This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them! But here is why I was treated with mercy: so that in me as the worst, Christ Jesus could demonstrate his utmost patience, as an example for those who are going to believe in him for eternal life.

1 Timothy 1:14-16, New English Translation

The gospel is always for everyone, not just the deserving. It extends an invitation to even the wrong people and offers everyone a fresh start in their relationship and friendship with God.

God’s grace humbles us.

None of us can earn our place before God. Instead, He redeems all of us through what Christ has done for us through the cross. The story of the Apostle Paul serves as an example that we cannot add to what Christ has already accomplished for us in order to be saved. If we try to mix our imperfect effort to match the finished work, we will end up with a shoddy faith that misrepresents the truth of the gospel of God's grace. Paul became self-righteous and became resistant to God's grace when he put his confidence in his legalistic observance of the law rather than fully in Christ.

Self-righteousness produces legalism, rigidity and pride.

If we live a strict and legalistic Christian life, we evaluate our own worth and the worth of others using our own system of approval rating. This might even show up in the way we understand and apply Christian beliefs. Although dogmas and doctrines are important, they become idols when we are relying on them to have the right connection with God rather than resting in Christ through grace through faith. This so-called faith will degenerate into intellectualism and spiritual arrogance. This led to the Pharisees' demise because of their preference for rules above an authentic relationship with God,

Good theology and sound doctrine always point us to Jesus. They either lead us to worship or cry with relief (and sometimes both).

We need to hear the gospel again if what we already know and have heard does not humble us but instead causes us to unfairly judge the faithfulness of others to our own. We need to hear the gospel again if what we do does not fully exalt God but only draws attention to ourselves. We need to hear the gospel again if we have become bored of it and do not want to respond to it any longer.

Believe in Jesus and focus on His perfection and what He has done because doing so will give you the faith necessary for fearless living.