Think on…What is Righteous

o[sa di,kaia. Think on what is true, what is honorable, what is…just, righteous. What could be more natural, it might seem, than for the redeemed man or woman to think upon that which is righteous, that which is just, given that our entire peace with God is based upon having been declared righteous, justified, in God’s sight by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1)? Is it not the natural bent of the soul of the redeemed sinner to reflect often upon our standing with God, our being debtors to grace, forgiven, and declared right in God’s sight because of the atoning sacrifice of our Lord in our place? Should it not be our daily practice to thank God for what He has done for us in redeeming us? Then dwelling upon what is just and righteous is surely most natural.
   This is not so much, however, a command to think upon righteousness, considered as the forensic declaration of the Father based upon the work of the Son. It is descriptive, “that which is just,” “that which is righteous.” It speaks to that which is in right relationship to God, and hence that which is right and just amongst godly men as well.
   I have noted as I have grown older that I find myself concerned about what is right and just more and more as time passes. I am so thankful that I believe that there will be a day in which perfect justice and righteousness will be vindicated, where wrongs will be righted. Our God never works unrighteousness. Justice will be done in the punishment of sin, either in the finished work of Christ in behalf of His people, or in the perfect application of God’s law to those who remain rebels and who love their sin.
   Do we revel in considering what is right and just, or do we join in the world in congratulating the unjust man who “gets away with it”? Do we in our own lives seek to reflect true righteousness in our personal dealings and in our views of the world, law, ethics? Or is there an inconsistency here as well?