I realize more and more that people hold to so many different types of religion and beliefs for what is to happen in the afterlife and where they are bound for eternity! One of the most common that I run into is the belief in people's good works resulting in their hope in entering heaven! This isn't going to be a long post at all! I just wanted to share something that I had read through in Romans chapter 3, primarily verse 20. I would like to use verses surrounding around this primary verse as well. Here is what Romans chapter 3 states directly from the Apostle Paul, given by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. "Now we know that whatever the law says speaks to those who are subject to the law, so that every mouth may be shut and the whole world may become subject to God's judgment. For NO flesh will be justified in His sight by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin." Romans 3:19-20
Now this is what I want you to meditate on! Why would God place His son on the Cross on our behalf if we were able to uphold the law! If we were able to uphold the law then we would not offend God by our sinful natures! According to the Old Testament, the law was established by God as a covenant! The law is given so that we might know how we can please God and how we displease God! This is a very plain and simple process really! We fulfill the law, we obey God! And if we break the law, we disobey God! So why was the law established by God? The answer is simple! We as a sinful people need to know what God requires of us and how we are commanded live our lives unto Him! That in itself is even a measure of grace from God! Think about it! What if we walked around not knowing what is right or wrong all the time! Romans chapter 1 verse 20 states that God has clearly given His invisible attributes to all creation, therefore we are without an excuse when it comes to whether we know what is right or wrong! He has written His law on our hearts! We have a conscious that reveals right between wrong. Science even reveals the truth of our conscious! So, now that we have reviewed the law that God established in us, lets get to the issue at hand in how we are not saved according to our good works!
Romans 3 states that NO flesh will be justified (made right with God) in His sight by the works of the law because through the law comes the knowledge of sin! Okay let me break this down! What this means is because there has been a law established, we must come to understand that this law has been established because of our depravity of sin! Because once again, if law has been established, there must reason behind it! Because we have sinned before a mighty and holy God! Now I know so far this seems to be bad news! And well it is if I were to stop there but this is why we as children of God call this "Good News"!
The Good News! Here it is.... God established the law because of our separation resulting from our sin to Him. God graciously gave us His law so that we could have a covenant relationship with Him! This is a key emphasis to the Old Testament but not the main emphasis! God's establishment in His law to us wasn't His ultimate means to an end! The very law that He established with us is the key to revealing His Righteousness and Love by what we call Grace! The bad news is that because of our sin, the law was established and because of the law being established we are condemned to eternity separated from Christ forever! This is where the Cross comes in and sheds light to the best News in History! God sent His son to the world, Jesus Christ, who lived a pure life, free from Sin and was placed on the Cross so that our Sin, which is condemned through the law would be rescued from Death through a perfect and blameless propitiation (The shedding of Christs blood)! It is the Sacrifice that God, the Father made in order that we might have life! You see it is not by our works because when we compare ourselves to the law in where we spend eternity then we are condemned! Romans 8 verse 1 states, "For there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." And then verse 2 states, "For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the Law of Sin and death."
Okay, so it ended up being a lengthy post hahaha... I can't help it! You know when you have such "Good News" to proclaim, it is hard to keep it so short! I pray that this word would encourage those that believe that their good works will result in eternity spent with God, to read more into Romans! It is by Grace through Faith we are saved! Not by Works! Essentially it comes down to our surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit to show us the True way to life and knowing that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life and there is no other way to the Father except through Him! Praise God for His grace and salvation to all men that repent and believe!
For His Kingdom,
Twiga
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