Introduction

Good day to all! I am very pleased to meet everyone online again. I will be sharing on a topic that I myself do not fully comprehend, entitled: Establishing One's Own Righteousness Leads to Not Submitting to God's Righteousness! I have gained some understanding of this statement recently. Many people desire to establish their own righteousness, but end up being deeply oppressed as a result. As long as we fervently desire to liberate people from oppression in our ministry, we must strive to understand the Bible clearly.

For instance, last week was quite vexing; so much so that one of our sisters was slumped on the table, not going back to sleep. She would wake up briefly and then slump back down, neither eating nor drinking, seemingly intent on ending her life. I have been ministering to her for years, so why has she become like this?

This sister is very self-critical: I have not done well, I am not good enough, I do not deserve to be in this team. No amount of persuasion seems to work. She is also my co-worker, so I am very worried. What can be done? She feels: I am not good enough, I am clumsy, I am terrible, I am inadequate. Yet, when she does well, she becomes overly confident. Conversely, when she does poorly, her confidence plummets, and she feels worthless again. She swings between feeling capable and feeling incompetent.

Of course, it is better when she feels inadequate. To minister to such a person, one needs faith. I thank God for giving me faith because I know very clearly that we are in God's presence not because we are good enough, not because we have done something right or wrong, but because of God's grace. It has little to do with our good or bad deeds.

Everyone should ponder: Those who seek to be justified before God based on their own actions, those who seek to establish their own righteousness, will find it difficult to avoid being oppressed. I have noticed that many among us, even within the co-worker team, are in this situation of trying to establish their own righteousness, but failing to do so. If they could establish it, that would be one thing, but they cannot, and consequently, they are deeply oppressed. After being oppressed, they feel inadequate, and then they blame themselves, getting caught in a vicious cycle: I am not good enough, so I blame myself; blaming myself makes me feel miserable, and feeling miserable leads to doing even worse, and so on.

The topic I am sharing with everyone is: Establishing One's Own Righteousness Leads to Not Submitting to God's Righteousness! This is found in Romans, Chapter 10. I believe this will bring liberation to many because such problems are rampant, to the extent that many try to prove their faith through their actions, but fail to do so.

Many are influenced by the Book of James, by the notion that faith without works is dead. This influence is very profound. But what kind of actions can prove one's faith? No one really clarifies this. What actions can a cancer patient take to prove their faith when they come to us? What actions did the woman with the issue of blood take to demonstrate her faith when she touched Jesus? Some may argue that she actively sought to touch Jesus, but is touching Jesus considered a good deed? Not really.

Later, I liberated her. My method was rather direct; there was no consolation or pretense. I stated bluntly: What can you gain from your limited actions? Based on your good deeds? When you first came to church, you were suffering from depression, unable to sleep, and unable to graduate with your doctorate. How did you come to God to receive grace? Were you not a wreck when you first came? How did you end up relying on your good or bad deeds to justify yourself? Today, I tell you, you are a wreck, truly a wreck.

She was obviously upset by these words. I said: Those who are willing to walk this path of faith with me, let us walk well. Those who are unwilling to walk this path of faith, are free to go wherever they wish. I know clearly that many people lack faith and try to rely on their own actions, trying to establish their own righteousness. But whichever path they take, it is a dead end; they lack faith and have nowhere to go. Of course, my words may seem harsh. After some thought, she realized that no path seemed viable. I said: Quickly turn back and walk the path of faith. The path of faith will eventually lead to greater improvement. Thus, I pulled her out of trying to establish her own righteousness. I believe that there are countless people who stumble on this issue of trying to establish their own righteousness. The Israelites stumbled on this rock as well.

Let me discuss the Book of James. For many years, I did not realize that there was no Gospel in it. I always thought that whatever was included in the Bible was the Gospel. In some sermons, I even quoted from the Book of James. It was not until recently, when I had to minister to those who were oppressed, that I realized it was not the Gospel. What is the law of liberty? When does the law set people free? It is Jesus Christ who sets people free. Those who trust in Jesus Christ will never be put to shame. What does it mean that faith without works is dead? Does that mean that if I have no works, if my works are terrible, I have no faith?

