Let's begin this way, What is Righteousness? According to the Gospel, what is Righteousness? What does it mean for a man to be righteous before God? Let's begin this study right now:

Rom 5:1  Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 
Rom 5:2  By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Rom 5:8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 
Rom 5:9  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 
Rom 5:10  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Rom 5:17  For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 
Rom 5:18  Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 
Rom 5:19  For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. - Romans 5 vs 1 - 19 Abridged {King James Version}

Now, the passage above is contextual: from the first verse to the last verse of the chapter, the Apostle Paul is speaking concerning righteousness, and his emphasis on righteousness here is that which we have received in Christ. Now I want you to take note of the descriptions he used to speak of this righteousness. Firstly, let's jump to the verse 17 and take a look at it:

  • For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ

Here, he tells us that we have received the gift of righteousness in Christ. Meaning, we have received righteousness which is from God, we have received righteousness which is according to the Gospel. So, What does this righteousness entail? What does it signify for us? What does it mean? In order to fully grasp what the gift of righteousness in Christ means, we must first understand that the entire discussion in this chapter is contextual. Meaning, Paul is speaking about one matter—righteousness in Christ or the gift of righteousness in Christ. So right now, I want you to go over the above Bible passage again, and take note of the underlined words in the passage—those words are descriptions which Paul used in the passage to speak of the gift of righteousness in Christ. Those words give us understanding of what righteousness means according to the Gospel. So pay attention to the following descriptions as seen underlined in the passage above. See them:

  • justified by faith
  • peace with God
  • saved from wrath
  • reconciled to God

So, according to the Gospel, righteousness means that we have being justified from all sins; it means that we have peace with God, God has no issues with us; it means that we have been saved from the wrath of God that will come upon the ungodly; it means that we have been reconciled to God. O Hallelujah! We who were once enemies of God, being dead in sins and trespasses, we have now been reconciled to God. Hallelujah! This is the definition of righteousness according to the Gospel.

So dearly beloved, now you know what righteousness means according to the Gospel: it means right standing, a state of no defect. That means, we have peace with God, God doesn't have issues with us, we have been accepted by God. So in plain terms, Righteousness according to the Gospel means being at peace with God. And no man can attain this righteousness by his own performance or efforts, hence, it was given to us freely. That is why the Apostle Paul described it as 'the gift of righteousness'. Glory to God.

So therefore dearly beloved, know this day that your righteousness before God is that which He gave you as a free gift, and not that which you perform by your efforts. So, don't let the devil lie to you that God is angry at you, or that you have lost fellowship with God. Don't listen to satan's lies! Light has come to you now, you have being enlightened, therefore stand upon the enlightenment! Before God, you don't have issues! Before God, you are free from sin! Before God, you are accepted by Him! Before God, you are His blessed child. All these are the working of Grace in us. Salvation in Christ is an absolute work of grace from start to finish, and not a work of a man's performance! Know this and be at peace with yourself.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 
Not of works, lest any man should boast." - Ephesians 2 vs 8 - 9 {King James Version}

An absolute work of grace in us from start to finish!

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Jenning Uweye
Teacher,
Global Bible Study Community

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