In popular parlance the adjective is usually understood to denote a person of high moral character. This, however, is not how the word is used in the Bible. The adjective, as it is used in the Bible, has the law court as its setting. When a judge finds in favour of, e.g., the accused, the judge is said to have justified the accused, and the accused is now said to be just or righteous.
The adjective simply defines his legal status before the court; ideally, his moral character would match his legal status but it has nothing to do with it. When the Bible speaks, therefore, of our righteousness before God, it is not describing our ability to show clean hands before God (though, ideally, we should) but what God has done in Jesus Christ to make it possible for us to stand before Him without being struck down. It is extremely important, therefore, for us Christians to watch our use of this adjective in the presence of non-Christians so as not to cause unnecessary, and potentially embarrasing, confusion. Most Christian will already appreciate this confusion when they read the story of Judah having had sex with his daughter-in-law, Tamar, whom he mistook for a prostitute. When she became pregnant and he was informed of it, he was indignant and called for her to be burned. But, when he discovered how she became pregnant, his response was ""She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn't give her to my son Shelah" (Gen 38:26). Judah was not waving off the moral seriousness of what she had done. He was simply admitting that, if the case were to be heard in court, he would be more likely to be found more guilty than she would. The additional note in the text, "And he did not sleep with her again" suggests that he saw the act, as all readers do, as morally indefensible as well.
This word is such a vital biblical word, a full article is planned.
Further Readings & Resources:
☰ James Dunn on "the righteousness of God" in Romans 1:17. Excerpt from James Dunn, Romans 1-8 (WBC; Dallas, Tx: Word, 1988).
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