Can we ever

be good enough

for God to consider us righteous?

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Romans 3:10 “as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one”

Romans 3:20 “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the Law; rather, through the Law we become aware of our sin.”

Isaiah 64:6 “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags”

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Most of us have looked to our own works as a justification in our own minds as to how good we are.  While this does apply somewhat in this life, in our relationship with others, it doesn't apply to God’s requirement for our entrance into Heaven.  I used to think that the Bible showed me how good I could be or needed to be, and if I lived as close as I could to that standard God would grade on the curve and I would get to go.   Romans 3:20 clearly indicates that the Bible doesn't show me how good I can be but how bad I truly am and truly have been.

Romans 3:20 “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the Law; rather, through the Law we become aware of our sin.”

In other words, the Bible doesn't show us how good we need to be, it shows us how bad we actually are.  How bad we actually are, and why we need salvation.

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Romans 3:10 and first part of Romans 3:20 show that none of us are righteous, nor can we be made that way though our own efforts. 

Romans 3:10 “as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one”

Romans 3:20 “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the Law;

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Romans 3:20 shows that rather than the Bible being a goal to reach, the Bible shows God’s perfect standard, and shows us how far short we are of his standard.  Think about driving on a road without a speed limit sign and thinking the speed limit is 55 mph and driving at 55.  When you finally see a speed limit sign, and it reads 15 mph.  You now see the standard and you then realize how far away from it you are. 

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Where this illustration falls short is that while our speed can be adjusted to satisfy the speed standard, nothing we do can ever satisfy God’s standard.  The Bible shows how far below God’s standard each of us are.  As in the Self-Check section, we only need to look to the 10 Commandments to see how bad we actually are.  Have we ever taken anything that wasn’t ours regardless of the value?  Have we ever lied about anything or anyone, even if a very small lie?  You get the picture.

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And if we had any remaining thought that we could possibly be good enough our entire life, again, James 2:10 again should clear up any confusion.    

James 2:10 “For whoever keeps the entire law, yet fails in one point, is guilty of breaking it all”

           

As you can see by this verse, we only need to sin once in our entire lifetime to be guilty before God.  The only person who accomplished not sinning their entire human life was Jesus Christ.  This is one of the ways he proved that He was God and why he is the only one qualified to pay the price for our sin.

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Next Page:  What Do I Deserve?