Two senses of righteousness: relational/situational versus standing before God

Mike distinguishes two uses of "righteous/good" in Scripture. The first is the absolute sense — no one is good enough to stand before God on their own (Romans 3; Isaiah 64:6). The second is a relational/situational sense — a person can be righteous within a particular scenario or compared to other people. David in Psalm 18 is claiming situational righteousness: his enemies attacked him but he had done nothing wrong to them, not that he was sinless before God (cf. Psalm 51). Joseph of Arimathea is called "a good man" in this relational sense. Romans 4 clarifies that both Abraham and David were counted righteous before God by faith, not by moral performance — Paul quotes Psalm 32 ("blessed are those whose sins are covered") to show David's justification rested on forgiveness and imputed righteousness, not Psalm 18's situational righteousness.