#098 "The Breastplate of Righteousness" (Ephesians 6:14b)

"...and having put on the breastplate of righteousness." (Eph. 6:14b)

What does it actually mean to be righteous—and who gets to decide?

In this episode, host Kate tackles one of the most uncomfortable and important questions we can ask: if our world rejects absolute truth and every religion defines goodness differently, how can anyone know what “right living” even is?

Together, we explore how our definition of righteousness always flows from our definition of God—and why competing worldviews lead to radically different standards for what is good, just, and true. We’ll look honestly at cultural morality, self-defined righteousness, world religions, and the Bible’s claim that God alone has the authority to define righteousness because He alone is perfectly righteous.

But this episode doesn’t stop at diagnosis—it ends in hope.

You’ll discover why Scripture says our own righteousness can never save us, what the breastplate of righteousness actually protects us from, and the breathtaking truth that in Christ, God offers us the righteousness we could never earn.

If you’ve ever wondered: How do I know what’s truly right? Is being a good person enough? Why does truth matter? What if my definition of goodness is wrong? How can I stand before a holy God?

This episode will challenge your assumptions, deepen your understanding of Ephesians 6, and invite you to consider the only righteousness that can truly save.

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Transcript

White Sneakers and Stained Standards

Kate 0:00

I have a pair of brand new white sneakers. I don't usually ever buy white sneakers, but this time I did because I really liked the idea of them. So crisp and clean and bright. A perfect match for my pale Pacific Northwest legs. Just kidding. I mean they do look better on tan legs for sure, but I think white shoes just always look so cute and fresh. So I made the purchase and I was excited when they arrived. I've had them for exactly one month. After one trip to Disneyland and one 10K, they're toast. Those beautiful crisp white shoes now look awful. Even though I haven't walked through a dust storm or a mud pit you'd think I had. The soles are black. The laces look like I walked on them upside down, dragging them across the pavement as I went. And the shoes themselves look more gray than white. They're unclean, stained, defiled. Now, they're just shoes, and with a little time and effort I should be able to restore them to almost like new condition. But there's something that's just so wrong about shoes covered in grime that started out pure white. When white things get stained, it bothers us extra because it's just not how it's supposed to be. The dirt stands out that much more on a white backdrop. Today

Why Righteousness Feels Loaded

Kate 1:27

we are going to be talking about surprise, not the shoes of the Gospel of Peace, not yet, but about the breastplate of righteousness. In case you hadn't noticed, I have been battling to get this episode out to you for three weeks. I think it's very interesting that I got stuck on this one. I don't think the enemy wants us doing this work or having this conversation. And we are going to do some work today and we are going to have some tough conversations. If you're a note-taking person, you're going to want to grab a pen and paper. If you're not yet part of our Abidible Plus community, where I give away the transcripts to our episodes, you can click the link in our bio to learn more. And while I'm talking about that, let me ask you, have you been feeling led in any way to partner with us and our mission here at Abidible? You can share a one-time donation or send us monthly support to help cover our expenses so we can keep helping more and more people know and love God by abiding in His Word for themselves. Click Support the Abidible Podcast to learn more. All right, I want to ask you to consider something. I'd like you to immediately evaluate what comes to your mind and heart when I say that word, righteousness. Did you have any sort of reaction? Are you confused about the meaning of that word? What even is righteousness? Or did you feel any type of aversion toward it? Does that word carry a negative connotation for you or make you uncomfortable for some reason? Does it make you feel shame or condemnation? Maybe you're thinking, as a Christian, I'm supposed to be righteous, but I know I'm not. I don't even know how to be righteous. Maybe as a Christian you feel a little uncertain about biblical righteousness and how it relates to what the rest of the world believes, to what you see posted in your social media feeds. Or maybe you get excited because righteousness is something you desire, something you want to learn more about and understand and walk in. Wherever you land, I'm so glad you're listening today. Because before we can understand why Paul is commanding us to put on the breastplate of righteousness here in Ephesians 6.14, we have to do some important work together. I have to tell you that part of the battle in getting episodes out to you lately has been a shift in my heart when it comes to the content I'm creating. The Bible will always be central. It's my greatest desire to constantly point you back to what God says. But I've increasingly been feeling compelled to ensure that I'm also making it really relevant to what you all are experiencing in the world. How do you take what you're learning in Scripture and apply it to real life, to everyday circumstances, to information and to your reality? When it comes to what I'm teaching, what worldviews or perspectives stand in opposition to God's word on that given topic? When you are listening to these episodes, what is the real world context for you? What are you encountering out there and how can what we talk about on here really matter? It's not that I haven't attempted to do that in the previous 97 episodes, but I just feel compelled by the Spirit to be as real and practical and intentional about being as helpful as I can be. So in the context of this breastplate of righteousness, I don't want to blow past how the world feels about, defines, and responds to this word, righteousness. And I didn't want to pretend that you, well, we don't face hostility and opposition for seeking God's kingdom and righteousness in a pluralistic, relativistic, everything goes society. I also didn't want to assume that you have a good relationship with this word, as oftentimes Christians can swing to two extremes: legalistic crushing righteousness based on effort and works, or permissive, lax ideas about righteousness based on a presumption of God's grace. There is a right way to do righteousness, and it really matters to God. It's also important enough to be part of our full armor in the battle against the rulers, authorities, cosmic powers, and spiritual forces of evil in this present darkness and in the heavenly places. So let's do it. First,

