"For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'”
Romans 1:17
It is through the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we receive righteousness from God. Without it we have no hope of pleasing Him. We are saved through grace by faith. It is faith in the One who died for us that we attain the righteousness God requires for entrance to Heaven. "Here is where the greatness of the Gospel is clearly seen. It provides for us what we could never provide for ourselves. On our own merits we all stand condemned before the Almighty. Who is there who would dare to say, 'I am good enough to go to heaven.' As someone has said, 'A clear conscience is the result of a poor memory.' The only people who think they are good enough to go to heaven are the people who don't know how bad they really are! Righteousness is what we need but do not have. Therefore God, knowing that we could never be righteous on our own, has provided a righteousness which comes down to us from heaven above. It's not earned or deserved, but is given to us by God as a free gift." (Ray Pritchard)
