Righteousness: How Is It Produced in the Believer?
“But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him” Hebrews 10: 38a.
This passage out of Hebrew 10 explains that the Old Testament sacrificial system was a temporary “shadow” that could not permanently cleanse sins, whereas Jesus’ sacrifice was a final, one-time offering. Faith is required to receive this offering. To read the passage for context, click here.
Faith is what produces righteousness. It works like this: faith in God’s glorious promises produces hope. Hope produces love for God and people. And love is expressed in patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5: 22, 23). And this is righteousness.
The characteristics of love are collectively the definition of righteousness. The reason God is not pleased with the one who shrinks back from faith is because “without faith it is impossible to please God“(Hebrews 11: 6). And that’s because without faith we can never attain to righteousness since it is produced by faith.
To read another post related to Righteousness: How Is It Produced in the Believer? see I’m Suffering: Is It My Own Doing?