There is no one righteous, not even one.
—Romans 3:10
We want to be as good as we can be. But we’re in for a rough ride of fear, frustration, and failure if we expect to attain justification by being good enough. Our behavior is never sufficiently meritorious to win God’s approval.
Even if we do the best we can (and do any of us do that without fail?), how can we be certain that our best meets God’s requirements? We can never be sure.
These verses cause a shudder: “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Rom 3:10); “All have sinned” (Rom 3:23); “The wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23).
There must be a better way. And there is. (More tomorrow.)
Justification based on merit is without merit.