Wow! The third chapter of the book of Romans is packed with incredible stuff and memorable verses. Many of the basic concepts of our relationship with God are found in this chapter alone. We could spend hours here exploring these principles and chewing on their implications.
Verse 10 is a great declarative statement about our status as human beings. I doubt that there's a single person on the planet who would argue with this quote from the Psalms. There's no one righteous, not even one. Hasn't been. Is not. Will not. It's pretty simple. There is no one who does good all the time.
Verse 20 tells us that no one can be declared righteous by God by their observation of the law. Paul says that it is through the law of God we become aware of our sin. That, in fact, it is the main purpose of the law. God knew that none of us could keep it perfectly. He gave us the law to teach US that. He lists some of His standards for righteous living and none of us could keep them. I become conscious of my own sin, when I see what God expects. That's really Good News, because I can admit that I'm a screw up and need help.
Verse 21tells more of the Good News. Instead of attaining that perfect righteousness on my own by keeping God's standards for living perfectly, God grants a new righteousness opportunity that comes through Jesus Christ. Forget trying to keep the law by my own will. That's impossible. And verse 22 claims that anyone who has faith in what God has done for us through Jesus can attain this new righteousness. Now when Paul says anyone, he means anyone regardless of our past, our present, our nationality, our reputation, our talents, our gifts, our looks, our background, our experiences, and yes even our sins.
Verse 23 is another one of those declarative statements about our condition as human beings. Once again as I read these words my mind says, "Whew! That's a relief to know. It really takes the pressure off. I can stop pretending, stop trying to be something that I know that I'm not." And once again, verse 24 shouldn't be separated from verse 23. Paul quickly assures us that we can be made right with God because of God's efforts, not ours. It's called grace and it's freely given by God.
Verses 25 and 26 explain how God makes all this possible. It's the heart of our salvation and a meaningful and lasting relationship with God. God presented Jesus as an atoning sacrifice for all of us, both past and present. So anyone who trusts God today or trusted God in the past receives this gift of righteousness from God which allows us to have an eternal and intimate relationship with Him. In other words, it allows me to hang out with my main man, the creator of the universe, God. It means we won't get crushed like a bug or be separated from Him ever. Now that's really Good News!
God, there is tons of powerful stuff in these verses. Ferreting out all the implications would be overwhelming and impossible to do in such a short time.You're amazing. In one fell swoop you solve both my sin problem and my guilt problem. And to think, all I have to do is simply trust in you, put my faith in you. Unbelievable! No wonder they call it grace.
No comments:
Post a Comment