36 Bible Verses about Righteousness, As Faith

Indeed I tell you that, unless your religion is above that of the Teachers of the Law, and Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

It is the same with you. Outwardly, and to others, you have the look of religious men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and sin.

"You," said Jesus, "are the men who justify themselves before the world, but God can read your hearts; and what is highly esteemed among men may be an abomination in the sight of God.

Another time, speaking to people who were satisfied that they were religious, and who regarded every one else with scorn, Jesus told this parable--

As Scripture says-'There is not even one who is righteous,

As to zeal, I was a persecutor of the Church; as to such righteousness as is due to Law, I proved myself blameless. But all the things which I once held to be gains I have now, for the Christ's sake, come to count as loss.

What Law could not do, in so far as our earthly nature weakened its action, God did, by sending his own Son, with a nature resembling our sinful nature, to atone for sin. He condemned sin in that earthly nature, So that the requirements of the Law might be satisfied in us who live now in obedience, not to our earthly nature, but to the Spirit.

And that you must clothe yourselves in that new nature which was created to resemble God, with the righteousness and holiness springing from the Truth.

Knowing him to be righteous, you realize that every one who lives righteously has received the new Life from him.

Do not offer any part of your bodies to Sin, in the cause of unrighteousness, but once for all offer yourselves to God (as those who, though once dead, now have Life), and devote every part of your bodies to the cause of righteousness.

But, if Christ is within you, then, though the body is dead as a consequence of sin, the spirit is Life as a consequence of righteousness.

For the Kingdom of God does not consist of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and gladness through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

For we, by the help of the Spirit, are eagerly waiting for the fulfillment of our hope--that we may be pronounced righteous as the result of faith.

For the outcome of life in the Light may be seen in every form of goodness, righteousness, and sincerity--

Bearing a rich harvest of that righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

No discipline is pleasant at the time; on the contrary, it is painful. But afterwards its fruit is seen in the peacefulness of a righteous life which is the lot of those who have been trained under it.

And righteousness, its fruit, is sown in peace by those who work for peace.

And he 'himself carried our sins' in his own body to the cross, so that we might die to our sins, and live for righteousness. 'His bruising was your healing.'

By this the Children of God are distinguished from the Children of the Devil--No one who lives unrighteously comes from God, and especially the man who does not love his Brother.

But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that God exists, and that he rewards those who seek for him.

And through faith the Righteous man shall find his Life, But, if a man draws back, my heart can find no pleasure in him.'

Faith made the sacrifice which Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain's, and won him renown as a righteous man, God himself establishing his renown by accepting his gifts; and it is by the example of his faith that Abel, though dead, still speaks.

For in it there is a revelation of the Divine Righteousness resulting from faith and leading on to faith; as Scripture says- -'Through faith the righteous man shall find Life.'

More than that, I count everything as loss, for the sake of the exceeding value of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. And for his sake I have lost everything, and count it as refuse, if I may but gain Christ and be found in union with him; Any righteousness that I have being, not the righteousness that results from Law, but the righteousness which comes through faith in Christ--the righteousness which is derived from God and is founded on faith.

And that, in union with him, every one who believes in him is absolved from every sin from which under the Law of Moses you could not be absolved.

But now, quite apart from Law, the Divine Righteousness stands revealed, and to it the Law and the Prophets bear witness--

What then, it may be asked, are we to say about Abraham, the ancestor of our nation? If he was pronounced righteous as the result of obedience, then he has something to boast of. Yes, but not before God. For what are the words of Scripture? 'Abraham had faith in God, and his faith was regarded by God as righteousness.'read more.
Now wages are regarded as due to the man who works, not as a favor, but as a debt; While, as for the man who does not rely upon his obedience, but has faith in him who can pronounce the godless righteous, his faith is regarded by God as righteousness. In precisely the same way David speaks of the blessing pronounced upon the man who is regarded by God as righteous apart from actions-- 'Blessed are those whose wrong-doings have been forgiven and over whose sins a veil has been drawn! Blessed the man whom the Lord will never regard as sinful!'

