Why is personal righteousness a hindrance to entering the straight gate?
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Personal righteousness can lead to self-reliance, which prevents one from entering the straight gate, as salvation comes only through faith in Christ's righteousness.
The sermon highlights that the only barrier to entering the straight gate is one's personal righteousness, specifically a reliance on self-righteousness rather than on Christ's righteousness. According to the teaching of Jesus, as seen in Luke 18, those who trust in their own merits think they are worthy, yet this pride keeps them from recognizing their need for grace. The truth is that all have sinned and fall short of God's glory, and it is only through the perfect righteousness of Christ that one can enter into the kingdom of heaven. This underscores the Reformed belief in the necessity of humility before God and dependency on Christ for salvation.
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