“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.” – (Romans 3:22-24 NIV)
In the midst of the conflict between the Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians, you can just imagine one of the Jewish Christians who was frustrated that his religious rituals writing to Paul, so what is the advantage in being Jewish?!
So Paul writes down the question so he can then answer it.
What’s the advantage in being Jewish? The Jewish people were entrusted with the words of God through which we are all made aware of our sin and our need for God.
Paul emphasizes that both Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin and stand guilty before God. Paul quotes several Old Testament passages to emphasize the universality of human sinfulness, declaring that “there is no one righteous, not even one.”
The human heart is so broken we all need God.
But the good news is that because of Jesus’ death on the cross, He became the sacrifice of atonement so that all people may be made right before God.
Romans 3 underscores the universal sinfulness of humanity, the inability of the law to justify, and the gracious provision of righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ. It sets the stage for Paul’s further exploration of the themes of faith, grace, and the righteousness of God in the subsequent chapters of the letter.
Being Jewish or growing up in church are incredibly valuable because we have an understanding of God that others do not. However, we cannot lean on our parents’ faith or grandparents’ faith, we must have our own connection with God through Jesus which should transform how we live. Doing good works does not save us but when we are saved, we should allow God to transform us and out of gratitude to Him we do good works.
I’ve heard several analogies comparing religion and Christianity that I think are helpful.
Religion typically requires things we must do to get to God.
Biblical Christianity describes what God has done to get to us.
Religion is spelled “DO” – all the things we have to do to get to God
Biblical Christianity is spelled “DONE” because Jesus has already done what’s required of us, dying on the cross for our sins, taking upon himself what we all deserve which is the wrath of God.
According to Colin Smith at opentheBible.org, “God’s wrath is the just and measured response of his holiness toward evil.”
Finally, if we see God and his loving character as demonstrated in the Scriptures and most clearly in the person of Jesus, we will see the difference between religion and the Gospel Paul preaches.
Religion says: “I messed up. Dad’s gonna kill me.”
Gospel: “I messed up. I need to call my Dad.”
When reading this passage what stood out to you?
How do you sense God may want you to apply what you discovered?
#newtestament #romans #jesus #faith #spirituality #christianity #mission #outreach #bless #diversity #evangelism #discipleship #earlychurch
