The Gentiles in Rome had put their faith in Jesus. They had walked away from their godless lives and were trying to live lives that glorified God. However, the Jewish religious leaders insisted they follow a detailed set of rules to be considered righteous. You must be circumcised. You must not eat this kind of meat. Do this. Don’t do that. The Roman Christians were confused and concerned. They knew they could not keep these rules perfectly. But Paul wanted them to understand that it wasn’t what they did that made them righteous in God’s eyes. It was only saving faith in Jesus Christ that could do that.
We face similar confusing messages today. The world is full of religions and ideologies that tell us if we do enough right things and avoid enough wrong things, we’ll make the cut. But the truth is, we can never do enough. We’ll never be good enough to save ourselves.
Paul never disregarded the law or downplayed sin. God’s law matters. Obeying it glorifies Him and blesses us. But the only way the law can save us is if we keep it perfectly, and we cannot. Only Jesus did that, so only faith in His completed work on the cross accomplishes our righteousness.
For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. – 2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV
Salvation in Christ alone has always been God’s plan.
Hundreds of years before Jesus walked the earth, King David recognized his need for a Savior. David had absolute faith in God. He faced lions, giants, and a vengeful king, yet he knew God was good and he fully depended on Him. He loved God’s law and desired to obey it with all his heart, but he messed up big time. When he tried to ignore his sin and act as if it never happened, he was miserable. But when he acknowledged his sin and repented, he was forgiven.
David trusted God to be gracious and merciful. He trusted in the righteousness of God that was credited to sinners like him.
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” Romans 4:7-8 ESV (From Psalm 32)
So, what do we do when we blow it?
The road to forgiveness is the same today as it was then.
1 – Acknowledge your sin before God. Call it what it is. Don’t sugarcoat it or downplay it.
2 – Confess and repent. Turn away from sin and towards God.
3 – Trust God, in Christ, to forgive you.
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:8-9 ESV
Sins confessed are sins forgiven! Even when you blow it, God is faithful. He has offered immediate and eternal forgiveness when you put your faith in Jesus Christ. When you are honest about the sin in your life, it loses its power over you. You are once and for all forgiven in Christ and set free from the chains of sin.
If you’re stuck in a cycle of regret, repent, repeat, you need to be reminded that Jesus died to save you and He rose again to set you free. Don’t allow the enemy to convince you you’re stuck. My 30-day devotional “Delivered! Destroying Strongholds & Walking in Freedom” will show you what a journey to freedom looks like. (Now available to download for free on Kindle Unlimited.)
