Establishing a throne: What is righteousness?

This is the fifth and final article on a series entitled Establishing a throne. Previous articles are:

1. Is Jesus a Democrat or Republican?
2. How is it established?
3. Who sits on it?
4. What is justice?

This article looks at the last phrase of our key verse for this series:

In love a throne will be established;
in faithfulness a man will sit on it --
one from the house of David --
one who in judging seeks justice
and speeds the cause of righteousness.
-- Isaiah 16:5

Our society does not talk much about righteousness. This is unfortunate since I believe it is at the very core of the defining issues of the present generation. Warren McGurn in the Wall Street Journal opines that the conflict in our society is not due to “culture wars” but rather “constitutional wars.”^[1] While I think I understand what he is saying, that there is an element to the conflict that is based on differences of understanding how the constitution should be applied, I disagree on which is cause and which is effect. I think there are different visions for our society and culture leading to the constitutional disagreements, not that those constitutional differences drive the culture. I believe the laws of a society reflect the values of that society. They are an encoding of what that culture believes to be right. For example, with the long-standing conflict of abortion and the newer issue of so-called “gay marriage,” both sides typically frame the argument as human rights issues. The problem is neither of these are fundamentally human rights issues but rather issues of righteousness.

So what exactly is righteousness? This is not a hard question. The dictionary defines it as “the quality or state of being righteous; holiness; purity; uprightness; rectitude; conformity of life to the divine law.”^[2] Deuteronomy 6:25 defines it simply as following God’s commands: if we are careful to obey all this law ... that will be our righteousness. There is not really much wiggle room in either of these definitions. In both cases, the standard of God’s law is the basis for righteousness. The problem I see with our current cultural situation is we do not bring this into public discourse. We try to have conversations on fundamentally moral issues without an absolute moral framework. We hold the discussion on political or morally relative foundations and so we have lots of arguments, amendments, demonstrations and disagreements without addressing core issues or coming to a resolution.

Another interesting question: is righteousness something that involves personal, religious beliefs that are independent of society as a whole? Alternatively, can we apply the concept of righteousness to a culture? I believe it to be both. There is the concept of personal righteousness, wherein we as individuals need to realize we will stand before the Judge of the universe and be held personally accountable for our actions. Old Testament prophets talk about individuals being responsible for their own sin; the son is not responsible for the father’s sin nor is the father responsible for the son’s. Paul exhorts us to pursue righteousness by living lives of faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Jesus, Paul and John all tell of judgment to come. These are but a few examples.^[3] Scripture is replete with more.

The issue we as a society have ignored, and what may be offensive to many, is the concept of righteousness applying to a group of people, whether it is a nation, culture or society. Many try to raise the “separation of church and state” argument. The problem is the misapplication of this phrase when used in this situation. The concept, worded this way by Thomas Jefferson in some letters and encoded in our constitution as the First Amendment, means the government will not support and establish an official state denomination or sect.

This concept has its roots in the history of Europe where the Catholic Church had ruling power shared with kings. Due to political differences between nobility and liturgical leaders, there were many conflicts. Eventually some countries established other denominations as their official ones that, in some countries, continue to the present day.

At the founding of the United States, the Constitution eliminated an official, established, state religion to avoid the conflict and possible oppression that it can foster. However, no one intended an abandonment of Judeo-Christian ethics or a banning of the reference to scripture from all things public and politic. In fact, many early leaders recognized that without scriptural values as a base, this country would not survive.^[4]

Regardless of what the Founding Fathers thought, scripture tells us “righteousness lifts up a nation, but sin is a disgrace in any society” and that “the way of wicked people is disgusting to the LORD, but he loves those who pursue righteousness.”^[5] Even if early or contemporary Americans think religion has no place in society, God will disagree. Israel was judged for their corporate sin.^[6] God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for the wickedness found in them.^[7] Through these and other passages,^[8] it is clear that God judges societies for their collective sins independent of whether or not they acknowledge His rule.

