This is something most precious in the Bible. This is the only way that Christians can have boldness before God. Have you ever realized that inasmuch as love is precious, it is never that reliable? You cannot bring a person to court just because he has not loved you for a few days. There is no such thing as love in a law court. But if unrighteousness occurs or if sin arises, the law will speak. God likes to give us a handle, something for us to hold on to. Through such a handle, our faith can be strengthened and the promises of God can be fulfilled in us. This handle is the Lord Jesus Christ. God knows that we may doubt, so He works faith into us through His Son. We can say to Him, "God, since You have given me Your Son and have allowed Him to die, You must forgive my sins."

Sometimes we hear people praying, "O God, I want to be saved. Please save me! I have sinned, but I am determined to be saved. Please be merciful to me and have the Lord Jesus die for me." When such ones pray, they may cry bitterly. They act as if God's heart is very hard and believe that before God would forgive them or turn His heart toward them they have to cry much. Those who pray this way do not know what the gospel is. If the Son of God had not come to the earth, their crying and imploring before God might work. But the Son of God has come, and the problem of sin has been solved. The redemptive work on the cross has been accomplished. When people come to God, there is no need for poor begging anymore. Since God has given us His Son, He can forgive sins through His Son. He is faithful to do so; He is not being a liar by doing so. And He is righteous to do so; there is nothing unrighteous in it. When righteousness is involved, faithfulness is also involved.

Most people today are ignorant first of God's righteousness and then of the fact that the Lord Jesus has accomplished God's righteousness. People do not know that God's righteousness is manifested apart from the law. They still try to work up righteousness before God. They are like the man who owes ten thousand talents of silver. There is absolutely no way to repay the debt. But the man still tries to save six cents by getting off at an earlier stop, hoping to save to repay his debt. He is still calculating, hoping to save a little here or there, to do this or that, to generate a little money for the repayment of the debt. He still wants to say to his creditor that though he owes ten thousand talents, he does have a few pennies with him. He does not realize that the full sum has already been sent to his home.

Man has no idea what God has done in His Son. Because of this, the apostle Paul tells us what attitude man should have. Concerning God's righteousness, we need to look at two passages in the Bible. The first passage is in Romans 10. Verses 3 and 4 say, "For because they were ignorant of God's righteousness and sought to establish their own righteousness, they were not subject to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law unto righteousness to everyone who believes." I love these two verses. When we read these verses in relation to the gospel, our hearts must be warmed up. These verses say that the Jews did not know that God's righteousness had been established; they were still seeking to establish their own righteousness. They tried their best to be good, to exchange their work for their salvation, and to exchange their righteousness for life and all that God has given to them. But Paul said that all those seeking to establish their own righteousness are not subject to the righteousness of God. Not to be subject to the righteousness of God is not to be subject to the work that God has accomplished in His Son Jesus. God's righteousness is accomplished in His Son Jesus. The cross of Jesus is both a manifestation of God's love and an accomplishment of God's righteousness. On the cross of Jesus, God's righteousness was accomplished. If any man wants to establish his own righteousness today, he is denying the sufficiency of the Lord's work on the cross. Never think that we can add something to the work that the Lord Jesus has finished. Never think that we can help it or patch it up a little. All those who seek to establish their own righteousness are not subject to God's righteousness at all. If someone sends a sum of money to my home to pay back a loan he has made to me and I still try to save a few pennies to repay him, I am in reality despising what he has given me. All those who seek to establish their own righteousness are blaspheming God.