Righteousness By Faith

Disclaimer: I know that not everyone shares my belief system, and if they do, not everyone wants to read about it. But this is my blog, and I felt like I should share my devotion/notes from the other morning in case someone reading this really needs it.

Romans 3:9-26

v.9: What, then, is the situation?

In the battle of good and evil, of right and wrong doings, of sin and righteousness, what is the situation? Verse 9 continues and says "Do we have any advantage? Not at all. We have accused everyone of being under the power of sin." Here, Paul says 'everyone' not 'all of you/all of them' - he includes himself and his fellow apostles and disciples, followers of Christ, those who are saved and have turned from their wicked ways, because we are all under the power of sin. Some would say it's human nature to sin because we were born into sin.

He goes on in v. 10-17 describing the Scripture's diagnosis of sinner, and the evidence to support it. He says in 18, "THey are not terrified of God." I don't know about you, but I have seen enough of God's power, magnitude and grace to know I don't want to be on the flip side of that. V.19/20 explain that, on our own, we will never find the approval from God that we are searching for. But, we don't have to do it on our own!

My Biochemistry prof. normally likes to give his students a Gift before each exam: a redacted copy of the exam with part of the questions, and all answer choices removed so that we can have a better idea of what kind of question he will be asking and what content to study to receive an acceptable grade. God gave us a Gift too. He gave us His son Jesus: an example to follow, a guide for living a life acceptable to God.

See, on our own, we wouldn't even get near the goal, but v.22 says that "Everyone" - there's that word again - "Everyone who believes has God's approval through faith in Jesus Christ. There is no difference between people." Now, that second part, no difference between people, mean good/bad, man/woman, Black/White/Asian/Latinx/Native, young/old, gay/straight/bi/trans/QIA+, sinner/saved, we ALL fall under the inclusive "all people" in v. 23 who "haved sinned [and] have fallen short of God's glory." v.24: "They (we) receive God's approval freely by an act of his grace (kindness) through the price Christ Jesus paid to set us free from sin."

That's a pretty great gift if you ask me. In v.25 Paul tells the church that Jesus is the "throne of mercy" where God's grace flows out through our faith and belief in the power of the Blood of Christ. He says "In His patience, God waited to deal with the sins committed in the past." (v.26) "He waited so that He could display His approval at the present time. This shows He is a God of justice, a God who approves of people who believe in Jesus."

Everybody has a past. Preachers, deacons, doctors, lawyers, parents, siblings, friends, we've all got pasts, and some of us wish we could detach from our pasts because it doesn't accurately reflect our present mindset. In my humble opinion, don't ever forget your past: it brought you to where you are today, my friend. None of us are at the finish line, but your past helped you reach this mile marker. Sometimes, we don't like where we came from or what we used to be, but if you were never there, if you were never that, you would be a whole different you.

The Bible says that God knows your heart and mind, He sees all, and He judges your present. So give Him your present and your future, and in time, you'll receive the greatest gift you never thought you needed. That is the situation.

God Bless, Stay safe, BLM.