Holiness and Righteousness

In the New Covenant of Grace holiness and righteousness interact, often overlap each other, and sometimes mean the same. It can be hard to distinguish between what is holy and what is righteous. But the difference is not that important because they both work together and are both needed for our salvation.

Holiness refers to our relationship with God, how He calls us and sets us apart to be His own. Only our God can provide a ransom which is great enough to redeem us from our sins, which is great enough to make us holy again. So we can spiritually become one with our God, live in His holy spiritual Kingdom.

*for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Ro 3:23 NKJV+

*But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 1Pe 2:9

*But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—Col 1:22 NIV+

Righteousness refers to being morally right with God’s commands, ordinances, and rules. We are all sinners, have disobeyed our God and must have our sins forgiven by Him to become righteous once more. So we have no outstanding unforgiven sins before our God.

*What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written, "There is none righteous, not even one; Ro 3:9-10 NASB+

*But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. Ro 3:21-ptn22 NIV+

In the New Covenant of Grace:

We are made holy by the grace of Christ’s atoning death on the cross. We are made righteous by faith.

We must be both holy and righteous to become one with our God, to remain one with our God. For our God is holy, is righteous and only when we are holy and righteous can we come into His holy presence, spiritually be one with Him.

*because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." 1Pe 1:16 NKJV+

*"Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me. Isa 45:21 NASB+

We are made holy and righteous by our God, when we are called by our Heavenly Father to be His own. We are called in different ways, at different times and ages to be children of our God. Our God calls each believer in His own unique way.

*For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." Ac 2:39 NKJV+

*just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, Eph 1:4 NKJV+

Our Heavenly Father makes us holy and righteous through the Baptism of the Spirit, the spiritual baptism which saves us. Baptism of the Spirit allows us to remain one with our God, become one with our God. See Baptism of the Holy Spirit

*Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Jn 3:5 NASB+

*And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. 1Co 6:11 NKJV+

The way we are made holy is by being called by our Father to be His own, according to what He would have us do.

*who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, 2Tim 1:9 NKJV+

*So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience ; Col 3:12 NASB+

The way we are made righteous is by giving up our human will, and submitting to the will of our Heavenly Father as He calls us to be His own. For then our Father forgives all of our sins, spiritually washes them away, making us righteous.

*Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. EZE 36:25 NKJV+

*He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, Tit 3:5-6

The means by which we are made holy and righteous when we are called, is the sacrificial death of Jesus. This is the only sacrifice our Father would accept as complete atonement for our sins. Only through the blood of Jesus can we be made holy, can we become one with our God.

*And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Heb 10:10 NIV

*”I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly." Gal 2:21 NSAB+

*It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 1Co 1:30 NIV+

The way we are kept righteous, our sins are continually forgiven, is by a faith which makes us love our God above all things.

*For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." Ro 1:17 NIV+

*For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. Gal 5:6 NKJV+

Our Father gives the Spirit to those who will accept Him into their hearts.

*"But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the Lord, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Jer 31:33 NASB+

*And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Eze 36:27 NIV+

*Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 1Cor 2:12 NKJV+

When we accept the Spirit into our hearts, He introduces us to our God. Through the Spirit we are able to have a sincere faith in our God, a faith which makes us love our God above all things, our neighbor as ourselves. And by this faith we are made righteous, we have all of our sins forgiven by our God.

*Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. 1Co 12:3 NKJV+

*and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, Phil 3:9 NASB+

The means by which we are kept holy and righteous is the sanctification of the Spirit through the grace of Jesus Christ. His blood shed on the cross as atonement for all of our sins. The Spirit sanctifies us, keeps us holy and righteous, by continually forgiving our sins, when we love our God above all things.

*To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ--their Lord and ours: 1Co 1:2 NIV+

*that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Ro 15:16 NKJV+

*And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Heb 13:12 NIV+

We are made holy by Christ’s atoning grace, and we are made righteous through faith in our God. Holiness and righteousness are both needed to save us, to give us eternal life in Heaven with our Savior.

