Romans 3:21-24

Passage

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been revealed while being witnessed to by the Law and the prophets.  And the righteousness of God is through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ into all the ones who are faithful.  For there is no difference, for all sinned, and while falling short of the glory of God are declared righteous as a gift by His grace through the liberation in Christ Jesus.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Having taken the past few days to really focus in on our sinfulness, today we get to turn the corner and talk about what lies beyond the Law.  However, as Paul does, let’s make one more statement about the truth of humanity.  All sinned.  There is no difference.  Men sinned.  Women sinned.  Jews sinned.  Gentiles sinned.  Young people sinned. Old people sinned.  The great equalizer is that before God there is one universal truth about all of us.  We all sinned.

How have you come to understand your own sinfulness over the last few days?  How does it feel to know that with respect to sin, we are all on an even playing field?

Second Thought:

As Paul changes from focusing on human sinfulness to the grace of God, Paul does not leave the Law behind.  Paul tells us that the Law and the prophets both witness to the fact that there had to be something more.  Since the Law and the prophets both point out the human condition, they inform us that there had to be something that God was going to do about our human condition.  This points us to God’s Messiah, Jesus Christ.

What does it mean to you to remember that it is God who took care of our problem of human sinfulness?  When you think about the fact that there was no less than 1,500 years between Abraham and Jesus Christ – and probably closer to 2,000 years – what does this say about the patience of God?  Why do you think God waited so long to bring about His Messiah?

Third Thought:

Paul tells us that it is indeed through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ that we are saved.  We who are faithful receive salvation completely and totally as a gift.  Notice that Paul doesn’t say that those who are perfect receive the gift.  He merely says “faithful.”  Perfection is beyond our grasp – even after we come to understand that salvation is a gift from God.  However, repentance and humble submission is not beyond our grasp.  When we talk about God giving the gift of salvation to the “ones who are faithful,” we aren’t talking about people who are perfect but rather people who try to be obedient and who are humble and repentant when they are not obedient.

What does it mean to you to realize that your salvation is completely a gift?  Why is it important to come to the realization that you cannot be perfect even after you submit to God?  How does this understanding help you shape your definition of human faithfulness?

Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 3:25-26