Based on Romans 3:21-31 (New King James Version)
“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. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.”
In today’s passage, there are very basic things to be learned, and they are fundamental in being able to understand God completely, His Word, and our existence. The first point to understand (that is not mentioned here, but is fundamental so the rest can make sense) is that we are nothing without God. For our existence to have meaning, we need to understand that a Creator exists and that we need Him. The creation is nothing without its Creator. We are an incomplete work if the Creator does not form part of the center of our lives. Human beings cannot complete themselves, and the creation cannot complete itself. We can try to look for our fullness in money, in power, in fame, in material things, but nothing can fill the void that only God can fill. If you don’t understand this, you will live an incomplete life, without real meaning, and of course, you will lose the opportunity for eternal life that God does want to give you.
The other thing that is related to the beginning is that you cannot save yourself. There are no works that you can do on your own that can take you to a place only God can. Sin makes it impossible for man to save himself. And, how can we reach something that we have no dominion or control over? You can’t deal with sin on your own (which does exist because it’s real, affecting your present and your eternity). You can never be good enough on your own. Like we mentioned last week, sin created the destiny of hell for every human being, and no human being can break with their own destiny. The physical world cannot affect or challenge spiritual things, things that are beyond our reach. The only thing that can break something like destiny is an element (or a person) that is stronger than the spiritual environment (only God). So then, because of our sin, each human being falls short of the glory of God, completely excluded from God’s kingdom; unless God Himself interferes with what was established, breaking universal laws. So, if you have no power over sin, which is what determines that you go to hell, then logic would dictate that you need to depend on something greater than sin, greater than destiny, and hell itself—God. And here is where today’s passage comes into focus.
God through Jesus Christ broke all of the established laws to change our destiny in its entirety, breaking the cycle, being able to change the course of your existence. But what is necessary is that you truly establish your life on something more than just a religion—instead; on a Person, on the person of God. Christ Jesus is the only one that can give you eternal life. Faith in Christ, believing in Christ, is what begins to open the door to salvation. For it is written: “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’” Romans 1:17. “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for ‘the just shall live by faith.’” Galatians 3:11. We are also taught the following: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6. If you don’t put your faith in God, really believing in Him, in what He can do for you, you will never attain the eternal life He wants to give you. You must believe in Him, and believe what He tells you through His Word. So then, there is nothing without faith. Everything else is useless.
Faith is necessary for something critical, so that you are able to truly fulfill the Law. Faith cannot just take you to know and believe what God has done for you, but also, it must take you to believe in such a way that love for God can be born. This is what allows for the law to be fulfilled through faith: by loving God. For it is written: “Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:1-9. What has always been, ever since the beginning, is that we must love God with everything we are, with our whole being. Love towards God is what should produce all the other things that should happen in our lives. Love towards Him must be the root of our lives and the reason for why we do what we do. Without loving God, we will never fulfill the law of God in us through Jesus Christ. This is what the Word teaches us: “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” 1 John 5:3-4. Loving God produces obedience towards God, the desire to do those things that please Him, and at the same time, are of blessing to our lives. When you love God, everything else starts falling into place.
So then, are you living by faith, learning to love God? Lord bless! John