What is Righteousness?
http://www.discipleshiptools.org/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=4192&view=post&articleid=47387&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
By Dr. Richard J. Krejcir
Our ability to be good and holy is only because of the "effect" of redemption (what Christ did for me on the cross, which we did not deserve) not the "cause," (the cause is how we are, receiving grace and forgiveness) never confuse the two or you will have pride and arrogance because you will think you deserved it.
http://www.discipleshiptools.org/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=4192&url=10&view=post&articleid=47370&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
When someone speaks your name, you will normally quickly come to attention thinking, "who said that, what do they want?" We do this because our name is the most personal thing we have; it is our identity, who we are to ourselves and others. So what about God?
http://www.discipleshiptools.org/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=4192&url=10&view=post&articleid=47369&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
This is the starting point of knowing who Jesus Christ is. It points to His humanity, as He became one of us, and His Godhood, as the One Who came to save us. When we deny this essential doctrine, we deny Scripture. We set ourselves up, as fallen humans, to be the ultimate authority. We say in essence that God is irrelevant...
http://www.discipleshiptools.org/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=4192&url=10&view=post&articleid=47368&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
This is also the cornerstone of protestant theology that Christ through His work gave us a 'pardon'. This pardon is from the penalty of death through sin, and there is nothing we could ever do to earn this pardon.
