Denny answers:
To be righteous means to be without sin.
Righteous means to be without sin. Only God is righteous, but He declares us to be righteous (sinless) like Him when we trust in Jesus as our Savior. When you are righteous, you are considered completely right and not guilty of anything that is wrong (sin). Jesus took our sins onto Himself on the cross, and we no longer need to suffer any punishment for them – He took that punishment for us.
Even though we sin before we believe in Jesus, and even though we keep sinning afterwards, Jesus’ death covers over every single sin. After we trust in Him, we should show that we truly do believe in Him by sinning less and by doing good works, but these good works do not save us from our sins – only our faith saves us. We are declared righteous when we receive our new status of being justified before God. Sanctification is the process that comes later on as we continue trusting in Him and doing good works that He leads us to complete for His sake.
Bible Truth
- “But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers [and sisters], stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth [preaching] or by letter [the Bible]” (2 Thessalonians 2:13-15).
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