| “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law…” |
| —Romans 3:20 |
I know quite a few people who wake up each day and determine to be good. In fact, just yesterday I heard a woman describe someone she had met as “a really good person.” But, of course, that’s a lie.
The truth is that every person on earth, including you and me, are filthy, rotten, horrible, awful, terrible sinners. Most of us are reluctant to admit that frightening truth.
In contrast to that reality, the marvelous “good news” is described well by the Apostle Paul in Romans 3:20-24:
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
We are justified by God’s grace that is given freely to us in His one and only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Even though we are all horrible sinners, God so loved us that He has saved us from eternal death and the appropriate penalty for our sins through the shed blood of His Son.
“Now what?” we might ask. Now He asks us to put our faith and trust in Him. He wants us to read, study, and meditate on His written Word, to talk with Him in prayer, and to extend His mercy, love, and grace to everyone we meet.
God wants us to purposefully allow the Light of Christ within us to illuminate our pathway through this dark world and also to allow that Light to fall across the pathway of every person we meet along the road of life.
As I write this, I have some dear friends—fellow believers in Christ—virtually attending a large national convention. They are there via video-conference to represent their employer. Over the next few days, they will do their job very well. They are uniquely talented, even gifted individuals. They will introduce convention attendees to some amazing new products. They will answer questions. They will educate and inform.
But, most importantly they posses the Holy Spirit within their hearts and minds. So, they will also well represent the mercy, grace, and love of Christ to those they meet. The smiles on their faces, the gentleness of their spirits, a special kindness they possess will all testify to the world that they belong to God as His dearly loved children.
They likely won’t have to give a single spoken word of testimony—but if prompted to do so, they are certainly willing to share what Christ means to them. Their very lives testify to the life-transforming power of the Lord Jesus.
That’s the way we all should live this day. Yes, we are all awful sinners. But, we whom God has chosen to belong to Himself are special. We have been justified by grace. And, that gives us a whole new perspective on life—a perspective worthy to share with those who cross our paths.
Based on a blog originally posted on Wednesday, March 16, 2016