Because of this, many in the present day are concerned about the repercussions due to unrighteousness in our own society. Even though they individually follow God’s commands as best they can, they are still concerned about the lack of concern in the culture as a whole to follow them. They know that even though Daniel was one of most righteous men who ever lived, he did not escape captivity when judgment fell on his society.^[9] The active disdain evidenced by some quarters of our nation towards scriptural commands puts us as a country in a dangerous position before the King. We cannot continue to ignore divine law and expect to continue enjoying the blessings we have had up to now.

On the other hand, we see oppressive, religious fundamental societies in the Middle East where groups walk around brutally enforcing their version of righteousness and we recognize this is not a good model to follow either. While we may admire the passion some Moslem sects have for their cause, we cannot adopt their means. Some things are clearly condemned in the Bible; there are also many things not so clear. I do not agree with all my Christian brothers with what constitutes all aspects of righteousness and would not want to be under their control any more than those who disagree with me want live with my understanding of God’s laws.

Clearly, there needs to be liberty to allow individuals to seek of God’s will and responsibly follow it. At the same time, because of the corporate responsibility we share, we need to arrive at some means of agreement with what the minimal standards are. At issue are those in our midst who will not seek to follow God’s rules in any measure. It is not a matter of disagreeing on degree or subtleties; these individuals outright reject clear scriptural teaching. I wonder if there is a way to reconcile these groups. Perhaps this is why in the end, God himself will return to set things right.

Getting back to the text, what is the “cause of righteousness” and how does one “speed” it? Personally, I find this phrase hard to understand. Translations that are more literal render it as “hastening righteousness” which I find easier to comprehend. Simply, Jesus the King urges and facilitates our growth in righteousness. There are two ways I see this happening. As above, one is on a personal, individual level and the other is on a corporate level.

First, Jesus came the 2000 years ago to save individuals from their sin. We each owed a debt where the only payment was our death. When the perfect Jesus died in our place, he paid that debt for us. When we accept this payment, He imputes His righteousness to us and we receive God’s approval and life.^[10] Because of this right standing we now have before the Father, we have authority to live righteously. Before the imputation of righteousness, sin bound us like slaves. Now we are free from sin and have the capacity to live righteous lives. By freeing us from this bondage, Jesus makes it possible for each of us to be righteous.

Finally, he will return to save us from our corporate sin. As alluded to above, there are two sub-points here. One, there are areas that Christians honestly disagree over when it comes to understanding what scripture says. They are not both right, and in fact, they may both be wrong. In order to clarify these areas, He will reveal unambiguously by His appearing and instruction how we are to live. Two, there are those who will outright reject His decrees and laws. They have no interest in righteousness; no desire to follow His commands. These He will remove. In both cases, He will ultimately cause righteousness to increase on a global level.

In conclusion, Jesus has caused, and will cause in the future, an increase of righteousness. First by imputing His righteousness to us, then through the agency of the Holy Spirit imparting righteousness to us as we mature in Him and finally by establishing a global government wherein righteousness reigns.

Footnotes

1. Opinion piece by William McGurn in the Wall Street Journal online.

2. righteousness. (n.d.). Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary. Retrieved December 09, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/righteousness

3. Ezekiel 18:19-20,30-32; 1 Timothy 6:11; Matthew 25:31-46; 1 Corinthians 3:11-15; Revelation 20:12-15

4. Washington’s Farewell Address: Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men and Citizens. The mere Politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connexions with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked, Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

5. Proverbs 14:34; Proverbs 15:9

6. Jeremiah 2:20-28

7. Genesis 18:16-19:25

8. Deuteronomy 9:5: Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thy heart, dost thou go in to possess their land; but for the wickedness of these nations Jehovah thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may establish the word which Jehovah swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
Isaiah 58:2: They look for me every day and want to know my ways. They act as if they were a nation that has done what is right and as if they haven’t disregarded God’s judgment on them. They ask me for just decrees. They want God to be near them.

