RIGHTEOUSNESS THROUGH FAITH Devotion 1 of 24 With great power, the Spirit has established the universal guilt of sin. Without the Law, yet with the powerful testimony of both creation and conscience, the Gentile world lived in sin – totally dominated by it (Rom 1:19-32). They failed to seek the Lord as they were appointed and positioned to do (Acts 17:26), creating idols, and refusing to be thankful (Rom 1:21-23). -- Tomorrow:
"But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." (Rom 3:21-26)
The Jews also were subjected to the unwavering and consistent testimony of creation. Additionally, they also received the more extensive testimony of the Law. Nature did not identify sin – but the Law did. Nature pronounced neither blessing nor cursing – but the Law did. Nature presented no intelligent shadows or types that declared a coming Redeemer – but the Law did. Yet, the Jews also were dominated by sin, often falling into precisely the same sins as the Gentiles, who had neither Law nor promise (Rom 2:17-29). All have sinned!
As if this were not enough, the testimony of God Himself is brought before us. Assessing the totality of humanity with an omniscient eye He concludes, "There is NONE righteous, no, NOT ONE one: There is NONE that understandeth, there is NONE that seeketh after God. They are ALL gone out of the way, they are TOGETHER become unprofitable; there is NONE that doeth good, no, NOT ONE" (3:10-12).
All of this is intended to remove all hope in the flesh. Every person will eventually confront the Creator, and that is a confrontation that is Divinely appointed, and can by no means be avoided. Nothing that was resident in Adam can prepare us for that inevitability. Time has confirmed this to be the case.
The outlining of moral responsibilities has also proved inadequate for the required preparation. Whatever may be said of the human intellect, it is not equal to this task. However precious the human "will" may be, it is not capable of making a decision on its own that will enable one to pass Divine scrutiny. Human emotion, upon which so much human activity is built, cannot equip us to stand before the Lord of glory. Intellect, will, and emotion are impotent to change our condition. They cannot remove a single transgression, make us clean, or induce a vivifying hope within us. However unpalatable this may be to men, it is nevertheless true. The totality of the Gentile world confirms the condition, as well as the total history of the Jews. We need a righteousness from God. We cannot do without it, for we cannot develop one of our own.
YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN
This entire section of Scripture is an exposition of Jesus' poignant words, "You MUST be born again" (John 3:7). The delineation of the dominance of sin over both Gentile and Jew confirms, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" (John 3:6). The fact that "there is none righteous, no not one" substantiates that "the flesh profits nothing" (John 6:63).
The entirety of the Adamic order has been repudiated by God. Even the totality of the natural order has been "made subject to vanity," or subjected to mortality (Rom 8:20). Whatever gains its effectiveness from natural resources is powerless to bring a person one millimeter closer to God. Such things, regardless of their acclaimed superiority, have no effect whatsoever in altering the will, removing sin, or making the conscience pure.
Having said this, I am compelled to observe that a considerable amount of professed religious expertise relies completely upon natural resources – "the natural man" (1 Cor 2:14). Organization has no power to purge the conscience from dead works. Scholarship cannot enhance fellowship with God. Language expertise cannot liberate the soul from the dominion of sin. The accreditation of the most prestigious university in the world cannot write one's name in heaven. As simplistic as that may appear, the religious structure of our Western culture has managed to obscure the reality of these things.
It is not necessary for difficult and oppressive circumstances to be the means of recognizing the poverty of the flesh. The Word of God can convince us that in our flesh "dwells no good thing" (Rom 7:18).
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for revealing the absolute moral and spiritual impotence of everything in the domain of nature.