Attaining Righteousness

How do we get right with God?

Romans 3:21 - 26 (NIV) 21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,£ through faith in his blood.

Trouble in the Text (trying to be righteous through the law)

1. For those who believe, ever since the beginning of the fall of man, we have been searching somehow to be made right with God.

2. We know he is there and we all desire to be at one with him.

3. I mean who would with a sane mind desire to be at odds with the creator of the universe?

4. Anyone who willfully would be at odds with Him we would have to say is out of his mind.

So then agreeing that we all desire to be in right relationship with God, the question is how do we do this?

We must understand something

What is righteousness? (Right standing with God.) Everything between God and the person is ok.

* Positional (Their relationship)

o A person is either in relationship with God or not.

You are either for me or against me.

* Their behavior

o Choices that they made

o They are either righteous acts or unrighteous acts.

They must understand the Law and its purpose.

1. Was to point out sin

The Israelites ever since Mount Sinai have been following a set of rules that God gave them in order to be considered righteous.

So the Israelites in their desire to be righteous would follow these set of rules the God gave them.

ONE: ’You shall have no other gods before Me.’

TWO: ’You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.’

THREE: ’You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.’

FOUR: ’Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.’

FIVE: ’Honor your father and your mother.’

SIX: ’You shall not murder.’

SEVEN: ’You shall not commit adultery.’

EIGHT: ’You shall not steal.’

NINE: ’You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.’

TEN: ’You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.’

They were using human effort to be made righteous. Piling up good deeds

But there is a problem. This wasn’t working.

Trouble in the World (we try to be righteous on our own)

You see we have the same problem today.

1. There are many people who are trying to make themselves right with God

a. They are thinking that they are going to get into heaven and they are in good relationship because of what they do

b. Or because they are good people.

c. or because they don’t hurt anyone

2. Have you ever heard that before?

“God must let him in he was such a good person”

a. I’ll get into heaven because I am not a murderer or nothing.

3. Well this is a problem.

We all have sinned (Must be paid for)

4. Because everyone is in a poor relationship with God because we all have done something wrong in our life that needs to be atoned for.

a. Stuff just doesn’t go away.

God said that the wages of sin is death.

b. we must die spiritually and physically when we sin and we all have

c. So no matter how many good things we have piled up it doesn’t cover up the fact that we are separated from God.

d. It doesn’t cover up the fact that we need to be righteous.

e. In our relationship and the things we do.

* Haven’t we all at one time or another broken the law?

* Haven’t we all at one time fallen short?

* It may have been years ago.

* It may have been yesterday

* It may have been this morning

5. But we all have fallen short

Grace in the world ( A new righteous through Jesus)

So God made a new way to be righteous with Him

Romans 3:21 - 26 (NIV) 21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify

Apart from the law

1. it comes from Faith In Jesus

22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.