Which is why, when we read something like Psalm 7:8 (”judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me”), our instinct is to run a mile and to morph the text into something along the lines of, ‘But, actually, if you did that I’d be in deep trouble - so please judge me according to Jesus’ righteousness instead.’
We can maintain that David spoke in these terms because this is the Old Testament; no gospel-respecting New Testament believer would ever think to ask to be dealt with on the basis of their own righteousness. And there’s absolutely no need to do so; you go with justification by faith every single time. It’s the only way to stay sane.
And yet…the great proponent of justification by faith, the apostle Paul, does just what David did (and Psalm 7:8 is far from an isolated example). He frequently calls God to be his witness that his behaviour and his motives have been pure and blameless. Here’s a few examples of that:
- God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times. (Rom. 1:9)
- My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. (1 Cor. 4:4)
- Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace. (2 Cor. 1:12)
- I call God as my witness —and I stake my life on it—that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. (2 Cor 1:23)
- On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. (2 Cor. 4:2)
- we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Cor. 5:9,10)
- Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. (2 Cor. 5:11)
- The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. (2 Cor. 11:31)
- I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. (Gal. 1:20)
- God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. (Phil. 1:8)
- we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. (1 Thess. 2:4)
- You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed —God is our witness. (1 Thess. 2:5)
- You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. (1 Thess. 2:10)
- holding on to faith and a good conscience (1 Tim. 1:19)
- I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience (2 Tim. 1:3)
And it’s not just Paul (is it ever just Paul?). The writer of Hebrews can confidently assert, “We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honourably in every way” (Heb. 13:18).
This spills over into how Paul admonishes believers to live holy lives, on the basis that God is their judge, both now and at the last day. They will, even now, be judged according to their righteousness ("if we judged ourselves truly then we wouldn’t be judged…" 1 Cor 11:31). If they have behaved decently and in the light then they can say so to the Lord as they walk with him. It won’t mean they have no difficulties to face - this isn’t a health/wealth paradigm that Paul is constructing - but they will be able to look God in the face as they worship him, openly and unashamed of their conduct.
It’s also interesting just how much instruction Paul gives to a younger, possibly timid believer - Timothy - to live righteously and in all godliness. Far more emphasis on that than on burying himself in the gospel, preaching the gospel to himself every day etc. (Sometimes received wisdom isn't as biblical as it seems...)
So what is this saying? And what am I suggesting? Simply that we must not allow the glory of justification to be diminished by appealing to it in such a way that our own conduct has no significance whatsoever. We need to endeavour to maintain as clear a conscience as we can. Our final destiny rests in the finished work of Christ and that deserves our full confidence, but there is also a place, in our daily living, for a due sense of confidence before God on the basis of our own integrity before him. Not a ‘final judgement’ confidence but a ‘walking with the Lord in honest fellowship’ kind of confidence.
If your response to this is still, ‘Whoah! That’s dangerous!’ then maybe you need to come up with some other way to deal with what is a consistent emphasis not simply in the Psalms but in the NT too.
