“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21
What is true righteousness?
Biblically, righteousness means being right according to a standard, and Scripture makes clear that this standard is not human opinion, culture, or morality, but God Himself. Righteousness is alignment with God’s nature and ways. But it is not merely moral effort, because God alone is perfectly righteous and therefore defines what righteousness is. As Scripture declares, “The LORD is righteous in all His ways, gracious in all His works.” (Psalm 145:17) Righteousness is the foundation of His authority and judgment. The Bible says: “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; mercy and truth go before Your face.” (Psalm 89:14)
When humanity is measured against this divine standard, Scripture’s verdict is sobering: “As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one.’” (Romans 3:10) This is why human effort cannot produce true righteousness, since even our best attempts fall short of God’s holiness: “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6) True righteousness, therefore, must come from God, because only God perfectly embodies what righteousness truly is.
And as believers, we must be careful not to confuse self-righteousness with the righteousness that comes from God. Many see born again believers as people who judge others while overlooking their own flaws; that is, a group that appears morally superior or quick to condemn. Sadly, that perception is often legitimized when we speak truth without humility or love. But the Bible reminds us that true righteousness is a gift from Christ that humbles us, keeps us dependent on grace, and leaves no room for pride or comparison.
Thus, as followers of Christ, we should examine ourselves. The Bible reminds us that when we begin to believe that any of our goodness is rooted in ourselves, this is self-righteousness.
True righteousness is not something we build through effort—that is self-righteousness; rather, it is a gift of God’s grace.
You may say, “Does that mean I don’t have any moral obligations?” Not at all. Rather, as we examine this idea of how self-righteousness and true righteousness are mutually exclusive, it will become much clearer.
So first, let’s examine the two essential ways the Bible speaks about true righteousness. The first is positional righteousness: our unchanging standing before God in Christ. The second is practiced righteousness: our lived experience of a transformed life. These two truths belong together—and understanding the difference protects our hearts from pride and motivates us to live in fully surrendered heart-obedience to God.
Positional Righteousness. Scripture tells us that our position before God is not something we earn. It is God’s gift to us in Christ when we are born again:
“Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:8-11
Before we can EVER walk in outward righteousness, God must clothe our soul and spirit in Himself and His perfect righteousness. When we are born again, Jesus justifies us in the sight of the Father. This is a legal declaration. Our eternity is secure.
Then, practiced righteousness flows out of our new spiritual identity of being positionally righteous through Christ. We stop working FOR acceptance and begin working FROM acceptance. Our confidence rests in Christ, not in our ability to “measure up.”
Very importantly, positional righteousness sets us free from the sin of self-righteousness.
If salvation is “not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:9), then pride should have no standing in our life. Oh, what a relief. Jesus removes the pressure to prove ourselves and frees us from spiritual comparison, religious striving, and performance-based identity. It divorces us from self-righteousness because we know all of our righteousness is based on Christ alone.
Our positional righteousness is the only sure foundation from which to practice righteousness.
Practiced Righteousness. The Bible says:
“Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.” 1 John 3:7
“[I]f indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:21-24
As born again believers, obedience is not something we must perform in order to gain God’s approval; it’s what we live out because we already belong to Him.
Practical righteousness is the fruit of our relationship with God, not the price of admission into it.
When obedience flows from love, it looks very different from obedience driven by fear or insecurity. John reminds us, “We love Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) The righteous life we practice is a response to the priceless manifestation of love that has already been given to us. We are not trying to earn a place in God’s household—we are learning to live as children who already have a home.
Forced obedience says, “If I perform well enough, God will accept me.” But Scripture tells us we have already been adopted. “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption.” (Romans 8:15) Fear produces pressure and anxiety; adoption produces peace, confidence, and gratitude.
It’s so important for us to train our minds to think differently about obedience. That’s why we are commanded to transform ourselves by the renewing of our mind. (Romans 12:2) Our positional righteousness gives us the ability to create new grooves in our brain and destroy the wrong thinking created from past experiences involving imperfect authority figures.
Practiced righteousness is not raw behavior modification; rather, it is transformation from the inside out.
Paul says that we “put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:24) The new life we live is not powered by our effort but by God’s work within us: “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13) The more we develop the mind and attitudes of Christ, the less we want to live in the sin that crucified Him.
This is why both positional and practiced righteousness free us from self-righteousness.
Many of the most common forms of self-righteousness among Christians don’t show up as open arrogance, but as subtle attitudes like quietly feeling “more faithful” or “more serious about God” than others; or a judgmental posture that focuses on other people’s visible sins while minimizing pride, gossip, or lack of love in our own lives. It shows up in defensiveness when confronted, a reluctance to repent, or the instinct to justify our own “small” sins. Self-righteousness often expresses itself through performance-based spirituality, where serving, giving, and ministry activity become measures of worth. Doctrinal correctness often becomes a badge of superiority instead of a reason for humble gratitude. At its core, it replaces compassion with critique, appearance with authenticity, and dependence on grace with confidence in one’s own goodness or spiritual standing. Because it is often cloaked in spiritual language, it often thrives inside Christian culture while openly contradicting the Gospel’s powerful message of humility.
God has so much more for His heirs!
Just as a royal heir is raised in the palace, our life of obedience flows from a secure place of belonging, not from striving to earn it. A prince does not study, train, or learn discipline in order to become a son — he is already a son by birthright. His tutors shape his character because he already belongs to the royal family. His failures do not cancel his identity, and his achievements do not increase his worth; they simply help him mature into the role he already possesses. In the same way, our practical righteousness grows out of the security of our standing in Christ.
My friend, true righteousness is the joyful surrender of a redeemed soul. It is the Spirit training our desires, reshaping our thoughts, and conforming us to the image of Jesus day by day. And as we walk in this relationship, we discover that righteousness is not a burden we carry…it is the beautiful life that grows from knowing we are fully, eternally loved by God.
Tomorrow, we are going to explore some of the practical ways to change our thinking so we can experience this full blessing! Don’t you want to learn to think like the beloved child of our Almighty King?
Prayer:
Father, thank You that our standing before You is secure in Christ. Thank You that we do not have to strive for Your approval or labor to earn Your love — You have already made us Your children by grace. Help us to live out the righteousness You have given us, not from fear or insecurity, but from gratitude and trust. Renew our minds, reshape our desires, and teach us to walk in the new life we have in Jesus. When we sin, remind us that our identity is still rooted in You; and when we obey, keep us humble, knowing that every good work is the fruit of Your Spirit within us. May our lives reflect Your righteousness, and may our obedience be an expression of love to the One who has called us His own. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
