they accept a statement as true. For example, if a person agrees Jesus is the Messiah, we might say that they “believe” in Jesus. Yet God’s view is different.
When Solomon dedicated the newly built temple to the Lord, he prayed, “Forgive, and deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know the human heart)…” (2 Chronicles 6: 30b). God sees our hearts and does not have to rely on our words.
To “believe” in the context of “Abram believed the Lord” means that Abraham’s heart was fully committed to the Lord. He supported the Lord as the pillars on either side of a doorway support the door. The Hebrew, ʼâman, also suggests that the relationship between God and a believer is like family. The believer trusts God like a baby trusts the nurse who carries him or her. To flip the relationship, the believer is also protective of God like a parent is towards their children.
Abraham trusted God. He took care to nurture his relationship with the Lord. His obedience to God is legendary. With this kind of relationship between Abraham and God, it is easy to imagine that the things that offended God would have offended Abraham.
In the New Testament, Paul’s definition of “righteous” is based on meeting the Law given to Moses hundreds of years after Abraham lived. In Abraham’s time, God credits Abraham and Lot with righteousness based on their ʼâman. More than a statement of belief, ʼâman is a deep relationship that lives in the heart, the heart that only God knows.
Would Abraham have been considered “righteous” under Paul’s definition of the word? Looked at from a human perspective, measured against a ruler designed to show mankind how much we need God, no. I do not think so. Both statements are correct. Abraham was credited as righteous before God, even while he would have failed the legalistic test of righteousness under the Law that came later.
Application: The righteousness that God desires is summed up well in Micah 6:8 — “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Food for Thought: What do you look for in a righteous person?
I have to admit, I got a little side-tracked on why Lot was considered a “righteous man.” I read the whole chapter though and understand the context.
What do I look for in a righteous person? I think Psalm 1:1-3 really encapsulates it very well:
Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
Chris,
Thank you for wrestling with this. It is an interesting question, in fact you might say it is a “Lot” interesting. 🙂
Psalm 1 is a great reference! Thank you!
Psalm 1 is a great reference.
I think I would look for an active relationship with Christ showing itself through the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5: 22 – 23.
Rich,
Thank you! Here it is:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
Good words! 🙂
11-01-2021, 2 Peter 2:7a, What do you look for in a righteous person?
You always have great questions Jeff!
Gotta tell you I’m with Cris on this one and had a “LOT” of questions about your words describing the nephew as one Abraham turned to for guidance and advice, so I also had to do a “LOT” of research.
We are all works in progress many are quietly righteous, focusing on personal growth through submission to God. No matter what the level of maturity, I believe the righteous will display the righteousness of Christ and will be seen by the gift of discernment rather than judgement.
A new heart, Faith, Humility, Love toward others, Anger toward all sin, Self sacrifice for the benefit of others, Seeks and Accepts God’s Will over their own, Wisdom, A giving nature , Peace in all circumstances. ( Christlike )
If you are fortunate you will find A person you could sit with and joyfully exchange praises of God, His wonderful work in and around us for hours and walk away knowing you have been with a brother. I have one of these and he is a real joy.
Ron,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I guess I should say, “Thanks a LOT!” 🙂
I especially appreciate this phrase:
“[righteousness] will be seen by the gift of discernment rather than judgement.”
That is a very interesting idea. It will be interesting to explore this question as we go forward and see if there are objective measures of righteousness as well as those discerned by the Spirit.
Just seems right to let God judge, while we discern.
If anyone can make it interesting, you can.
🙂
Kind of hard to look for righteousness in others since no one is righteous,..but if I had to look for righteousness in someone,..I would start by looking for Jesus in and around them,..that’s got a LOT to say about someone and their righteousness,..
Thanks again for the study and the comments,..I had no idea Lot was considered righteous either,..he wasn’t very righteous by taking the best of the land and fields for himself and his flocks,..it may have seemed right to him back then,..but as I read it,..he took the best for himself. From what I understand the best of anything belongs to God,..
John,
Thanks for joining in today!
You make an important point. Actually, a couple of them:
You say that “no one is righteous.” This is true, but it is not the same as saying that everyone is unrighteous.
You followed up on this by pointing that you thought Lot wasn’t “very righteous.” So your thinking is actually quite practical. Just like there are degrees of faith (great faith vs little faith) there are probably degrees of righteousness. There is the righteousness needed to be justified before God at the great throne, and there is the righteousness that differentiates the schoolyard bully from the kid who protects the little ones from the bully.
Everyone made a Lot of good comments, then a Lot of punny ones too. I have to agree about looking for a reflection of Jesus, the righteousness that dwells inside a person, and one who lives by and follows Gods instructions. Now I know that nobody is perfect and we all sin, but a righteous person will realize when they screw up and try to do whatever they can to make things right and to show love.
Mr. T –
I love your take on a righteous person: they realize when they screw up and they try and make things right. Well said!