You have all heard that the Bible teaches we are all sinners. There is none righteous, no not one. And I don’t think anyone disputes that. We know that we have sinned at times, even if we try to not sin. No one is perfect. No one is 100% righteous. Jesus Himself referred to us as “evil.” How then can a person ever become righteous enough to be acceptable to God? The Bible is clear that God hates sin. He loves us like a good parent loves their children, but He hates it when we sin just as we hate it when our children are disobedient.

A common response is that we can become righteous enough and acceptable to God by minimizing the amount of sin in our lives and doing enough good deeds to earn our righteousness. The thinking is that if our good deeds outweigh our bad ones, then we will be acceptable to God and get into heaven. The problem with that is that to earn our way to heaven, the standard is not 51% good and 49% bad. It is 100% good. Jesus said, “Be ye therefore perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.” But we have already conceded that we all have sinned. Jesus is the only person never to sin.

What then do we do? What can we do to be righteous in God’s eyes? To be accepted into heaven where no sin is allowed. Is it hopeless? Praise God, it is NOT hopeless. God has provided a way. It is through the gospel of Jesus Christ as made clear in Paul’s letter to the churches in Rome and Corinth. Listen to these verses from Romans and 2 Corinthians.
Romans 1:16-17, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed [j]from faith to faith; as it is written, “[k]But the righteous man shall live by faith.”
Romans 3:21-22, “21 But now apart [a]from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those [b]who believe; for there is no distinction;
Romans 4:3-5, 23-25“3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. 5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,” “23 Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, 24 but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.”
2 Corinthians 5:21, “21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Note I have underscored parts of these verses to make a point. It tells us that we can be made righteous before God, and it tells us how we can be made righteous. God makes us righteous by assigning to us or imputing to us or giving to us His righteousness. In Romans 1:17 and 2 Corinthians 5:21, it is “the righteousness of God” that is assigned to us. God’s perfect righteousness is imputed to us. This truth is both amazing and wonderful.

How in the world can we be viewed by God to be as righteous as He is? How do we get God’s righteousness assigned to us? It is truly difficult to comprehend that we, all sinners, can have God’s righteousness! But, the verses above make it clear. It is a gift from God to everyone who meets God’s condition. So, what is the condition? In Romans 1:16 it is “everyone who believes.” In Romans 4:3 it was Abraham who believed. And Romans 4:24 says “Those who believe.”

Believe what? Belief must have content. What is it that we must believe? It is stated clearly in the most quoted verse of the Bible, John 3:16, “16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His [a]only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

Just as today, many people of Paul’s day did not believe. Most of the Jews did not believe and rejected Jesus. Here’s what Paul said in Romans 9:30-32, “30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles [who believed], who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is [a]by faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it [b]by faith, but as though it were [c]by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.”

Like most Jews of Paul’s day, people today still think they must earn their way to heaven through good works. But it is God who determines the way to heaven, and it is not through good works; it is a gift from God. The Bible calls it the gift of eternal life, which one receives when, in an attitude of repentance, they trust in Jesus’s suffering and death on the cross to pay for their sins and His resurrection from the grave in victory over death to return to heaven at the right hand of the Father.

Belief means not just believing the gospel of Jesus to be true, but believing to the extent of trusting in it or relying on it for forgiveness of your sins and acceptance into heaven. Belief must be with an attitude of repentance. Repentance means a couple of things. First, it means you admit to yourself and God that you have been doing things you know are wrong. The Bible (Romans 3:23) confirms it. None is righteous –without sin –all have sinned. Sin is a wrong action, ugly words, or an impure or evil thought. Repentance also means that with remorse and contrition, you want to and choose to turn from wrongdoing and start living the way you believe God wants you to live. It is a change of heart and mind. It has to be genuine; it can’t be faked because God knows your heart.

When you trust in Jesus in an attitude of repentance, God’s perfect righteousness is assigned to you. When Jesus suffered and died on the cross, all of your sins past and future were assigned to Jesus. He paid the penalty for you. It is a gift from God that you receive through believing and trusting in what God in Christ did for you.

When this happens, you are changed. Out of love and gratitude toward God and Jesus, you now want to live life doing those things that please our Lord. He wants us to live righteously. But though our standing before God is as righteous as He is, we still live in flesh and blood bodies. And though we try to live without sinning anymore, we will slip up in a weak moment and sin. What do we do when that happens? Claim God’s wonderful promise that, “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Many of you already have the righteousness of God assigned to you and have the peace that passes all understanding. For those of you who do not, wouldn’t you like to have God’s righteousness assigned to you and have all your sins forgiven? To each of you, the Bible says “Today is the day of salvation.” You can nail down your salvation today by first repenting of your sin. That means you confess it to God with the commitment to stop sinning and start living by God’s standards.

If you have never done that, please take a moment and do it.

Now, having genuinely repented, place your trust in what Jesus did for you on the cross. When He suffered and died there, it was to pay for your sins and mine. Accept His gift of forgiveness and eternal life. I invite you to do that right now in a silent prayer to God.

Did you do it? Then thank Jesus and God the Father for what they have done for you and pledge that with God’s help, you will start living in the ways that please God. May God bless you! I encourage you to get involved in a local, Bible-believing church and follow the Lord’s command to be baptized to testify publicly that you have trusted Jesus as your Savior.