God used the man Moses to instruct Israel about what He expected out of them. Moses would teach others and they in turn would give the expectations of God to the nation. Moses said that he had taught Israel statues and judgments to live by (Deut. 4:5). They were to use these teachings once they crossed Jordan to occupy the land of Canaan. Moses said they were to keep and do them. What did being faithful mean under these conditions? All men were obligated to live up to the standard of the image and likeness of God. God, therefore, to Israel gives them greater responsibility in as much as they now knew the God behind the “image and likeness”.
Once settled in Canaan, these laws that Israel was to live by would reflect both wisdom and understanding. When the world saw how they lived, based on that written standard the world would say, “what a wise and understanding people” (verse 6). The presence of a written law implied greater responsibility. Because of this written law, Israel had a greater advantage over all other nations (Rom. 3:1). The advantage is that Israel could understand about God and their need to be obedient to God.
Paul continues to explain the main advantage they had was that they were in possession of the oracles of God, that is the written code (Rom. 3:2). The truth being that the more one has the more one is responsible for. Israel was given truth about the nature of God. He was and is a jealous God (Ex. 20:5). He would not tolerate His people placing anything or anyone above Him. Righteousness now had a different or expanded definition. Those outside of Israel were expected to live by the things contained in the law which had to do with the image and likeness of God (Rom. 2:14).
Israel was expected to live by the standard of the written law given by God through Moses. Faithfulness to God would be determined by that law and man’s desire to obey it. By way of example, many years later as they settled in Canaan, a certain man picked up sticks on the Sabbath day. His fellow Israelites brought him to Moses because of this violation of the law from Mount Sinai. They knew of the violation but were not sure of the punishments. God required that the man be stoned to death (Num. 15:32-36). In verse 36 watch the idea of faithfulness. They took the man outside the camp and stoned him to death as Moses commanded.
God tells Moses and Moses tells Israel. What do you do with the command that came from God through Moses? Faithful men when coming to the commands of God chose to be obedient. They are seen therefore as faithful men. By that faithfulness God would see them as righteous people. The generation that grew up in the time of the wilderness wanderings, were giving these instructions about the law in the book of Deuteronomy. It was a new generation. It was new because the former generation failed to believe God when He commanded them to take Canaan (Heb. 3:18,19).
What this shows us is that righteous is not a permanent thing in the heart of man as if it cannot be lost. Righteousness is not so much a level which man reaches and has nothing else to do. It is instead a lifestyle that a man strives to live by based on what God has revealed. Man can cease to be righteous because he no longer chooses to live by the standard that God has revealed.
Let us return to the Old Testament era and see the principle. What if a righteous man turns from righteous conduct? Ezekiel speaks about the soul that sins, it will die (Ezek.18:20). If the righteous man turns from his righteousness and begins to live in a wicked way, will he live? Ezekiel says “no”, he will not live (verse 24). Righteousness is therefore something we “do” and the doing reflects what we are.