It is a grievous thing to observe and fellowship with good people (family, friends, neighbors) and then be forced to conclude that by God's standard they are not righteous. In fact, that very situation leads many people to challenge God with the proposition that a loving God would never consign such good people to eternal separation from himself. But if goodness can be counted as "the righteousness which is from God" (Philippians 3:9), then, in the words of Paul, "Christ died in vain" (Galatians 2:21) and the promise of blessing made to Abraham, confirmed by an oath, has been nullified and made of no effect (cf. Hebrews 6:13ff). We know, however, that God cannot lie and his Word endures forever. So, all the good actions and deeds of any person apart from the righteousness that is from God will not deliver that person from the consignment of eternal destruction. Why? Because there is no good of any quantity or quality that one can do to make oneself righteous and deliver from the consequence of sin.

It is so sad to see good, honest, moral people confidently expecting to receive eternal life in the presence of God because of having lived uprightly in this life, living peaceably with all men, being a devoted husband and father, being charitable to all, especially to those in trouble and need, and putting themselves out to benefit others. We admire them to no end and wish that all people were like them. Then tears come to our eyes to know that according to God's Word and design, which he cannot change for their benefit, they will lose the reward they ought to receive in eternity, because they have not attained to the righteousness that is from God.

The apostle Paul addressed this matter in Philippians, Chapter Three, by using himself to personify the futility of being and doing good apart from the righteousness that is from God (vss. 4-5). His zeal for the Law under a good conscience was manifested in a strong resistance of Christianity, and "concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless" (vs. 6). But upon being introduced to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he then counted all of that as "rubbish," that he might "be found in Him [Christ], not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by the faith" (vs. 9). Through the Gospel of Christ Paul came to realize that all the good he did from the standpoint of the Law (which itself was holy, just and good, Romans 7:12) amounted to only what he called "my own righteousness" that could not now attain to the righteousness of God revealed in the Gospel of Christ (Romans 1:17). The righteousness that is from God carries the forgiveness of sin (Romans 4:6-8). In this passage, Paul quoted David who said, "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin" (vs. 8), and this blessedness is obtained through "the faith" as a result of God setting forth Christ Jesus "as a propitiation by His blood, through the faith..." (Romans 3:25). In this way, the righteousness imputed to Abraham through faith in God will also "be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead" (Romans 4:24).

Every good, upright, moral person must also be found in Jesus to receive the righteousness that is from God, the righteousness and blessedness that comes through the remission of sins. Then and then only all the good one does "will count in the great by and by," because one is not only good but also is counted of God to be righteous. Remission of sins is obtained through baptism (Acts 2:38) when one believes that Jesus is the propitiation (mercy seat - NKJV mar.) God set forth. Baptism is the form of the doctrine by which one attains to the benefits of his death, burial and resurrection (Romans 6:3-6), and as long as one remains in Christ, one is under the atoning power of his blood, being righteous before Jehovah God. What matchless grace!

Some argue that baptism is not necessary to obtain remission of sins, because, they say, it is a work of righteousness that we have done. But God, the Holy Spirit, said through Paul that baptism is not a work of righteousness that we have done.

Read: "But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:4-5). The person who has not been baptized into Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:27) may be good but not righteous.