Three Kinds of Righteousness

In Psalm 143:2, David claims that no one is righteous before God: “Do not enter into judgment with Your servant, For in Your sight no one living is righteous.”

Meanwhile, in Psalm 18:20, David claims that God has rewarded him for being righteous: “The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.”

In Genesis 15:6, famously, Abraham believes God’s promise, and this is “counted to him for righteousness.”

Moses states, in a rather different claim, in Deuteronomy 6:25 that, if Israel diligently maintains all God’s commandments, “it will be righteousness for us.”

Arriving at the New Testament, Romans 1-3 brights up the “righteousness of God” as a major theme, which is manifested in Christ, is said to be from faith to faith, and is for all who believe.

To add one more piece of diversity to this mix, in 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

With all these texts in mind, it should be clear that the term “righteousness” does a lot work with a number of different senses and applications. Can people in general be righteous? In what way is this different between believers and unbelievers? What is the relationship between a believer being righteous on account of faith in Christ and doing righteous things or having righteous qualities?

I am not here interested in giving a comprehensive account of “righteousness” language in Scripture, I do want to highlight one particular set of helpful distinctions that I have run into several times in older Reformed writers, namely on the three kinds of righteousness which God grants in saving individual men.

The three kinds of righteousness in this context map onto the three major components of the traditional ordo salutis, namely justification, sanctification, and glorification. In each of these benefits, God bestows a kind of righteousness upon us, but they are not all the same. They are distinguished by location and by perfection. Since the first source I ever saw make this distinction clearly and succinctly is Richard Hooker,1 I will allow him to explain:

There is a glorifying righteousness for men in the world to come; and there is a justifying and a sanctifying righteousness here and now. The righteousness with which we shall be clothed in the world to come is both perfect and inherent. That righteousness by which we are now justified is perfect, but not inherent. That righteousness by which we are sanctified is inherent, but not perfect.2

Notice the distinction: our righteousness in justification is perfect, but not inherent, that is to say, it is not in us, but rather in Christ. When we are justified by faith, nothing in us (not even the faith) makes us righteous, but rather we share legally in the perfect righteousness of Christ. (For Hooker, much of the rest of the argument is about this point, contra Rome.)

At the same time we are justified, though, we also receive the first beginnings of a sanctifying righteousness. This is the case of God actually improving and transforming us by the Holy Spirit that we become truly righteous in our own acts and virtues, but it is a slow process afflicted continually with our own imperfections. This righteousness in this life is only ever partial and often quite inadequate. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that it is ours, it is actually righteousness, and it begins immediately upon conversion. I will here highlight a great paragraph from Zanchi on the matter:

We believe furthermore, that he who now on account of Christ into whom through the Holy Spirit he is engrafted is reckoned righteous, and truly righteous has obtained now in Christ the remission of sins and the imputation of His righteousness, the same immediately also is affected by the gift of inherent righteousness; so that not only in Christ the Head he may be most perfectly and most fully righteous, but also in himself he may have a true righteousness, by which he may be made in very deed conformable to Christ.3

After noting this, however, Zanchi reminds us that this inherent righteousness we receive in sanctification can never be or become the grounds of our justification:

We confess meanwhile this inherent righteousness to be so imperfect by our own fault, that by that righteousness of Christ alone, by which sins are not imputed to us, not only in the beginning of conversion when from impious we are made pious, but truly even unto the end of life we are truly justified before God and are able to be held as righteous.

In fact, Zanchi covers the whole relationship between justifying righteousness and sanctifying righteousness so excellently that I must heartily encourage you to go read the chapters on justification, free choice in the regenerate, and good works in De Religione Christiana Fides right now if you can.4

The final sort of righteousness of interest here is the righteousness of glorification, that which we will possess after our flesh has died and we join the ranks of the spirits made perfect, and when we are raised again to incorruptible life. At this time, we will have a new righteousness. Finally, we shall have righteousness which is both truly our own/in us―consisting in our own acts and feelings and habits―and also perfect and without spot.

So, to recap the difference:

• Justifying righteousness - Perfect/extrinsic: This is not a righteousness that is within us, but that is located in Christ and His own perfection, in which we share by faith alone. It is perfect and complete, lacking nothing to put us in God’s favor.

• Sanctifying righteousness - Imperfect/intrinsic: This is a righteousness we receive in this life, beginning at conversion, that is truly within us, in our own hearts and minds, which is built up and animated by the Holy Spirit. On account of our remaining sin dwelling within us, it is never made wholly perfect, and the depths of its imperfection may indeed horrify us at times. Nonetheless, it is a real righteousness, and one which, despite its imperfection, God accepts and enjoys as our filial obedience for the sake of Christ our elder Brother, whose perfect righteousness we share.

• Glorifying righteousness - Perfect/intrinsic: This is a righteousness we receive in the life to come that is truly within us, in our own hearts and minds, and is granted and animated by the Holy Spirit. This righteousness will have no room or place or negotiations with sin, but will be perfect and complete, lacking nothing, and itself worthy (in a limited and relative way for a creature who receives everything by grace) of God’s approbation.

Now, this distinction may not be one of those that changes your life or causes a “Eureka!” moment in theology. It’s also not, so far as I have yet seen a matter of major controversy, at least within Protestantism. Nonetheless, I find it a helpful, healthy, and hearty one that is just useful to have on hand.

That said, there is one part here that I think can be a helpful corrective to some erroneous drifts that occasionally occur in Protestant circles. While most Protestants will happily grant the existence of sanctification, some would avoid speaking of us having any intrinsic righteousness. It is not uncommon to hear people refer to even the good works of believers as but filthy rags and/or to deny that there is anything truly good or righteous in us at all in this life.

The Reformed tradition, on the other hand, historically recognizes and affirms the reality of a real but imperfect righteousness in sanctification: small but ever-growing, deformed but truly pleasing to God as He forgives its impurities for Christ’s sake, at times halting or reverting course but on the whole providing actual growth in virtue and improvement in acts. Zanchi and many others recognize that the Bible actually calls people “righteous” with respect to this sanctifying righteousness and not only about their being righteous in Christ, e.g. Noah and Joseph, and that “the righteous” in Scripture signifies persons not only as being forgiven of their sins for Christ’s sake but also as possessing righteous deeds. Obviously, all of this comes with the recognition that our sanctifying righteousness comes from the Holy Spirit, rather than being something we produce in our own power, but it does take shape in our choices and attitudes. The Holy Spirit acts upon us so that we ourselves act more righteously. On this final note I will cite Zanchi once more:

VI. A regenerate man is not only acted upon, but also acts by the Holy Spirit.

Taught by these same Apostolic sayings and other testimonies of Holy Scripture, we confess that regenerate men are so acted upon by the Holy Spirit that they themselves also act. Furthermore, God so works in them “to will and to do” that they are the very ones who will and perform. For they are not mere wooden stocks or beasts, but men endowed with reason by which they understand and a will by which they choose, and by which they command the other powers of soul and body so that those things which are good may be carried into execution.