Some of our younger brothers and sisters struggle greatly with bad habits and shortcomings. Are they not in pain? They are in great pain. Do they need the Gospel? They need the Gospel. If they had to wait until they were doing well to come, would they still need to come? No, they would not need to come. Would they still need to trust in the Gospel for liberation when they are doing well? No, they would not. Therefore, if brothers and sisters today are trying to prove their faith through their actions, I tell you that this path will not last long. It was only recently, through ministry, that I realized this was not the Gospel. If you do not seek to liberate anyone, you will never discover this.

Recently, a pastor did something quite interesting. One of his congregants came to my place and was blessed, so the sister shared her testimony. I was puzzled that this pastor did not focus diligently on his spiritual life, but instead spent every day listening to my online teachings. As a result, he heard this testimony. After hearing it he sent a message to the sister: What you said is not true! He kept arguing with her about the truth of the matter. Recently, because I preached on the Book of James, he listened again, and then sent a message to the sister, discussing what the Book of James says. He insisted that faith without works is dead.

Then the question arises: What good deeds do you have? If you have any good deeds, let us discuss them. Have you taken in orphans and widows? No. If I were that sister, I would directly ask him, as I am rather blunt: Have you ministered to me in any way? Have you helped anyone? What have you done? What have you done for me that would make me know that you have good deeds? If we are talking about good deeds, I really cannot see that your good deeds are any better than those of the monks on Bright Hill. What do you have to justify yourself? When it comes to good deeds, your deeds are not even comparable to theirs.

When this sister came to us, I removed many of her bad habits, which had been cultivated over the years. After removing these bad habits, I continually released faith, rebuilding her belief on the foundation of faith. Because she believed, despite her actions not having changed much, God graciously blessed her with a good job. To this day, she continues to move forward in faith. Therefore, the pastor's actions are difficult to understand. The words he speaks are not the true way.

Just as our sister asked her pastor: Was the woman with the issue of blood healed by faith, or by doing something? He did not answer. What kind of faith with works does the Book of James refer to? He also did not answer. Later, her pastor mentioned tithing, saying: If you believe in God but do not tithe, then your faith is dead, it is a fake faith. When you truly believe that God will bless you, even if your income is small, you will still willingly tithe. This is an action, and then your faith in God is a living faith, a true faith... Listen to these words.

The pastor had previously advised her not to tithe. Does this pastor have faith or not? I really do not understand what he is doing. Does he understand what he is saying? Has he truly read the Bible well? He even brought up Abraham, who was justified by works or by faith? I will not argue with him on these points, but at least one thing is certain: Many people can be liberated through faith.

What does the word of faith say? You may not be good enough today, but as long as you trust in God, God will surely make you better. It is not because you are good enough, but because God will make you good enough. God can surely do this marvelous work in you. When a person has faith, ignites the hope that arises from faith, and begins to trust in God, I tell you that those who trust in God will never be put to shame. If a person says: I am doing well enough, that means I have faith. If I am not doing well, I have no faith, I tell you that this kind of faith cannot stand! When can you establish this faith? Never.

Why is the Book of James included in the Bible? I will tell you all that it is included in the Bible to serve as a stumbling stone. The Old Testament is a stumbling stone, and the New Testament is the same. If these people want to liberate others from oppression, they will undoubtedly reach the same conclusion as the Apostle Paul, that it must be faith, and only faith, that can solve people's problems.

One of our brothers weighs two to three hundred pounds, constantly eating, drinking, and making trouble. His actions are far from good. But do you think he wants to improve? Of course, he wants to. Is he in need of liberation? He urgently needs liberation. He is much better off today than before. How did he become better? It is because we continually ministered to him with faith. If we had relied on his actions, he would have been completely ruined.

