“Because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. Through faith, not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians. 2:4 – 5, 8, 9).
Because we all have sinned, we all depend totally on God’s mercy.
That raises the question, whether in that case our attempt to live righteously is really necessary. Not as a means to relinquish former sins or to gain merit! God wants His children to ‘grow up’ spiritually by being changed more and more to reflect His nature! Jesus once said:
“Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
But try as we may, our old nature just does not always comply. As long as we are in this life, we cannot be righteous in the sight of God by our own effort. Neither can God’s Law justify or forgive us. A law merely determines what is right and what is wrong:
“Know that a man is not justified by observing the law” (Romans 3:20).
That is why God, in His mercy, offers us His own righteousness. Speaking about the Jews who rigidly tried to keep the Law, the New Testament says:
“I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness” (Romans 10:2, 3).
This was never different, for we already read of Abraham that:
“ . . . he believed God and He credited it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).
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