This time I'm doing a teaching that's a bit longer than normal for the Grace Roots podcast, although it's a very simple teaching. The Apostle Paul reveals to us that the righteousness of God is something that we can never earn or maintain through keeping God's law or through our good works. The good news is that while we were sinners, and had never done anything good, and had never done anything right, God made us right by giving us His very own righteousness. This could never be accomplished through the law. It's something that can only come from God. He gives it to us freely, by His grace, through faith, not our works.
If you go about your life with a guilty conscience towards God, or afraid of Him, or feeling as if He's against you in some way, or is withholding His goodness and love from you because of things you've done... this is the result of a mindset that isn't based on the truth of the gospel.
The good news is that you don't have to be perpetually stuck with those feelings and with that mindset. God has given us something called... "Change your mind." :)
How many people use God's law, or some other arbitrary list of rules of right and wrong, to judge and condemn other people? It's all too common, unfortunately, and this can be especially true in the church! But our job isn't to point fingers at each other. Any list of rules or laws should really show us that we have ALL fallen short, and therefore there is no room for judging others. And then we have the joy and privilege of sharing the good news of God's free gift of righteousness!
We are the bearers of good news! Our job isn't to go around pointing our fingers at all the sin in the world. Our joy and our privilege is to share good news with people!