The righteous person is rescued from trouble,
and it falls on the wicked instead.
Summary: Once again we are confronted with the concept of righteousness. Here we compare our own human efforts at righteousness with Jesus’ perfect righteousness.
The rest of Proverbs, Chapter 11, talks a lot about righteousness. It deals with righteousness as something that all believers should strive for.
To avoid any confusion about Paul’s intent when he wrote, “There is no one righteous, not even one…” (Romans 3:10), let’s agree that there are two kinds of righteousness. The kind that Paul is referring to is something we might call “perfect righteousness.” This is the righteousness that earns salvation because it is without sin. Only one man has ever achieved this level of righteousness. His name is Jesus.
Jesus is also God (John 10:30). Because he is God, he can bring us into heaven with him by sharing his righteousness with us. Paul writes, “This [perfect] righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Romans 3:22).
When the Bible talks about a “righteous person” as our passage today does, it is not referring to a person who has achieved “perfect righteousness.” We know this because of passages like the Romans 3:10 passage quoted above. Instead, given the imperfect nature of man (Genesis 3:5-7), the context of the whole of Scriptures requires that we think of this as an “imperfect righteousness.”
An imperfect righteousness is a heart that is devoted to God, but one that still has room to improve. Jesus taught us to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). Our Lord doesn’t say, “Love God or else…” Instead, his Word constantly points us to why we should live as righteously as we are able.
In today’s passage, Solomon gives us another reason to strive for righteousness. “The righteous person is rescued from trouble.” Even better, the trouble then “falls on the wicked.”
Does this mean that if God rescues me from a bad situation that the trouble I was in gets poured out on a bad person? There are so many variables to consider that I don’t even know where to begin. Perhaps we should just trust God to sort it out and be thankful that he rescues us even when our righteousness is less than perfect.
Application: Strive for perfection knowing that we are inherently imperfect beings.
Food for Thought: So what do you think? Is the concept of two types of righteousness a fair way to look at Scriptures? Why or why not?
I think it’s fair. There are also multiple types of judgement. In fact, that is critical to understand, because otherwise scripture would contradict itself. One type of judgement we must have in our interactions with others, another we must never have, another we are rescued from, another we must go through.
The same for righteousness, of we don’t allow for two types we may be making scripture contradict itself and that is bad. We know we have understood it correctly when God’s word is 100% right. Which means we will continue to test this idea against scripture throughout our lives. As long as the righteousness earning salvation is kept the same (it’s Jesus’ and He is able to share it with us through the new covenant) then the gospel remains in tact.
Thank you, A.
Your point about testing our ideas against Scripture throughout our lives is very well made. If God is true and his truth is consistent, then we can do no better.
Interesting question and I really like “A’s” response. Not sure I can do much better.
Saving righteousness belongs to Jesus alone. He shares that with us and it is only through His righteousness that we can have a right relationship with our Creator. But those who are in Christ can choose to live righteously (not to be confused with legalistic Phariseeism) and grow in righteous living through the power of the Holy Spirit. The evidence being a maturing to be more Christ like and exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit.
Thank you, Rich.
I appreciate you bringing us back to the fruit of the Spirit!
05-20-2022, Proverbs 11:8, So what do you think? Is the concept of two types of righteousness a fair way to look at Scriptures? Why or why not?
Here we compare our own human efforts at righteousness with Jesus’ perfect righteousness.
Years ago our Lord knocked on my door and spoke to my heart about the certainty of coming judgement. I did not want to go the church going christian route, so I had to come up with a reason why He would find me acceptable. Eventually I found a reason why God would have to accept me. “ I had never ever abused any of my pets!” I was righteous, my argument was sound, my ticket to heaven was secure, and I could continue doing whatever I wanted, as long as I continued being a righteous animal lover.
Obviously, there are 2 types of righteousness,
1.) OUR OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS: Which comes from living according to our standards or righteousness by laws, or works which are established by other men. There are even powerful churches established, claiming to be christian and ruled over by men with this kind of righteousness. This righteousness may win the praises of this world, however it is condemned by God. Just as Jesus did with the Pharisees who cleaned themselves outwardly but were rotten inside. Our righteousness is like filthy rags…unclean on the outside just as in the inside. Rather than seek true righteousness, people will lower the standard.
Matthew 5:20, 23:25-28, Ephesians 2:4-10, Isaiah 64:6
2.) RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH: The Bible describes a righteous person as someone who is obedient to God’s laws and commands.
Righteousness is often associated with uprightness, honesty, and morality. In the Bible, righteousness is not merely an external quality or behavior; it is something that comes from within a person, someone who has a right relationship with God and desires to do what pleases Him.
Matthew 3:15, 5:20, Galatians 2:16, 3:11, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Philippians 3:9
The most important quality of a righteous person is their faithfulness to God. They submit themselves completely to God’s will and trust Him to work through them in all circumstances. A righteous person is humble, compassionate, and merciful, they do not seek their own glory or fame but seeks to glorify God in all they do.
If we want to become more like a righteous person in our own life, we must start by developing a close relationship with God. Spend time each day praying and reading the Bible, and seek to put God’s commands into practice. Focus on becoming more like Christ each day, and remember that our true righteousness comes from Him alone.
When we believe in Jesus, God imputes His righteousness to us. God credits us with being as righteous as Christ himself. This is a free gift from God that we can never earn on our own.
2 Corinthians 5:21, Ephesians 2:8-9
When we receive Christ’s righteousness, it completely changes our relationship with God. We are no longer seen as sinners deserving of punishment; instead, we are seen as righteous and worthy of eternal life. This is the amazing transformation that takes place when we put our faith in Jesus Christ!
Romans 3:22, 6:23
Ron,
Thank you! You have given me some good meat to chew on. Let me gnaw on this for awhile before I start spouting off again. 🙂
Your feedback is always welcome. The second choice in your cartoon caused me to recall how to achieve righteousness, I had simply lowered the standard, and in truth had been good to all my pets.
Of course it was garbage, but I did not realize that for some time after I began to study God’s word.
Thanks Ron.
Your feedback is always welcome, too! I have been thinking about the two types and I realized that I was thinking within a box. It was the box of the believer who submits to God’s will. There is a third type which you bring to mind and that is the self-righteous. These are the ones who use reason or rationalization to justify not obeying God.
You got my mental gears spinning and I went off in a lot of directions. I appreciate the whack on the side of the head! 🙂
And now I realize there is a third type. Thank you Brother.
Ron