DIG for Saturday the 13th of June…..this is a verse to really get excited about…..Romans 3 v 28

OK, I have to admit that I am on a bit of a Romans “fix” at the moment.

I was sitting reading through Romans in Lincoln Cathedral this morning and was stopped in my tracks when reading near the end of Romans 3.

The famous verse (and the ones leading up to it) that stopped Martin Luther in his tracks seemed to have an extra excitement for me today.

I’ve always loved reading about righteousness (especially my own righteousness through faith in Jesus) but this morning it seemed “extra” special to me.

They had a real emotional effect on me, and I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes whilst reading about how I was righteous through faith in Jesus, and that this was available for every single person.

This was both exciting and sad, and in hindsight I think this was what was impacting on me most.

Righteousness, or acceptance from and right standing with God, is a free gift through grace.

As it is a free gift there are no works to be done, no hoops to jump through, no religious performance standards to pass; it is free.

And it is free to every person who wants it and will accept it (Romans 3 v 22).

That is why it is sad; sad as many people will go to eternity not accepting this free gift.

God has made this a free gift available through His grace (Romans 5 v 15 to 17).

People may say that there is no such thing as a free lunch; well there is in true Christianity as righteousness is free.

Now is that not something to get excited about?

That is good news, almost too good to be true; but it is true!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that as a gift of grace through faith in Jesus I have been justified, made righteous in your eyes and accepted into your family”.

Romans 3 v 28…..Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law

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DIG for Friday the 12th of June…..your position with God is defined by faith not by actions…..Romans 5 v 1

Well, I’ve been meditating on Romans 5 v 1 since I read it last night, what an awesome verse!

Reading before and after this verse reminded me how amazing the Book of Romans is and how it is time that I really studied it again.

Romans is fundamentally all about the finished work of Jesus Christ; it is the best book (in my opinion) to give us basic doctrine around justification and righteousness.

Romans 5 v 1 tells us this truth in what today could be called a “sound bite”; a phrase that encapsulates the whole epistle.

To justify means to render righteous and also to declare or proclaim that one is righteous.

Justification comes through faith, faith in Jesus Christ.

This verse declares the Gospel in all its simplicity.

If you have faith in Jesus Christ (who He is and what He has done) God has made you righteous and God has declared you righteous.

This does not say will make righteous if you have good religious performance, it says faith in Jesus means you are made righteous.

This is the same as we see in 2 Corinthians 5 v 17 to 21 (go and read that now and see that this is true; you have been made righteous).

What a marvellous Gospel, what amazing grace; that simply by faith in Jesus you were made right in the eyes of God, and was fully accepted by Him.

This is something to meditate upon again and again; even now I can feel a puzzled expression coming on my face as it just seems too good to be true!

Our position with God in terms of acceptability (whether we are righteous or not) is all to do with faith (faith in Jesus) and nothing to do with what we do.

Our position with God is defined by our beliefs rather than our actions.

That is good news!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that as a gift of grace through faith I am righteous in your eyes and have complete acceptance from you”.

Romans 5 v 1…..Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