Am I Righteous?

I am currently preparing for a message on Sunday from the book of Philippians. It has led me to seriously ponder the following question; what does it mean to be righteous. As I have examined and approached this subject, I have come to the following conclusion. Our culture has completely abandoned what the Biblical term righteous implies.

When we use this term we think of what people do. For instance, if we were to ask many red blooded Americans whether or not Muslims are righteous, the response would be staggering. Fact of the matter is; Muslims are devoted. They are serious about what they do. Our culture has redefined righteous to mean one who is zealously devoted.

Amazingly, the Biblical term righteous is not an action. It is a state of being. To be righteous is to have right standing with God. It is to something that is declared upon us. This Sunday night I will be preaching on what righteousness really is. It is to understand our complete inadequacy and to fall humbly before Christ trusting that what he accomplished on Calvary is our salvation. This humiliation of ourselves is the basis for righteousness. Our righteousness is found at the foot of the cross purified in his blood.