How Culture Uses Righteous

Kate 5:48

we need to define this word. What is righteousness? We'll start by taking a look at how the world defines righteousness. Common non-biblical uses include moral indignation. This is how we describe anger or outrage that's felt to be morally justifiable. It appears in phrases like righteous indignation or righteous anger to describe a reaction to perceived unfairness or injustice. That has some crossover with biblical righteousness, doesn't it? This word is also used by the world for justified actions to describe a cause, decision, or action that's deemed morally correct, fair, or principled, you might say it's a righteous campaign or a righteous cause. It's also used as informal slang for something that is genuine, excellent, awesome, or impressive. A quick Google search said that this slang usage of righteous comes from mid-20th century jazz culture. You might say that was a righteous guitar solo. Or as my Disney friend Crush would say, righteous waves in surfing. And finally, we see the term self-righteousness. This is a disapproving label for someone who acts morally superior. It describes a person who is overly convinced of their own correctness and looks down on others. For simplicity, let's define biblical righteousness as simply living unto God. By this I mean living your life in a manner worthy of the God of the Bible. You know I'll get to that and I'll explain it more fully in a bit. Before I do, I want to take an honest, in-depth look at alternate views of righteousness. Let me ask you, overall, what would you say about the world's posture toward righteousness? Do you think people today care about pursuing righteousness? Maybe they wouldn't use that language. Maybe instead they'd call it just being a good person. Does the world care about it? You'd probably agree with me that this is a very complicated question to answer because what even is the true definition of righteousness? The world's description of righteousness is blurry because the world doesn't agree about who determines what it even means to live righteously. There is definitely a general consensus that the standard is to just be a good person, but who defines good and who decides what's bad? Without a clear external standard, righteousness is completely subjective. If righteousness essentially means right living, then somebody first has to define what right is. And here we encounter some major problems. Shall

Pluralism and Contradictory Religions

Kate 8:34

we look to the major world religions? Can we define righteousness this way? I mean, they all pretty much say the same thing, teach the same thing, right? First, though it is a pervasive assumption, it is blatantly false to say that all world religions ultimately say the same thing. This is pluralism. Those that take this pluralistic view would argue that all religions are different paths up the same mountain. The problem is you don't have to do much digging to discover that they don't say the same thing. Major world religions don't just describe the destination differently, they describe entirely different mountains. World religions disagree not only on morality, but on reality. The disagreement starts way before we ever get to ethics. Before asking how should I live, we have to ask who is God and therefore who has the authority to determine how I should live or to define right living. The major world religions are in direct contradiction with one another about who God even is. If two religions make directly contradictory truth statements, they cannot both be true at the same time. No amount of emotionalism, oh, it's unloving to say that, can counter the law of non-contradiction, which states that a thing cannot both be and not be in the same respect at the same time. It's not unloving to say that. That is being a reasonable person. Let me show you what I mean. Islam's call to prayer literally begins: God is the greatest. I bear witness that there is no God but Allah. This comes from a verse in the Quran which states, and your God is one God. There is no God except Him, the most compassionate, most merciful. Christianity says there is one God, and Jesus is God incarnate and the only way to the Father. You don't have to be a philosopher to see the contradiction. Jesus is God and salvation is through Christ, versus Jesus is not God. Allah is, and associating partners with God, like Jesus, is false. Take a look at Judaism. The Jews say God alone is God, and Jesus absolutely is not God. Those are just the three main world religions. There are all kinds of contradictions between Eastern religions and the main three monotheistic religions about the number of lives we have, how we attain salvation, etc. Hear me. By the law of non-contradiction, these cannot all be true at the same time. Again, that's not hostility or hatred to say that. It is reason, ordinary, everyday reason. When someone says all religions are true, they want to make truth dependent on perspective. Christianity is true for Christians. Islam is true for Muslims. This works for preferences like vanilla is the best ice cream flavor, but it cannot work for factual truth claims. If Jesus is God, then Allah is not. When someone tries to soften the contradictions between religions, what they're actually doing is attempting to make doctrine irrelevant so they can achieve their goal of universalism. It can feel more loving and more peaceful to just say everyone will eventually somehow find their own way to God. This view appears to be loving and tolerant, and I think that the people espousing it are generally trying to be helpful, but what it actually is is unbelievably arrogant. And it's not tolerant. It's still exclusive. It is a truth claim that refutes opposing views. If your claim is that all religions teach the same thing, then anyone who tries to point out contradictions or the actual doctrinal convictions between religions is wrong. To say that Allah and Jesus and Yahweh and Vishnu and whoever else are all actually the same higher power is a statement coming from someone who is letting you know that they are more enlightened than all the founders and all the adherents of all the world's religions. And this is a slippery slope, an intentionally slippery slope, slicked just so by the deceiver of mankind. Because if there isn't one true God, there cannot be absolute truth. And without absolute truth, morality is relative. There is no external objective standard for righteousness. Are you getting the sense that Satan hates righteousness? Maybe, since we don't know if truth can even be known, we ought to just reject religion altogether. After all, it causes more problems than it solves, right? Well, if we reject religion, what do we replace it with? The rejection of religion lays the groundwork for the popular modern secular worldview, postmodernism. Think

