Righteousness vs. Justice - Dikaiosyne in Scripture
The words "right," "righteous," "righteousness," and "just," "justice," and "justification" in scripture all come from the same greek word " dikaiosyne " (dee-ky-oh-soon-ay). From there, in the english translations of scripture, a theo-political battle has taken place which has overspiritualized the word to narrowly define dikaiosune as a personal experience or legal status given to us individually by God. And so they largely translate the word as "righteousness." Then for 500 years post-Reformation we have debated the salvation implications of individual righteousness as a gift from God. The Romance languages, namely Spanish, free from German influence, do not have this problem. They translate it as "justice". Take for example Jesus' beatitude: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Does this mean that we are blesse