All Topics  
Righteousness

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Righteousness
 
 
  Topics Righteousness Topic Home

Righteousness (also called rectitude) is an important theological
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
 concept in Christianity
Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
, Islam
Islam

Islam is a Monotheism, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure....
, and Judaism
Judaism

Judaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts....
. It is an attribute that implies that a person's actions are justified, and can have the connotation that the person has been "judged" or "reckoned" as leading a life that is pleasing to God. Righteousness is also used as an attribute for God. Psalm 2 speaks of one being shielded by God and receiving favor because of righteousness.

Etymology
The English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
 word righteous was coined by William Tyndale
William Tyndale

William Tyndale was a 16th-century Protestant reformer and scholar who, influenced by the work of Desiderius Erasmus and Martin Luther, translated the Bible into the Early Modern English of his day....
, who remodelled the word after an earlier word rihtwis, which would have yielded Modern English
Modern English

Modern English is the form of the English language spoken since the Great Vowel Shift, completed in roughly 1550.Despite some differences in vocabulary, texts from the early 17th century, such as the works of William Shakespeare and the King James Bible, are considered to be in Modern English, or more specifically, are referred to as using...
 *rightwise or *rightways.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Righteousness'
Start a new discussion about 'Righteousness'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Righteousness (also called rectitude) is an important theological
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
 concept in Christianity
Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
, Islam
Islam

Islam is a Monotheism, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure....
, and Judaism
Judaism

Judaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts....
. It is an attribute that implies that a person's actions are justified, and can have the connotation that the person has been "judged" or "reckoned" as leading a life that is pleasing to God. Righteousness is also used as an attribute for God. Psalm 2 speaks of one being shielded by God and receiving favor because of righteousness.

Etymology


The English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
 word righteous was coined by William Tyndale
William Tyndale

William Tyndale was a 16th-century Protestant reformer and scholar who, influenced by the work of Desiderius Erasmus and Martin Luther, translated the Bible into the Early Modern English of his day....
, who remodelled the word after an earlier word rihtwis, which would have yielded Modern English
Modern English

Modern English is the form of the English language spoken since the Great Vowel Shift, completed in roughly 1550.Despite some differences in vocabulary, texts from the early 17th century, such as the works of William Shakespeare and the King James Bible, are considered to be in Modern English, or more specifically, are referred to as using...
 *rightwise or *rightways. He used it to translate the Hebrew
Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic languages of the Afro-Asiatic languages. Modern Hebrew is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Classical Hebrew is used for prayer or study in Jews communities around the world....
 root ????? (TzDYQ), tzedek, which appears more than five hundred times in the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible

The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written mostly in Biblical Hebrew with some Biblical Aramaic....
, and the Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 word (dikaios), which appears more than two hundred times in the New Testament
New Testament

The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christianity Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
.

Righteousness in the Hebrew Bible


Righteousness is one of the chief attributes of God
God

God is a deity in theism and deism religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
. Its chief meaning concerns ethical
Ethics

Ethics is a word for a philosophy that encompasses proper conduct and good living. It is significantly broader than the common conception of ethics as the analyzing of right and wrong....
 conduct. (E.g., Leviticus
Leviticus

Leviticus is third book of the Torah , the name given in Judaism to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible .Leviticus contains laws and priestly rituals, but in a wider sense is about the working out of Covenant set out in Genesis and Exodus - what is seen in the Torah as the consequences of entering into a special relationship with God...
 19:36; Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. In form it is a set of three sermons delivered by Moses reviewing the previous forty years of wandering in the wilderness; its central element is a detailed law-code by which the Children of Israel are to live in the Promised Land....
 25:1; Psalm 1:6; Proverb
Proverb

A proverb , also called a byword or nayword, is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated, which expresses a truth, based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity....
s 8:20) It is used in a legal
Religious law

In some religions, law can be thought of as the ordering principle of reality; knowledge as revealed by God defining and governing all human affairs....
 sense; while the guilty are judged, the guiltless are deemed righteous. God's faithfulness to His covenant
Covenant (biblical)

Covenant, meaning a solemn contract, oath, or bond, is the customary word used to Bible translations the Hebrew language word berith as it is used in the Hebrew Bible, thus it is important to all Abrahamic religions....
 is also a large part of His righteousness. (Nehemiah
Nehemiah

Nehemiah or Nechemya is a major figure in the Babylonian captivity history of the Jews as recorded in the Bible, and is believed to be the primary author of the Book of Nehemiah....
 9:7-8)

Righteousness also relates to God's role as saviour; God is a "righteous saviour"; (Isaiah
Isaiah

Isaiah is the main figure in the Biblical Book of Isaiah, and is traditionally considered to be its author. He was an 8th-century Before Christ Judean prophet who declared that all the world belonged to God and that God will destroy it....
 61) and a deliverer. (Isaiah 46:12-13) The righteous are those who trust that they will be vindicated by the Lord God. (Psalm 37:12-13).

