Justification is not something to be earned, but a gift to be received. Seeking to earn salvation is the only
sin that will prevent a person from being saved. You cannot submit yourself to the righteousness of God which
comes as a gift through faith, as long as you are seeking to establish your own righteousness.

Most people are unaware that there are two kinds of righteousness. Only one type of righteousness is
acceptable to God. There is our righteousness, which is our compliance with the requirements of the law. This
is an imperfect righteousness because human nature is imperfect and incapable of fulfilling the law. There is
God’s righteousness, which only comes as a gift and is received by faith. God’s righteousness is perfect. Our
righteousness is as filthy rags (Isa. 64:6). A person who believes that he must earn God’s acceptance by his
holy actions is not believing in God’s righteousness, which is a gift. It has to be one or the other; we cannot mix
the two. Righteousness is not what Jesus has done for us plus some minimum standard of holiness that we have
to accomplish.

Right standing before a holy God is not to be achieved in the keeping of the law, but in humble trust in
the person and work of Jesus Christ. No one who is trusting in his own righteousness can have the benefit of
Christ’s righteousness. The righteousness that gives men relationship with God is the RIGHTEOUSNESS OF
GOD, and it comes freely through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:22). It is true that the way we obtained this
righteousness is by putting faith IN what Christ has done for us. When we place our faith in Christ, then the
righteousness that Jesus obtained by His faith becomes ours. We are possessors of Christ’s righteousness,
which His faith produced.