Righteousness (Deuteronomy 32:4)

He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He. (Deuteronomy 32:4) 

Did you read the title of the message I will be sharing today? What is the title? Righteousness! The title is “Righteousness.” It’s quite interesting when you look at the Chinese character for righteousness. I don’t know if it is just coincidence, but the character for righteousness in Chinese is made up of two characters. One is stacked on top of the other. The character below is 我, which means “me.” And above that character is 羊, which means “sheep.” So it’s “a sheep above me.” These two characters make up the character for “righteousness.”

Righteousness is very important in Christian faith. I looked up the word “righteous” in the dictionary, and it is defined as “morally right or justifiable.” Righteousness means being right. We are trying to seek God’s righteousness in our lives—God’s righteousness. And as you just heard, God is righteous. He is the God of righteousness. At times, we say God is just, and at other times, we say God is equitable. So, God’s righteousness has a strong relation to His equity and justice.

In the New Testament, it says that our God deemed Jesus, whom we believe in, righteous and raised Him from the dead. God raised Jesus from the dead! Why? Because He is righteous; because He is right. However, people were against Him. They killed Jesus. “Crucify Him!” they cried. Why? Because, according to them, He wasn’t right. People believed Jesus was unrighteous, that He wasn’t right. For this reason, they crucified Him. Yet God judged the same Jesus righteous and raised Him to life. In this way, there is a dissimilarity between the world’s judgment of what is right and God’s—our God, who appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and who created heaven and earth. This is somewhat expected, since what I think is right as an individual is different from what we think is right collectively.

I’m in charge of the Chinese worship services, and about 10 years ago, a certain lady came to the Chinese worship. She was Chinese. She came up to me with a suggestion. “I’ll give you 20 million won.” I was pleased to hear that. But then she went on, “I’ll give you this money so you can go to the immigration headquarters and hand it to them for me.” I asked, “What is it for?” She said, “My uncle was arrested and is being held there!” It turned out that her uncle had been staying in Korea illegally and got caught. She was asking me to hand that money to help free her uncle. According to her knowledge, it seemed like the right thing to do. Of course, every nation’s culture is different, and perhaps there are some people in our country who might think such actions acceptable. However, for me, personally, it was against my conscience, and I couldn’t do such a thing. It seemed unrighteous to me. So I told her, “I can’t do that. I’m sorry!” She was very disappointed. And then her reaction was this: “Pastor Lee is evil.” To her, I was “evil, unrighteous, and lacking love.”

As in this example, each person has their different ideas. Everyone’s standard of righteousness would be different. What I consider right is my righteousness. But there is also a standard of righteousness set by society. And the two clash. Furthermore, there is the righteousness set by the state or government, which can also conflict. Have you heard of regionalism? What is considered correct or right in one region may not be seen as right in another. But on a national level, such conflicts are not ideal. So when the standards of right and wrong are different at the national, societal, and individual levels, which is more important? Probably, what the nation judges as right would be most important, wouldn’t it? And because the nation’s righteousness is broader, small things need to be sacrificed. Thus, seeking righteousness is not an easy thing to do. There may be losses involved.

But there is a greater righteousness than that of the nation. It is the righteousness of humanity. There is something that the whole mankind considers right. For example, in our country, there is a figure who is considered a righteous man—Ahn Jung Geun. He stood up for the liberation of our country from Japanese rule. Similarly, there is also Yun Bong Gil, who fought for the country. Would Japan like these men? Probably not. Some people argue that these men are the same as the terrorists in the Middle East. It is debatable. However, if one were to say that in our country, he would be treated a traitor. Hence, this shows that what is considered right within our country can differ from global perspectives. Determining who is right will vary depending on one’s point of view. But the righteousness of humanity may be greater than the righteousness of a nation.

Since I mentioned Ahn Jung Geun, can I ask if you think he is an honorable man? Most of you probably do. But what if he were your husband? Would you still think he is honorable? You’ll probably persecute him because he’s never home, he doesn’t earn an income, and he doesn’t care for his children, all because his sole concern is for the country. His family would likely have it difficult. From the family’s standpoint, he could be seen as a bad person—a bad husband and a bad dad. But from the country’s perspective, he has to sacrifice his family. Thus, for the greater cause, the lesser must always be sacrificed. Personal sacrifices are made for the sake of the greater good.

