Romans 3:9-31
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Today in Romans chapter 3 verses 22 through 24 we read – “But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Please take a moment to re-read these verses and meditate upon them. How do they speak to you? Do you believe that humans are righteous on our own? (One way to consider this is to imagine what a city would look like without a police force, for example – think we would just naturally be good and kind and righteous to each other? Or might there be crime and maybe even anarchy and survival of the fittest – ala Lord of the Flies. . . ) Do you believe God is righteous? Do you believe we can be made righteous before God through faith in Jesus? Have you sinned and fallen short of the glory of God? Are you justified freely by God’s grace and through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ?
I want to focus a bit more on verse 24 because I think this is one of the most important concepts for us to understand: we "are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Justified. That's an important word to understand! Per the NIV Study Bible, Paul uses the Greek verb for justified 27 times, mostly in the letters of Romans and Galatians. The term describes what happens when people believe in Jesus as their Savior. God declares them to not be guilty and credits (or imputes) righteousness to them. Jesus' righteousness is credited to believers as their own, with a few key characteristics that we read in verse 24 (look at this verse above again): 1. It is freely given as a gift, 2. by God's grace, 3. through the redemptive act of Jesus on the Cross, where He paid the price for our sins and redeemed us, 4. and through faith. Got all this? :) Have you been justified with the free gift of grace and faith through Christ's redemption? If not, today will you dive into the river of everlasting justification through faith in our Lord Jesus? Please jump into the river of faith!
Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in Romans 3 titled "Some Bad News, And Good News" is at this link.
Worship Video: Per my reflections on diving into the river of faith in Romans above, check out Steven Curtis Chapman's video for his awesome song "Dive!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXqXIicm8uU
Have you Dived in to the River of Faith? Click here and Dive!
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23 TNIV
Prayer Point: Pray that you realize that you have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. Pray that you have or will put your faith in Jesus to take the punishment for your sins on the Cross. Pray that you have repented of your sins and are born again through a saving faith in Jesus.
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless,
Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
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