Righteousness

So what exactly is "righteousness"?  The word is defined as acting in a morally correct manner; correct by divine declaration. 

Our reading today had the following verses about righteousness (there were more, this is just a sample):

"The righteousness of the blameless makes a straight way for them

but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness."

"The truly righteous man attains life

but he who pursues evil goes to his death."

"Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished,

but those who are righteous will go free."

When you only look at the first part of the definition...one could attempt to become righteous through their own efforts.  If you've tried that (like I have in the past), then you probably have figured out the futility involved.  And when you read in Romans 3:10 "There is no one righteous, not even one..." we have even more proof that, left to our own devices, we just can't be good enough for God.  We can't earn the ability to be called righteous on our own.  Lots of people like to act as if they are righteous, but it's only skin deep.

So, if we can't do it on our own...how do we obtain the righteousness that Proverbs 11 speaks about?  That's where the second part of the definition comes into play - to become "correct by divine declaration".  For that we can look to 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."  God wants to forgive us...confessing our sin allows us to stay connected to Him, and this verse tells us that when we do, he will purify us from all unrighteousness.  And when that happens, we become "correct by divine declaration".