We often see people posting gibberish in the group. These are people I have ministered to in the past. If we had not ministered to them with faith, they would have been ruined by trying to establish their own righteousness. Therefore, if a person tries to establish their own righteousness, they will not be able to receive God's promises. What does it mean that faith without works is dead? We must remove such notions from our midst. So what if I believe? I may not be good enough today, I may not be able to do it, but I know that as long as I trust in God, God will surely enable me to bear the fruit of the Spirit. Every day, I trust in God. The moment I lose faith in God, that is when I feel pain and struggle.

No one can be justified before God based on their good deeds. It is only by acknowledging that we are sinners that we can come before God. Because we believe that God is the God who liberates us and saves us, we may not be good enough today, but we know that God can continually work on us, shaping us to be more like Him. This is the Gospel we believe in.

Scripture

What then shall we say? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. As it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.” (Romans 9:30-33)

Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. (Romans 10:1-4)

Prayer

Lord Jesus, speak to us today. Lord, speak to us today! Holy Spirit, speak to us today! God, do a marvelous work among us today, let all who are oppressed be set free. In the name of Jesus Christ, we break every curse brought about by relying on works! Lord, today, all who look to You and trust in You will never be put to shame!

Today, let us truly know You, let us know the abundant grace in You, the glorious grace of You! Today, we rely on our faith in You to receive Your grace and promises, so that we may become Your children. In You, may we be continually molded and bear the fruit of the Spirit. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!

Paul's Scripture References Are All From the Old Testament

There is an extremely confusing concept, that the Bible itself can cause great confusion. The scriptures Paul quoted are all from the Old Testament. Paul’s quotations did not include the book of James at all. Paul quoted from Genesis to Malachi, of the Old Testament which all point towards faith. If a person reads the Old Testament and cannot discern faith, and only reads it as rules and regulations, then the letter brings death, but the Spirit brings life.

Why does Paul read the Bible and discern faith? Brothers and sisters, you must understand that the Old Testament itself is a stumbling block. The Israelites thus went down a path of establishing their own righteousness. Jesus Christ became incarnate and came among us, and yet those who read the Bible crucified him on the cross. What caused this? Because they establish their own standard. What is righteousness? Is this person a righteous person, a good person? Is a good person a righteous person, and is a righteous person a good person? This is very confusing. In fact, a righteous person is opposed to a sinner. We are all sinners. Because of sin, the evil spirit can legitimately do corrupting work in us. If God considers us to be righteous, the evil spirit cannot legitimately perform corrupting work in us.

How can a sinner become righteous before God? The Bible shows us a path, the Old Testament says the righteous will live by faith, the righteous live by faith, those who trust in God, God will not count him as guilty. As for the New Testament, in fact, Paul wrote letters when there was no New Testament. Many of Paul’s epistles are included in the Bible. James also wrote a Book of James which is included in the Bible.

If what Paul wrote contradicts what James wrote, I suggest you choose to accept what James said and reject what Paul said, but the problem is that James wrote only one Book of James in his life, he did nothing else. If you have the ability, write a little more and explain it clearly! It is a pity that James only wrote the Book of James, and its views cannot be reconciled with Paul’s Letter to the Romans. Some people object to me for saying this, so please reconcile it for me to see, but you cannot reconcile it.

Like our sister’s pastor, he often recites last year’s manuscripts which makes everyone feel uncomfortable. Another brother talks about his past experiences. He told his former pastor: “Can you talk about something new? Do not recite old manuscripts, speak flowery things unclearly which is like scratching an itch from outside your boot.” As a result, the pastor felt uncomfortable for a long time after returning home. This member now comes to us. After a long time, his pastor hugs this brother and says: I forgive you. It turns out that he was deeply hurt, but in fact this is not important. What is important is whether the information you share actually has substance! Later, the brother became afraid when he heard about the denomination's church, and he did not grow from listening to these for a long time!

I am a very diligent person. I do not regard my hard work as a good deed, but I publish an article almost every week, whether my articles are incorrect or not, I try my best to continuously exhume new insights. Each time I cook spiritual food for everyone, it is not only delicious but also healthy. What I said: Establishing one’s own righteousness prevents submission to God’s righteousness! What I am saying might be questionable, but this will have a profound impact on the liberation of brothers and sisters in the future.

