The Righteousness of God revealed

Mark Seifrid writes that:

It is clear from these contexts that when Paul speaks of the ‘righteousness of God’ he does not refer to an abstract divine attribute, but to the event of God’s justification over against fallen humanity, which paradoxically is also the justification of the fallen human being.

He sees 'the Righteousness of God' as something that cuts two ways for us sinful human beings. On the one hand it is God's retributive justice in which his wrath is rightfully poured out, but on the other hand it is also his salvific justice in which he saves his people as he promised.

If the book of Romans has as a theme the Righteousness of God being revealed (1:17), then it is noteworthy that the next verse says God's "wrath is revealed", and that "because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed" (2:5). These are all retributive meanings of the Righteousness of God.

But then the turning point comes in the great "but now" of Romans 3:21, where the wrath meets the salvific faithfulness to his promises:

"But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it — the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." (3:21-26)

Now, in Christ, the Righteousness of God can have a salvific meaning for us.

I think Seifrid gets the meaning of the Righteousness of God better than any other, and I think that is because he is unwilling to give it an exact definition but is an unusual kind of theologian who can accept the paradox and point to Christ instead of a form of words:

Paul’s language obviously includes the idea of retribution…Any interpretation of God’s righteousness or justification in purely salvific terms is forced into the untenable position of ignoring a significant element of Paul’s language and argument as it appears in Romans…For Paul, God’s righteousness is revealed in the event of Christ’s cross and resurrection. Here the contention between the Creator and the fallen creature is decided in God’s favor and yet savingly resolved…There is no definition of ‘righteousness,’ not even in narrative terms, which adequately accounts for the simultaneity of righteous wrath and the gift of righteousness of which Paul speaks (Rom. 3:4-5; 3:21-26). The Christ-event itself supplies the final definition of the language.

Exactly right!

Quotes taken from here, which is from a great collection of big quotations on the meaning of the phrase provided by various theologians.

An Anatomy of Christian Righteousness

Listening to: Franz Schubert: Piano Sonatas (Uchida)

"Our theology" said Luther, consisted of a distinction between two kinds of righteousness:

the active and the passive, so that morality and faith, works and grace, secular society and religion may not be confused. Both are necessary, but both must be kept within their limits. (Lectures on Galatians, 1531-1535, cited in p.21 The Genius of Luther's Theology)

Melanchthon in his commentary on Colossians 2:10-15, the consummate teacher (rather than preacher), offers an anatomy of our passive/Christian righteousness. First he observes that for Paul the definition of Christian Righteousness is "In Christ you are complete" (NIV: "you have been given fullness in Christ"). He further analyses things by observing two differences between Christian and human Righteousness:

1. "Christian righteousness satisfies God, because it believes that the Father has forgiven for Christ's sake" [DK: Christ acts on the Father]
2. "the Holy Spirit, who puts the flesh to death, brings Christian righteousness into being" [DK: Christ acts on us]. This is further divided into:
   1. putting to death: "Putting to death, or repentance, is to recognize sin and to be truly afraid of God's judgement"; and
   2. bringing to life: "Bringing to life is for the conscience the conscience being raised up through faith or trust; for it to seize hold of the consolation of believing that God has forgiven one's sins for Christ's sake". This "Making alive contains two things":
      1. "taking away a bad conscience. For, when God has forgiven sins, he effects peace and joy in our hearts through faith. After that, we dare to be sure he has forgiven us, and dare to call him Father"
      2. "governing through the Holy Spirit.... in the kingdom of Christ, where he watches over them through the Hoy Spirit [and] defends them against the snares of the devil"

PS: I know I must stop posting with titles like this one. It almost seems heretical.

God's righteous judgment is revealed

I have a theory, which could probably be shot down by someone who knows Greek and has read more books than me. Nevertheless I will be bold and share it.

I think the 'Righteousness of God' in Romans means something like 'God's righteous judgment' (ala Romans 2:5). I think this combines many of the strengths of the other interpretations being debated.

In what sense then is the the righteousness of God revealed? I think it is revealed in three ways (the colours tie into the senses in which God's righteous judgment is revealed in Romans 1-3 in the quotations below):

1. Present/visible
2. Future/final
3. In Christ's death and resurrection

When reading the OT you often feel that Israel is not the only party to the covenant who fails to keep to it. God says do this and you will live, fail to do this and you will destroyed (Deuteronomy 28; Galatians 3:10-12). However, Israel never fails to fail and yet God does not destroy them. He does reveal the righteous judgment and is not mocked but he always only partially reveals his judgment. This leads to Habakkuk, the Psalmists, Qoheleth, Job etc to be endlessly confused. Where is God's judgment?

Naturally this leads to a hope for a final judgment in which the law is fulfilled and God shows that he is righteous in judgment by punishing the wicked and acquitting the righteous (c.f. Leviticus 19:15; Deuteronomy 1:16).

Both of these judgments are according to the law, one is just the completion of the other. Paul in Romans 1 explains how God has been judging by 'giving over' people to their sinful desires. In Romans 2 he reminds everyone that this is only a partial judgment and there will be a final judgment at which everyone will be fully judged. But the law has shown (in its execution as well as its legislation) that all will be judged unfavourably on that day.

Thankfully though the final judgment has been brought forward and revealed for us in Jesus Christ. The curse of the law has been exhausted and displayed early in the public death of Jesus Christ. The law then has been fulfilled (fully executed) but apart from itself (in that it wasn't executed on who it was meant to be executed). But the judgment on Christ is two-fold: of condemnation in the cross; but also of justification in the resurrection. If we don't accept that condemnation as ours but instead look forward to being judged by ourselves, then we will not receive that justification which is joined to it.

Sorry that is not very polished, but I'm lacking in time. And although it is a conclusion that has been gradually forming in my mind it is still fairly nebulous and I'm aware that I probably need to make some serious changes. But I thought it was time I threw it out there for some comment.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. [...]

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity [...]

For this reason God gave them up to dishonourable passions [...]

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done [...]

We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? [...] you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.

He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek [...]

on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus [...]

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.