21Now we see how God does make us acceptable to him. The Law and the Prophets tell how we become acceptable, and it isn't by obeying the Law of Moses. 22God treats everyone alike. He accepts people only because they have faith in Jesus Christ. 23All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. 24But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins. 25-26God sent Christ to be our sacrifice. Christ offered his life's blood, so that by faith in him we could come to God. And God did this to show that in the past he was right to be patient and forgive sinners. This also shows that God is right when he accepts people who have faith in Jesus. 27What is left for us to brag about? Not a thing! Is it because we obeyed some law? No! It is because of faith. 28We see that people are acceptable to God because they have faith, and not because they obey the Law. 29Does God belong only to the Jews? Isn't he also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, he is! 30There is only one God, and he accepts Gentiles as well as Jews, simply because of their faith. 31Do we destroy the Law by our faith? Not at all! We make it even more powerful.
There we have it...it was all a great misunderstanding.
Somehow, folks got the idea that obeying God's law gave them standing in God's eyes...when God never intended that. God's law was intended to show us our innate wickedness and our need for grace. Of course, we never like to be told about our flaws so we manipulate things until they serve our purposes instead of God's.
It was always faith...from the very beginning. The great irony is that faith does something mystical in our spirits and we become lovers of the law rather than slaves to the law. The nuance often escapes the sceptics. They think we are as encumbered by rules as the old religious leaders ever were.
The question is simple. Do we love God's law because because the gift of faith has opened our eyes? Do we welcome this opportunity to offer our obedience as a gift back to God? Or is God's law a constant burden and barrier to our freedom. The answer will tell you faith dwells in your heart.
Even at that...if we got it perfect...it's still faith. It's always been faith.
Live boldly out there today...
No comments:
Post a Comment