You must possess the righteousness of Christ yourself to be saved.

All lost people think that they are religious enough and good enough. When a sinner begins to be awakened to his sin, he tries to think of good things he has done, to justify himself, and establish his own goodness. But these are false resting places. The Holy Spirit must make you see that all of your righteousness’s are but filthy rags. The cleanest and best person deserves nothing better than the doom of an unprofitable servant, to be cast "into outer darkness (where) there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 25:30).

Did the Holy Spirit ever give you this kind of conviction? Did He ever come to your heart and make you sick of your morality, goodness, and religion? Were you ever made to hate your own righteousness, and did you ever admit to yourself that you deserve to be damned? Did the Holy Spirit ever make you feel that your very repentance needed to be repented of, and that everything in yourself is no better than rubbish? Did you ever feel that you were unworthy and sinful in every way? Did you ever cry out, "God be merciful to a sinner like me"?

For there is a sin of unbelief in Jesus, of which the Holy Spirit convinces each soul, when He comes to a person. And this is such a remarkable sin that Christ mentions it. It is the main sin of the whole world. It is the cursed sin, the root of all other evils. I mean the sin of unbelief in Jesus. (John 16:8-11) "When he comes, he'll expose the error of the godless world's view of sin, righteousness, and judgment: He'll show them that their refusal to believe in Jesus is their basic sin; that righteousness comes from above, where Jesus is with the Father, out of their sight and control.

 There are many people who do not believe in Jesus. This is their greatest sin – the sin of not believing in Jesus. Jesus loves all. He died on the Cross to pay the penalty for all sins. He arose from the dead, literally, and ascended into Heaven, into another dimension. He is alive right now, seated at the right hand of God in Heaven. Each one must come to Jesus. You are only saved by Him from your sins. But if one refuses to believe in Jesus this is the horrible, soul-damning sin – the sin of not believing in Jesus. They may say they believe in Him, but have no more faith than the demons themselves. Maybe you think you believe because you know John 3:16 or have said the "Sinner's Prayer," or have been baptized, but this does not mean that you believe in Jesus. All this may be done without being a true believer in the Son of God.

When the Holy Spirit convinces you of your need for Jesus' righteousness, you will see the Lord as your righteousness! But merely seeing the righteousness of Christ will do you no good. The Holy Spirit must make it your possession. You must possess the righteousness of Christ yourself to be saved.