9. Ezekiel 14:14,20: Even if these three men--Noah, Daniel, and Job--were in that country, they would, by their righteousness, rescue only themselves," declares the Almighty LORD. ... As I live, declares the Almighty LORD, not even Noah, Daniel, and Job could, by their righteousness, rescue their sons or daughters. They could rescue only themselves.

10. I Corinthians 1:30: You are partners with Christ Jesus because of God. Jesus has become our wisdom sent from God, our righteousness, our holiness, and our ransom from sin.

Romans 5:18: Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

II Corinthians 5:21: God had Christ, who was sinless, take our sin so that we might receive God’s approval through him.

Philippians 3:9: This means that I didn’t receive God’s approval by obeying his laws. The opposite is true! I have God’s approval through faith in Christ.

Establishing a throne: What is justice?

This is the fourth installment in the series entitled Establishing a throne where I look at the following verse:

In love a throne will be established;
in faithfulness a man will sit on it --
one from the house of David --
one who in judging seeks justice
and speeds the cause of righteousness.
-- Isaiah 16:5

An alternate rendering for the passage highlighted above is "In judgment He establishes justice." Psalm 89:14 tells us "justice is the foundation of His throne". There are many other similar passages.^[1] Given the nature and plethora of passages, we understand that the concept of justice is very important in Jesus' kingdom.

Looking around the world, we observe varying degrees of oppression in all governments. We see decrees by court systems that seem out of alignment with our sense of justice. Moreover, at the same time, others look on these very same rulings and deem them just. Legislatures pass laws we look at with dismay. Those charged with upholding the laws too frequently undermine them. With so much seeming injustice in the world, and so many different voices in our culture claiming situations as being both just and unjust, the question is raised "What exactly is justice?"

One definition of justice is "Things in perfect accord with God's original plan."^[2] This is a great definition. It works well illuminating the passages above, and elsewhere in scripture, about justice. Using this definition, decisions are just when they match God's will, heart and desires. It gives us a yardstick by which to view any given situation and evaluate what is just in that context.

This definition also explains why there is disagreement on what exactly is just by relating it back to Genesis. Originally, everything was good in God's eyes; justice ruled. The reason we yearn for justice is that it is the original intent. It is part of our hearts and souls' design. However, when disobedience entered the world, we separated from God. The reason we now have injustice is that we, corporately and individually, through our separation are no longer in perfect accord with God's plan.

Apart from God, there is no hope for lasting justice. All our fallen human institutions are corrupt: government, political parties, charitable organizations, cultures. No group of people is sinless: wealthy, poor, male, female, black and white. Because of this corruption, if we start with any other foundation than God's will, we build on the sand of human sentiment. We will inevitably take our eyes off the injustices our own soul commits and focus on injustice external to ourselves. In doing so, we forget our own depravity and think we can bring change through our own efforts.

To solve issues of injustice, we first must start with our relationship between God and ourselves. The original injustice is sin. We have all done it. We have all violated God's laws. We all need reconciliation with Him. The only way to this is through Jesus and accepting His payment on our behalf. It is only after this most basic of all relationships has been restored that we can begin pursuing and understanding what is on His heart for other relationships. This must be the foundation for establishing justice in our own life and the lives of others. If it is not, then we are fostering the spirit of anti-Christ by making people think justice can happen apart from right relationship with God.

After we have dealt with our injustice towards God by acknowledging our culpability, seeking His forgiveness and accepting His mercy, the next step is to deal with the injustices we have committed towards others. Depending on the situation, there may be various, appropriate means of dealing with the injustice. These include, but are certainly not limited to, seeking forgiveness directly from the individuals involved, providing restitution, confession to authorities and seeking forgiveness from God. Due to the various ways of dealing with these situations, seeking and doing God’s will is of utmost importance.

Injustice towards us is the last relationship with which we are personally involved. This can be a hard issue to deal with since everything in our being cries out for justice. Unfortunately, we are not objective enough to judge accurately when we are the wronged party. In these situations, remember Jesus’ example where, while suffering the greatest injustice of all on the cross, he asked God to forgive the very people committing the crime and submitted Himself to God's will.

