Beautiful Beatitudes: Are You Hungry for Righteousness?

This month we are taking a closer look at the Beatitudes from Matthew 5, and today’s post focuses on righteousness and what it really means to hunger for it.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. – Matthew 5:6 (ESV)

Defining Righteousness…

According to dictionary.com, a righteous person is “characterized by uprightness or morality.” But is this how the Bible defines the word?

The Pharisees certainly believed so. They devoted their entire lives to being men of moral integrity. They followed every rule (even their own made up rules) and made sure everyone knew about it. In their minds, they were the very definition of righteousness. Yet, this was not enough.

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. – Matthew 5:20 (ESV)

Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:20 undoubtedly stung when the Pharisees heard them. But even more so, I’m sure there were many in the crowd thinking to themselves, “How on earth could I be MORE righteous than a Pharisee?”

This is why your definition of what it means to be righteous is so important. A wrong definition could lead you to a life of empty religious works rather than a life of surrender and works that stems from an obedient heart.

Righteousness by faith alone…

Apart from Christ, it is impossible to be righteous. Period. No matter how hard you work, you will never be righteous on your own. Instead, the Bible says that we are declared righteous (or justified) by our faith.

Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. – Romans 5:1 (HCSB, emphasis added)

…For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. – Philippians 3:8-9 (ESV, emphasis added)

Righteousness is all about the heart. If your focus lies in doing “righteous” deeds, you’ll find yourself in the same situation as the Pharisees. You’ll be clean on the outside and dirty on the inside. But if you allow God to transform your heart by faith, you will be declared righteous by God. Good deeds will then flow from a heart that longs to please God rather than glorify self.

Righteous deeds flow from a righteous heart…

When speaking of Abraham, Paul wrote the following:

No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. – Romans 4:20-25 (ESV)

Abraham was not unlike you and me. He struggled with doubt when God first gave him the promise of becoming the father of many nations. But his faith grew, and God kept His promise. It was his faith in God that made him righteous. Yes, Abraham obeyed God. But even his obedience stemmed from his faith, not his desire for righteousness.

So what does this all have to do with this beatitude? Well in a word… everything.

Those who hunger and thirst for righteous will be satisfied. And the way to seek righteousness is to seek Jesus in faith.

The truth is that righteous is not something you can work for or earn, rather it is given to you by God. And when we come to Him in faith, hungry and thirsty for Him… it is then that we will be declared righteous.