Righteousness, or justice, is a judicial matter. Love, on the contrary, is a matter of the emotion. If I love you, I may choose to pay attention to you. But if I do not love you, I may simply forget about you. Many Christians like to quote John 3:16, the verse that says that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Yes, God has so loved the world, but His love is not as firm as His righteousness. God, of course, will not change in His love. But suppose His love did change. God has the right to change in His love, but He does not have the right to change in His righteousness. Whether God loves us or gives us up, He is not wrong. He also would not be wrong in showing grace to us or in not showing grace to us. Grace is a matter of God’s wish. In Matthew 20 the Lord told Peter that He wanted to give the same reward to the last as to the first. This is a matter of the Lord’s wish, and there is nothing wrong with it. But righteousness is a matter neither of emotion nor of wish; it is a judicial matter. A judicial matter is related to the execution of the law, to legislation. God’s gospel is altogether a judicial matter, a matter of divine legislation. God has saved us judicially. Of course, God’s salvation is initiated by His love and accomplished through His grace. Eventually, however, it issues in His righteousness. Therefore, the salvation we have received today is not merely a matter of love or of grace, but also a judicial matter of God’s righteousness. Our salvation has been sealed and confirmed by God’s righteousness. Now not even God Himself can change our salvation.
It is upon this righteousness that the kingdom of God is built. Have you seen the contrast between man’s unrighteousness and God’s righteousness, between man’s kingdom and God’s kingdom? Man’s kingdom is not built upon righteousness. This fact was fully exposed in the way Pilate, the Roman governor, dealt with the Lord Jesus. In chapter twenty-six Matthew fully exposed the weakness of Peter’s natural life, and in chapter twenty-seven he exposed man’s unrighteousness. Man’s unrighteousness is even seen after the burial of Christ. The chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together to Pilate and said to him, “Sir, we remembered that that deceiver said, while he was still living, After three days I will arise. Command therefore that the grave be secured until the third day, lest the disciples come and steal him away and say to the people, He was raised from the dead; and the last deception will be worse than the first” (27:63-64). Pilate replied, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how” (v. 65). Pilate’s answer to the chief priests and Pharisees was unrighteous. Later, in 28:11-15, the chief priests and the elders bribed the soldiers, paying them to lie about the resurrection of Christ. This shows that the Roman soldiers also were unrighteous. Thus, regarding man’s government, the record is filled with unrighteousness. This exposes the fact that man’s government is built upon unrighteousness. But God’s government is built upon righteousness. Righteousness is the solid foundation of God’s kingdom. We are saved under God’s righteousness. Therefore, the foundation of our salvation is solid.
In chapter twenty-seven we have seen man’s unrighteousness and God’s righteousness. Praise the Lord that eventually man’s unrighteousness turned into God’s righteousness! We used to be in man’s unrighteousness, but now we are under God’s righteousness and in God’s kingdom. God’s kingdom is the kingdom of righteousness, and we are the righteous people in His kingdom.