I have realised that there are more verses in the bible about righteousness than there are about faith!! Righteousness and righteous are apparently mentioned 540 times and faith, faithfulness and faithful are mentioned 348 times. *

The definition of righteousness can be stated as things that are right, virtuous, noble, morally right, just, clear, clean and ethical. The characteristics of righteousness can be stated as integrity, fairness, justices in dealings, and pure.

I believe that when we hunger and thirst for righteousness it means that we yearn to be in right standing with God and to be righteous means "to be in right relationship with God".

God declared Abraham righteous not on the basis of what he did, but on the basis that he believed God. Genesis 15 v 6 says "And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness." In Galatians 3 Paul shows that Abraham pleased God by faith and not by doing works of the Law since the Law did not exist in Abraham's time. And Romans 4 again explains that it was accounted to Abraham for righteousness - not because of works, but because of faith in God.

Now in James it says that "faith without works is dead". So if we look at James 2 v 21,22 it says " Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the alter? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?" God pronounced Abraham righteous the moment he believed and later through his obedience Abraham demonstrated the reality of righteousness.

I believe that when we put our faith in what Jesus did for us on the cross, God sees us as righteous. When we give our lives, our hearts our everything to our Lord Jesus, God sees us as righteous. Once we have been born again our spirit is always in right relationship with God. When we sin, God still sees us as righteous. That's not to say that the sins we commit don't have consequences in our soul because they do, but just as Abraham's wrongdoings didn't effect his righteousness, our wrongdoings don't affect ours.

When we hunger and thirst for righteousness , for that right relationship with God that faith in Jesus produces in our spirit, then changes occur in our way of life and this will ultimately lead us into practical holy living.

*AWMinistries.