Psalm 15
Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord?
Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?
Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right,
speaking the truth from sincere hearts.
Those who refuse to gossip
or harm their neighbors
or speak evil of their friends.
Those who despise flagrant sinners,
and honor the faithful followers of the Lord,
and keep their promises even when it hurts.
Those who lend money without charging interest,
and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent.
Such people will stand firm forever.
This depicts a long to-do list of how to be righteous and have good standing with the Lord. It’s impossible. No one can do these things one hundred percent of the time for their whole life. I have sin. You have sin. We all have sin. It’s hopeless. On our own, we are hopeless. But God gives us victory over sin through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57). With belief in Him and His victory on the cross, I can have true hope. But that’s not all, with His help, I can also live closer to fulfilling that long to-do list.