Do you have the willingness to do that? You have your own righteousness. But then there’s the righteousness of society. Are you willing to sacrifice your personal rights for the good of the society? Or even for that of the nation? Nowadays, many people do not want to make such sacrifices. Some might think, “Regardless of what happens to the country, as long as I live happily, that’s what’s right for me.” So for example, serving in the military is about seeking the righteousness of the nation. But some people might try to get out of military service at all costs because they don’t want to go.

Is there a cause greater than that of a nation? It would be the cause of the whole humanity. There are people whom the whole world sees as righteous. Who might they be? For example, when I was growing up, I often heard about Dr. Albert Schweitzer. He transcended national boundaries, going to Africa as a medical missionary. People like him are widely regarded as honorable by people all over the world for the works he did were for the good of the humanity. The greater the cause, the more people are made happy. Contributing to the happiness of many and promoting world peace requires increasingly sacrificing lesser causes. But that’s not an easy thing to do. To live a life like Schweitzer is not easy.

I think we covered everything we could think of—Righteousness of the country, and even righteousness of the world. But is there anything greater than that? What would be a greater cause? It is God’s righteousness. God’s righteousness. There is a something else, which God judges as right. What is right according to man is different from what God deems right.

Our faith is about seeking righteousness, and in the end, we come to discover that if it’s not God’s righteousness, it is neither true righteousness nor eternal righteousness. Once we realize what God’s righteousness is, we surrender before it. Nothing else can be considered righteousness compared to God’s righteousness. God’s righteousness is the standard. Whatever God says as right is right. Those who don’t believe in God may not agree. However, in order to find God’s righteousness, we have to be faithfully devoted to at least what we believe to be righteous. Only then can we come to find God’s righteousness. And when we do, we will be able to find God’s righteousness and acknowledge God as God.

The person who seeks righteousness will be able to meet God. The one who yearns for what is right. He yearns and yearns, but no matter how much he seeks righteousness, he cannot find it on this earth. This leads to disappointment and despair. Because there is no righteousness on earth, he weeps, agonizes, and becomes very poor in spirit. He wants to find that which is right, yet he can’t because there isn’t anything that is right on the earth. However, Christians are people who have found the eternal righteousness in God. Hence, they no longer claim in front of God, “I’m right!” nor do they claim, “We are right!” Everything that they once believed to be right morally and ethically, is laid down before God. Only God is right. Only whatever God does is right. This is righteousness.

So Jesus said something like this: “You have some knowledge about righteousness. However, when the Spirit of God comes into you, He will correct your misunderstandings and rebuke you for the wrong knowledge you have. You have the wrong understanding of righteousness, which the Holy Spirit will correct you of when He comes. What is righteousness?” Jesus said, “I am going to the Father!” He went up to heaven. He was on the earth for some time, and then went to heaven. This is what Jesus defines as righteousness. In other words, only Jesus Christ is righteous. God deems Jesus as righteousness.

Such righteousness is no more on the earth. Only Jesus is righteous. There is no other righteousness on this earth. Let’s say a person threw himself on to the train tracks to rescue someone in danger of dying. But he himself couldn’t get out in time and died. His action will be called heroic, right? Such a person will be honored as righteous; that he did the right thing. People might think his action was “righteous.” However, that is only righteous according to man. God does not deem him righteous for that action. The important matter is that God acknowledges us as righteous. Only then can we go to heaven. However, there is only One whom God considers righteous. Who is that? Jesus Christ. This is the faith we believe in.

Today, we believe that we who believe in Jesus have also become righteous. We believe that we are all righteous. There is no one righteous in the world, yet we have been acknowledged as righteous in God’s eyes! It sounds absurd, doesn’t it? “I am righteous? How can I be righteous? How am I righteous like Jesus Christ?” It sounds nonsensical. I am always arguing, greedy, stumbling, worried—yet I am righteous? I am righteous in God’s eyes? God knows all of my sins! Then why does He consider me righteous? And yet, He does.

What is the reason for that? It is not because we did many good works. It is not because we became kind in heart after believing in Jesus. You don’t become a kind person by believing in Jesus. People who are new to the church often have this misconception that everyone who goes to church are respectable people. But that’s not true. People who come to church are no different from you. They are just sinners—nothing more. The only thing is that they came to church before you did. In fact, those who think they can manage on their own just fine in this world usually don’t come to church.

