I try to start each week with a devotional. This week, I touch on the book of Romans and how we are justified by God and not the law.
Paul is one of the most important people in Christianity because he helped spread the gospel by preaching in different lands and by writing much of the Bible.
Paul wrote the Book of Romans because he wanted to travel further west, possibly to Spain, to preach, and he needed the support of the people in Rome.
Dr. Bill Mounce says, “The book of Romans is the most systematic presentation of the gospel in the entire New Testament.”
In the first chapter of Romans, Paul writes, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”
The gospel is the story of Jesus and how he died for our sins and was resurrected, and because of this, we can have faith that God will take care of us. Life won’t always be easy, and we will suffer and find ourselves in the pit, but the righteous person will live by faith with the belief that the righteous will one day be rewarded.
In Habakkuk 3:17 it is written, “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.”
Faith is having hope – a belief that something good is going to happen to you and through – because we believe in God and His power.
Faith is surrendering your pride, seeking God first, doing what you can, and trusting that God will do the rest.
No matter what you are going through today, take joy in the God of our salvation. Find peace knowing that He will give you everything you need. Have courage knowing that He is walking beside you, fighting your battles with you. Have joy knowing that in the end, you will be victorious. Have love because He commands that we love ourselves and love our neighbor.
The best part about God’s salvation is that we get it because we believe in Him, not because of who we are and what we do.
The Bible is full of stories where people fall short in trying to please God and the punishment they receive for it, starting with the story of Adam and Eve in the garden, and their sons, Cain and Able.
Romans 3:20-22, says, “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it – the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.”
We can’t be justified in the eyes of God by our works alone; that is why Jesus is so important. We are made right in God’s eyes because of Jesus. When He died on the cross, He took with Him our sins. He showed how we are supposed to live. He sacrificed everything for us.
Now, because of Him, we can do all things if we believe.
Have hope.
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