Finally, there is the issue of injustices between third parties. This includes all the contexts where we are not one of the parties involved in the situation. One place where this occurs is the so-called Justice system. Balthazar's definition of justice explains why human courts sometimes get it right and other times wrong when it comes to their rulings. If the ruling matches what is on God's heart in the matter, they get it right. If the ruling conflicts with God, then it is wrong and needs to be changed. At one time, God's laws formed the basis for our laws. The Ten Commandments used to have a prominent place in our courthouses. Our legislation simply encoded the basic tenets of Judeo-Christian ethics and our courts followed. As our society has moved further into humanistic relativism, our legislature and courts have reflected this shift with more and more laws and rulings that are out of accord with God's law. We are slowly moving from the absolute authority of God's word to relativistic human sentiment and thought.

Another common theme associated with justice revolves around social issues relating to the oppressed and poor. All too often, we try to treat these issues outside the context of right relationship with God but the fact is God is more concerned with social issues than we are. Like the children of Israel in Egypt, He hears the cry of the downtrodden and promises aid. They will see the ultimate fulfillment when Jesus’ throne is finally established. This is the primary hope to point them to while secondarily we attempt to implement some of God’s kingdom even now.

Given all this, it is incumbent upon all of us to consider each decision in light of God's desire, first as individuals and then as leaders. Do you not think you are a leader? Consider virtually everyone is in a leadership position somewhere whether parents who guide their household or a team captain establishing rules for those they are working with or national politicians establishing and administering laws. When we make decisions, we can either seek God's will or follow our own desires.

Finally, some questions to contemplate:

• What would my life look like arranged with everything in perfect accord with God's plan?
• How far off is it?
• In those areas that are off, is it due to a decision I have made or one imposed on me?
• For those decisions I have control over, what can I do to rectify the situation such that it is closer to what I know to be His will?

Further reading

Stuart Greaves gave a talk on this topic. Notes for it are here.

Footnotes

1. Psalms 45:6, Psalms 89:14, Psalms 97:2, Isaiah 9:7, Hebrews 1:8

2. Quote attributed to Hans Urs von Balthazar.

Establishing a throne: Who sits on it?

This is the third in a continuing series entitled Establishing a throne where I'm looking at Isaiah 16:5. By way of introduction I asked Would Jesus be a Democrat or Republican?, concluding the question was the wrong thing to ask. Then I followed with How is it [a throne] established? looking at the role love plays in the formation of God's kingdom.

Now, let's look again at the passage, focusing on the second phrase.

In love a throne will be established;
in faithfulness a man will sit on it --
one from the house of David --
one who in judging seeks justice
and speeds the cause of righteousness.
-- Isaiah 16:5

The faithfulness of both the Father and Son are involved in the establishment of Jesus' throne. Throughout history Father God has made promises. He started in a broad way with Eve when He told her at the fall one of her descendants would crush Satan's head. He narrowed it to a nation when He told Abraham that all the nations of the earth would be blessed by one of his offspring. He restricted Himself even more by promising David he would have an heir on the throne forever. He finally focused it to a point in telling Mary that she, even though a virgin, would have a son who would take away the sin of the world and rule forever on David's throne.^[1]

These series of promises over about 4,000 years were partly fulfilled by Jesus the first time He walked the earth. God was faithful to keep the promises to Eve and Abraham. Satan's head was dealt a crushing blow that blessed all mankind by the work Jesus finished on the cross. Because of this past faithfulness, we can be confident He will complete the yet unfulfilled promises to David and Mary. God will be faithful to establish Jesus kingdom.

