But go and learn what this means, 'It is mercy that I desire, not sacrifice'; for I did not come to appeal to the righteous, but to sinners."

Every one who receives a prophet, because he is a prophet, will receive a prophet's reward, and every one who receives a righteous man, because he is a righteous man, will receive a righteous man's reward.

Then will the righteous shine out like the sun in their Father's Kingdom. Listen, every one who has ears!

So will it be at the Close of the Age. The angels will go forth and separate the wicked from among the righteous,

"Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you repair the sepulchres of the Prophets and keep in order the tombs of the righteous,

that all the innocent blood shed upon earth may come on you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Berechiah whom you murdered between the Sanctuary and the altar.

"'When, Lord,' the righteous will reply, 'did we see Thee hungry, and feed Thee; or thirsty, and give Thee drink?

"And these shall go away into the Punishment of the Ages, but the righteous into the Life of the Ages."

Jesus heard the words, and He said, "It is not the healthy who require a doctor, but the sick: I did not come to appeal to the righteous, but to sinners."

I have not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners."

and you will be blessed, because they have no means of requiting you, but there will be requital for you at the Resurrection of the righteous."

And to some who relied on themselves as being righteous men, and looked down upon all others, He addressed this parable.

And, righteous Father, though the world has failed to recognize Thee, I have known Thee, and these have perceived that Thou didst send me.

Yes, you disowned the holy and righteous One, and asked as a favour the release of a murderer.

Which of the Prophets did not your forefathers persecute? Yes, they killed those who announced beforehand the advent of the righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become--

But the jealousy of the Jews was aroused, and, calling to their aid some ill-conditioned and idle fellows, they got together a riotous mob and filled the city with uproar. They then attacked the house of Jason and searched for Paul and Silas, to bring them out before the assembly of people.

Then he said, 'The God of our forefathers has appointed you to know His will, and to see the righteous One and hear Him speak.

and having a hope directed towards God, which my accusers themselves also entertain, that before long there will be a resurrection both of the righteous and the unrighteous.

For in the Good News a righteousness which comes from God is being revealed, depending on faith and tending to produce faith; as the Scripture has it, "The righteous man shall live by faith."

It is not those that merely hear the Law read who are righteous in the sight of God, but it is those that obey the Law who will be pronounced righteous.

Thus it stands written, "There is not one righteous man.

For on the ground of obedience to Law no man living will be declared righteous before Him. Law simply brings a sure knowledge of sin.

with a view to demonstrating, at the present time, His righteousness, that He may be shown to be righteous Himself, and the giver of righteousness to those who believe in Jesus.

For we maintain that it is as the result of faith that a man is held to be righteous, apart from actions done in obedience to Law.

For if he was held to be righteous on the ground of his actions, he has something to boast of; but not in the presence of God.

For if it is the righteous through Law who are heirs, then faith is useless and the promise counts for nothing.

so that the promise should be made sure to all Abraham's true descendants; not merely to those who are righteous through the Law, but to those who are righteous through a faith like that of Abraham. Thus in the sight of God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and makes reference to things that do not exist, as though they did, Abraham is the forefather of all of us. As it is written, "I have appointed you to be the forefather of many nations."

For as through the disobedience of the one individual the mass of mankind were constituted sinners, so also through the obedience of the One the mass of mankind will be constituted righteous.

Wake from this drunken fit; live righteous lives, and cease to sin; for some have no knowledge of God: I speak thus in order to move you to shame.

It is evident, too, that no one can find acceptance with God simply by obeying the Law, because "the righteous shall live by faith,"

hard drinking, riotous feasting, and the like. And as to these I forewarn you, as I have already forewarned you, that those who are guilty of such things will have no share in the Kingdom of God.

For these are a plain token of God's righteous judgement, which has in view your being deemed worthy of admission to God's Kingdom, for the sake of which, indeed, you are sufferers.

A plain token of God's righteous judgement, I say, since it is a righteous thing for Him to requite with affliction those who are now afflicting you;

and remembers that a law is not enacted to control a righteous man, but for the lawless and rebellious, the irreligious and sinful, the godless and profane--for those who strike their fathers or their mothers, for murderers,

From this time onward there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who love the thought of His Appearing.

as righteous men, had done, but as the result of His own mercy He saved us by means of the bath of regeneration and the renewal of our natures by the Holy Spirit,

in order that having been declared righteous through His grace we might become heirs to the Life of the Ages in fulfilment of our hopes.

But it is by faith that My righteous servant shall live; and if he shrinks back, My soul takes no pleasure in him."

Through faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain did, and through this faith he obtained testimony that he was righteous, God giving the testimony by accepting his gifts; and through it, though he is dead, he still speaks.

to the great festal gathering and Church of the first-born, whose names are recorded in Heaven, and to a Judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect,

For a man's anger does not lead to action which God regards as righteous.

Was it, or was it not, because of his actions that he was declared to be righteous as the result of his having offered up his son Isaac upon the altar?

You all see that it is because of actions that a man is pronounced righteous, and not simply because of faith.

In the same way also was not the notorious sinner Rahab declared to be righteous because of her actions when she welcomed the spies and hurriedly helped them to escape another way?

You have condemned--you have murdered-- the righteous man: he offers no resistance.

Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be cured. The heartfelt supplication of a righteous man exerts a mighty influence.

When He was reviled, He did not answer with reviling; when He suffered He uttered no threats, but left His wrongs in the hands of the righteous Judge.

The burden of our sins He Himself carried in His own body to the Cross and bore it there, so that we, having died so far as our sins are concerned, may live righteous lives. By His wounds yours have been healed.

For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open to their supplication; but the face of the Lord is set against evil-doers."

And if it is difficult even for a righteous man to be saved, what will become of irreligious men and sinners?

But when righteous Lot was sore distressed by the gross misconduct of immoral men He rescued him.

(For their lawless deeds were torture, day after day, to the pure soul of that righteous man--all that he saw and heard whilst living in their midst.)

Dear children, I write thus to you in order that you may not sin. If any one sins, we have an Advocate with the Father--Jesus Christ the righteous;

Since you know that He is righteous, be assured also that the man who habitually acts righteously is a child of His.

Dear children, let no one lead you astray. The man who acts righteously is righteous, just as He is righteous.

We are not to resemble Cain, who was a child of the Evil one and killed his own brother. And why did he kill him? Because his own actions were wicked and his brother's actions righteous.

And they were singing the song of Moses, God's servant, and the song of the Lamb. Their words were, "Great and wonderful are Thy works, O Lord God, the Ruler of all. Righteous and true are Thy ways, O King of the nations.

And I heard the angel of the waters say, "Righteous art Thou, who art and wast, the holy One, because Thou hast thus taken vengeance.

And I heard a voice from the altar say, "Even so, O Lord God, the Ruler of all, true and righteous are Thy judgments."

And she was permitted to array herself in fine linen, shining and spotless; the fine linen being the righteous actions of God's people.

Let the dishonest man act dishonestly still; let the filthy make himself filthy still; let the righteous practise righteousness still; and let the holy be made holy still."