For if, by reason of the offence of the one man, Death reigned through that one man, far more will those, upon whom God's loving- kindness and his gift of righteousness are lavished, find Life, and reign through the one man, Jesus Christ.

What are we to say, then? Why, that Gentiles, who were not in search of righteousness, secured it-a righteousness which was the result of faith; While Israel, which was in search of a Law which would ensure righteousness, failed to discover one.

Again, it is evident that no one is pronounced righteous before God through Law, for we read--'Through faith the righteous man shall find Life.' But the Law is not based on faith; no, its words are--'Those who practice these precepts will find Life through them.'

Therefore, having been pronounced righteous as the result of faith, let us enjoy peace with God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. It is through him that, by reason of our faith, we have obtained admission to that place in God's favor in which we not stand. So let us exult in our hope of attaining God's glorious ideal.

But now, quite apart from Law, the Divine Righteousness stands revealed, and to it the Law and the Prophets bear witness-- The Divine Righteousness which is bestowed, through faith in Jesus Christ, upon all, without distinction, who believe in him. For all have sinned, and all fall short of God's glorious ideal,read more.
But, in his loving-kindness, are being freely pronounced righteous through the deliverance found in Christ Jesus. For God set him before the world, to be, by the shedding of his blood, a means of reconciliation through faith. And this God did to prove his righteousness, and because, in his forbearance, he had passed over the sins that men had previously committed; As a proof, I repeat, at the present time, of his own righteousness, that he might be righteous in our eyes, and might pronounce righteous the man who takes his stand on faith in Jesus.

With no ground for hope, Abraham, sustained by hope, put faith in God; in order that, in fulfillment of the words-'So many shall thy descendants be,' he might become 'the Father of many nations.' Though he was nearly a hundred years old, yet his faith did not fail him, even when he thought of his own body, then utterly worn out, and remembered that Sarah was past bearing children. He was not led by want of faith to doubt God's promise.read more.
On the contrary, his faith gave him strength; and he praised God, in the firm conviction that what God has promised he is also able to carry out. And therefore his faith 'was regarded as righteousness.' Now these words-'it was regarded as righteousness'-were not written with reference to Abraham only; But also with reference to us. Our faith, too, will be regarded by God in the same light, if we have faith in him who raised Jesus, our Lord, from the dead; For Jesus 'was given up to death to atone for our offences,' and was raised to life that we might be pronounced righteous.

But the righteousness which results from faith finds expression in these words--'Do not say to yourself "Who will go up into heaven?"'--which means to bring Christ down--' Or "Who will go down into the depths below?"'--which means to bring Christ up from the dead. No, but what does it say? 'The Message of Faith' which we proclaim.read more.
For, if with your lips you acknowledge the truth of the Message that JESUS IS LORD, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with their hearts men believe and so attain to righteousness, while with their lips they make their Profession of Faith and so find Salvation.

It is just as it was with Abraham--'He had faith in God, and his faith was regarded by God as righteousness.' You see, then, that those whose lives are based on faith are the Sons of Abraham. And Scripture, foreseeing that God would pronounce the Gentiles righteous as the result of faith, foretold the Good News to Abraham in the words--'Through thee all the Gentiles shall be blessed.'read more.
And, therefore, those whose lives are based on faith share the blessings bestowed upon the faith of Abraham.

Look at our ancestor, Abraham. Was not it the result of his actions that he was pronounced righteous after he had offered his son, Isaac, on the altar? You see how, in his case, faith and actions went together; that his faith was perfected as the result of his actions; And that in this way the words of Scripture came true-- "Abraham believed God, and that was regarded by God as righteousness," and "He was called the friend of God."read more.
You see, then, that it is as the result of his actions that a man is pronounced righteous, and not of his faith only.