To be justified in the eyes of God requires that He sees us as just. Since all men are born sinners we are, by our very nature, unjust. The only way for us to be declared just, or have true righteousness, is to have the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to us by God. Ephesians 2:8-9 says the following: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Mankind is not good. We are not bent for goodness. As babies, we do not start out innocent and then get corrupted by the world. We are born with a sin nature and apart from the grace of God, it will only get worse. If we were truly honest with ourselves, we know that we are regularly tempted to lie, steal, cheat, lust and chase after things which make us feel good. And too often, we succumb to the temptation and act out on those impulses and sin. To make ourselves feel better, we often try to create degrees of sinfulness. I know because I have done it. In many ways, our sin rating chart could look similar to the homeland security advisory system. (see below) We likely rate many of our own sins in the green or blue areas (and even then, we are mostly in the green!) while we put our neighbor's sin or the sins of John Wayne Gacy, Adolf Hitler, etc.. in the red area. We tell ourselves that we are not "that bad" and ultimately God will give us a pass because he will see that we tried. We convince ourselves that God will grade us on a curve.
We may not all rob a bank or commit perjury ("big" sin), but how many of us have slacked off at work or told a little fib with "good" intentions. How many of us get angry with our children but we really don't feel too bad about it because we didn't act on it like Judge William Adams did. Regardless of the sin we have committed in our lifetime, it is only by the grace of God that we are not as evil as we ultimately could be. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 3:10-12 that "(10) as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; (11) no one understands; no one seeks for God. (12) All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." There are many other verses which speak to the total depravity of man. If you are interested, you can find more information here.
Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that our works cannot save us from the penalty of our sin. However, good works are not something to be avoided. Biblical Christians do not work because they believe their work gains them God's favor or even their salvation. Biblical Christians work because they love Christ, the Church, their families and others. Biblical Christians work out of gratitude and love for their Savior. Biblical Christians understand that since they have been forgiven much, that they owe much. There are many who hope to attain their justification by their works and are not living by faith. God says that our righteousness is like filthy rags to Him. There are also many who believe in a faith plus works system to be saved. This form of idolatry happens personally (ie. in our own hearts) and also institutionally when the church places more emphasis on our works, clothing, appearance or actions than on our relationship with God. Good works are not required to be saved, but they are one evidence of our regeneration as, if done genuinely, they reveal a love for the Savior.
We cannot attain righteousness by how good we live, how much time or money we give, how nice we are to others, by comparing ourselves with another, or by any other man-made idea there is out there. We can only attain true righteousness by placing our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. His sacrifice on the cross paid the eternal penalty of sin for those who believe.
Sola Fide.
