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.
Expound:
SO what is this faith? What are we to believe?
25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,£ through faith in his blood.
Explain the sacrificial system and the law of works
We have to have faith in that.
But this is a faith that goes beyond just that
It’s a faith that transforms. A faith that produces righteousness!
The Jew didn’t steal to me made righteous
* We believe by faith that stealing is wrong
So we don’t steal
* we believe through faith that idolatry is wrong
So we cast down he idols in our lives
If we believe that Jesus died on the cross we also must believe the things he said
Such as
Matthew 7:21 (NIV) 21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
If we believe he died for us we believe we must do his will
It’s all inclusive.
It’s a package deal
Doing his will doesn’t justify us.
We’ve already been justifies declared not guilty, and put in right standing with Him and his holy spirit resided in us why?
So we can live the righteous life!
And the one the does Gods will.
* We spend the time God gives us to help the poor not to earn righteousness
* But because our heart desires to help the poor
* We spend our time at church
* Not to earn righteousness
* But because we are righteous
* In right standing
* We use our gifts and talents to reach the lost
* Because it’s the righteous thing to do
* Its what God would do
* And he live sin you
* It’s a y product
* We use our time to prepare the saints for acts of service
* Are faith tells us that all should be ministering to others
* Dealing with their needs
* Leading them into a deeper relationship with Christ.
That’s saving faith.
A faith that says Lord God I have blown it.
I need you. I come to the cross accepting Jesus atonement.
I believe in this new righteousness.
Forgive me.
In turn I will live a new life that seeks out your righteousness in my daily life.
I will seek to be righteous in my deeds. I will seek to make them Holy and godly.
The early church never had the issue of people coming to church calling themselves believers that didn’t dedicate their whole life to the cause
It was very clear that the faith one needed in Christ included their whole commitment to Christianity.
They became a child of God, not just in word but in deed.
That’s the faith. That’s the righteousness that has been reveled.
True righteousness!