*so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord Ro 5:21 NASB+

*For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; Eph 2:8-9 NASB+

In the New Covenant of Grace:

We must be righteous and holy to be spiritually one with our God, to be His holy children, and to spiritually live in His Holy Kingdom.

The only sacrifice our Father would accept as atonement for our sins was the sacrificial death of Jesus. Only through Him could we become holy, righteous, and perfect. Only through the grace of Jesus can we come to our Father, become His children. This is what sets the New Covenant of grace apart from the Old Covenant.

*Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Jn 14:6 NKJV+

*because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. Heb 10:14 NIV+

Believers through the grace of Christ can once more become spiritually one with our God. Jesus would baptize us with the Holy Spirit, so the Spirit could dwell in our hearts, uniting us spiritually with our God.

*I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God." JN 1:33-34 NKJV+

*For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 1Co 12:13 NASB+

Physically we will struggle to live a righteous and holy life, but spiritually believers always remain righteous and holy. For the Spirit will give us the faith to be righteous. He will sanctify us, forgive our sins immediately to keep us holy. So we are always spiritually righteous, holy, and perfect before our God, as we await the return of our Savior. See How Our Sins Are Forgiven

*If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. Ro 8:10 NASB+

*But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 2Thess 2:13 NASB+

In the New Covenant of grace, righteousness and holiness automatically interact to save us. We must be both holy and righteous for the Spirit to live in our hearts. And without the Spirit dwelling in us, no one is holy, and no one is righteous.

*Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. 1Jn 3:24 NKJV+

*You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. Ro 8:9 NIV+

In the New Covenant of grace we are holy and righteous, one with our God through Jesus destroying sin. Or one is neither righteous, nor are they holy, but unrighteous, unholy, children of Satan. There is no middle ground.

*There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Eph 4:4-6 NKJV+

*the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 1Jn 3:8 NASB+

In the New Covenant of Grace:

If you are holy you are righteous and if you are righteous you are holy.

There is nothing we can do to make ourselves either holy or righteous, but give up our will, and accept the Spirit into our hearts.

Our salvation is a free gift to us out of the love and mercy our God has for us. For we are:

Given the Spirit

*Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Ro 5:5 NKJV+

*He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, Tit 3:5-6 NASB+

Given holiness through grace

*Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. Ro 5:18 NKJV+

*being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Ro 3:24 NKJV

Given righteousness through faith

*For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Ro 5:17 NASB+

Given eternal life in Heaven

*For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ro 6:23 NKJV+

*And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. Rev 22:17 NKJV+

In the New Covenant of Grace:

Righteous and holiness are both gifts given to us out of the love, the mercy our God has for us.

There is some confusion about being righteous and holy. This confusion is mainly due to the way believers were made holy and righteous in the Old Covenant. This was totally different from how we are made righteous and holy in the New Covenant. In the Old Covenant believers could be righteous, but they never could become perfectly holy until Jesus died for their sins.

In the Old Covenant of Laws:

The way believers were made righteous was by faith. By faith they were forgiven all the sins they had committed against their God and against other people.

*By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. Heb 11:4 NIV+

*It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. Ro 4:13 NIV+

* "Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith. Hab 2:4 NASB+

The means to make and keep believers righteous was the blood sacrifices of animals. This foreshadowed the atoning sacrificial death of Jesus as atonement for our sins.

*Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, Gen 4:4 NKJV+

The means were increased to include works along with animal sacrifices. The Lord required Abraham to circumcise all who would become His children.

*"This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. Gen 17:10 NASB+

*Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Gen 21:4 NKJV+

The means would be expanded through Moses to include obedience to around 600 moral and ceremonial laws. And the number of laws were increased by many hypocritical Jewish leaders to around 800 at the time of Jesus.

*saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. Matt 23:2-3 NASB+

*For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen by men. Matt 23:4-5 NKJV+

These ceremonial laws required certain sacrifices and works to be done, so one could become righteous, remain righteous. Jesus would have sinned if not for parents who had Him correctly circumcised, and presented Him to the Lord. And Jesus was required by law to be ceremonially washed before He began His ministry. And without this ceremonial washing Jesus would not remain righteous.

