Romans 9:33-10:4: What Faith Really Is
- Lance Lefler
- Sep 4, 2011
- Series: the Gospel
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Every person ever born is naturally a religious do-it-yourselfer. We feel guilt and want to get rid of it, or at least squash it.
In this passage of Romans the Apostle Paul makes the astonishing comment that the Gentiles attained righteousness (though they didn't seek it) and Israel didn't (though they did seek it).
Why??
Because Israel, while zealously observing the law of God, did not do it by faith. Israel tried to establish their own righteousness--they tried to impress God with their goodness.
Sound familiar? Maybe this isn't your problem, exactly, but think about what they did. They tried to be good enough to be accepted by God, to earn marks with God, to get some pull in heaven. In so doing they missed Jesus, rejecting him and his free gift of eternal life.
They missed him with good works.
The gospel of Jesus cuts against our grain right there, telling us that our works will not merit us anything with God. God already created a way for us to get right with him, through the death of Jesus Christ for our sins.
This is as important for the daily Christian life as it is for someone who is just becoming a Christian. The Christian life is a life of grace, empowered by the Spirit of God to trust, love and obey him. But our temptation will be to throw up some good works (especially right after we sin really bad) to make God like us.