Is it possible to do right, yet be unrighteous? I believe it is. There are many people who do not believe in Jesus who are what the world would call "good people." But just being good without recognizing our dependence on God is not righteousness, it is just doing right. Jesus did not die so that we would do right. In fact, one might say that to do right without depending on God is actually ungodliness.
We are not only to eat to the glory of God, we are to drive to the glory of God, we are to shop to the glory of God, and we are to engage in our social relationships to the glory of God. Everything we do is to be done to the glory of God. That is the mark of a godly person.
Bridges, Jerry. Respectable Sins (p. 51). NavPress. Kindle Edition.
I think of the parable of the wise and foolish builders. Two buildings (lives?) that looked the same (good deeds?) But one had no foundation, so it eventually crumbled. The other, with the rock for its foundation (godliness?) survived.
So then, righteousness is the overflow of a heart that is focused on God. Perfect righteousness? Don't fool yourself. But righteousness none the less. And a righteousness that is focused on God will be a righteousness that will grow (sanctification).
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