The Bible that Paul quoted from is the Old Testament. The righteous and sinners that I have spoken about are to speak about faith. How people try to justify themselves, and the results of which are obvious. The Israelites lost their country and became colonies of the Roman Empire. If we observe carefully, to this day, it is common in Christian circles for people to stand on their own righteousness. How do you know? Look at the results.

For example, the pastor who sent a lot of messages to this sister, his church is about to fail, and he still thinks he is orthodox. Do you not think it is strange? The question is, have we ever really solved any problems? If we think we are great, then it is fine if we can really do well, but the problem is that we can talk but cannot act!

Today, when she was showing me this message, I was ministering to another sister who was working very hard but was deeply constrained. She wants to become a certified accountant, and I am consulting her on how to study. I found that how to study has a deep impact on people. Many people do not know how to study. The Bible is clearly there, but they do not study it well. How well written Romans is, but they just do not study it well.

For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. (Romans 10:2-3)

That is all there is to it. So I think that the scriptures Paul quoted are all from the Old Testament. If you want to deal with things according to the Bible today, let us open the Bible and explain it sentence by sentence. I have this faith that I feel that my explanation is at least a system with what Jesus and Paul spoke, and then a system with what Moses and Samuel spoke. The entire Old Testament points to Jesus Christ, and the culmination of the Law is Christ. So how is it that today we believe and end up believing in the Pharisees who nailed Jesus to the cross? I would like to talk about the fifth point. My first point is an introduction, the second point is scripture, the third point is prayer, and the fourth point is that the scriptures that Paul quoted are all from the Old Testament.

Israelis Seeking to Establish Their Own Righteousness

I have spoken on these matters, and by now, you must have grasped the concept of faith. If you have understood and attained this faith, then you should have comprehended. Did the Israelites succeed in establishing their own righteousness? They did not. It would have been good if they had! In fact, the law was originally intended to make people aware of their sins. The law aims to prove one thing: you cannot fulfill the law on your own; you cannot do it relying on yourself.

Therefore, even though the Book of James mentions keeping the entire law, did James, the author of the Book of James, who regarded the law as one that brings freedom, actually keep the entire law himself? It is evident to everyone that he did not keep the entire law either. Why does he say that faith without works is dead? What are his works? How many orphans and widows did he take in? Are his deeds comparable to those of monks? As far as I know, many monks do a truly remarkable job. In terms of doing good, most of us cannot compare to them.

Some may say, You are a pastor, why are you praising them? I am not praising them; I am simply stating a fact. The monks on Taiwan's Guang Ming Mountain, those who do good deeds well, receive a great deal of charitable donations each year. If we were to name a few of our own, the difference would be significant. We cannot deny it, but the issue is that we have not taken that path at all. What kind of action does faith require? Charity, or what? People want to establish their own righteousness, so they rely on these actions to establish it, but can they establish it? They cannot. Over the past few years, I have pondered carefully why many Christians become foolish as they continue to believe. Many Christians are very strange. I do not understand what they are thinking. Later, I came to understand that they want to rely on their actions.

When they first come to church, they come with faith, but as they continue to believe, they establish their own righteousness, much like the Israelites in the Old Testament. Who influences them? The Book of James influences them. As a result, they cannot establish their own righteousness. If you violate one law, you are cursed because you do not walk the path of faith.

The righteous shall live by faith. In other words, today, for us brothers and sisters to be justified before God, we must first know that we are sinners and cannot come before God through our actions. Never rely on any actions. Today, if our actions are not good, we need a gospel, the gospel of trusting in Jesus Christ. Trust in Him well, allowing God to do the work of sculpting in us. Therefore, establishing one's own righteousness and failing leads to a curse. The Bible says:

For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. (Romans 10:5)

Moses told you long ago that if you want to rely on the law, then you shall live by doing the law. Living out the consequences leads to a curse. What happens when you are cursed? Evil spirits enter into you. When evil spirits enter into a person, the person will want to establish their own righteousness even more, but they will be even less able to establish it. Then they will rely on hypocrisy, pretending to establish it, and then the person will be very miserable inside. The serving sister I mentioned earlier was right next to me, and I saw with my own eyes the depth of the corruption brought about by her desire to establish her own righteousness. Therefore, a person who establishes their own righteousness is cursed. When cursed, evil spirits come, and when evil spirits come, the person becomes foolish. So, I have been studying how to make people become intelligent. When the Spirit of God is within a person, the person begins to become intelligent.

