“If it is by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace.
But if it is of works, then it is no longer of grace; otherwise work is no longer work.”
Romans 11:6
“For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
For they, being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness,
have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God.”
Romans 10:2–3
If we do not know the righteousness of God, we will try to establish our own righteousness,
and we will not submit to the righteousness of God.
We become unwilling to give up the religious zeal
and righteousness we have built up for ourselves. And because of that,
even when we hear the truth, we do not pursue the knowledge of God.
What is the righteousness of God? And what is the knowledge of God?
It is the Gospel.
It is the righteousness God planned before the foundation of the world the righteousness revealed
when the Creator Himself came in the flesh as a man.
Why did He come as a man?
He came to save His lost children.
Paul did not know this, yet he was zealous for God. In his zeal,
he persecuted those who believed in God.
But one day, he encountered the risen Lord. Then he realized that,
in his own religious zeal, he had actually been opposing the righteousness of God.
And he became a disciple of Jesus.
Even today, God reveals His righteousness through the Scriptures.
Yet people continue to put forward their own righteousness and refuse to submit to the righteousness of God.
Jesus Christ is the Almighty God, Jehovah the Creator,
who appeared in human flesh. He is the Everlasting Father.
He died on the cross and rose again to deliver us.
This is the grace of God. Hallelujah!