We were seeking the right thing in the world but failed. A person comes to church because he confesses, “I am not right. If I were judged based on right and wrong, I would definitely go to hell!” He who comes to church is one who admits, “I am not right! I am a sinner!” But God says He will consider such persons as righteous. We were not righteous originally, but God will call us righteous. Why is that? There’s only one reason. We are connected to Jesus Christ, the only One whom God deems righteous. In other words, we have been transplanted into Jesus. We have been grafted onto Him. That is why God now calls us “righteous!”

Since God deems us righteous, it doesn’t matter even if the whole world says, “You’re not righteous!” God considers us righteous. The nation might say, “You’re not righteous!” But that doesn’t matter. We are righteous if God says we are righteous. The whole society can say, “You’re not righteous!” Yet it doesn’t matter if God calls us righteous. Because the degree of righteousness is all different depending on the person and their place in society. Our family might say, “You’re not right!” However, that’s okay if God said we are righteous.

After I came to believe in Jesus, I was often away from family on Lord’s Days attending church. My parents said, “You’re not doing right! You should spend time with family. What are you doing away from us?” Nevertheless, since I became righteous in God’s eyes, I didn’t pay attention to what they said. I believed that they would do the same as me if they also come to know the happiness God gives, so I waited. Finally, a few years later, my parents also came to possess God’s righteousness. They, too, were considered righteous in God’s eyes. The society could judge Christians in the same way, saying, “You’re not right!” Especially in the modern Korean society, there is a lot of prejudice against Christians. People have this perception that Christians are not righteous. But that’s okay. It is God who calls us righteous.

Because our faith is about seeking righteousness—what is right— whether or not we have the desire to seek righteousness before we meet God does influence whether we can have true faith and whether we can maintain that faith once obtained. Therefore, you have to long for righteousness. If any of you have not met God yet, you will be able to meet Him when you long for righteousness, when you pursue what is right. Even among those who come to church, some come with the longing for righteousness, while others come for their own righteousness.

A while ago, a person I knew came to church. The reason she came to church was because her child had cerebral palsy and faced physical challenges. She sought help from many different places hoping for her child to get better. She had been to many different hospitals and sought out skillful doctors all over the country. After that, she visited many temples where they perform ‘gut’ (shamanic rituals). In the end, she went to a church nearby that was well known to be powerful, and after some time there, she ended up coming to our church.

But after listening to her story, it was clear that she had one sole interest. She only had one objective that brought her to church. Do you think she was seeking righteousness? Not at all. It was only for her child to get well. That was the reason she came. Of course, even if she came with that objective, we encouraged her so that she could meet God. However, she didn’t have any desire to meet God. She simply wanted her child to be healed. Her attitude was essentially, “You Christians say you have power. So heal my child.” Unless her heart changed, she would be unable to meet God, and if she doesn’t meet God, her child could not be changed.

Thankfully, her child had a longing for righteousness in her heart. And the child actually repented, saying, “I am not righteous! God is righteous!” The child used to resentfully think, “If God is real, how can He do this to me? Why did He let this happen to me?” Nevertheless, this child got to experience God after repenting. And then he received the Holy Spirit. After that, this child started speaking in tongues. These are all promised in the Bible. This child was shocked. After receiving the Holy Spirit, the child wept, spoke in tongues, and praised God. The child was so overjoyed that he spoke in tongues at home.

When the mother saw her child speaking in tongues, she thought her child went insane and blamed the church for causing it. So I explained to her, “This is a gift from God! This is promised in the Bible! Your child has been acknowledged by God!” But the mother was not interested. She said her child was behaving strangely. She said her child was supposedly praying. She argued, “Where is God? He can’t even be seen!” Yet because her child kept seeking God and praying in tongues, the mother forbade her from going to church on Lord’s Days. The Lord’s Day school teachers visited them, but the mother had her child locked up, so there was nothing more we could do. We just waited for the mother’s heart to change. This is a very tragic story, but soon after we heard news. Because the mother wouldn’t let the child out of the room, the child jumped out of the window and died. That mother didn’t even come to church herself. From the start, she wasn’t longing for righteousness. She wasn’t seeking what is right but only hoping for her child to be healed. She had no desire to meet God or confess, “I am a sinner!”

