I'm going to give you some more verses just to prove it because I want to establish what I'm saying. Galatians 3:10-11, says, 'For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, the just shall live by faith.' In the sight of God, you cannot be justified by your good works. You'll never obtain salvation because you're good, because God can't find a good thing about you. You are lost before you even walk in before God's presence. Don't walk in there with your goodness. Don't walk into the courtroom with goodness. You're going to lose because He is going to find one thing. For the wages of sin, not sins, is death. Galatians 5:3, reads, 'For I testify again
to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.' If you're going to try to be saved by goodness, here's what you've got to do. You can't ever commit one act of sin. If you go the way of circumcision, if you go the way of the law, then you have to keep the whole thing. I'm glad there is another way to be saved than by the law. Because you see, you can't be saved by the law because the law is going to show you your sinfulness. I'm glad he provided another way. James 2:10, tells us, 'For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.' If your confidence is in your goodness, then you are going to have to keep the whole law! That's how good you've got to be. How good does a man have to be to get into heaven? As good as Jesus, who fulfilled the whole law and never had a wicked thought. You say, "Oh, you could have left it out of the realm of thoughts, couldn't you?" No! Because that's where sin starts, in the thoughts. One point and you are guilty of all of them. If you lied, you are a murderer. You say, "I've never murdered." If it hadn't been for the grace of God, sooner or later you would have.

You say, "I never committed adultery." If you thought it, in your heart, you've committed it. You know what Jesus did, He came and made it even harder to get saved by the law. The Pharisees thought they were keeping it. What they had done was build on the rules and regulations they thought they could keep. Jesus came along and showed them they weren't keeping the whole law, by saying if you've done it in your heart, you've already done it. He was trying to make them guilty where they would need Him, but they didn't listen. In Matthew 5:17 we read 'The Sermon on the Mount.' Jesus said, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." To destroy the law would have meant not to keep it. Because the Jews were to show the righteousness of God through the law. The law was to show who God was.
When they sinned, they destroyed what they were doing. They were defeating their whole purpose. Because God gave them the law so they'd keep it. When they didn't keep the law, they destroyed it. They destroyed it all their life. But Jesus didn't come to destroy it, but to fulfill it. So, when He was keeping it, He was magnifying the law. He was magnifying the righteousness of God. He was showing the world what truth is. So instead of destroying God's law, He was fulfilling God's law. Verse 18 says, 'For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.'
You can't miss a jot or tittle. You can't miss one point! One point and it's over for you. You destroy it when you break one point. Verse 19, says, 'Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.' Verse 20, says, 'For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the
righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.' Jesus said you are going to have to be better than the best religious man you have ever known to get into heaven if you are going by the law. Wow! He magnified it. God makes it plain. There is nobody good but God. Nobody could fully keep the Law, but Him.

By the way, my righteousness does exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees and scribes because I've got His. I've been clothed in His righteousness. In the Old Testament it says He will be called the 'Lord Our Righteousness.' You say, "What reason do you have to get to heaven?" Him! "Where is your goodness found?" In Him! He's all together lovely. Oh, give thanks to the Lord for He is good. Not me, He is good. Romans 10:1, says, 'Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.' My heart's desire for Baptists is that they be saved. I bear them record that they have a zeal for God, but it's not according to knowledge. I've been zealous and ignorant. I had the zeal for God, but didn't know anything. Romans 10:3 says, 'For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.' What was I ignorant of? What was it that I didn't know? I was ignorant of God's righteousness. Why would a man call another man good? Because they don't know God. You see, people are ignorant of God's righteousness. Now I know some know that they've sinned and they're not going to say that they are perfect. It's not that they are ignorant of themselves as much as they are ignorant about God. Because if you ever
see who God is, and you see yourself in light of who God is, even your good things will be tarnished. The only reason a man would think goodness would get him there is that he doesn't know God. He's ignorant of God's righteousness.

How righteous is God? How good is God? Because of they're ignorance of God's righteousness, which man could never attain to, they are still out there trying to do the impossible. Verse 3, reads, 'For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.' Their problem is they are ignorant about God. They that compare themselves among themselves are not wise because, doing so, you may die and go to hell thinking you are just as good as the next person. But, when you compare yourself to God, you just might get saved; because, you are going to stop trying to build a life of goodness to stand on.