But when a person establishes their own righteousness, they do not submit to God's righteousness, and they abolish God's righteousness. After abolishing God's righteousness, the Spirit of God cannot dwell within the person, and the person becomes very miserable inside. If the Spirit of God wants to dwell within a person, it must be through faith, drawing upon God's promise, and then God's promise will come upon us. God's best promise is the promised Holy Spirit. Receiving the promised Holy Spirit by faith makes a person intelligent.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, you must know that establishing your own righteousness prevents you from obtaining the promise. Not obtaining the promise does not mean that God's words have failed. Many people use Song Shangjie and many other things to argue that God's promise has failed, but that is not the case. For God's promise never fails because not all who are descended from Israel are Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but through Isaac shall your offspring be named.

So, children of the flesh are not children of God, but only the children of the promise are counted as offspring. Therefore, God's words have not failed. Some people say, Isn't God contradicting Himself? God has never contradicted Himself. If a person wants to establish their own righteousness, they will not obtain the promise. Isn't that foolish? A person who wants to establish their own righteousness not only does not obtain God's promise, but what do they obtain? They obtain a curse, and they are very miserable. This explains many difficult-to-understand phenomena. For example, someone is very good; they are a pastor in the church; they are a good person; their face is kind, and their words are very pleasant: Brothers and sisters, the Lord Jesus loves you, and I love you too. They love you so much, and then they get cancer.

How do you explain this kind of thing? We think that God's promise has been abandoned, but it is not. It is because the person has walked the path of works and then established their own righteousness, abolishing God's righteousness. As a result, these spirits of death will come upon the person, and the person will be unable to draw upon God's promise. Occasionally, they commit a little sin and barely make it through. Suddenly, they remember to draw upon God's promise, asking in faith. After praying, many people return to works, preaching the doctrine that faith without works is dead.

When did Jesus ever say that faith without works is dead? He never said it. Jesus did not say it, Paul did not say it, only James said it, and the Book of James does not clearly explain what the gospel is. Therefore, today, brothers and sisters, we must know that the Israelites wanted to establish their own righteousness but did not obtain the promise. Not obtaining the promise made them feel that God's promise was not so faithful, but it was because they had gone down the wrong path.

The Concept of Input and Output

I want to give everyone a new concept. If you can grasp the concept of input and output, you will definitely become intelligent. Many people are entangled, entangled in what? They are entangled in the input of a matter. For example, speaking in tongues is an input. Many people doubt whether speaking in tongues comes from God, whether it is right or wrong, how it is obtained, whether it is learned or not. They talk a lot, but what is the point of dwelling on this?

It is meaningless. After dwelling on it, you still stop at speaking in tongues. Later, you ask them, How do you know? They do not know either. In the end, they are often just talking nonsense. How do we know whether speaking in tongues comes from God? We do not examine speaking in tongues itself. We examine the result after speaking in tongues. If it brings down the power of the Holy Spirit, I ask you, where does this come from? Doesn't it come from God?

I was reading Paul's epistles. Paul said, I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. I said, That's good. For a while, I had nothing but time. I had few congregants, I had no job, and I did not have to worry about those trivial matters. The church had nothing going on. Every day when I arrived at the office, I would kneel down and pray in tongues. I could not see the future, but I just prayed in faith. I found that the result was very good! Later, the power of the Holy Spirit began to descend, which was very miraculous. At that time, after the Sunday service, I would ask the brothers and sisters to stay and pray, but they would all run away, afraid that I would keep them. It didn't matter; I didn't really need them. I just continued to pray in tongues and read the Bible.

