SPIRITUAL MILLIONAIRES
Obeying the law justifies no one, Jew or Gentile, because no one obeys the law. There is no one righteous, not even one, Romans 3:10 says. Therefore, the law can only condemn us, not declare us righteous.
For example, the law is very clear: "Do not write a check for more than what you have in your checking account." Well, what happens when you do that? What happens when you overdraw your checking account? If the bank decides to take you to court, the law can only condemn you. It may impose a fine or send you to jail, but it cannot justify you. It cannot pretend that you kept the law when in fact you broke it. The best you can hope for is that the bank honors the check anyway, sends you an overdraft notice, and requires that you make up the difference along with paying a hefty fine.
But wouldn't it be nice if the bank not only honored the check, but also put millions of dollars in your checking account to cover the overdraft? You'd be a millionaire and wouldn't have to worry about any overdraft checks ever again. Your past "sins" would be taken care of, as well as any future ones!
Well, that's exactly what happens when we put our faith in Christ! God justifies us. He declares us righteous! That means He not only covers the indebtedness, He deposits the righteousness of Christ in our account, and we become spiritual millionaires. In other words, God considers us as righteous as Christ!