Not Good Enough• Not good enough as a person• Not good enough at a task or achievement• Not good enough to please God• Not good enough at life, not getting anywhere• Not good enough socially• Not good enough for your friends and family• Not good enough to solve your own life problems• Most of the time these are feelings and not facts!

The Accuser• Revelation 12:9-10 And the great dragon was

thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (10) And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

Grace in Action

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” (Zechariah 3:1,2)

False Laws• Colossians 2:13-16 And you, who were dead in

your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, (14) by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (15) He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. (16) Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.

Ineffective Standards• Colossians 2:20-23 If with Christ you died to the

elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— (21) "Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" (22) (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? (23) These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

Invented Human Commandments• The subjective sense of being a good person can be

obtained artificially by following invented human rules and commandments.• These commandments are completely arbitrary and

change with time, culture, personality, trends etc.• They are like a small addictive “high” or a brief “hit” of

feeling “whew, now I am a good person”. • They can turn into strange habits, strange thoughts,

rituals, obsessions and compulsions and become life-dominating and even addictive and cruel.• They are accompanied by a sense of failure and

worthlessness when rules are broken and thus feed a vicious cycle of legalism and condemnation

Loosening Up a Bit• Replace words and phrases such as:

ought, should, must, have to, got to, always, never, now, hurry, its very important, immediately, no choice, obligated, compelled, required to or else…

• With words and phrases such as: I would prefer to, I would like to, it would be nice to, it would be better if, it would work better if, maybe it would be a good idea to, it would be a sensible idea if, maybe, mostly, and with more accurate descriptors e.g. seldom is anything “always” or “never”.

Ethics• Micah 6:6-8 "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? (7) 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?" (8) 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?

Not Performance Based

• Galatians 2:16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Even The Ungodly Get Saved!Romans 4:4-8 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. (5) But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, (6) just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: (7) "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; (8) Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin."

By Grace, Through Faith• Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been

saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (9) not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

From Death To Life

• John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Two Kinds Of Judgment• KRINO – absolute judgement, good or evil,

condemnation, the punishment of the whole person by a great Judge. Not for Christians!

• DOKIMAZO – judgement of individual acts as worthy or not worthy, competent or not competent, more like an annual performance review. Christians are evaluated for their eternal reward for faithfulness.

Romans 3:23-24 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (24) and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Salvation Is An Undeserved Gift

God Chose PaulThis is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.(1 Timothy 1:15,16)

It Is Christ In Us• Galatians 2:20-21 I have been crucified with Christ.

It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (21) I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

It Is God Who Justifies!Romans 8:30-34 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. (31) What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (32) He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (33) Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. (34) Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

God’s Love Is Permanent!Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (36) As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." (37) Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. (38) For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, (39) nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.