Postmodernism and the Tolerance Trap

Kate 13:31

about the popularity of postmodernism in today's culture. Maybe that's a new word for you. Essentially, postmodernism is a view that rejects absolute truth in favor of subjectivity, intolerance, and community. I just said that postmodernism rejects absolute truth. So let's also define absolute truth. What is it? Absolute truth is an inflexible, unalterable reality that is true at all times, in all places, and for all people. It exists entirely independent of human perception, opinions, or cultural context. Postmodernism is closely tied to moral relativism and rejects the notion that absolute truth exists. This is the relativism piece. Instead of one external objective standard of truth, we say, My truth is my truth, and it's okay if my truth is in conflict with your truth because there is no absolute truth. Each of us must decide what is good and right and simply live our own truth. What I call righteous, you might call unrighteous, and vice versa, but we have to be accepting of one another's truths. Or you might reject the virtue of righteousness altogether, because who cares? Live and let live. You and I both know and love people who believe this to their core. Postmodernism posits that there is no absolute truth, which, by the way, is an absolute truth statement because you're literally making an absolute truth claim by saying there is no absolute truth. Think about that. In this worldview, which rejects absolute truth, each one of us must come up with our own individual definition of morality and never, ever, ever tell someone else that their set of standards is wrong. As Mama Bear Apologetics says, this view says, you're wrong to tell me that I'm wrong. Isn't it ironic? Additionally, postmodernism rejects absolute truth yet still speaks in moral absolutes. Racism is wrong, abuse is wrong, exploitation and oppression are wrong. But here's the problem. If truth is so intensely personal and individual and therefore subjective, on what basis can we condemn anyone with universal statements like racism is wrong? Why is your belief against oppression more correct than, say, my belief that oppression is acceptable? Someone might say, that's a ridiculous example. Everyone knows oppression is wrong. Do they? Tell that to any class of oppressors ever, like in the history of ever. All of this gets so messy because instead of having absolute truth connected to an external, objective, trustworthy standard of righteousness, each person gets to decide what's right and wrong. And not only does this get muddy, but also terrifying. Walked out to its natural conclusion, anyone can do anything, and I'm not allowed to do a dang thing about it, least of all, disagree with it. But that's okay as long as we all get to follow our hearts and trust our guts. And finally, as inclusive as this worldview presents itself to be, there is actually zero tolerance for, say, Christianity that comes along with an absolute external standard of truth. This means that biblical views of righteousness, by their sheer nature of exclusivity, are an offense to this seemingly tolerant, relativistic view. Your religion is too exclusive, so we're going to exclude you on the basis of your exclusivity. But we'll keep hanging our live and let live banners. Mama Bear Apologetics rightly points out total moral relativism isn't even logically possible. It's a self-defeating statement. To say that nothing is true is to claim to know the truth about truth. For moral relativism to work, nobody can have strong convictions. You're allowed to believe whatever you like unless you think your beliefs are actually true. Then moral relativism has a problem with you because, in and of itself, truth is exclusive. It excludes falsehood. What a sad mess. How in the world does this relate to our verse today on the breastplate of righteousness? Remember, before we can talk about right living, we have to determine who gets the right to define what right even is. Now, as Christians, we stand on biblical truth and pursue God's standard of righteousness, which again, by definition, is simply living to God according to how the Bible instructs us. But biblical righteousness is so much more complex and beautiful than even that. So stick with me because we'll get there. But I want you to know this, you already probably do. If you plant your biblical righteousness stake in the ground here, oh Christian, you are instantly at odds with the growing majority of the world today who would say that biblical righteousness is not just a subjective thing, but a negative thing. And this is precisely where all the labels are added to us as followers of Jesus. What God calls good and righteous, the world increasingly calls, wait for this list, archaic, narrow, or closed-minded, homophobic, transphobic, racist, sexist, misogynistic, intolerant, judgmental, oppressive, extremist, legalistic, divisive, patriarchal, puritanical, unloving, authoritarian, cult-like, anti-science, anti-intellectual, and, wait for it, hateful. When I see someone label a Jesus follower as any of these things, I get tremendously sad. I know that no one ever wants to be on the wrong side of history. People who adhere to any worldview or religion other than Christianity are still image-bearers of the living God, and they were lovingly created to reflect him. Any desire they have for righteousness and goodness and love and equality and justice comes from the one who designed them to pursue those things. God is righteousness. They are his eternal nature and character. But because non-believers don't yet know the God of the Bible, they would never say that those desires for justice and equality and good come from the God who actually created them. They'd say that righteousness or right living originates from within, or they'd attribute it to some man-made philosophy that they've studied and follow. One of the ladies in my study recently had a conversation with a coworker about teaching the Bible to children, and the coworker quickly dismissed that, saying, I just teach my kids to be good people. We each know so many people who follow bits of truth in the views that they adhere to, all while rejecting the righteous God of the Bible where that truth comes from in the first place. Those snippets of truth are what make it all so strategic on Satan's part. Mama Bear Apologetics says the most potent lies are wrapped in partial truths. But partial truths are still not capital T truth. When we have no absolute standard of truth to check everything against, it's the blind leading the blind. We'll be right back after this message. As we walk through the armor of God together, I hope you're realizing that Bible study isn't just for pastors or scholars. You can learn to do this too. Our How to Study the Bible course is designed to help you move from feeling intimidated by Scripture to actually opening God's Word with confidence and to understand what you're reading. In this 20-lesson video course, we walk you through the same practical tools that we use every week, things like annotation, cross-references, word studies, context, and more, so that you can grow deeper in your relationship with God through His Word. Whether you're brand new or have been studying for years, this course will help strengthen your foundation and teach you how to study the Bible for yourself. You can learn more by clicking the link in this episode's description. And now back to the show. Okay,

