A Glimpse of Romans

The just shall live by faith is found in Habakkuk 2:4, and it was this truth that motivated Martin Luther to nail his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the church at Wittenberg, Germany, bringing about the dawn of the Reformation in Europe. The gospel was at the heart of it all. In it (the gospel) is the righteousness of God found.
“Righteousness” is a very important word carefully chosen by Paul. This word did not originate in koine Greek, or common street Greek spoken in the day. It goes back years before to the classical Greek of Homer. It is the Greek word dikaiosune.
Dikaiosune was a word used in both the Greek and Roman judicial systems. It came to mean “adjustment to the right standard of the law.” When a law was broken, the convicted law-breaker had to be adjusted to the standard imposed by the Greco-Roman law. This standard was adjusted to, depending upon the crime committed, by paying a fine, or becoming enslaved, or by giving a life.
When the judgment occurred, then dikaiosune was accomplished. The meaning of dikaiosune used here is also “adjustment to a set standard.” However, the standard adjusted to has nothing whatsoever to do with man’s legal system. It is used to illustrate adjustment to God’s standard. God is the one who sets the standard of right-ness because He is righteousness. He is the author of righteousness. The moral concepts of right and wrong did not just appear in man’s thinking through some evolutionary process. God stamped it there, because man is made in God’s image.
The word dikaiosune has everything to do with God’s righteousness and His justice.

God is Righteous

God’s righteousness is absolute. He is not just good or even very good. He is one-hundred percent righteous. John said it like this: “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). God doesn’t merely contain light; He is light! God’s righteousness is the pattern for all righteousness. His righteousness originates with Himself.

Our standard of what is right falls far short of God’s absolute standard. Our sin touches everything that we think and do. We cannot think pure thoughts, nor can we do anything that is absolutely perfect. The reason for that should be obvious. Every single person born into this world is born a sinner. The very best we can be still falls far short of God’s absolute standard. That is the essence of sin.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “Sin” is the Greek word hamartano, to miss the mark. The mark that is missed by man is God’s absolute standard of right (Isaiah 64:6; Jeremiah 17:9).

Our legal system is based on man’s high standards of morality. These standards are many times taken from the Ten Commandments. However, all who attempt to carry out these standards are but fallen sinful creatures.
Our very best according to God’s standard is corrupt. So, what is “right” for man becomes a relative term! It depends on what one’s definition of “right” is. What may be right to one legal system is not right to another. What may be right to one government may not be right for another government. What may be right to one person may not be right to another person.

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts. (Proverbs 21:2)

God’s righteousness, on the other hand, is based upon His character. He sets the standard. If man is to have a relationship with God, God’s requirement must be met. He cannot compromise who He is. Dr. Lewis Johnson often said that God’s required righteousness is that righteousness which His righteousness requires Him to require.
It is from God’s absolute standard of righteousness that man’s standards of right and wrong must ultimately be measured. God, because He is omniscient, is privy to all the facts. One day He will judge accordingly (Acts 17:31).
The word used in the Old Testament to describe God’s absolute righteousness is tsedeq. It is found in the New Testament as the Greek word dikaios. The best word to describe God’s righteousness is the word “straight,” and a good illustration is God’s straight plumb line.

God is Just

He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are just, a God of faithfulness and without injustice; righteous and upright is He. (Deuteronomy 32:4, NASV)

God is the Rock; He does not move. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His work is perfect (tamim, blameless). All His ways are aligned with His absolute righteous standard. Because of His character, He must always adjust that which is not right back to this standard. He is a God of faithfulness (emunah, steadfastness). He always acts the same. He never changes. He always aligns Himself with who He is. We call this characteristic of God “immutability.” There is no unfairness or injustice with God. Never. This does not mean that we understand exactly how God carries out His justice in every case (Daniel 4:35).
Events in history attributed to God do not always appear to us to be fair and just. Among these are war, natural disasters, plagues, catastrophic deaths, events that either God does or that He permits Satan to do. We just do not understand the why. We are not blessed with knowledge of all the facts, and the facts we have are not always accurate. “Justice” is the Old Testament Hebrew word “mishpot.” Like righteousness, God’s justice is a part of who He is.
God’s righteousness, on the other hand, is based upon His character. He sets the standard. If man is to have a relationship with God, God’s requirement must be met. He cannot compromise who He is. Dr. Lewis Johnson often said that God’s required righteousness is that righteousness which His righteousness requires Him to require.