NOTE: The “all right now” joke is not original here. If you want to claim this portion of the cartoon we are happy to acknowledge the original source.
I walk in the way of righteousness,
along the paths of justice...
Summary: Righteousness is a deep subject. Today’s passage brings us to the edge of the ocean of things there are to know about righteousness.
By now, it has become obvious that wisdom’s objectives are the same as her creator, God. In today’s passage, wisdom tells us about the direction she wants to lead us in.
The first question that comes to my mind has to do with her choice of words. Is the “way of righteousness” different from the “paths of justice?” I suspect that this is one of those spiritual mysteries that we will not know the answer to on this side of life. When we cross over from the physical and leave behind this “tent” of flesh (2 Peter 1:13) we will see and understand differently.
The “way of righteousness” interests me because in the past few years we have had many good conversations on the topic. Is it possible for us mortals to follow wisdom as she walks this path?
Like so many words, “righteousness” is a word that can mean different things. It is important to keep in mind that as Christians, we lead a double life. Part of us remains tied to the world of the flesh, the other part is given new life in the spirit (Galatians 5:16-17). Righteousness exists in both realms, but there are differences between the two.
Pure righteousness is found only in God. Apart from God is unrighteousness. Man was created righteous by virtue of his relationship with God in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2: 25). When mankind disobeyed God and touched the forbidden tree, we were changed. Knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:5), we are unable to completely separate ourselves from evil on our own.
In this sense, knowing both good and evil, mankind is doomed to a lifetime of unrighteousness. Even if we can obey all the law (Deuteronomy 6:25), we are not able to sufficiently govern our thoughts to guarantee that we are righteous every moment of our lives. As Bildad the Shuhite asks in the book of Job:
“How then can a mortal be righteous before God?” (Job 25: 4)
We could write a book in answer to Bildad’s question, but the really short answer is that we can’t. The Good News is that God has a cure for us. God himself became man so that he could redeem us from sin.
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Confused? That’s okay. Through faith in Jesus Christ, God can ensure our eternal survival. More than survival, through Jesus, God ensures we have abundant life with him. Righteousness is the key to heaven, and God unlocks the door for us if we will trust in Jesus (John 3: 14-15).
Application: Relax. Trust in Jesus. Give yourself to him.
Food for Thought: What do righteousness and justice have in common?
I had an English teacher that said two things separated by a coma should be essentially synonymous. If that is so, then the path of righteousness and the way of justice are perhaps different aspects of the same journey. A righteous person is not righteous if they are not also just when a conflict arises. Justice is the right thing to give.
Though these concepts can be separate, they are still related. God pleads for His people to be righteous and do justice…. Justice especially for the rulers. He prefers doing right the first time, over asking for forgiveness because you couldn’t be bothered to do the right thing. Yes, He forgives, but please try!!! That’s essentially what Israel was doing, right? Blatantly doing the wrong things and then doing the sacrifices to put a bandaid “sorry, God” on their sins. And He said “no, stop doing that”. (Love my paraphrase?)
So in conclusion, righteousness and justice are similar. I think it’d be harder to really out my finger on what makes them different. Is justice only done in a position of judging or ruling? Or is it supposed to be more common? Righteousness should be sought by all for certain.
A –
So let me get this straight …
Two things separated by a comma that are synonymous are righteous, but if they are not synonymous, that is unjust. Am I right?
🙂
A –
I got caught up in your memories of English class…
You conclude that righteousness and justice are similar. I agree. The complication is that there are different types of justice. Administrative justice is the application of the law by a judge. Social justice might be described as applying the second Great Commandment, love your neighbor as yourself.
These are challenging concepts, but worth meditating on. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Yeah, I didn’t have time to go as deep as I would’ve liked. Certainly worth more than three minutes!
This question sent me down rabbit hole for sure!
In a very basic sense, righteousness is a state of being and is expressed through acts. Justice is using wisdom to restore balance or “settle accounts.” God is righteous outright and has demonstrated His righteousness in how he has dealt with all His creation. Particularly in how He has dealt with sin. Justice demands that for sin there be death. We could have rightfully been condemned for our actions, but God chose a different path.