Worldviews That Redefine Goodness

Kate 21:52

so write this down if you're taking notes. The big idea here on views of righteousness is this our definition. Definitions of righteousness flow downstream from our definitions of God. Said another way, our view of God shapes our view of good. Does that make sense? A person's definition of righteousness doesn't just appear out of nowhere, it grows out of what they believe ultimate reality is. Before we define righteousness biblically, based on God's character and definition, let me give you some concrete real-world examples that are in conflict with Christianity. Again, this is an attempt to help you make the connection between who or what someone believes God to be and therefore what they believe righteousness is. First, let's look at progressive spirituality. If God is primarily loving, but holiness is minimized, then righteousness drifts toward affirmation and inclusion as the highest good. The most important questions are: Am I accepting? Am I validating? Am I minimizing harm? The focus on love detaches this view from moral absolutes, which are even sometimes seen as intolerant and harmful. Second, Islam. If God is utterly transcendent and sovereign, then righteousness is all about submission and perfect obedience. The common questions are: have I submitted? Am I obeying? Am I fulfilling all of the divine requirements expected of me? The focus becomes obedience as righteousness. Third, Judaism. Similarly, within the classical Jewish framework, if God is covenantal and revealed through law, then righteousness is about faithful covenant living. And the questions are, am I walking faithfully, honoring God's commandments, and remaining within covenant? Fourth, Eastern religions like Hinduism or Taoism. If ultimate reality is more impersonal, then righteousness is about living in harmony, detaching from negativity, and moving toward liberation. The focus shifts from less guilt to more spiritual awakening via paths and practices that I must follow. Fifth, Buddhism. If it's not sin that is the central problem, but suffering, as the broad Buddhist framework teaches, then righteousness comes from detachment and enlightenment. The questions here are: Am I overcoming desire and am I becoming free from attachment? Righteousness is the removal of all desire. Next, let's look at three: pluralism, universalism, and postmodernism. If all religions reveal the same God, as pluralists would say, then righteousness comes from sincerity and devotion. Am I authentic enough? Am I respecting others' paths? Am I spiritually open to everything? Here, as contradictory claims all become equally valid, righteousness is increasingly difficult, actually impossible, to define objectively. If everyone is ultimately saved, like in universalism, then righteousness isn't even necessary for final destiny. So living for now is best. And questions might be, how do I flourish or live meaningfully now? If salvation is guaranteed, then what role does righteousness play at all? And if truth is a personal construct, then righteousness relies solely on personal authenticity. The postmodernist asks, what feels true to me? Am I living authentically? Who are others to dare define me? When two different definitions of right living collide, the moral relativist must say that each person is the author of their own righteousness, and that's acceptable. Nothing is absolutely wrong except the things that I think are wrong. And finally, think about these ultimates, meaning these things being your God: humanity, self, pleasure, and power. If humanity is ultimate, as in secular humanism, then righteousness is consensus. The questions are what benefits society? What reduces suffering? What do we collectively affirm? The problem here is that consensus constantly changes. Over the course of human history, standards of righteousness do not stay the same. New generations condemn previous ones, which means why assume current morality is the correct one? If righteousness evolves, perhaps we are the blind generation. And if self is ultimate, righteousness is just self-expression. And the questions are, am I being true to myself? Am I following my heart? Am I becoming who I feel I am? But what happens if your heart and my heart conflict? Who's right? If pleasure is ultimate, righteousness becomes whatever satisfies. This is hedonism, where the questions are simply, does this make me happy and maximize my enjoyment? And finally, if power is ultimate, righteousness becomes whatever wins, whatever comes out on top. We see this with political, tribal, and nihilistic systems. The questions here are simply, can I get away with it? And why not pursue whatever gives me the advantage? If there is no God and no objective moral order, righteousness is irrelevant and who even cares? Why be righteous at all? This isn't distorted righteousness, but the abandonment of righteousness altogether. Let's do a bonus one for fun, since it's the talk of the town right now and we're being given movies like Disclosure Day. If we aren't alone in the universe, meaning intelligent life exists on other planets, then maybe, just maybe, these extraterrestrials will bring us righteousness or goodness through some type of enlightenment. I think that's the big deception that they're trying to set up right now. Of course we aren't alone. Christians have known this forever. In our passage we're studying right now, Paul talks about the rulers, authorities, powers, and forces of evil in the heavenly places, and we know that angels are real. This alien deception, in my opinion, is spiritual, and it seems very much related to the powers Paul writes about in Ephesians 6. Our battle isn't against flesh and blood, but that doesn't make the battle any less real. Steven Spielberg, the director of Disclosure Day, literally said in an interview about the movie, based on the circumstantial evidence and of everything that I've gathered throughout my whole life, everybody I've listened to and every documentary I've ever watched and all the testimonies in Congress that I've heard, I absolutely think that they, aliens, have been here and they are here. And who knows? Maybe they've always been here. He also said that this is his first movie that's going to be treated as science fiction that he doesn't personally believe is science fiction. In Disclosure Day, the backdrop is, of course, pending planetary annihilation. And as a species, humans need saving because they cannot save themselves. Enter these beings who are otherworldly slash sinless and possess advanced secret knowledge that will save humanity. Perhaps the aliens hold the true key to righteousness. It's all so interesting, isn't it? All of these attempts to define good. We just spent the entire first portion of this episode looking at worldly definitions of righteousness.

