God has made us righteous. But what exactly is righteousness? Is it being good or being holy? Is it simply a legal standing? Man's inner search for righteousness has led to a feeling of something being missing, not being quite good enough. Man has dealt with this inner seeking in a few ways - just give up and indulge, try really hard to be good, or simply believe God is just a universal being and there is no such thing as sin. These ways attempt to solve the dilemma of man's concern with himself and what is lacking in him. We've become sin conscious and try to find a way to get rid of the sin. Jesus says in Matthew 5:20 that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees you cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. The Pharisees righteousness was based in the natural world system. Your righteousness can only exceed theirs if it is of the eternal kingdom. We receive the free gift of righteousness from Jesus. We become righteousness conscious rather than sin conscious. The Kingdom of God is defined in the Bible as righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Righteousness and the Kingdom of God go hand in hand. They are in the now. Righteousness is the ability to be with God with no guilt or inferiority.
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