Why is it important to seek righteousness? As you keep seeking what is right, even without knowing God, you will eventually discover something: “Oh, I’m not righteous! I am a sinner!” If you only pursue what is reasonably right, you might think you are righteous and even say, “I’m right!” However, if you continue to seek and seek righteousness—perfect, eternal righteousness—justice and fairness, you will come to realize, “There is nothing right in the world, and even I am not righteous.” In the end, you will confess before God, “I am a sinner!” A person who seeks righteousness in this way will ultimately come to possess the kingdom of heaven.

Thus, Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  The one who seeks righteousness is blessed. Why? Because he will in the end find that blessing. But before you find righteousness, you have to come to the realization that there is no righteousness in the world. Only then can you find God’s righteousness. You will find what is truly right, not what’s advantageous to you. People speak a lot about what is right, but when faced with personal loss, they abandon what is right and choose whatever is favorable to them regardless of righteouness. A heart that is so easy to give up on what is right will struggle to find God. Yet if one has the heart to pursue what is right, even at the cost of personal loss, though he may experience despair, God carefully watches that heart.

Just as a side note, when I was in high school, while everybody else’s dream was becoming a scholar or something of the usual sort, I, for some strange reason, wanted to become a righteous person. If anyone asked me, “What do you want to become?” my answer wasn’t something like, “I want to be a professor.” Instead, I answered, “I want to be a righteous person!” At that time, the world I saw was so evil. For example, in schools, there was so much inequality. My school was a private school, and the corruption was serious. Later, I found out that most of the decisions made were money related. As a young student, it was a huge shock. Things like relationships with teachers, who became the student representative, and even how much attention a teacher gave were all determined by these unjust actions. It broke my heart. Our school later came on TV because of a dispute that arose.

In these circumstances, I thought hard about the question, “What do you want to become?” And my answer was, “I want to be a righteous person!” So when the bell rang for recess, I started doing something different. During our breaks, I walked around picking up rubbish. At every break in between classes, I picked up rubbish trying to be a righteous person. And I pondered hard, “What must I do to live a righteous life?” When it was time for me to choose my major for university, I thought about what kind of job would do the “right thing.” I concluded that helping others was the right thing to do so, which is why I chose social work as my major. Social work included supporting the disabled, youth, regional community and many others. They were all about helping people.

But in the first semester of my first year, I was devastated. “How can I help anybody? I need salvation myself. I need help myself right now. How can help somebody else?” I wanted to have a lot of love in me and even thought I did, but after realizing I didn’t, and it left me in despair. During that whole process, I was able to surrender to God. “God, I’m a sinner!” For some time, I thought I was a righteous person. And because I was helping others, I thought I was righteous. Yet I wasn’t able to give my life for somebody else or sacrifice myself to help others. In the end, I came to realize that all my efforts were for my own profit. Thus, I came to surrender to God and say, “I’m a sinner! There is no one righteous in this world!” When I confessed that, I was able to meet God.

Everyone, seek what is right. Although there is nothing righteous on the earth, when you have the poor spirit that longs for what is right, it will become your joy knowing Jesus Christ whom God acknowledged as righteous and gave to us. Otherwise, even if Jesus—God’s righteousness—is given, people might simply respond indifferently, saying, “Well, so what?” But while one who longs and longs for righteousness and realizes there is no righteousness, he discovers God’s righteousness. This is eternal righteousness. Jesus Christ is not only righteous on this earth but is also God’s righteousness. Hence, He is righteous in heaven, which God made, and righteous on this earth. Jesus Christ alone is forever righteous, no matter where. This is the righteousness we now possess.

Therefore, we have become righteous ones, deemed righteous wherever we are on the earth. We are also deemed righteous in heaven. We have become righteous. If you want to have the faith that rejoices over God-given righteousness and treasure it, you must long for righteousness. In the name of Jesus Christ, I bless you all to be filled with joy and thanksgiving as the righteous one acknowledged by God. Let us pray.

Thank You Father God, for we were originally unrighteous, but through Your Son Jesus Christ, by uniting with Him, we are acknowledged as righteous. Since we became the righteous one acknowledged by You, help us to surely acknowledge that we are justified by Your standards and not by the standards of the world, even if the world or other people call us unrighteous. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

Pastor Ki-Taek Lee
The Director of Sungrak Mission Center