Acts 10:30-48
Paul, in Romans 3:10-11, quoted Psalm 14:3 when he said that no one is righteous, no not one. No one understands; no one seeks God. Martin Luther, the Catholic priest who started the reformation, said that Paul wasn't just talking about those who do not seek God, but also those who don't seek Him in the way He wants to be sought and found. He goes on to say that God wants us to look for and find Him through faith, in humility not relying on what we think we know or what we presume.
Jesus says in Matthew 5:6, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."
Do you want to be righteous? Do you hunger and thirst for it so badly that you are willing to rethink deeply held convictions and compare them to what Jesus said? Righteousness in the Bible means being righteous and doing righteousness. Peter was being righteous, and Cornelius was doing righteousness, but God wants both!
If we concentrate on being righteous and dismiss doing righteousness we may think because we believe in Jesus, it’s okay for us to neglect obeying God and serving others. It can also lead to Gnostic-like thinking that says we can do anything we want with our bodies because it is our souls that will live eternally.
However, if we are more concerned with doing righteousness and neglect being righteous, we find ourselves thinking that keeping rules and regulations are the way to God instead of realizing that God loves us not because we keep laws, but because we love, trust, and have faith in Jesus.
It can make us become judgmental. We begin thinking that because we keep the laws and regulations, everyone should. And, if they don’t, we judge their worthiness to God.
Being a righteous person in God’s eyes requires both. Just because I concern myself with missions and outreach to others doesn’t mean I can disregard God’s laws.
Just because I follow God’s laws doesn’t mean I can neglect others or make judgements on their acceptability to God or their salvation.
Our sharing the gospel with others doesn’t start with converting people from their sinful lifestyle, our sharing the gospel should start with converting people from their unbelief.