Bro notofworks,
Righteousness is a complex issue whether anyone agrees or not. I have studied it out and it took me a few years to get a handle on it, which is how I came out of legalism in the mid 80's.
It's the same idea as studying Romans. If you think Paul's words are easy, then why did Peter speak of Paul's words of righteousness and say they are hard to be understood and are therefore so often wrestled with?
Once I took to studying Paul, I realized Peter was right. You can believe Peter was wrong if you wish, though.
But righteousness is a complicated issue.
2Pe 3:15-16 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; (16) As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
If you think my few paragraphs are too much to read, you will be unable to study Paul's teachings on righteousness, for he writes and writes and writes about it.
I taught righteousness as soon as I started pastoring, and showing folks that we cannot do anything to merit righteousness. Immediately, people began misunderstanding me, just as they did Paul. I later learned from some awesome teachers that if a person is not commonly misunderstood, then they are probably not teaching the truth. Paul was so misunderstood that folks thought he meant Law was useless trash, and others thought he meant you can use righteousness as a cloak for sin. He had to always list clarifiers and disclaimers.
One brother mistook me as saying we do not need to live right after we are saved, and we do not have to pray and study the bible. He thought we do NOTHING according to my teaching and could not follow it. I explained to him that doing anything TO GET RIGHTEOUSNESS was the all-important difference. We do not live right in order to get righteous. We live right because we should align our lives to our position as being righteous.
I do not think he ever did get that.
No, righteousness is not a simple subject.
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