"...if we be honest with ourselves,
we shall be honest with each other." ~ George MacDonald
"...if we be honest with ourselves,
we shall be honest with each other." ~ George MacDonald

Righteousness

“For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt 5:20).

Were the scribes and Pharisees trusting God? No they were not. No one can please God, no matter how many good things they do, if they refuse to trust Him. If a person believes that God does not love sinners—and consequently tries to earn His love (which the scribes and Pharisees believed they had done because of their “righteous” acts)—then none of their works will be pleasing to Him. Their works are not pleasing to God because they don’t believe that God loves people just as they are. Their starting point is disbelief; their starting point is doubt. When a person works to earn God's love, He regards their works as filthy rags. (Isaiah 64 is talking about a people who were not trusting God; that's why their works were disgusting to Him.) When a person trusts God, He regards their trust as righteousness. If a person's work is a result of trusting God, He is pleased with that. That's living faith (James 2:17).

Many believe that the Bible teaches that a person cannot have a relationship with God unless they are sinless. But this is mistaken. Sinners can have a relationship with God if they start to trust Him. (It is true that a person cannot have a relationship with God while they live in sin. But the sinner who is turning from their sins through trust and obedience is not living in sin.) God does not require perfection for a relationship with him to begin, all He requires is trust. See here.

Because we want people to think highly of us, we are in danger of becoming hypocrites (if we are not already). See here.

 

Absolute Assurance

God's Judgement