Righteousness Through Faith
.
Romans 3:21-31
21. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, 22. the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction; 23. since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24. they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, 25. whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins; 26. it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies him who has faith in Jesus. 27. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On the principle of works? No, but on the principle of faith. 28. For we hold that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law. 29. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30. since God is one; and he will justify the circumcised on the ground of their faith and the uncircumcised through their faith. 31. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
This scripture begins with "But now" – contrasting righteousness manifested through the law, and righteousness apart from the law. Since none of us is without sin – righteousness (salvation/redemption) is impossible to achieve on our own (through the law). It is only because of God’s gift of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice that we are saved/become righteous.
That doesn’t mean we should give up and decide that if we are saved by grace, then why try to find justification through the law – through obeying the law and living by it? We continue to strive for perfection because of Christ’s sacrifice. In gratitude and full of guilt and human frailty, we continue the pursuit of perfection in and through Christ Jesus. Though we know it is impossible to achieve, we strive for it nonetheless. It is the only way we can even begin to demonstrate our recognition of and gratitude for God’s grace.
God is the God of the impossible! He created us in His image and likeness – but not exactly like Him! He sent Christ to earth as a sign of what waits for us! Perfection will be achieved in the next life – if we strive for it in this one! God has forgiven all our sins – not just our own, but those of absolutely everyone – even those we don’t like, even those who we consider detestable, even those we think are not deserving of God’s grace. It is available to ALL. We are not question or resent God’s all-encompassing grace! Paul contends that since we are all sinners, we need to be sure of our own hearts and own minds, and our own souls—and let God worry about the state of everyone else’s.
We still must minister to those who may otherwise miss the truth of God’s grace. We still need to be loving and kind and
gracious to everyone, regardless of our personal feelings for them. We are to obey God and do our very best to be an example to others – striving to be more and more like Christ – while recognizing and acknowledging that it is an impossible goal.
I hope the goal of your day is to strive for perfection. And that you thank God that striving for it is all He expects and commands.
Mary
