Jason HouseRighteous
Are you righteous? This is an odd question that is not preached well in most churches. This article explores Abraham's question about the righteous in Sodom.
Prolog
One morning early in 2004, I awoke with a dream where I was being told about the theology of "righteousness." This was strange because I'd never had a dream dealing with theology before. The dream reduced to two distinct points:
Biblical "righteousness" is defined dynamically. No one is righteous before God unless they can demonstrate that they are willing to do what God says. Biblical righteousness is not statically defined as is normally preached.
Abraham's plea for Sodom was based on the question of people being righteous. Abraham's question was built on his own experience of righteousness. Understanding Biblical righteousness correctly has tremendous bearing on what Abraham is actually asking and what the angels do when they arrive in the city.
I wrote up the dream in my diary and a few days later relayed the dream to some Christian friends meeting at a home fellowship. Nearly to a person they were shocked at the thought that the popular definition was wrong.
Over the next week or so each came back and said to me privately that I was right. Without action, there can be no righteousness.
Webster's Definition
When studying the meaning of a word it is often best to start with a dictionary and look up the meaning. Though it is possible the Biblical definition is different than the modern meaning, it is a useful starting point. In this case the definition is this:
Righteous /Right' /eous, a. 1) Doing, or according with, that which is right; 2) Yielding to all their due; 3) Just; 4) Equitable; 5) Especially, free from wrong, guilt, or sin; 6) Holy; as a righteous man or act; a righteous retribution. Syn. Upright; just; godly; holy; uncorrupt; virtuous; honest; equitable; rightful.
Several parts of the definition point directly at the lesson here. Righteous, in its most simple form means Doing that which is right. The English word is most simply defined dynamically. This is enough to show that the translators likely chose this English language word because it centers on a dynamic definition.
Abraham's Question
Abraham pleaded over Sodom in a fairly famous narrative from Genesis 18.
In summary YHVH tells Abraham what he is about to do and then Abraham begins to plea for Sodom. Abraham's question is all about righteousness.
Understanding the word is key to understanding the entire passage. For review, here is the text.
1 Genesis 18:17-32
17And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
18Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
20And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
21I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
22And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.
23¶And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?
25That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
26And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.
27And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:
28Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.
29And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake.
30And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.
31And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake.
32And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.
Common Understanding
If you have ever heard this preached in Church you've probably heard a story based on the following logical steps.
Jesus is our righteousness.
We are Christians, followers of Jesus.
Since there are more than 10 of us in town.
Sodom could never happen here.
Of course this does not get preached in cities that have been destroyed, even with Christians, but it does get preached in peaceful areas.
The question, of course, is where is the logical problem in this line of thinking?
The answer comes from the behavior of Abraham in Genesis.
Did Abraham Believe the City would be Blown?
This first question is important. The common preaching about how Sodom could not happen today is based in part on a belief about YHVH's character. Does he blow cities?
Of course the answer is yes. He blew up Sodom and in Revelation uses the symbolism again suggesting prophetic replays of this event at various times in history.
It is clear from Abraham's plea that he fully expected the city to be blown up. There was no question that he needed to plea for people in Sodom. If Abraham thought otherwise, that there would be no destruction, there would have been no reason to plea for mercy. Abraham's entire focus is on any possible remnant in the city.
What is Abraham really asking?
Curiously Abraham himself had really only ever done 1 thing at the direction of YHVH. That thing was to leave Ur of the Chaldeans and go to Canaan. That event had been 25 years earlier and this was before the covenant was confirmed with the fiery vision and cut animals.
What was righteousness for Abraham? Leaving town.
When Abraham pleas for the remnant in Sodom he is asking for the people who would be like himself 25 years earlier, and who would leave if asked.
Righteousness, to Abraham, is not just doing the right thing, but doing what YHVH asks and for Abraham there is only 1 such thing he has ever done, leave town.
What Abraham is asking YHVH about is this: If there are those who will leave, will you still destroy it?
Now, think about the process.
Righteousness means that you will leave town if asked. If there are any righteous persons in a city about to be blown, modern or ancient, how would YHVH know?
He would simply ask them to leave.
By this question 2 distinct things happen. Either 1) They leave, reducing the number of righteous in the city or 2) they show they are not righteous, removing them from any possible list of remaining righteous people. This removes any burden YHVH would have to not blow the city.
What is curious about the effect is how closely it matches the structure of the narrative. When everyone is done being asked to leave, there are no righteous left in the city. YHVH is free to blow the place without fear of taking out anyone who remains who is righteous.
The stages in the narrative are also curious. Abraham does not change his number by more than 10 between any successive stage. Why? This is probably an approximation for a family unit. Ask a family, they leave because they believe and are righteous, or stay and are not righteous.
Imputed Righteousness
The common argument for Jesus imputing righteousness to Christians is flawed in an important sense.
Our righteousness, the filthy form, is when we decide to do something of our own in order to please Jesus. This is also called Cain's offering or Korah's rebellion. This is the form of action that we should have nothing to do with.
Jesus' righteousness, the form that is clean, is when he, himself, asks us to do something specific and we do it. When that happens, we are credited with righteousness.
Abraham's case with leaving town is simply an example of the general case. Jesus can ask us to do anything. If we listen, and obey, we are righteous.
The question of righteousness cannot be answered separate from a request from Jesus to his people to do some action. Counting heads in Church pews on Sunday says nothing about the numbers of righteous in a city or region.
Of course Jesus is sovereign and knows how his people will respond, which is why instead of leaving town he may call a city wide fast. Participating in such a fast is a demonstration of righteousness and could show the requisite numbers of righteous needed to keep a city from being blown. This is how it worked at Nineveh.
Closing Thoughts
Of course this whole line of argument is predicated on knowing the voice of Jesus and knowing when he has asked something of us. Many Christians cannot distinguish his voice. Many churches do not teach about his voice, so even when Jesus spoke on a subject like leaving town, many would not know Jesus had spoken. It is hard to imagine someone unable to distinguish Jesus' voice who could at the same time be counted righteous. (Though Lot's daughters provide a limited example.)
It continues to amaze me how often I run into people who have been told by Jesus to take specific steps about leaving town. This is a common thing happening in the world today. Each time someone answers by leaving, they decrease the number of righteous in various cities. At some point those numbers will reach a level like Abraham found in Sodom.
