cslewislover wrote:While it's not meant to be a dichotomy, I thought Romans 5:7 was interesting in that the two words seem the same to us today, that is "righteous" and "good." Here is Romans 5:6-9:
"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (NIV)
"For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us." (NKJ)
I guess at that time, a righteous person might not appear to be good (or nice?). This can be true today, I'm sure. I guess from the teachings in the NT, to be righteous would be to appear good (at least). Just wondered what anyone might think of this.
Vines Expository Dictionary makes a good point on how the bible uses the words translated righteousness. It gives an old English spelling of right-wise-ness that was later changed to righteousness. Doing right in a wise and just manner is the basic idea of this word.
Mounce's Expository Dictionary explains both the Hebrew and Greek words translated righteousness as denoting how one is to act in a just manner the right way. The right way is in accord to set of standards, laws, legalisms, or based on someone's character, that does what is right in a wise manner. Applying those standards in a wise just/fair/honorable manner is what righteousness denotes.
Only by God imparting his righteousness to man/woman is the only way one can live demonstrating/living righteousness — doing right in a wise just/fair/honorable manner. God has to impute this to us, or we cannot live thus. To be made pure involves having the dross removed: A painful process. Job was declared righteous by God and then was purified through suffering before living righteously — think on that a bit more…
Yet, a person can exercise doing right according to the standards law to promote social justice, etc, but these standards are based on what human beings deem as just, fair and honorable which are all subject to change at any given moment. Job and his three consolers bring this point out.
Our right-wise-ness 'are' but filthy rags because we pervert what is just, fair, honorable according to our terms. “None (human) righteous — no not one,” Paul wrote in the book of Romans.
As for the word translated 'Good' the Hebrew describes good as being wellness (soundness), prosperous, beauty, good quality, excellent quality, moral uprightness, or bearing an excellent (positive) integrity. The Greek word translated good adds to the Hebrew idea of being beautifully kind, of an excellent quality, with impeccable integrity.
The Greek adj form for
good means to be beautifully good, useful, helpful. Therefore something that is good is good only according to outward appearances that demonstrate being useful, helpful, nice, etc...
Only God is Good - sound (well), prosperous, beautiful, exercising excellent quality, absolutely morally upright, and always acts with excellent integrity.
Human beings cannot be this good. However, a good man, woman, or child can be good according to outward appearance and show that they are useful, helpful, make things beautiful, joyous, etc…
Jesus said it is what comes out of the heart is what defiles a person. The outside of a cup can be clean but the inside, contaminated. So with these ideas in mind, let's look at the passage in Romans 5:6-9 again paraphrased to help clarify the meaning a bit more:
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For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man (legalistic - one who imposes his own terms of rightness on others kind-of-man) will one die; yet perhaps for a nice man, a useful/helpful man, someone would even dare to dire for. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us…”
We are not good inwardly and we pervert doing what is right, just, fair, and honorable. Our cups look good on the outside but inside we are contaminated. This contamination ruins and makes filthy our ability to do right in a wise/just manner.
Therefore, why would anyone die for such a sorry lot as we? Yet Christ died to set of free, to make our inward parts clean, and impute God's righteousness on us so we can really change. That is an act of love profound!
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But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us…”
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