Be a Better Pharisee, or Quit Trying

Every good work you have done towards gaining eternal life is worthless. Your Christian best will never be good enough.
Your reaction towards those statements might mimic those of the Israelites in Jesus’ day. It was the basic idea Jesus was expressing when He said, “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). In that one statement by Jesus, all of their preconceived ideas of God and salvation were put into question. They saw the Pharisees as their models of holiness which few, if any, could ever dream of equaling. If their best wasn’t good enough, who can be saved? Why even try?
Of course, what if Jesus wanted us to quit trying? What if Jesus has something better in mind for us?