--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Passive righteousness tells us that God…" description: "\"Passive righteousness tells us that God does not need our good works. Active righteousness tells us that our neighbor does. The aim and direction of go..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/tullian-tchividjian-1105_active_passive-righteousness-tells-us-that-god_942855.png" --- # Passive righteousness tells us that God does not need our… ![“Passive righteousness tells us that God does not need our good works. Active righteousness tells us that our neighbor does. The aim and direction of good works are horizontal, not vertical.” quote by Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/tullian-tchividjian-1105_active_passive-righteousness-tells-us-that-god_942855.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/tullian-tchividjian-1105_active_passive-righteousness-tells-us-that-god_942855.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/tullian-tchividjian-1105_active_passive-righteousness-tells-us-that-god_942855.png) > “Passive righteousness tells us that God does not need our good works. Active righteousness tells us that our neighbor does. The aim and direction of good works are horizontal, not vertical.” [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Passive righteousness claims God is self‑sufficient; active righteousness emphasizes human responsibility toward others, making good works relational rather than hierarchical. **In simple terms:** God needs no help; people need each other. Key Takeaway Focus on helping others. Themes faith responsibility community Mood reflective thoughtful Type moral inspirational When to use this quote - volunteering - social work - neighbourhood aid - church outreach Key Concepts theology ethics horizontalism Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance personal help with broader social change? - What does “horizontal” good work look like in daily life? A Different Perspective May overlook systemic issues beyond individual aid. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbor/) [Righteousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/righteousness/) ## Related quotes > [The passive righteousness of faith frees me from passing final judgment on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/the-passive-righteousness-of-faith-frees-me-from-passing-final/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [The trouble with the fast lane is that all the movement is horizontal. And I like to go vertical sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-trouble-with-the-fast-lane-is-that-all-the-movement-is-horizontal/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [More and more, I am pulled reluctantly towards a strong horizontal current, which is a place where time is moving at such high velocity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akram-khan/more-and-more-i-am-pulled-reluctantly-towards-a-strong-horizontal/) Akram Khan > [If our worship is just great youth meetings, nice songs, lots of jumping around and a few CDs, then we're missing it. Our vertical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-houston/if-our-worship-is-just-great-youth-meetings-nice-songs-lots-of/) [Joel Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-houston/) > [The core of humanity's sin problem is not a horizontal behavior to be corrected but a Vertical relationship to be restored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-macdonald/the-core-of-humanity-s-sin-problem-is-not-a-horizontal-behavior-to-be/) [James MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-macdonald/) > [In Christian terms, evangelization and humanization are not alternatives. Nor are the vertical dimension of faith and the horizontal dimension of love for ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/in-christian-terms-evangelization-and-humanization-are-not/) [Jürgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/) > [If the intensity of the material world is plotted along the horizontal axis, and the response of the human mind is on the vertical,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-christian-von-baeyer/if-the-intensity-of-the-material-world-is-plotted-along-the/) [Hans Christian von Baeyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-christian-von-baeyer/) > [The vertical and the horizontal are the extreme signs available to man for touching the beyond and his inwardness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-arp/the-vertical-and-the-horizontal-are-the-extreme-signs-available-to/) [Hans Arp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-arp/) > [I don't think you can talk about progress in art - movement, but not progress. You can speak of a point on a line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-barthelme/i-don-t-think-you-can-talk-about-progress-in-art-movement-but-not/) [Donald Barthelme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-barthelme/) > [The developing world can just do things that are extensive or horizontal, that basically copy. The developed world needs to do things that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/the-developing-world-can-just-do-things-that-are-extensive-or/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [True. There is a beautiful Jesus. He is frozen to his bones like a chunk of beef. How desperately he wanted to pull his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/true-there-is-a-beautiful-jesus-he-is-frozen-to-his-bones-like-a/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [A horizontal or vertical line lacks energy, compared with one that deviates from either. The difference between these graphic expressions is the difference between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/a-horizontal-or-vertical-line-lacks-energy-compared-with-one-that/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [Charity, vertical, humiliates. Solidarity, horizontal, helps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/charity-vertical-humiliates-solidarity-horizontal-helps/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) > [Emphasis was usually put on the horizontal acceleration factor, for the simple reason that ordinary structures have a built-in safety factor for the vertical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-francis-richter/emphasis-was-usually-put-on-the-horizontal-acceleration-factor-for/) [Charles Francis Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-francis-richter/) > [The print is devised so that I can cut the dresses on the bias, so they work around the body. It's not like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galliano/the-print-is-devised-so-that-i-can-cut-the-dresses-on-the-bias-so/) [John Galliano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galliano/) ## More by Tullian Tchividjian > [Grace is upside-down, to-do-list wrecking, scandalous and way-too free. It's one-way love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/grace-is-upside-down-to-do-list-wrecking-scandalous-and-way-too-free/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [“There is but one good,” C. S. Lewis writes in The Great Divorce; “that is God. Everything else is good when it looks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/there-is-but-one-good-c-s-lewis-writes-in-the-great-divorce-that-is/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [Once God saves us He doesn't move us beyond the gospel, but He moves us more deeply into the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/once-god-saves-us-he-doesn-t-move-us-beyond-the-gospel-but-he-moves/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [“An institution theoretically devoted to providing comfort to those in need (the church) is in trouble because