Day 17 - March 9

What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. Romans 3:9

Paul puts forth the question that many religious people ask themselves at one point or another; do we have any advantage? By following God, can we be sure that our situation is better than those who do not follow? By living in accordance to the Bible’s teachings, are we then guaranteed something more than if we ignored the Bible? Paul’s answer is as true for the Jews who he was writing to as it is for us today; Not at all! Now, this is not meant to discourage you. When I first heard this, I had this overwhelming sense of hopelessness. I thought to myself, why even bother? What’s the point of living this Christian life if my actions make no difference? The answer to those questions is found as Paul continues to write. He says in verses 22-25, “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. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith”

When reading a passage like this, words like righteous, justified, redemption and atonement can often run through our heads without thought. We hear them often enough and so we do not stop to think about their meaning. What do these words me to you and to your faith? If you put this passage into your own words, how would it read? Here is my answer, feel free to write your own,

“We are made right with God through our faith in Jesus Christ, which is possible for all because every person has sinned and broken their relationship with God. We all receive God’s approval through the undeserved and unearned kindness and love of God, which is given to us through Jesus Christ. God sent Christ to be the sacrifice no person could make because we are all imperfect. By dying on the cross, Christ made right the relationship between the faithful and God.”