*And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. Lk 2:21 NKJV+

*And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord "), and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, "A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons." Lk 2:22-24 NASB+

*But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him. Matt 3:15 NKJV+

There were also means needed to make people and places holy so the Lord could come into the presence of those He chose. This included the High Priest who once a year, on the Day of Atonement, came into the holy of holies in the temple, to offer a sacrifice for all believers, to make all in the nation of Israel holy. Although Old Covenant believers were righteous, they were not holy until this sacrifice was offered for them, and it had to be offered once a year to make them holy.

*"So the priest who is anointed and ordained to serve as priest in his father's place shall make atonement: he shall thus put on the linen garments, the holy garments, and make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar. He shall also make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. "Now you shall have this as a permanent statute, to make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year." And just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so he did. Lev 16:32-34 NASB+

Yet none in the Old Covenant could become perfectly holy, come into the Kingdom of God, until Jesus atoned for our sins. For the only means the Father would accept as total atonement for our sins, allowing us to come into His Kingdom, was the sacrificial death, the blood of Jesus.

*For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance--now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. Heb 9:15 NIV+

*God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-- he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Ro 3:25-26 NIV+

In the Old Covenant the spirits of all the righteous had to wait in Abraham’s bosom, here on earth. For they could not go to Heaven until Jesus died for their sins, and made all the righteous perfect, and brought them into Heaven.

*to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, Heb 12:23 NASB+

In the Old Covenant of Law one could be righteous and not holy, one could never be perfect, come into the Kingdom of Heaven, until Jesus died for their sins.

In the New Covenant of Grace we are in:

We are still under our God’s moral laws, which all can be summed up in the greatest 2 commands Jesus ever gave us. We should love our God above all things, and our neighbor as ourselves. All of God’s moral laws come from these 2 great commands.

*Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. Matt 22:37-38 KJV

*And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Matt 22:39 KJV

Yet we are no longer under any Old Covenant ceremonial laws. These ceremonial laws only were to lead us to the reality of the Son of God dying as atonement for our sins. Jesus has fulfilled all Old Covenant laws, they are needed no more. There is nothing we must do to receive forgiveness of our sins, to become righteous, to become holy. Except believe in our God, believe in Christ’s atoning grace on the cross for our sins.

*"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Matt 5:17-18 NASB+

*So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. Gal 3:24-25

All in the Old Covenant did not know who their Savior would be. On the Day of Atonement they had to have this ignorance about their God forgiven. They did not know that Jesus would be born on this day, would die to take their sins away, making them holy, one with their God. And to this very day all who turn to any of the Old Covenant ceremonial laws, still have a veil but in front of the grace Jesus offers them. It is only removed when we accept Christ’s grace alone through faith to make us holy and righteous.

*But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. Heb 9:7 NIV+

*Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 2Co 3:15-16 NIV+

The Day of Atonement symbolized how the Spirit would come into our hearts, our most holy place, and make us one with our God. Those who have the Spirit are given freedom from sin, we are made holy and righteous, by the grace Jesus offers us in the New Covenant our Father made with us.

*The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing. Heb 9:8 NIV+

*Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2Co 3:17-18 NIV+

All believers who have been given the Spirit, are made one with God, and are spiritually brought into the Kingdom of Heaven. And Jesus told us the least of these while living on earth is greater than the greatest prophet. This is not because of anything we have done, but what Christ has done for us. We can become righteous, holy, and perfect because of the grace of Christ, which can happen only in the New Covenant of Grace. It is a free gift our God has given to all who will believe.

*"Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Matt 11:11 NKJV+

*For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. Eph 2:8-9 NIV+

Those who believe anything else is needed except faith in the blood of Jesus to make us righteous, to make us holy, are saying that Jesus died for no reason. They are trampling on the blood of the Covenant of grace that was given to us.

*”I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly." Gal 2:21 NSAB+

*How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? Heb 10:29 NASB+

Yet those who believe are made righteous and holy, for our sins are forgiven us. We live in the knowledge our Savior will appear a second time for our salvation, to take us with Him to live in Heaven forevermore.

*He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 1Jn 2:2 NIV+

*so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. Heb 9:28 NKJV+

Next

Sins-Forgiveness

Home