Receive Righteousness by Faith

The point here that Paul is making further asserts that it is God who make us righteous. He uses the first century Gentiles as the basis for his point. It is through our faith that we develop a strong personal relationship with God. Paul asks the rhetorical question in the opening of this section “What shall we say then?” This becomes somewhat problematic for the Israelite's because their teachings only include themselves of being righteous. They further believe that their righteousness is earned through works of the law. That belief still holds true for those in the Jewish community today.

Paul understands the importance of living a Jewish life and following the Jewish traditions and laws to seek and follow God. But as we know through scripture that it was his direct intervention with Jesus that changed Paul's mind, changed his heart and filled his soul with the love of Jesus. The moment Jesus spoke directly to Paul is the exact moment which changed Paul’s life forever to serve Jesus with all his power, might, strength and knowledge.

Paul stays on point as we have been progressing through chapter 9. One point being made to both Jews and Gentiles is that our faith in Jesus is the bridge between us and God. It is not by some practicing law that we are saved. It is through our belief in the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the first century it was customary to have the word read to you and through the hearing of the word you would be inspired through the Holy Spirit. This is still practiced today in some churches, but through our personal relationship with God we are encouraged to read the word for ourselves. To really listen to the Lord through scripture.

As in the first century, there are many stumbling blocks that we have in front of us today. The problems we face in our Christian and Jewish communities are the same or at best are very similar to what the Jewish and Gentile communities were experiencing then. The main problem for the Jewish community is the lack of belief in Jesus as the Messiah and His role He has been given as the Son of God. The problem with some Christian churches is the growing amount of false teachers and false teachings embracing their own understanding of God’s word. This is done by parsing scripture to make you feel good about your lifestyle and the way you live your life. Eliminating the message of the dangers of sin and its relationship to hell, prosperity preaching, refusing to teach the full depth and breadth of the bible.

The bible tells us that Jesus is the second person of the Trinity. When we believe that Jesus is the Son of God and He was sent by God, our aperture opens to see clearly the important role Jesus as final judge plays on deciding where we will spend our eternal life. God knows who we are and what moves us. God uses Jesus and others like Paul to bring forth the message of hope, the message of love to each one of us.

We have the remarkable ability to see and hear the word of God through the technological advancements made today. Our life is in God’s hand and at His right hand sits Jesus. So when we receive Jesus we also receive the promise that God will never let us go. We receive the promise to live for eternity in heaven for eternity.

My prayer is that we would all recognize that Jesus is the Lord and savior and through God’s promise to us when we receive Jesus, we receive the greatest gift that God will ever give to us and that gift is life. My prayer is that we will be in our word, on our knees in prayer and through the Holy Spirit God will teach us the things that are important. I pray that our eyes and ears will be open to seeing and hearing the full depth and breadth of God’s word. To meditate on the Lord and His wonders of His mercy and Grace. I pray that we believe with all our heart that God loves us so much He brought His son to pay our sin debt in full. In the Mighty Name of Jesus I pray Amen! Amen!