As a result, something happened. A sister came to me crying. I asked, What's wrong? She said, Pastor, pray for me. I failed my exam; I didn't do well. I thought to myself, It would be strange if you did well, running away right after the service. But when I prayed, something amazing happened. Miraculously, she passed every subject she had failed. Later, another sister came to me with the same problem, failing her exam. One after another, in the end, the whole church stayed to pray.

Some people say that if 20% of the people attend the prayer meeting, the church will be revived. Later, even if 100% stayed, there was no revival. But I discovered that prayer has power, and I discovered the amazing works of God. These are all the works of God. I thank God that I have been a person of faith since I was little, not relying on actions too much. You ask me why? I don't know. I don't like to rely on my actions. I know that I am not that great, but I am a person of faith. Later, in the process of building the church, this advantage was brought into full play. What was the result? Miracles and wonders sprang up like mushrooms after the rain. This person was healed through prayer, that person was healed through prayer, this person was healed through prayer again, that person was healed through prayer again, everyone was healed!

My goodness! I felt that this faith was truly amazing. At the time, it felt like I could shake heaven and earth. What I mean is, did those things I did before, praying all the time and so on, have any results? This is the result. So, later, I concluded that the fruit of faith is miracles. The concept of input and output that I am talking about is that if you dwell on what you have done but do not focus on the results you have produced, you will become foolish.

So, you see, the Israelites saw Jesus raising the dead, cleansing lepers, making the blind see, and making the lame walk. Congenitally blind people could see, and congenitally lame people could walk. After seeing these things, you would think, Wow! Who is this person? But the Israelites could not see it. The Israelites only saw that he did not wash his hands before eating and that he threshed grain on the Sabbath. They did not see that he healed the woman with a hunchback on the Sabbath, made the blind see, and made the lame walk. What kind of brain is that? If a person reads the Bible and becomes like this, what is it but a tragedy?

Therefore, brothers and sisters, begin to look at the results, not the input. I am just taking everyone through the Bible. If you want to look, look at the results of what I have done, just as the Apostle Paul wrote Romans, Colossians, Ephesians, Galatians, 1 Corinthians, and 2 Corinthians, while James only wrote James. Why don't you look at the results? James turned the Jerusalem church into that state, while the churches that Paul built were all powerful, liberating many people. Why don't we look at the results? You have to argue with me about these things. I don't know James, and I have never met Paul. I can't win the argument with you.

But everyone must know that I will boast a little more about what God has done through me. Why can't you see that I preach so diligently every Sunday, doing my best to explain it clearly? When do I ever just read through an old sermon? I rarely do that. Moreover, why can't you see that I have written 70 books? From Genesis to Revelation, I have written dozens of books. Why can't you see that? Isn't that right? I emulate Paul; I work diligently. Have you worked diligently? If we are talking about good deeds, you may not be able to compare to me. I have liberated so many people and edified so many people. Whom have you edified? Whom have you liberated?

So, sometimes I am very surprised, very surprised that we are not comparing this! What we should be comparing is faith! If my input is faith and the result I get is miracles, if my input is faith and I bring about the operation of the Spirit of God, and as a result, the Spirit of God works out good deeds in me, then what do I have to boast about? That is the fruit of the Holy Spirit! If you believe that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is also your fruit, then you can slowly ponder that. You think your actions are worthy of boasting, but I don't think my actions are worthy of boasting. If I were to boast, I would boast about my heart that trusts in God.

Therefore, everyone, begin to become people who look at the results. Then you will know whether you have done right or wrong. If you do right, there will definitely be right results. If a person is based on works, they will definitely be cursed. You can tell by the results that they cannot edify people and cannot solve people's spiritual problems. Why? Because all they say is that you are not good enough and that you should not expect to receive anything from the Lord! Then what can people receive? They can receive nothing. Then they talk about a whole bunch of things that we can hardly imagine.

Today, the Holy Spirit works among us because of hearing the gospel or because of doing the law? Today, God manifests His power among us because of hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ, or because we have good deeds, or because we do the law? Of course, it is by trusting in the gospel. Therefore, today, brothers and sisters, we must begin to trust in God. Regarding the concept of input and output that I am talking about, brothers and sisters, we must know that the Bible has told us this long ago.

