The sorrow the Lord means is explicitly the lament that arises when someone realizes there is no righteousness in their life. A person may have good morals, but is that true righteousness? Jesus said, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.” To know the truth is to put on the truth until we can say, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”
When Paul said “…and being found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ,” do not take it simply to mean we need only believe and then need not do good works. We must understand what believing—faith—means. Faith means complete submission to God’s sovereignty so we can know and wear the truth, which is exceedingly difficult. We often fail and never seem to graduate; yet that struggle is where we mourn, saying, “Lord, I am not yet what You desire.”
The Beatitudes are interconnected. “Blessed are the poor in spirit”—ptōchos—refers to one who recognizes they have nothing at all. Do not be satisfied thinking the Father in heaven sees only the blood that covers us. It is true that by His blood our sins are forgiven. Yet the Father also watches whether we have put on the person of Christ within us.
So do not say only that we are justified because of His sacrifice and that the Father only sees the covering of blood. That teaching is incomplete, though partly true. One aspect is true, but do not forget the other: He justifies us so that we may actually become righteous.
Do not stop at saying, “He justifies us and the blood of Jesus covers us.” That is true, but remember, we must truly become righteous. After justification, we must possess righteousness in the Lord. Putting on God’s righteousness is hard. Without the Holy Spirit, it is impossible. We can only put on righteousness under the Spirit’s guidance. Even if we are enabled to live out God’s righteousness, we must not become proud. Do not claim, “I am saved because I do good.” In truth, we cannot do good by God’s standard; we cannot be perfect without the Holy Spirit. How can we say good works save us?
We do have responsive hearts—a piece of the heart that loves God—but do not say even that love is purely our doing, thereby neglecting our responsibility. In fact, many nations hold wrong theological principles, and Christianity disappears there. If the church perishes because of wrong theology, has God lost anything? Do not let a church perish because it forgets the responsibility to work out salvation with fear and trembling and loses deep godly sorrow.
If we feel good before people, that is the end. Actually, the more we understand truth and God’s majesty, the more we realize we are far from pleasing Him. Paul, even near death, said he was not yet perfect. But Paul’s lack of perfection at death differs from his lack of perfection when newly converted. If we mourn our condition, we will not be quick to judge others. Apply this principle everywhere. Learn to think broadly and deeply.
Let us learn the truth to wear—not righteousness of law, not righteousness based on common morality, but righteousness through faith in Jesus. And do not say, “I already believe, so I am already righteous.” What is believing? What is faith? Faith is absolute submission to God’s sovereignty—that is its meaning.