www.cg: Being Righteous and Being Right

BEING RIGHT AND BEING RIGHTEOUS

by Richard Burkard

When I changed cities and jobs several years ago, I "church-shopped" among various Sabbath-keeping congregations. One thing I considered in that search was the minister - whether he was a didactic "little Hitler," as some in the old Worldwide Church of God were accused of being; whether he truly reflected the love of God and the light of Jesus Christ; and whether the minister's messages showed Biblical soundness and a balanced understanding of God's Word.

My WCG Pastor was still wrestling with the change in the Church's direction, and wound up dismissed from the Church a few years later. But shortly after I arrived, he challenged his congregations with a straightforward statement relating to doctrine and beliefs:

"We should be more concerned about being righteous, than being right."

Think about that statement. Is it right? The words are so similar, it sounded like nit-picking with words when I heard it. But it sparked me into a study of what the Bible says about righteousness - a study that became more intense years later when I shifted to another Sabbath-keeping group. This two-part study will begin with the original question, then move to a close examination of what "righteousness" really means.

They look SO much alike....

The first problem with the statement about "being righteous and being right" is that the words interchange several times in the Bible, depending on which translation you use. The most striking example of this is I John 3:7:

NIV: "He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous."

KJV: "He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous."

The words for "right" and "righteous" have practically the same origin in the Greek - meaning "equitably" and "equity." Now look at a couple of additional examples:

I Pet. 3:14 - NIV: "But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed...."

KJV: "But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye...."

Rev. 22:11 - NIV: "Let him who does right continue to do right...."

KJV: "He that is righteous, let him be righteous still...."

The Moffatt translation makes the interchange obvious, using these words: "Let the righteous still do right...." !

Perhaps you looked at our original statement and wondered if it's possible to be righteous without being right. Don't the two concepts go hand-in-hand? The Bible verse we cited from I John would answer that question with a "yes." So does Proverbs 12:5: "The thoughts of the righteous are right...." (KJV) There's also Philippians 4:7: "Whatever is right.... think about such things." Paul suggests right thinking is part of the process of walking in righteousness.

(As for whether the reverse is true, and you can be right without being righteous, I would tend to say it is. How many people have been told off in workplaces about incorrect thinking or decisions - only the people doing the correction fill their statements with foul language?)

Walking in righteousness

So should the Pastor's statement be tossed aside, as just another failed Christian catch-phrase? Well, not so fast -- because that might lead you to dismiss being righteous at all. Several Bible verses say Christians should walk in a righteous way. Romans 10:3 urges believers to "submit to God's righteousness," as opposed to trying to establish their own.

How is this done? In the case of Abraham, "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." (Gal. 3:6) Abel and Noah showed their belief and faith in God by their actions. (Heb. 11:4, 7) In the New Testament era, Paul writes of "faith in Christ -- the righteousness thatcomes from God and is by faith." (Phil. 3:9) .

But these verses strike at a deeper issue, which has divided Christian churches for centuries - the great debate over faith and works. This prompts another look at the pastor's statement.He talked of being righteous and/or right - as opposed to doing righteous and/or right things. No verses in the Bible tell of being right, in a doctrinal way. But righteous acts and works are emphasized.

It starts, as mentioned above, by having faith in God and Jesus. This should be followed by righteous conduct: "Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right." (Prv. 20:11) Even the Paul who preached "faith in Christ" wrote to early churches: "Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody." (Rom. 12:17; see also II Cor. 8:21)

But, you might ask, aren't Christians supposed to focus on love? Yes, Jesus called that the identifying sign of a believer (John 13:35) - but James points out that the "royal law found in Scripture, 'Love your neighbor as yourself,'" is based on the actions a believer does. Favoritism, adultery and murder are cited in James 2:8-11 as examples of wrong actions.

Lest you grow a big head about the right actions you do, and consider yourself Mr. or Ms. Righteousness 2020, remember the words Paul wrote the Romans:

"There is no one righteous, not even one...." (Rom. 3:10)

Paul's actually paraphrasing the wise words of Solomon, in Ecclesiastes 7:20. The point is to realize any righteousness and right thinking we have is a gift from God - and be humbly thankful for it.

Summary

I reached the conclusion that when it comes to the pastor's challenge about "being righteous and being right," the correct answer was.... well, yes and no. Yes, Christians should walk and live as righteous examples of Jesus Christ - but no, you don't have to sacrifice "being right" todo it. The Bible also seems to emphasize the importance of being right in a doctrinal sense.

So how does the Bible define a righteous person? That issue is a central one in the recent splits between the Worldwide Church of God and spinoff groups. It's also a very involved issue - one worthy of a separate article, yet to come.

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