11.c. “For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.”

Micah 6:6  “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Matthew 19:16     And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”

Luke 10:25    And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

Acts 2:37     Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Romans 10:2-3   For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

The question has been asked for centuries one way or another.  How can I stand before God?  How can I inherit eternal life?  What shall we do? These questions are asked by those who are lost.  Some of them want to know how to be right with God and others want to challenge the answer with no intent of needing or wanting to be right with God.  This question will be asked by searching-souls continuously until the judgement seat of Jesus Christ and His return.  It is more than just asking the question, isn’t it?  It is what we do after we have been given the answer.  If we humble ourselves and surrender our self-centeredness and self-reliance to the message of grace, mercy, and hope through the gospel of Jesus Christ we find peace, rest, and joy flooding our souls.   Repentance and turning away from these self-seeking ways and trusting in the promise of forgiveness frees us from the burden of carrying our past and sin in our own power.  Humble surrender, by faith, to the redeeming work of Jesus Christ on the cross enables our eyes to our hearts, minds, and souls be opened to forgiveness and the hope of eternity with Jesus Christ forever.