Jesus' too illustrated He was faithful to do the whole will of God without wavering. Following the ancient plan, He started with the incarnation when He set aside the glory of heaven and took on flesh and daily followed it, even to death on the cross. Through His faultless obedience to the Father, He has proved His faithfulness to both God and humanity. His faithfulness has demonstrated His worthiness to rule.^[2]

The final item of note is Jesus' humanity. He is not some other-worldly being that will rule, but a flesh and blood descendant of Adam, a man. So often we think of Jesus as a man during his first time on earth and then he becomes something else at the resurrection and ascension. No. He was a man with a resurrected body, but a body none the less. He ate. He drank. His disciples touched Him. He was not a ghost. He became nothing less with the ascension and He will continue to wear meat for eternity. This is the miracle of the incarnation. Not that God became man for 33 years but that He became man forever.^[3]

1. Eve: Genesis 3:15
Abraham: Genesis 22:15-19, Galatians 3:15-18
David: 2 Samuel 7:16, 1 Kings 8:25, Psalm 89:3-4, Psalm 132:11-12
Mary: Luke 1:29-33, Matthew 1:21

2. John 5:19-30, John 17:4, Galatians 4:4-5, Philippians 2:6-11, 1 Peter 1:20, Revelation 5:9-10, Revelation 5:12-14

3. Luke 24:36-43, Acts 1:11, Colossians 2:9, Hebrews 7:23-25, Revelation 1:17-18, Revelation 1:31

Establishing a throne: How is it established?

In love a throne will be established;
in faithfulness a man will sit on it --
one from the house of David --
one who in judging seeks justice
and speeds the cause of righteousness.
-- Isaiah 16:5

This passage recently caught my attention. In the middle of prophecies about destruction due to unfaithfulness and injustice, this verse appears about one who will put things right. It stands out with hope in contrast to the context of misery it sits in.

It starts stating a throne will be established in love. I believe this to be a future prophecy about Jesus' earthly government with several aspects to the "love" component.^[1] First, he will be given the throne by the Father because of the love between the Father and Son. The Father has loved Jesus since before creation. Jesus honors the Father through obedience to His will; in turn, the Father is pleased with and desires to honor the Son.^[2]

Next, the Father will give leadership to Jesus because they both love creation and mankind. Originally, creation was made perfect. When humans rebelled, all of creation was subjected to futility. Because of their love for the cosmos, they do not want to leave it in this condition but know, under current systems, nothing is going to fundamentally change.^[3] Something radically different needs to happen; that radical change is Jesus government. He came the first time to pay the price to rule the universe and to demonstrate His worthiness. Next time He comes it will be to claim and enforce the right He already possesses.^[4]

Finally, because of the love between Jesus and His people, those being ruled will agree with and support the Father's action. Jesus is working in his people that the same love the Father has for Him will also be in them.^[5] There are two places these people come from. The first is from the non-Jewish peoples. These are the Gentiles who have believed on Jesus and have been grafted into the family tree of faith, spiritual descendants of Abraham. The second group are Jews. Jesus told the Jewish people I will not come again until Israel says "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord."^[6] We don't yet see either of these groups sold out in love to Him but there is a time coming when we will. Jesus is developing a deep love in both these groups to bring them together so in unity they may cry with the Spirit "Come!"^[7]

1. I follow the traditional Christian position that this passage is talking about Jesus. I depart from some of Christianity by believing it will be fulfilled literally. I'm convinced that there will be a time when Jesus physically returns and establishes a global government here on the earth. This topic is too large for this article, but I did want to establish my perspective right up front.

2. Matthew 3:13-18, Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 1:9-11, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 3:21-22, Luke 9:28-36, John 3:31-36, John 5:19-20, John 17:24, 2 Peter 1:16-18

3. John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. The word translated "world" here is the Greek "kosmos" from which we get our word "cosmos". Like our word "world" it can mean either the physical planet or the inhabitants thereof. I think both meanings are equally applicable.

4. 1st Corinthians 15:20-28, Hebrews 2:5-9, Ephesians 1:19-23

5. John 17:26, Revelation 22:17,

6. Matthew 23:37-39

7. Revelation 22:17

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This is the second in a series entitled Establishing a throne:

1. Would Jesus be a Democrat or Republican?
2. How is it established?
3. Who sits on it?
4. What is justice?
5. What is righteousness?

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