Understanding the Doctrine of Justification/We are Justified

Righteousness
Actually, the word righteous was first used by William Tyndale in his translation of the bible in the early 16th century.1 He employed it to translate the Hebrew word tsadiq as well as the Greek dikaios. These words are closely related to the concept of justice. Thus, to say someone is righteous is to say that they are just, or that they live rightly, according to God’s justice. The Old Testament concept of justice is closely related to the Law. Adherence to the Law of Moses was what made someone righteous. Christians today are not too concerned with the majority of Mosaic Law, but we do talk quite a bit about the Ten Commandments.

Law: The Ten Commandments
In the scriptures...righteousness includes not only the second table of the Decalogue, but also the first, which requires fear of God, faith, and love of God. —

The Ten Commandments—specifically the first—are accompanied by a blessing and a curse:

I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

When we fail to live up to the commandments, we fall under a curse from God! Yet how can we possibly live up to the standards that God has set?