Righteousness Given Through Christ

Kate 29:51

Now let's clarify what righteousness is according to biblical Christianity. The biblical understanding of righteousness stands wildly alone in this hodgepodge of claims. Bible-believing Christians would say that righteousness is rooted in God's very character. It doesn't come from human enlightenment or human character. In fact, biblical Christianity also makes the absolute truth claim that no one is righteous, that all have sinned and fallen short of God's standard, and the wages of sin is death. Just listen to what Isaiah 64:6 says about our attempts at righteousness. We have all become like one who is unclean. Remember my shoes? And all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. Charles Spurgeon responds to this verse by saying, Brethren, if our righteousnesses are so bad, what must our unrighteousnesses be? Righteousness is impossible apart from faith in Christ alone, who imputes or gives righteousness. God questions does a great job explaining this. Romans 5.9 says that we have been justified by his blood. Part of that justification is an imputation of his own righteousness. And by God's grace, through this faith in Christ, Romans 3.22 says that righteousness is given to all who believe. That's imputation, the giving of Christ's righteousness to sinners. Without this imputed righteousness, it is impossible to please God. We could never be good enough or righteous enough on our own to be in the presence of a perfectly righteous God. But not only is God righteousness, he's also the only one who has ever been only righteous. What can we know about God's character of righteousness? Well, the Bible tells us that no unrighteousness is found in him. The God of the Bible is righteous, loves righteous deeds, is righteous in all his ways, and kind in all his works, which are all perfect and just. And in Luke 16, 15, Jesus says to the Pharisees, who were the most outwardly righteous of their day, you are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. Yikes, right? That's all very sobering. And it should be. Christianity rejects the notion that righteousness is personal, subjective, self-created, or self-sustained. Biblical righteousness is an internal, supernatural transformation that takes place when we submit to God's power and choose to live according to his standard. It's as simple as the prayer that David prayed: search my heart, God, test me, test my anxious thoughts, see if there is any offense in me and lead me in the way everlasting. It begins, biblical righteousness begins with who is God, not who do you want to be? And that's why Paul doesn't say, put on your preferred form of righteousness. He says, put on God's breastplate of righteousness, because righteousness is defined by God alone, and that's why it's a piece of God's actual armor. Isaiah 59, 17 says, God himself put on righteousness as a breastplate. So

Why the Breastplate Protects Life

Kate 38:51

why does Paul want us to put on the breastplate of righteousness? Think about it. The breastplate is a defensive piece of armor. In the context of Paul's time, breastplates protected the vital organs, and vital organs equal life. So what does wearing righteousness over our vital organs do? Well, it's pretty straightforward. Hear me. Righteousness protects us from unrighteousness. Unrighteousness is defilement. It's dark smudges on white shoes. Unrighteousness separates us from God, which is no good for God because He doesn't want to be separated from us. He wants relationship with us so badly that he sent his only son to make a way home for us. Unrighteousness is anything that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. That covers all of the worldviews and alternate religions that we just discussed and the ones we didn't get to. All of them set themselves up against the God of the Bible and are therefore wholly unrighteous. We establish that there is no unrighteousness in God, but you know where unrighteousness was found? In Satan. In Ezekiel 28, God is talking to Satan when he says, You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you. This happened when Satan chose pride over worship, when he desired to be God and did violence against God by rebelling. He was cast out of heaven for his unrighteousness. And from that moment forward, Satan has been the author of unrighteousness and all that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. You know, even our attempts at righteousness are an affront to God. No one has ever lived in perfect righteousness except one man. We are incapable, no matter how hard we try, to be good people or to live and let live, or even follow the commands in holy books, we will always fall short. We know that about ourselves. No one is righteous. No, not one. Unrighteousness is sin. Sin is missing the mark. The penalty or cost for sin is death. Sin is what separates us from a righteous God. And Christ, who knew no sin, became sin for you and for me, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. The righteousness Christ died to give us, it did exactly that. It brought us new righteous life at the moment of salvation. It brings us life every day that we choose it, and on the day of judgment will be what we are covered in when we stand before God. It's how we'll make it in. Righteousness is life. That's why it is the breastplate over our vital organs. This is serious. It is serious for those of us who are in Christ, but it is especially serious for those who are outside of Christ. The truth is that righteousness can be found nowhere else and in no one other than Jesus. We are taught that it's hateful to say so, but it isn't. It's hateful to not say so, because the Bible tells us in Romans 1 that the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them, for his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools. God's wrath will be poured out one day on all unrighteousness. He is right and just and fair to do so. He would have been righteous to give us what we deserved, but he's also merciful. And in Christ, not only do we not get what we deserve, but we get what we don't deserve. Righteousness that comes by faith and is the righteousness that we will stand in when we one day answer to God. He will look at us with our sins removed as far as the East is from the West and welcome us into His eternal kingdom based on Christ's work and Christ's righteousness alone. So for those who are living according to any of the worldly philosophies or religions that we talked about at the beginning, I beg you to remove emotion and cultural pressure and social taboos and all your own thoughts and do research. For yourself. I know that you care about being a good person. You value justice and love and people. You want to live rightly, but how will you ever know what that means if you don't do the work of deciding who gets to define right? Open the Bible with an open heart and let the good book judge you. Don't judge it. Have an open heart and seek to find God with all your heart, and he will be found by you. The picture you'll discover will astound you. The God of the Bible is righteous. He is perfectly good, and he alone gets to define righteousness. He has provided a way for you to be declared righteous through his Son Jesus. For all those reasons, and so many more, he is worthy of your worship, and you will find the truth about righteousness, and that truth will set you free from the captivity you have been in to empty world philosophies. You need the breastplate of righteousness because it protects you from unrighteousness and is your life. God is patient and gracious, and he is not willing that any should perish. But I do not want you to be deceived. Your version of goodness, though the world pats you for it on the back now, will lead to death. There is a day coming when the Lord will not spare, when it will be too late, when the door will close. If you reject God and do not want life on earth with him, he certainly will not force you into an eternity with him. I know that you've been told that your efforts are good enough and you're doing well enough and can have security in yourself or in your worldview, but those are lies that will lead to your eternal destruction. Psalm 49 paints a picture of what it will be like for the man or woman who attempted to find righteousness and life outside of God, you know, just to live and let live and be a good person. It says, when he dies, he will carry nothing away. His glory will not go down after him. For though while he lives, he counts himself blessed, and though you get praise when you do well for yourself, his soul will go to the generations of his fathers, and he will never again see light. Please hear me when I say that Christianity is not ultimately a message about condemnation. The message of Christianity is that God looked at people who could never reach his standard of righteousness and made a way himself, which means that you do not have to clean yourself up first, you don't have to become more spiritual first, you don't have to undo your past, outgrow your doubts, or prove yourself worthy. Jesus Christ lived the righteous life that you and I could never live, and he died the death that we deserved to die for our sin. Then he rose again so that everyone who comes to faith in him could be forgiven, adopted, made new, and clothed in his righteousness. That means that if you are listening today and realizing that your definition of goodness has not satisfied, if you are exhausted trying to justify yourself, if you've built your life on achievement, morality, spirituality, religion, self-expression, or being a good person, simply trying to do your best, Jesus is not standing over you saying, try harder. He is saying, Come to me, come with your questions, come with your failures, come with your fear, come with your pride, come with your sin. Just come with empty hands. Because the invitation of the gospel has never been become righteous. The invitation is receive righteousness. Christ would never ask you to earn what he has already purchased. And if what you heard today unsettled you, don't ignore that. Open the scriptures for yourself. Read and ask God honestly. If you are there, show me who you are. Show me what is true. I am willing to follow wherever truth leads. Scripture says that if you seek him with all your heart, you will find him. And when you do, you will discover that the God who is perfectly righteous is also unimaginably merciful. There is still time, the door is still open today, Christ still receives sinners. One day faith will become sight and every person will stand before God. But today you are still invited to come, not because you are good enough, but because Jesus is. And the breastplate of righteousness is available even now to all who believe.

