Self-Confidence

We have something to be happy about, people. It's the work of our Savior for us. It's the realization that all is well, in Christ. We are saved and on our way to Heaven if we just believe. But there is one thing that can interfere with all the blessings that are ours in Christ. It's self-confidence.
Self-confidence cuts us off from God. Not earthly self-confidence, which can help us get through this life, but self-confidence where the next life is concerned. Watch out for being self-assured and not Christ-assured. People will tell you that being good will satisfy God and get you into Heaven. You will hear this in church, synagogue, and even your own mind. But it's not true. If you can earn salvation, then God is your debtor. If God is your debtor, then you are greater than God. God is not, nor ever will be indebted to any person.
Who are God's children? They are those who have been filled with God's Spirit. The only way to receive the Holy Spirit is to believe what you have heard about Jesus, the real message about the real Jesus. When we believe that Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross, and rose from the dead, we are given the Holy Spirit and made into the children of God. Who are filled with the very presence of God? It's the ones who put no confidence in what they do. This is true humility.
You may have every outward reason to put confidence in your life. You may even be a blameless person, outwardly. But you know your insides, don't you? You know, and God does too, everything in your heart that is bad. This is why we cannot trust in self-merit to be saved. This is why we need to lose everything we think we have, as far as good works are concerned. What is more, we must consider our efforts to please God as rubbish, and then we will acquire Christ Jesus. Deem them as worthless and gain Christ.
We do not have a righteousness of our own. That just doesn't exist. True righteousness comes from faith in Christ, from first to last, from the start to the finish. Don't reject this because you do not understand me. Be good people. Work with your hands and mind and make your way in this world. But the next world needs something more than us. Go to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. He will take care of eternity. Trust in Him, not yourself.