Acquit

“Let it be so now,” Jesus replied. “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness in this way.” Then John permitted Him.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

“Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is vindicated by her actions.”

For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives.

But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God.

I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:

in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me;

but welcomes those from every nation who fear Him and do what is right.

and said, “O child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, you are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery! Will you never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord?

Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.

Through Him everyone who believes is justified from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”

As Paul expounded on righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, “You may go for now. When I find the time, I will call for you.”

For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but it is the doers of the law who will be declared righteous.

Certainly not! Let God be true and every man a liar. As it is written: “So that You may be proved right when You speak and victorious when You judge.”

But if our unrighteousness highlights the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unjust to inflict His wrath on us? I am speaking in human terms.

Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin.

But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets.

And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction,

and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

God presented Him as an atoning sacrifice in His blood through faith, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand.

He did this to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and to justify the one who has faith in Jesus.

For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.

If Abraham was indeed justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God.

For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

However, to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.

And David speaks likewise of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

Is this blessing only on the circumcised, or also on the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.

And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.

For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”

He was delivered over to death for our trespasses and was raised to life for our justification.

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him!

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

So then, just as one trespass brought condemnation for all men, so also one act of righteousness brought justification and life for all men.

so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

For anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

Do not present the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and present the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness.

Do you not know that when you offer yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey, whether you are slaves to sin leading to death, or to obedience leading to righteousness?

You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to escalating wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.

For when you were slaves to sin, you were free of obligation to righteousness.

But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.

And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.

Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

What then will we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;

but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.

Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

For Christ is the end of the law, to bring righteousness to everyone who believes.

For concerning the righteousness that is by the law, Moses writes: “The man who does these things will live by them.”

But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down)

For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.

My conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who judges me.

And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry of righteousness!

God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

in truthful speech and in the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?

As it is written: “He has scattered abroad His gifts to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.”

Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your store of seed and will increase the harvest of your righteousness.

It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their actions.

know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

But if, while we seek to be justified in Christ, we ourselves are found to be sinners, does that make Christ a minister of sin? Certainly not!

I do not set aside the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

So also, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”

Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.”

Is the law, then, opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come from the law.

So the law became our guardian to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

You who are trying to be justified by the law have been severed from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the hope of righteousness.

and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed,

filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to righteousness in the law, faultless.

and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.

By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, was taken up in glory.

But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.

Flee from youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

From now on there is laid up 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 to all who crave His appearing.

He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

so that, having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs with the hope of eternal life.

You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You above Your companions with the oil of joy.”

For everyone who lives on milk is still an infant, inexperienced in the message of righteousness.

and Abraham apportioned to him a tenth of everything. First, his name means “king of righteousness.” Then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.”

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,

No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it.

for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires.

Was not our father Abraham justified by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?

And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God.

As you can see, a man is justified by his deeds and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute justified by her actions when she welcomed the spies and sent them off on another route?

Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness.

He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”

But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be shaken.”

Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

if He did not spare the ancient world when He brought the flood on its ungodly people, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, among the eight;

It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and then to turn away from the holy commandment passed on to them.

But in keeping with God’s promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

If you know that He is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him.

Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous.

By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

Then I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse. And its rider is called Faithful and True. With righteousness He judges and wages war.

Let the unrighteous continue to be unrighteous, and the vile continue to be vile; let the righteous continue to practice righteousness, and the holy continue to be holy.”