“The Teaching About Righteousness” remains one of the least known major doctrines of Christianity. The term comes from the following passage of Scripture:

¹¹ About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. ¹² For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, ¹³ for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:11-14 ESV)

Notice in the passage above that the writer makes it clear that the “word of righteousness” or “teaching about righteousness” is for mature believers who “have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Now remember that the second piece of armor the Christian soldier (mature man or woman of God) puts on in Ephesians 6 is the “breastplate of righteousness.” This speaks directly about walking in the word or teaching about righteousness. The book of Hebrews devotes itself to teaching God’s people about God’s righteous, or holiness. One critical verse states, “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14)

Most Christians today believe they will be “raptured” into heaven and the presence of God before anything really terrible happens on earth, but they are deceived. They can never even see God until they learn to partake of his holiness. Hebrews says that our parents “disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but [God] disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.” (Hebrews 12:10) The prophet John carefully expounded upon this teaching, saying,

²⁸ And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. ²⁹ If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

3 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears^[f] we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. ³ And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

⁴ Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. ⁵ You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. ⁶ No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. ⁷ Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.⁸ Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. ⁹ No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s^[g] seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. ¹⁰ By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. (1 John 2:28-3:10)

Righteousness, however, has become a dirty word in today’s churches. The devil taught God’s people well that they “should not judge,” that they should not “distinguish good from evil.” Thus God’s people today, along with the world, call good “evil” and evil “good.” Because of this churches have allowed every type of sin to come into and to flourish within their dominions. This also means that the vast body of Christianity will not be able to discern truth from lies, reality from illusion, when “disclosure” of aliens occurs and Satan begins his final assault on mankind. Paul warned about this saying,

 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers,^{[a] 2} not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. ³ Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness^[b] is revealed, the son of destruction,^{[c] 4} who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. ⁵ Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? ⁶ And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. ⁷ For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. ⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. ⁹ The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, ¹⁰ and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. ¹¹ Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, ¹² in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12)

Last week I watched hours of videos made by men and women caught up in Satan’s deception of false signs and wonders. The things going on behind the scenes in the dark places of the earth literally boggle the mind. If I had no faith in the Son of Righteousness I would have no hope at this point and would become like these who believe in a nebulous “creator” and hold on to hope that the good aliens will defeat the bad aliens. But, I do have faith and I do have hope in my God. My Lord, Jesus the Messiah, spoke long ago through his prophet, saying,

“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. ² But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.³ And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.” (Malachi 4:1-3)

Remember, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12)

Therefore, “take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness.” (Eph. 6:13-14) Truth and righteousness form the foundation of God’s governmental throne. See Psalm 89:14; 97:2. Likewise, these two attributes of God form the foundation of every overcomer’s life. Having put these upon our souls we will never fall to the schemes of our enemy.