Two Christian Ditches on Righteousness

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And for the Christian, for the follower of the biblical Jesus, I want to close by talking to you. Because I asked you at the beginning how you felt about the word righteousness. So let me ask you again, what say you about righteousness? Hopefully, our discussion on worldly views of righteousness and biblical righteousness has all been helpful, especially if you were confused by its meaning and also how it's defined by other worldviews. But I also asked you if you had shame or condemnation about this word. I asked you if you ever feel like you know you're supposed to be righteous, but you aren't. Is that you? Maybe you feel like God is disappointed in you. Like maybe he thinks he made a mistake spilling Christ's blood for you because you continue to fail at righteousness. The other potential alternative, listener, has grown way too lax when it comes to righteousness. God's kindness has led you to presume on his grace. You've been living unrighteously, almost as if God's grace is a blank check with no limits. God will forgive me again this time, or I can lower the bar in this area because I see other Christians doing it, or because I have a different conviction than what scripture says. It'll all be okay in the end. I'm washed in the blood. Make no mistake. We can choose Christ and still reject the call on our lives to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. Rejecting God and his standard of righteousness is what the Bible often calls having haughty eyes or a scornful spirit. This is the height of self-deception and happens precisely when a person reduces God's moral standards, judges his ways as inferior to their own, and thus functionally dethrones him in their lives. How many examples do we have of God fearing men and women doing this in the Bible? Nothing is new under the sun. The Bible is full of stories of people biting the apple of independence from God, wanting to live to themselves, to define good and evil, to move the lines on what is acceptable and not, to do what is right in their own eyes. Satan does not want us to get into the nitty-gritty of what it means to be truly righteous. He either wants us chained to condemnation for falling short. Remember, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. So why do we still feel condemned? That's from Satan. Or he wants us flitting around in false freedom, that the cross means that we can live how we want to live, and Jesus will pick up the tab. This is what Paul was talking about. It is genuinely a war out there. There is a daily battle being fought for what you believe. Think about the one who knew the Father better than anyone else, Jesus. And what did he want to do? The will of the Father. The more we know God, the more we will want to do his will and be like him. Jesus loved righteousness because his father is righteousness, and it's a shared attribute for both of them since eternity past. Think about something that a dad and son share in common here on earth, a trait that leads to a shared interest and shared activities. How much joy does it bring them to walk in that together? And how much more do the father and son love walking in, demonstrating, sharing, and expressing their goodness, holiness, and righteousness toward one another and toward all of us. Love for God will cause us to want to walk in more and more righteousness. I'm going to read you something important from Pastor H. B. Charles Jr. on sin, because the opposite of righteousness is unrighteousness or sin. And I think it benefits us to have a proper view of sin. We know that the devil does not want any of us, least of all Christians, to have a proper view of sin. To do this, Charles Jr. is going to look at Jesus' beloved disciple, John, and some things that he writes. 1 John 1 makes it clear the apostle John was against sin. In 1 John 1, 5 through 10, John rebukes those who ignore, deny, or minimize the reality of sin. 1 John 1.8 says, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1.10 says, if we say we have not sinned, we make him, God, a liar, and his word is not in us. Christians are redeemed sinners. We possess a sinful nature and commit sinful acts. But 1 John 1.9 says, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But Charles points to the possibility of misunderstanding here. He says, You can conclude that sin is inevitable. One can think that it's futile to resist sin and unnecessary to try. Or you can conclude that sin is insignificant. John's statements can be misread as a license to sin. If all I must do is confess and God will forgive my sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness, what's the big deal? This is not the Christian message. Romans 6.1 asks, are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? And verse 2 says, By no means. John would agree with Paul. 1 John 2, 1 through 2 is a disclaimer of sorts in which John clarifies his message on sin in the life of the believer. He says, My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the what? The righteous. Sin is serious, but so is God's love. God hates sin but loves sinners. What should Christians know about sin? And here it is, this ties back to our opening discussion on truth. We must know the truth. Who gets to set what is true and then walk in it? There has to be a standard if there is ever to be righteousness. And this is exactly why Satan's strategy is to minimize the stigma of sin, to get non-believers to celebrate it and get believers to tolerate it. Charles Jr. goes on In 1973, Dr. Carl Meninger of the Meninger Clinic published Whatever Became of Sin. As Meninger treated people with various mental and emotional problems, he noticed a disturbing trend. People did not take responsibility for their actions. There was little sense of guilt and shame. Things have only grown worse. We have lost our sense of the sinfulness of sin, even in the church. We need a renewed sense of the sinfulness of sin. We have found new ways to define and describe the human problem. But if the diagnosis is wrong, the remedy is useless. The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart. We have a sin problem. Romans 3.23 says, For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The blood and righteousness of Christ open a new and living way to God. But salvation by grace is not a license to sin. First John 2.1 says, My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. Salvation is more than rescue from the guilt and penalty of our past sins. It is a call to new life in Christ. I'm still reading from Charles Jr. here. The flesh resists this new life, but we must strive for holiness. 