YHWH Tsidkenu Our Righteousness

Thank you so much for joining us. We are learning more about the attributes, nature and character of God through His names. I trust what we learn today will make an impact on your life. I pray that you will come to recognize how our Creator's attributes directly and personally impact our lives. Pray that the Lord will help you make a personal connection to how your life can change knowing that He is our Righteousness. Eric

I trust you have been able to glean some marvelous truths from our studies thus far on the names of God. To date, we have looked at YHWH (I Am); YHWH Jireh (Our Provider); YHWH Rapha (Our Healer); YHWH Nissi (Our Banner) and YHWH Shalom (Our Peace). You will find these studies in our 3/4/26; 3/11/26 and 3/18/26 posts. When you earnestly seek God, His Word and Truth it will have a huge impact on your life.

The LORD (YHWH or Jehovah) is absolutely holy, set apart from all impurity. (Leviticus 19:2). In referencing God, Habakkuk 1:13 reads, "Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?" This Scripture emphasizes God's holiness and purity but also indicates that God is so much more than pure and holy.

We see throughout the Word that we are commanded to 'be holy.' Leviticus 11:44 and 1 Peter 1:15 and 16). In fact, Scripture reveals without holiness no one will see God.

Holiness essentially is the foundation that leads to righteousness. To be righteous refers to our being in 'right' standing with God.

However, what does the Word of God tell us about man's ability to achieve righteousness? Isaiah 64:6b reveals that our righteousness is as filthy rags. Also, we read in Romans 3:10, "There is no one righteous, not even one." So, once again, we become aware that we absolutely need the Lord's divine intervention. No human effort can achieve the righteousness required by God.

Our focus for today's study comes from a prophetic Word which foretold of Jesus in Jeremiah 23:5 and 6 (BSB), "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name by which He will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness."

The Hebrew word for righteousness is 'tsedeq' which means "rightness and righteousness." (Brown-Driver-Briggs).

According to the Bible Hub Topical Lexicon, "tsedeq gathers into one term the ideas of what is right, straight, just, normal and in full conformity with God's moral order. It is used of character, speech, verdicts, measurements, social structure and saving acts. Rather than a merely human ideal, tsedeq is the objective standard flowing from the Lord Himself and therefore remains immutable throughout redemptive history."

Remember, The LORD Our Righteousness was a prophetic Word concerning Jesus. John 14:6, reads, "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." This verse reveals that the way the Lord made for us to become righteous was through the gift of Righteousness we receive when we enter into a personal relationship with Jesus. Jesus is the only way to the Father. He is the only mediator between God and humanity. There are no alternative paths to God. The Greek word for righteousness is dikaiosune and it basically means 'right' or righteous before God. (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance). According to HELPS Word-studies, "it is a judicial verdict, a verdict of approval, the approval of God. This ‘righteousness' refers to what is deemed right by the Lord (after His examination)."

We can really see the heart of God for us as we read 2 Corinthians 5:2 (BSB), "God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." This exchange reveals the heart and love God has for His people. The believer's sin is placed on Christ, and His righteousness is credited to the believer! Wow! This is an amazing revelation! You see, when there was no way we could be justified or righteous enough to enter into His presence - The Father sent His Son to pay the penalty for our sins by taking our sins upon Himself, shedding His blood and giving His life as a sacrifice. Then, when we accept Jesus as the Son of God and accept His sacrifice on the cross, we are gifted with His righteousness, and it is 'just as if we had never sinned!'

Romans 5:17-19 (NIV) reads, "For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! 18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous." 'Grace' is unmerited favor. There are a number of things I want you to take note of in these verses:

1).'Those who receive' reveals that God's gifts are not forced upon any one of us - we must choose to receive them.

2). The gift was given through God's abundant provision of unmerited favor upon us.

3). The righteousness we receive is a 'gift', "a gift freely given and hence not acquired by merit or 'entitlement'" (HELPS Word-studies).

4). We cannot achieve righteousness by our own effort. It is given as a gift through our faith in Christ.

5). We were made righteous because of Jesus' obedience. The price Jesus paid for our righteousness was like nothing any of us have ever experienced. When He was in the garden of Gethsemane praying before His crucifixion, Luke 22:44 reveals, "He was in anguish and he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. I believe as do some of the commentators that it wasn't Jesus' impending death that caused that anguish, it was knowing He was taking on the sins of the whole world. The sinless man was taking on the weight of mankind's sins.

Philippians 2:8 reads, "And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death--even death on a cross!"

Both the Hebrew and Greek words for 'righteousness' convey the idea of being in 'right' standing or alignment with God's will.

I want to reiterate that the Scripture leaves no doubt that to be 'right' before God requires a personal relationship with Him through our faith in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:9)

1 Corinthians 1:30 reveals, "And because of him (God) you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption." God, by His sovereignty, initiated the salvation process. It did not come about from human effort. Do you recall, in the Garden of Eden, immediately after the fall of mankind, that the Lord spoke to the serpent (satan) and told him the woman's seed would crush his head? God had already devised a plan and in the fulness of time, His Son, was born of a woman. Jesus fulfilled His purpose in coming to earth and sacrificed Himself to make the way, through His gift of righteousness, for mankind to be able to be reconciled to right relationship with God. In this way, He ensured satan's defeat.

Romans 3:21 and 22 reveals that the righteousness given through faith in Jesus Christ is given to all who believe and that there is no difference between Jew and Gentile.

Titus 3:5 reads, "And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption" Again, we see that God divinely initiated our salvation and that, as members of humanity, we had no righteousness and could do nothing to earn salvation. The phrase 'through the washing of new birth' is referring to our restoration of right relationship with God. We receive a divine spiritual cleansing by receiving an inner reality of redemption. The most amazing part of this verse to me though, is the last phrase - 'and renewal by the Holy Spirit.' "This phrase suggests a transformation that goes beyond mere moral improvement, indicating a fundamental change in our nature.” (Bible Hub Study Bible). A part of this transformation includes the renewing of our mind. Through this renewal we have the ability to discern spiritual things - to recognize the difference between good and evil. By allowing the Holy Spirit to guide and lead us, we will be able to resist being deceived and sucked in to believe a lie. The Holy Spirit is the agent of this renewal. Because of the gift of righteousness from Jesus' death, the Holy Spirit aids in the process of our becoming a new creation in Christ! (2 Corinthians 5:17) and we receive the promise of a 'new heart and spirit' given by God (Ezekiel 36:26,27). Thank God, that means He enables us to be able to live eternally in God's presence!

What a tremendous gift we have received from God! He is righteous and through the death of His Son, He has made a way for those who believe to be spiritually restored relationally back to the unity and harmony Adam and Eve experienced with Him before the fall.

In closing I will share these Scriptures with you:

Romans 8:10, "But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness." (Our physical bodies are not redeemed).

Ephesians 4:22-24, "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."

Matthew 6:33a, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness."

We are to choose to live in a way that reflects the righteousness of Christ in our daily lives. Jesus embodies and imparts God's righteousness to believers. And again, as part of the covenant God made with his people, He provides what is necessary for us to be in right standing with Him!

We have been blessed with Jesus, The Holy Spirit and His Word which reveals His nature, His attributes, character and love to us.

Let us live a life that reflects all that He is, including His righteousness to all those we encounter.

Unless noted otherwise all Scriptures are taken from the New International Version.

BSB Berean Standard Bible