One of the greatest truths we celebrate at Easter is that our confidence and assurance rest not in ourselves, but in the finished work of Christ on the cross.

That’s why I loved how Pastor Scott Hollingshead put it in his Easter sermon:
“You do not start looking to yourself for assurance. You look to Jesus Christ!”

A few weeks earlier, LDS President Russell M. Nelson gave a General Conference talk entitled Confidence in the Presence of God. It was the perfect opportunity to point listeners to the cross—to the atonement of Jesus and his perfect payment for our sins.

But is that where he pointed them? Sadly, no.

Here’s the key section from his talk:

“When I speak of having confidence before God, I am referring to having confidence in approaching God right now! I am referring to praying with confidence that Heavenly Father hears us, that He understands our needs better than we do. I am referring to having confidence that He loves us more than we can comprehend, that He sends angels to be with us and with those we love. I am referring to having confidence that He yearns to help each of us reach our highest potential.

Now, how do we gain such confidence? The Lord answers this question with these words: ‘Let thy bowels … be full of charity towards all men, … and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God.’

There’s the key! In the Lord’s own words, charity and virtue open the way to having confidence before God! Brothers and sisters, we can do this! Our confidence can truly wax strong in the presence of God, right now!”

In other words, confidence in the presence of God is something we receive through our charity and virtue.

Rather than pointing to the finished work of Christ, President Nelson pointed his listeners to their own efforts—to their charity and their virtue.

And here’s the problem: that kind of confidence will only carry you so far.

Charity and virtue might give us a fleeting sense of confidence on the days we serve a widow or sing hymns in our spare time. But what about the days we yell at our kids? Snap at our spouse? Look with lust, lose our temper, or return to an old addiction?

What about when the progress we thought we made feels fleeting, and we see the “natural man” rising up in us again?

What can we rely on when we feel like crying out with Paul, “O wretched man that I am!” (Romans 7:24)?

On those days, our confidence fails us. And if our eyes are fixed on ourselves, we begin to doubt our standing before God. We wonder if we’re just not “celestial material” after all.

The truth is that our own charity and virtue are not a firm foundation for confidence before God. In the moments when our spirit is willing but our flesh is weak, we cannot rely on our own righteousness. Trying to do so will only crush us.

Worse still, relying on our own virtue has dangerous side effects. We become puffed up with spiritual pride, looking down on others who seem less disciplined. Our prayers sound more like the Pharisee’s: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people.” (Luke 18:11)

And when we base our standing before God on our own righteousness, we lose the freedom to confront the darkness still within us. We become blind to the beam in our own eye, quick to see the speck in others. We can no longer pray like David:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
(Psalm 139:23–24)

Authentically peering into the sin that remains in us will fill us with dread and despair—unless we have a better foundation.

So what’s the alternative?

Our confidence must rest not in our charity and virtue, but in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. We stand confident in the presence of God not because we are good, but because he is good. Because he died for us while we were still sinners, we can be confident that he will never stop pursuing us—or preserving us.

As Pastor Scott said on Good Friday:
“The first word of our testimony needs to be not ‘I,’ but ‘he.’”

My Confidence

So where does real confidence come from?

Not from our charity.
Not from our virtue.
Not from our performance.
But from Jesus.

The gospel gives us a foundation that cannot be shaken. We don’t have to fear God’s presence—we are invited into it, clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
(Romans 8:1)

That’s the assurance we need—not just on our best days, but especially on our worst.

“If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? … Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.”
(Romans 8:31–33)

Our confidence before God is not built on our track record—it’s built on Christ’s. That’s why we can draw near with boldness. That’s why we can face our sin honestly, repent freely, and love others without pride or fear.

Because in Christ, we are fully known, fully forgiven, and forever secure.

So let your confidence rest not in you, but in him.