2 Corinthians 7:1 says, Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. The Christian life is a life of contrition, confession, and consecration. Charles Jr. then gives the example of the woman caught in adultery. The religious leaders brought a woman to Jesus caught in the act of adultery. They used her to trap Jesus. The Mosaic law commanded adulterers to be stoned, but the occupying forces for Rome exercised the authority for capital punishment. Jesus commanded those without sin to cast a stone at her. Then he began to write on the ground. John 8, 10 through 11 reads, Jesus stood up and said to her, Woman, where are they? Has one condemned you? She said, No one, Lord. And Jesus said, Neither do I condemn you, but go and from now on sin no more. She deserved the death penalty. Jesus gave her scandalous grace. Grace is free but not cheap. Jesus also commanded her to go and sin no more. This is the purpose of salvation. John, uh, first John 2 1 again says, My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. Salvation is more than fire insurance to keep you from going to hell. It is more than having the hope of heaven when you die. God did not save us from sin so that we might continue in sin. Romans 8 29 says, For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. It is the will of God to have the Spirit of God use the Word of God to make the children of God look like the Son of God. Let me read that again. It is the will of God to have the Spirit of God use the Word of God to make the children of God look like the Son of God. First John 3.2 says, Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is. The process of sanctification tells us that believers are saved in three time tenses. We have been saved from the penalty of sin. We are being saved from the power of sin, and we will be saved from the power of sin. The Christian life, still continuing with Charles Jr. here, the Christian life is the process of becoming what you already are. The process is called sanctification. We are declared righteous by faith in Christ. Positional righteousness should then lead to practical righteousness. So all of this, you guys, it just means that we should increasingly hate our sin. Romans 12.9 says, hate what is evil, cling to what is good. And gotquestions.org says, the better we understand the consequences of sin, the more we will hate sin in our own lives. Sin is what separates us from God. It enslaves us. Sin is what brought sickness, sorrow, shame, and death into the world. Sin is the root cause of all war, fighting, pain, and injustice. Sin is why hell exists. When we consider the horrible effects of sin in the world at large, we are grieved to discover the same sin lurking in our own hearts. We hate that we contribute to the pain of the world. The better we understand the source of sin, the more we will hate it in ourselves. Satan is the originator of sin. Before salvation, we were children of the devil. As believers, we still face Satan's temptations and struggle with the old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires. When we gratify the desires of the sinful nature, we are dabbling again in the uncleanness and corruption of the devil. The more we love God, the more we will hate our sin. We are not our own, but we belong to God. We were bought with a price. The Lord has given us the very breath of life, and our sin grieves him. Why would we tolerate that which grieves the one we love? A mother hates the sickness that incapacitates her child. And if we really love the Lord, we will hate the sin that grieves him. And yet, back to what John, the beloved disciple, wanted us to know. If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. This is the tension, Charles Jr. says, between idealism and realism. Christians should strive to live without sin, but we do not believe in perfectionism, which claims we can live in sinless perfection. It does not matter how long you have been saved, how spiritually mature you are, or your office in the church. Anyone can sin. Every Christian has a sin problem. But we fight this spiritual enemy with the help of a divine ally. Charles Jr. continues, when is he our advocate? Before we are tempted, when we sin, after we confess? Yes, he is our present, permanent, and perpetual assurance. We have an advocate. The term means one who comes alongside. It is the Holy Spirit who is our helper. Warren Wearsby wrote, The Holy Spirit represents Christ to us on earth, and the Son represents us to God in heaven. An advocate speaks on behalf of another. It is a defense attorney who argues for the accused. Hebrews 7.25 says, Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. When we sin, he is still our Father. It's so good. I wanted to read it all to you from Charles Jr. This is on the atoning sacrifice and what it means for us. He asks, on what basis does Christ advocate for us? First John 2, 2 answers, he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. The person of Christ is the foundation of the work of Christ. But the righteous life of Christ is no help to us without the atoning death of Christ. There are three ways the finished work of Christ advocates for us: the satisfaction, the substitution, and the sufficiency of Christ. First, the satisfaction of Christ. Again, 1 John 2.2 says, He is the propitiation for our sin. Biblical preaching should be simple but not simplistic. Big words demand careful attention, and propitiation is one of them. It is a synonym for salvation. Propitiation is the satisfaction of wrath by the offering of a sacrifice. It is a God-centered perspective of the cross. We often talk about what Christ did for us on the cross. We need to talk about what Christ did for God on the cross. Romans 118, which I shared with you earlier, says, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. Divine wrath is not human wrath, it is righteous wrath against sin. Remember, Isaiah 64, 6, which I also mentioned before, says, We have all become like one who is unclean, and our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities like the wind take us away. But Christ is the propitiation for our sins. John Stott wrote, Propitiation is the appeasement of the wrath of God by the love of God through the gift of God. The blood of Jesus satisfies the wrath of God against us. Psalm 85 10 says, Steadfast love and faithfulness. Meet. Righteousness and peace kiss each other. That kiss happened at the cross. The second way that the finished work of Christ advocates for us is through the substitution of Christ. The blood of Jesus satisfied God's demands for justice on our behalf. Verse 2 in 1 John 2 says, He is the propitiation for our sins. The cross was satisfaction for God and substitution for us. Carl Barth was asked, What is the most important word in the New Testament? And he answered with the Greek word, a Greek preposition that means in the place of or on behalf of. When he called that the most important word, he meant the important truth is that Jesus took our place and bore the punishment of God for our sin at the cross. First John 4 10 says, In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. The sinless one died for the sinful ones. The righteous one died for the unrighteous. The godly one died for the guilty ones. Isaiah 53, 5 and 6 says, But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. The third way that the finished work of Christ advocates for us is through the sufficiency of Christ. The death of Christ satisfied God's righteous demands. He took our place and paid our penalty. But verse 2 adds, He is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. John is not teaching universalism. He does not claim everyone in the world will go to heaven. He claims that the finished work of Christ is sufficient for all. Christ's blood is efficient for those who believe, and Christ's blood is sufficient for the whole world. John 20, 19 to 20 says, Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. The people were so offended by what Pilate wrote that they missed the magnitude of how he wrote it. It was written, so the world will know. Jesus of Nazareth is the King of the Jews. John 1.29 says, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is for the whole world, the world that defines righteousness in so many different ways. He is the Lamb of God who came for them all. His blood is sufficient for the whole world. Our