The Jews were going about to establish their own righteousness. This word translated 'going about' means to 'seek in order to find out' or 'to seek by thinking, meditating, or reasoning.' In other words, they go about their life trying to figure out why they should get into heaven. Reasoning in themselves some good thing that would qualify them into getting into heaven. I lived
that life. I lived in those thoughts all the time. Trying to find some good reason to say, "I'm saved." I'd reason and I would stand in my own reasoning. For example, I was called to preach. I'm a preacher, I must be saved. I stood in my reasoning until one day God knocked it out from under me. I realized that God Himself called Judas Iscariot and gave him the power of God.

Going about 'to establish.' The word establish here means to come and to make stand in the presence of others, to make firm. To establish means to be able to stand on it. You are seeking to stand on your own righteousness. Building ground work for yourself. All because you were ignorant of God and what God requires for you to stand on. I had never heard the truth in my
life about what to stand on to say you are saved. We even took some things that are true and made them works of the flesh and I tried to stand on them. We would take that verse, 'Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord,' and make it a work of man. We would say if you did that, you are saved because you called on Him. No! You could say that a million times. That doesn't mean God made you a new creation. The question is, "Are you a new creation?" You may have called on God, but it was what God did that saved you, not what you did. We've turned it around and made it a work. People have reasoned and rationalized and they are trying to establish their own righteousness. They reason, "Well, I just don't think God will send me to hell. I've done all I know to do." You are going to die and go to hell with all you know to do if God doesn't tell you what to do. "Well, I don't think God will send anybody to hell who is trying their best." Your best will send you to hell. "Well, they mean well." Your best intentions are filthiness to God. You may be asking yourself "Well, what do I do to get saved?" Submit yourself to the righteousness of God.

What religious people do is seek to establish their own righteousness so they can have confidence and something to stand in which is their own goodness. So, they go about looking for their own goodness, and if they can't find it what do they do? They go get more things to stand on. So they try to do without this sin and do without that sin. Then they do without some things and
then they go add things. Then, they start reading the Bible every day. It makes them feel better. They'll pray every day; it makes them feel better. They will fast, like the Pharisees. Some will even go into preaching to make themselves feel better. Some men who are preaching, aren't preachers at all. All they are, are folks trying to stay right with God. Missionaries on the field, the only
reason they are missionaries is because they want to be right with God and can't feel right except in their works. The Pharisees crossed land and sea for one proselyte, the scripture says. Pharisees! We would say that because they are missionaries, they've got to be saved. I have no confidence that because they are missionaries that they are saved. I want to hear where they were made a new creation in Christ and where did they believe God and where did they repent.

If you a really want to be saved, submit yourself to the righteousness of God. Tell God that you can not save yourself. You will begin to get in line and get in your position in the sight of God. To submit, in the military sense of the word, means to arrange under the command of a leader. You get under God. You are saying that you can never attain up to God. You have fallen very
short of the glory of God. Get in your position and say, "Oh God, what must I do to be saved? It is of your mercy that I'd ever get saved." Then the Commander will give the command and you'll get saved. In a non-military use of this word, it is a voluntary attitude of giving in and cooperating, of assuming responsibility and carrying a burden. In a military use, he makes you
submit, but in a non-military use, it's a willingness. God has never made anybody come to Jesus against their will. Each came of their own free will. Did He apply pressure? Yes! But just enough to get me to volunteer. He says, I'm staying on you until you volunteer. And, I'm glad He did. That's one job I'm glad I volunteered for. What job was that? Carrying my sinfulness to Jesus
and letting Him save me instead of myself. Giving in to what His will was for me. To acknowledge my wickedness before a dying world.

'If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' I'll tell you what I got cleansed from. I got cleansed from all the evil things I did and from all the filthy 'good' things I did. I have been forgiven for all. For going to church for the wrong reason, I've been forgiven for it. Free: I've been forgiven for all the wrong motives. I've
been forgiven for my open show before men. I'm clean from that. I knew I was preaching for pride. I knew it, but I couldn't get out of it. But, I've been saved and cleansed from my pride. "What must one do to get saved?" Submit! Assume your position before God and be filthy and ungodly. "Why callest thou me good when there is none good, but God."

- Pastor Terry Owen

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