Hebrew Definition of Righteousness


:

The Hebrew word for righteousness is tseh'-dek, tzedek, Gesenius's Strong's Concordance
Strong's Concordance

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, generally known as Strong's Concordance, is a Concordance of the King James Version of the Bible that was constructed under the direction of Dr....
:6664—righteous, integrity, equity, justice, straightness. The root of tseh'-dek is tsaw-dak, Gesenius's Strong:6663—upright, just, straight, innocent, true, sincere. It is best understood as the product of upright, moral action in accordance with some form of divine plan.


In the Book of Job
Book of Job

The Book of Job is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job , his trials at the hands of Satan, his theological discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, and finally a response from God....
 the title character is introduced to us as a person who is "perfect" in righteousness. This does not mean that he is sinless."Perfect" in this sense means that his righteousness permeates every relationship of his life as his working principle. After all, righteousness is a matter of relationships - with God, with things, and with other people. The biblical definition of righteousness involves the inherent quality of God. God is right because He is righteous, therefore God can only act righteously. In one instance the word means being right; in another it is used to mean doing right; in still another case it means putting right. Job qualifies as a righteous person on each of these counts, so much so that he is commended by God as "wholly righteous" or, translated into our terms, "perfect."

Righteousness as it is understood in the Old Testament
Old Testament

In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christianity Bible Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions....
 is a thoroughly Hebraic concept at variance with the common understanding of the term. The failure to comprehend its meaning is perhaps the most responsible for the view of the Old Testament
Old Testament

In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christianity Bible Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions....
 religion as legalistic
Legalism (theology)

Legalism, in Christianity theology, is a pejorative term referring to an over-emphasis on law or codes of conduct, or legal ideas, usually implying an allegation of misguided rigor, pride, superficiality, the neglect of mercy, and ignorance of the divine grace or Letter and spirit of the law....
 and as far removed from the graciousness
Divine grace

In theology, grace may be described as 'enabling power sufficient for progression'. In Christianity, grace divine is an "unmerited favour" of God, indispensable gift from God for development, improvement, and character expansion, and without God's grace, there are certain limitations, weaknesses, flaws, impurities, and faults mankind cannot...
 of the New Testament
New Testament

The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christianity Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
. See also supersessionism
Supersessionism

Supersessionism and replacement theology are particular interpretations of New Testament claims, viewing God in Christianity as being either the "replacement" or "completion" of the promise made to the Jews and Jewish Proselytes....
 and Christian-Jewish reconciliation
Christian-Jewish reconciliation

Reconciliation between Christianity and Judaism refers to the efforts that are being made to improve understanding of the Jewish people and of Judaism, to do away with Christian antisemitism and Jewish anti-Christian sentiment....
.

Righteousness in the New Testament


The New Testament continues the Hebrew Bible's tradition of the ethical and legal aspects of righteousness, but adds the element that Jesus
Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and the Incarnation ....
 embodies righteousness, . According to the New Testament, Jesus came to the world to address the needs, not of "the righteous", but of "sin
Sin

Sin is a term used mainly in a religion context to describe an act that violates a morality rule, or the state of having committed such a violation....
ners," . Righteousness, like the Kingdom of Heaven
Kingdom of Heaven

Kingdom of Heaven may refer to:* Kingdom of God* Kingdom of Heaven , a 2005 film, directed by Ridley Scott...
, is God's gift through grace
Divine grace

In theology, grace may be described as 'enabling power sufficient for progression'. In Christianity, grace divine is an "unmerited favour" of God, indispensable gift from God for development, improvement, and character expansion, and without God's grace, there are certain limitations, weaknesses, flaws, impurities, and faults mankind cannot...
, ().

Paul of Tarsus
Paul of Tarsus

Saint Paul, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul or Paul of Tarsus , was a Hellenistic Judaism, who called himself the "Apostle to the Gentiles", and was, together with Saint Peter and James the Just, the most notable of early Christian missionaries....
 speaks of two ways, at least in theory, see also dual-covenant theology
Dual-covenant theology

Dual-covenant theology is primarily found in Christian theology and teaches that Jews can go to Heaven simply by keeping the Torah, because of the "everlasting Covenant " between Abraham and God expressed in the Hebrew Bible , whereas Gentiles must Conversion to Christianity....
, to achieve righteousness: through the Torah
Torah

The term "Torah" , or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding Halakha and ethical religious texts....
, the law of Moses
Moses