Put Off Sin Put On Love

Kate 1:09:13

reality is that we are more like my dingy shoes than we care to admit. We have been made unclean by our sin. We are defiled. But God, through Jesus Christ, the righteous, we have been made righteous. Colossians 1 says that he is able to reconcile to himself all things, making peace by the blood of his cross. And those of us who will be found in Christ on that final day, we who were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, we have been reconciled in his body of flesh by his death in order, listen to this, listen, listen to this, in order to present us holy and blameless and above reproach before him. If, if indeed we continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, he, Jesus, has the power to present us blameless before God, without spot or blemish, at peace and with great joy. Righteousness is what protects you from unrighteousness, and Christ shed his blood to gift it to you for free. So put on the breastplate of righteousness, friend. Put away all unrighteousness, as Paul defines it in Ephesians 4 and 5, including lying, anger, stealing, foul or obscene language, crude joking, bitterness, slander, malice, sexual immorality, impurity, greed, and idolatry. And instead, clothe yourself, walk in righteousness, which Paul says looks like humility, gentleness, patience, bearing in love, speaking the truth, kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. Put on the breastplate of righteousness, and you will be protected from unrighteousness. One commentator said, When a man is clothed in practical righteousness, he is impregnable. Words are no defense against accusation, but a good life is. Believers Bible commentary adds, if our conscience is void of offense toward God and man, the devil has nothing to shoot at. And that's it for this episode. If you

Share Support and Next Passage

Kate 1:11:40

know someone who would be blessed by what you just heard, please share the Abidible Podcast with them. Keep spreading the word so we can make much of the word. Drop us a review, tell us what you love and what you're learning. Check out the link to learn more about partnering with us by buying us a coffee one time, by joining our Abidible Plus Women's Facebook membership community for $10 a month, or by becoming a monthly supporter. For those of you following along in the workbook, go ahead and move on, if you haven't already, to Ephesians 6.15 on pages 28 to 31 in your study workbook. Ideally, you would have this section done before you listen to the next episode, number 99. In that episode, we will see what Paul calls us to put on our feet. Again, the verse next week is Ephesians 6.15, which says, and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. What is the gospel of peace? Why does it make us ready? Ready for what? And what does all of that have to do with our feet? It's going to be another exciting episode that hopefully won't take me seven years to get to you. I will pray for us and then close us out with our memory work for verses 14 and 15.

Prayer and Scripture Memory Practice

Kate 1:12:52

Remember, we're camping on these two verses for a few weeks to give time for each piece of armor. Father, thank you for being perfectly righteous. Thank you that in a world filled with competing voices, shifting standards, and endless opinions about what is good and true, you have not left us to guess. You have revealed yourself. You are holy, you are just, you are good, and you alone define righteousness because you alone are righteous. Lord, we confess that we so often try to establish our own righteousness. We compare ourselves to others, we trust our own hearts, we look to culture, we try to rely on achievement or religion or morality or approval or our own efforts, all the while believing that they might, that they can make us acceptable before you. But your word tells us that none of those things can save. Thank you that what we never could have earned, you offer freely through Jesus. Thank you that Christ lived the righteous life we could not live and died the death we deserved, so that by faith we could be forgiven, declared righteous, adopted as your children, and welcomed into your kingdom. For the listener who already belongs to you, strengthen them today. Remind them that their standing before you is not built on performance, but on Christ. Help them put on the breastplate of righteousness daily and give them a desire to walk in holiness and righteousness. And for the listener who is searching, questioning, skeptical or uncertain, would you draw them to yourself? Remove their fear, their pride, their confusion, and all distraction. Give them courage to seek truth honestly and to open your word with an open heart. Reveal your goodness, your righteousness to them. Lord, do not let us settle for a righteousness of our own that cannot save. Teach us to treasure Christ above everything this world offers. Thank you that you are so patient with us. Thank you that you are merciful, and thank you that you still receive and redeem and sanctify sinners like us. We love you and we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's close by doing our memory work together. I'm going to repeat Ephesians 6.14 and 15 five times. Say it out loud with me or quietly to yourself. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. Ephesians 6 14 through 15. Remember, you are able to abide in the Bible. We'll see you next time. Until then, let's abide.