There are some statements in the Bible that never cease to amaze me. I'm talking about verses that stop me in my tracks nearly every time I read them, and perhaps they always should! It happened again when I read for the umpteenth time Romans 3:20-21... "But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe."
To think that the righteousness of God can be found in any of us apart from how well we've done at keeping God's law is staggering! It simply doesn't matter how many do's we've done or how many don'ts we haven't done. The righteousness of God is available to us all through faith in Jesus!
Righteousness apart from rules seems like an oxymoron. But here it is – God granting to us a righteousness that is the result of our faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in all that He accomplished for us on the cross. Such faith is Abrahamic faith: "Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness" (Genesis 15:6). This is the ultimate pressure-reliever, as God takes the burden of performing perfectly off of our shoulders and lays on us the gentle robe of righteousness that His Son Jesus bought for us at the cross.
I never seem to get tired of hearing that: "the righteousness of God apart from the law" – "the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ." So we can stop measuring ourselves, constantly checking if we're doing okay, worried that we're not good enough, and simply enjoy the God who not only makes us righteous in His eyes, but also helps us each day to live righteously in this world.
© 2015 by Ken Peters
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