“There is no one righteous, not even one.” (Romans 3:10, quoting Psalm 14:3)
As the verse before today’s reading reminds us, no one will be declared righteous by the works of the law, rather it is through the law that we become conscious of our sin (Romans 3:20). No one can keep the law perfectly. By comparing our lives to the law, we see how short we fall of perfection. ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (vs. 23).
Righteousness means being morally correct, or declared right by God. In the Old Testament, believers focused on keeping the law in order to be righteous. But even with Abraham, we see that true righteousness comes through faith.
In the account of Noah’s time, all were wicked and God had basically had enough of the evil and wanted to wipe it out. Noah and his family were spared because they were right with God.
Verse 22 shows that in the New Testament, righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ. ALL are justified freely by His grace through Jesus Christ (vs. 24).
We like to think our sins aren’t that bad: “There are worse people than me….I’m a good person,” but sin is sin. Sin means missing the mark, and we all miss the mark of God’s holiness and perfection.
I was involved in Cru in college and this illustration helped me understand. The arrows on the left represent our efforts to reach God on our own—by being a good person, giving, serving, etc. I am not good enough. I can never reach God on my own efforts. But Jesus can. While He lived fully as man, He never sinned. He never gave in to temptation. He lived a truly holy life. Only He can bridge the gap between me and God.
Thank God for justifying you through your faith in Jesus. It is actually a relief to know we don’t earn our salvation! Ask Him to show you any areas that you need to confess as sin.
For Reflection:
- What do you think happens when we try to “earn” our salvation? How can you release this tendency to try harder and simply live in thankfulness for God’s gift?
by Stephanie Huston
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