Those Who Trust in God Will Never Be Put to Shame

Whether you are doing business, working, or being a housewife, I tell you: Those who trust in God will never be put to shame. This is what the Bible has said long ago. Today, brothers and sisters, you must know that the Israelites pursued the righteousness of the law, but instead did not obtain the righteousness of the law. This is obvious. They pursued the law very much. The Book of James keeps promoting the law. Did they obtain it? They did not obtain it. James promoted the righteousness of the law. Did he obtain the righteousness of the law? He did not obtain the righteousness of the law.

If he had obtained it, he could have written it clearly in the Book of James what he had obtained. Anyway, we don't know what he obtained. But today we know that the history of the Israelites has clearly told us that the Israelites pursued the righteousness of the law but instead did not obtain the righteousness of the law. What is the reason for this? It is because they did not ask in faith but only asked through actions.

In fact, a person who is not based on faith is establishing their own righteousness. If they are based on actions, they are establishing their own righteousness, and as a result, they fall on this stone. Today, in the New Testament, we can also clearly see that Jesus Christ is a stone of stumbling. If God deliberately included the Book of James in the Bible to be a stone of stumbling, it would not be strange! So, we can say that these people have zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. Because they do not know the righteousness of God and want to establish their own righteousness, they do not submit to the righteousness of God. The culmination of the law is Christ, so that everyone who believes in him may have righteousness. Those who trust in him will never be put to shame.

I know that you are very bad today, and I am very bad, and we are all very bad. But today, let us all be people who trust in God. It doesn't matter that you are very bad today, including a young brother who is constantly being controlled by a bad habit. But today, if you trust in God, you will take a step forward tomorrow. If you trust in God tomorrow, you will take another step forward the day after tomorrow.

Brothers and sisters, you must begin to move forward in faith. We are not good enough today, so we need to believe, but if we believe, God will definitely manifest His power in us, leading us step by step to victory in this spiritual world. When do we trust in God? When does the devil become illegal in us? When do we trust in God? When do we become righteous before God, even if we are not doing well enough?

Some people will be very, very confused. If you say that, can a very, very bad person also be justified by trusting in God? No matter how bad a person is, no matter how good a person is, they are never good enough before God. If you read the teachings of Jesus Christ carefully, for example, someone said to Jesus Christ, I am a sinner, God, have mercy on me! While the Pharisee said, Look, God, I pay tithes, I keep the Sabbath, I do this and that. One is justified by faith, and one is justified by works. As a result, the sinner is more pleasing to God.

Brothers and sisters, you and I face many problems. We all have many problems in us; we all have many, many faults. But we still trust in God. Today, trusting in God allows God to repair us. Being repaired by God allows God to sculpt us, gradually and continuously restoring us to the image of Jesus! Therefore, what we preach today is the word of faith. If we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved!

Conclusion

Are there any among us who want to establish their own righteousness through actions? Feeling that they are not doing well enough and then blaming themselves and being controlled? If you are such a person, I have good news for you. Start to come out of that, start trusting God, start no longer establishing your own righteousness, and no longer abolishing the grace of God. Start knowing that we are never good enough before God. But we believe in God. We cannot do it ourselves; we cannot achieve it ourselves, but we believe that God can enable us to achieve it. Those of us who trust in God will never be put to shame. This is the faith that you and I should hold.

It doesn't matter if you are not good enough today. Trust in Him. If you are still not good enough tomorrow, continue to trust in Him. I tell you that after walking a certain distance, you will find that this path is a victorious path! You will find that this path begins with faith and leads to faith. On this path of faith, today, run forward by trusting in God, and tomorrow, run forward by trusting in Him. I tell you that God is faithful. All of God's good promises will be fulfilled in you and me!

Our God makes us His children according to His promises. Today, let us believe that we are the children of God's promise, continuously drawing upon His promises and drawing upon His grace in Him. Let us grow day by day, so that we may live out the glorious image of Jesus Christ. May God bless everyone!