Moses is a Hebrew Bible Hebrews religious leader, lawgiver, prophet, to whom the Mosaic authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed. Also called Moshe Rabbeinu in Hebrew , he is the most important prophet in Judaism, and also an important prophet of Christianity, Islam, the Bah?'? Faith, Rastafari movement, Chrislam and many ot...
; and through faith
Faith

Faith is the confident belief in the truth of or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. It is also used for a belief, characteristically without proof....
 in the atonement
Atonement

The atonement is a doctrine found within both Christianity and Judaism. It describes how sin can be forgiven by God. In Judaism, Atonement is said to be the process of forgiving or pardoning a transgression....
 made possible through the death and resurrection
Resurrection

Miraculous resurrection of one sort or another has been a recurrent theme or central doctrine of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and other Abrahamic religions....
 of Jesus Christ, . The New Testament speaks of a salvation founded on God's righteousness, as exemplified throughout the history
HIStory

HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I is a double album by Michael Jackson, released on June 20, 1995, and is Jackson's ninth. The first disc, named "HIStory Begins" consists of a selection of Jackson's greatest hits from the singer's past fifteen years, while the second, named "HIStory Continues" features new songs, with the...
 of salvation narrated in the Old Testament
Old Testament

In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christianity Bible Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions....
, .

The apostle James
James the Just

Saint James the Just , , also known as James of Jerusalem, James Adelphotheos, James, the Brother of the Lord, was an important figure in Early Christianity....
 speaks of the relationship between works of righteousness and faith , saying that "faith without works is dead." Righteous acts according to James include works of charity as well as avoiding sins against the law of Moses . Righteousness means "right doing".

Saint Peter
Saint Peter

Saint Peter was a leader of the early Christianity church, who features prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles....
 describes Lot
Lot (Bible)

According to the Bible and the Quran, Lot was the nephew of the patriarch Abraham, or Abram. He was the son of Abraham's brother Haran. Abraham's brother Nahor became Lot's brother in law by the marriage of Nahor to Milcah ....
 as a righteous man in .

See also

  • Biblical law in Christianity
    Biblical law in Christianity

    Biblical law in Christianity generally refers to a discussion of the applicability of Biblical law in a Christianity. This is also referred to as God's Law or Divine Law....
  • Expounding of the Law
    Expounding of the Law

    The Expounding of the Law , sometimes called the Expounding of the Law#Antithesis of the Law, is a highly structured part of the Sermon on the Mount in the New Testament of the Bible....
  • Christian perfection
    Christian perfection

    Christian Perfection is a Christian theology which maintains that after conversion, but before death, a Christian's soul may be cleansed from the stain of original sin....
  • Holiness
    SACRED

    SACRED was a Cubesat built by the Student Satellite Program of the University of Arizona. It was the product of the work of about 50 students, ranging from college freshmen to Ph....
  • Alien righteousness
  • Proper righteousness
  • Imparted righteousness
    Imparted righteousness

    Imparted righteousness, in Methodism theology, is that Divine grace gift of God given at the moment of the New Birth which enables a Disciple to strive for Sacred and sanctification....
  • Imputed righteousness
    Imputed righteousness

    Imputed righteousness is a concept in Christian theology which proposes that righteousness of Jesus satisfies all criteria necessary to share in God's grace....
  • Justice
    Justice

    Justice is the concept of morality rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, fairness and equity."...
     - Justice is the ideal, morally correct state of things and persons
  • Justification
    Justification (theology)

    In Christian theology, justification is God's act of declaring or making a sinner righteousness before God. The concept of justification occurs in many books of the Old and New Testaments....
  • Salvation
    Salvation

    In religion, salvation is the concept that God saves humanity from death. As commonly conceived, He has both Will of God and omnipotence to realize human salvation....
  • Sanctification
    Sanctification

    The word sanctification refers to the act or process of making holy or setting apart and occurs five times in the Authorized King James Version of the New Testament translated from the Greek Language word a??as??? "purification," which is from the root hagios which means holy or sacred....
  • Tzadik
    Tzadik

    Tzadik is a title which is generally given to those who are considered to be righteous such as a spiritual master or rebbe. The root of the word tzadik, is tzedek , which means justice or righteousness....
  • Righteous Among the Nations
    Righteous Among the Nations

    Righteous among the Nations , which may at times refer to the B'nei Noah or Noahides as well, is a term used in Judaism to refer to non-Jews who abide by the Seven Laws of Noah and thus are assured of meriting paradise....
  • Rashidun
    Rashidun

    The Rightly Guided Caliphs or The Righteous Caliphs is a term used in Sunni Islam to refer to the first four Caliphs who established the Rashidun Empire....
     Mahdi
    Mahdi

    According to the Shia and Sunni versions of the Islamic eschatology the Mahdi is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will stay on earth seven, nine, or nineteen years before the coming of the day, Qiyamah ....
      for the Islamic Concept