Righteousness Vs Holiness

It is easy to think that righteousness originated in the New Testament but a close
study of the Scriptures gives us the true picture, which is that even people in the
Old Testament were declared righteous. To understand the concept of
righteousness, it is instructive to note that there are 3 eras in the Scriptures and
they are the time before the law, the time during which the law held sway and the
time after the law. The Bible refers to Noah as a righteous man and this was at a
time that the law had not yet come into existence (Genesis 6:9). In the Scriptures,
there were people who were declared righteous because they obeyed the law and
when the law was set aside those people were still declared righteous though not
according to the law (Romans 2:12-15, Romans 3;19-21).

New Covenant Righteousness is essentially an eternal state of blamelessness, in

other words; it is a state of freedom from any wrongdoing. In Romans 1:16-17, we
see that this righteousness is revealed in the gospel of the kingdom; it is from God
and is strictly by faith. Romans 3:19-22 reiterates that this righteousness is from
God and is apart from the law, in other words its validity does not derive from the
law. The only thing you need to do to receive this righteousness is to believe the
gospel and in the saving power of Jesus Christ.

It is instructive to note that there is no mention of personal effort under

righteousness as we are made righteous because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the
cross (2 Corinthians 5:21)

New Covenant Holiness can be said to be an abundance of good works (James

4:17, Matt 5:16, Eph 2:10). According to Hebrews 12:14, there is the need to make
every effort as far as being holy is concerned. 'Prepare your minds', 'be self
controlled', 'set your hope', 'do not conform' are action words and they all refer to
holiness (1 Peter 1:13-16).

There are three basic differences and they are as listed below:

Righteousness Holiness
It is by faith from first to last (Romans 1:17) It is a choice/by grace (Lev 19:2, Titus 2:11-13)
It is a nature (2 Corinthians 5:21) It is a state (Heb 12:14)
It is a gift (Romans 5:17, Romans 4:23-24) It is a conscious decision (Lev 20:7)
Using the human body as an example, righteousness is like your skin while holiness
is like the clothes you wear. You always have your skin in place but sometimes you
wear clothes and at other times, you take off your clothes! As you probably will not
leave your house with just your bare skin (no clothes on) for fear of being labelled,
mad so it is best for you to always wear your garments of holiness on your skin of
righteousness.

The bottom line is that righteousness is a constant while holiness is a variable. You
can be righteous (by virtue of the finished work of Christ on the cross) and still
not be holy (by virtue of the work of your hands namely your thoughts, actions,
decisions, words etc). The best combination therefore is to complement your
righteousness with holiness because without that in place, you will not be able to
enter heaven (Hebrews 12:14b).

Author’s note: This message was first preached at the Parish Youth Chapel,
Church of the Pentecost (Anglican Communion), 21 Road, Festac Town, Lagos on
Sunday, 27th March 2011 in my capacity as Coordinator.