it has embraced the same pressure cooker…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/an-institution-theoretically-devoted-to-providing-comfort-to-those-in/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [A preacher who doesn't believe he's that bad will attract people who don't think they're that bad. And that's bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/a-preacher-who-doesn-t-believe-he-s-that-bad-will-attract-people-who/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [Our assurance is anchored in the love and grace of God expressed in the glorious exchange: our sin for His righteousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/our-assurance-is-anchored-in-the-love-and-grace-of-god-expressed-in/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [I think for far too long the Church has concluded that Christians don't need the gospel, it's simple what non-Christian people need in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/i-think-for-far-too-long-the-church-has-concluded-that-christians-don/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [While our sin reaches far, God's grace reaches farther. God came after us not to strip away our freedom but to strip away our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/while-our-sin-reaches-far-god-s-grace-reaches-farther-god-came-after/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [Jesus has done everything for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/jesus-has-done-everything-for-you/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [If you have suffered the loss of a family member to chronic disease, if you suffer debilitating seasons of depression, if you have lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/if-you-have-suffered-the-loss-of-a-family-member-to-chronic-disease/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [Sanctification consists of the daily realization that in Christ we have died, and in Christ we have been raised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/sanctification-consists-of-the-daily-realization-that-in-christ-we/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [The ironic thing about legalism is that it not only doesn't make people work harder, it makes them give up. Moralism doesn't produce morality;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/the-ironic-thing-about-legalism-is-that-it-not-only-doesn-t-make/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [The good news of suffering is that it brings us to the end of ourselves - a purpose it has certainly served in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/the-good-news-of-suffering-is-that-it-brings-us-to-the-end-of/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [The Gospel is not ultimately a defense from pain, it is the message of God's rescue through pain. In fact, it allows us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/the-gospel-is-not-ultimately-a-defense-from-pain-it-is-the-message-of/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [God is inviting you today to appropriately grieve your pains and losses and to acknowledge the world is seriously broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/god-is-inviting-you-today-to-appropriately-grieve-your-pains-and/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) [Explore all 292 Tullian Tchividjian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) ## More Active quotes > [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. Listening, as far as I'm concerned, is certainly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/listening-is-a-very-active-awareness-of-the-coming-together-of-at/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) > [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [We in US need active intelligence: people being on the streets, people being able to stop and ask questions of individuals that they suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-guilfoyle/we-in-us-need-active-intelligence-people-being-on-the-streets-people/) [Kimberly Guilfoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-guilfoyle/) > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I eat healthy most of the time. Whole foods are the best for you when you are super active, so I get plenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witney-carson/i-eat-healthy-most-of-the-time-whole-foods-are-the-best-for-you-when/) [Witney Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witney-carson/) > [Art shows us how to see things that are constructive and good, and to be an active part of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/art-shows-us-how-to-see-things-that-are-constructive-and-good-and-to/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Love, like truth and beauty, is concrete. Love is not fundamentally a sweet feeling; not, at heart, a matter of sentiment, attachment, or being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-heyward/love-like-truth-and-beauty-is-concrete-love-is-not-fundamentally-a/) [Carter Heyward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-heyward/) > [Studying Sol's interior by looking for analogous patterns on its incandescent face is known as helioseismology, an active - if largely unpronounceable - research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/studying-sol-s-interior-by-looking-for-analogous-patterns-on-its/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Science manipulates things and gives up living in them. It makes its own limited models of things; operating upon these indices or variables to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/science-manipulates-things-and-gives-up-living-in-them-it-makes-its/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [I stayed in L.A. long enough to get on my feet, and then I moved back to New York. The reason I moved here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-stayed-in-l-a-long-enough-to-get-on-my-feet-and-then-i-moved-back/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [The answer to any challenge you are having has nothing to do with God's willingness to help. It has to do with your acceptance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beckwith/the-answer-to-any-challenge-you-are-having-has-nothing-to-do-with-god/) [Michael Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beckwith/) > [Pete Townsend for me was a huge influence. Because essentially they were a three-piece band and the way he structured his chords and took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/pete-townsend-for-me-was-a-huge-influence-because-essentially-they/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [There is an enemy. There is an intelligent, active, malign force working against us. Step one is to recognize this. This recognition alone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/there-is-an-enemy-there-is-an-intelligent-active-malign-force-working/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Few, if any, creatures are equally active all night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/few-if-any-creatures-are-equally-active-all-night/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [You need to enjoy yourself and just get into the routine of keeping fit and enjoying being active. That's always easier once you've made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-brownlee/you-need-to-enjoy-yourself-and-just-get-into-the-routine-of-keeping/) [Alistair Brownlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-brownlee/) Browse all 2,212 Active quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Passive righteousness tells us that God does not need our good works. Active righteousness tells us that our neighbor does. 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