What do righteousness and justice have in common?
Righteousness and justice both involve how you act towards other outside of yourself. I don’t think that is the only commonality, but its the one coming to my mind. What I mean is that you have to act with another’s best interests in mind. How can you claim to work toward righteousness or give justice if you harbor hate in your heart? I think that is one of the biggest differences between God’s righteousness and justice, and man’s feeble attempt at it. God can truly act in our best interest over eternity, whereas we struggle just to think charitably towards our fellow people.
Side note: As I thought about this idea of justice I thought about the sacrificial lamb, and how that doesn’t seem very just, I mean the lamb did nothing and didn’t get to choose to be a sacrifice. In that same idea, Jesus was a sacrificial lamb, but the difference is that he was given a choice and chose to be that sacrifice. In my life, God has always only asked me to make a choice between Him and the sin in my life. In God’s justice, we are always given a choice. A real choice. And it’s not trading a life of sin for a life of self-denial, it is accepting a better life and being transformed. He could have easily discarded us and still been just.
Chris,
Your definitions of righteousness and justice are intriguing. It feels like ‘restoring balance’ and ‘settling accounts’ might be two different things. ‘Settling accounts’ is for those who are willfully unrighteous. ‘Restoring balance’ is something very different. It is like picking up a small child who has fallen and putting them back on their feet.
Another way of looking at the difference might be this: Settling accounts is extracting compensation for the injustice either by payment from offender to the offended or by punishment for those who cannot pay (aka – debtor’s prison). Restoring balance is when the offender cannot pay but wants to (repentant heart) and the offended forgives the debt.
These concepts go to the heart of Christ’s work here on earth and his offer of salvation for all who believe in him.
I like the way you differentiated the two. It is important to keep things clear.
Thank you for letting me read this conversation.
Wow, did you ask the loaded question 😊.
Great responses here. Theologians have been weighing in on this question for centuries. My too simplistic answer is: righteousness is the state of being in a right relationship with God. It is being declared morally right and we achieve this through Jesus’ righteousness being applied to us. Justification is the removal of all sin and guilt so that we are declared innocent before God. I don’t think we can have one without the other. Both meet at the cross.
Obviously Paul says this better through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 3: 21 – 26.
Rich,
Thank you! Your definition of righteousness points us to our dependance on God’s mercy and our need to understand his Word. These, in turn, lead us to Christ, the source of our justification and the ultimate source of justice for all.
03-13-2022, Proverb 8:20, What do righteousness and justice have in common?
God’s Justice is the manifestation of His righteousness which is often only presented as His righteous final judgement on the wicked.
The Psalms proclaim, righteousness and justice are the foundation of God’s throne and loving devotion and faithfulness go before Him. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
Psalm 89:14, Psalm 103:6
God’s Word reveals righteousness and justice are essential for God’s people to have. Genuinely righteous people are not merely doing good deeds. They are expressing the righteousness of God, which has been received in their hearts from the Holy Spirit. A common theme in the Bible is how believers demonstrate God’s justice as we help the poor, orphans, widows, and foreigners. We, are called to do good to the needy, and avoid returning evil for evil as we remain on this world, revealing His justice to others.
James 1:27, Matthew 5:38-39, Luke 6:37, Isaiah 30:18, Zechariah 7:9
Ron,
Your summation of righteousness and judgment is convicting! It makes me wonder if I should be doing more to express God’s righteousness. Thank you! It is a good reminder that I am not just a passenger on the good ship Salvation, but rather one of the crew.
I just payed attention to the cartoon – very good and very punny.
🙂
Wow. You really got people thinking today, and I’m not talking about the cartoon.
What do righteousness and justice have in common?
Because everyone had great answers and already pointed out what came to my mind first …………. I was left with only 5 things that they have in common
U. S. T. I. E.
That is for the cartoon.
😆
Hmmm…
I need help with this one. USTIE?
Those are the letters they have in common.
Doh! 🙂