Righteousness

Yesterday we began examining the tsadhe stanza, the "righteousness" stanza, and looking at what the psalmist had to say about righteousness.  It's interesting to note that he never refers to himself as righteous, not in this stanza or anywhere else in Psalm 119.  He speaks of righteous acts he has done (in the ayin stanza), but the quality of righteousness is something he attributes to God and to His Word.  Having seen what the psalmist had to say about righteousness, let's learn more by looking at a New Testament passage.

Read 2 Corinthians 5:17-21.  What does Paul have to say about righteousness?  How does he say righteousness relates to us?  How do the psalmist's words compare to what Paul says?

What does it mean to be a "new creature"?  What does that have to do with the way we live?  Do we consciously live as new creatures?

If you would like to take your study a step further, use your word study tools to determine what words have been translated "righteousness" or "righteous" in both the Old and New Testaments.  What do you learn?

One other passage of Scripture you might want to examine as we bring this topic to a close is Romans 4.  Look at Romans 4:1-9.  Paul speaks about Abraham being made righteous before the Law was given.  As you put all this together, what do you learn?

Summarize what you have learned about righteousness today.  What is your biggest take-away from this lesson?  How will you live today in light of what you have learned?