Romans 3:10
10 As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one..."
This is a simple and truthful verse. There is no way to escape the truthfulness in these words. Nobody measures up to God's standards. Every single person is guilty of falling short of God's standards as well as defacing God's truths. We are told not to steal, yet we take extra long lunch breaks. We are ordered not to lust, but we catch a glimpse or more of the girl or guy who is in the next checkout line. We are instructed to not put any other "god" before our God, but we consume hours of internet and hours of TV without even touching our Bibles or praying to our Lord.
You may think though, I have been going to church since I was 7, I am righteous. No, you're not. It doesn't matter how long you've been attending church. You may say, well I have stopped sleeping around with my classmates and I have stopped drinking and smoking, that makes me righteous right? No, it doesn't. To live out God's instructions and and will without flaw is to be righteous...and none of us do that. All people have gone astray. None of us are righteous...and that places us in a tight spot.
See in Romans 1:18 it says, "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness..."
God could have it out for us, for our unrighteousness enrages Him. The wrath of God is capable to destroy us and send us to hell. Scary though huh?
Rewind just one verse back though. Verse 17 states, "For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
In the word of God, righteousness is revealed. The gospel reveals that Christ made an escape route from the grips of hell and the wrath of God, in that if we believe, faithfully, that Christ died and rose again, he will save us. God demands righteousness in our lives. Through us, we cannot achieve righteousness. God provides this righteousness though...what love our Father has for us.
Surprisingly, we still have a pride issue. We care too much of what people think. We should be spreading this good news to everyone. We should talk about it at dinner. We are ashamed though. We hide it because it makes us uncomfortable and probably makes other people uncomfortable. I don't want to be a minority in a conversation. Paul has something to say about this...
Romans 1:16
"I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes..."
Christ took the cross to save us from the wrath of God. I need to take the pride down and ready myself to share this with those I come in contact with. The gospel is called the Good News for a reason. We dance around the subject as if we are breaking the news to someone that they have just been diagnosed with a severe illness or disease. Rightfully so in that case. No one wants to deliver bad news. This is the crazy part though...
The anger and wrath of God (the severe illness or disease) is cured (by faith in Christ Jesus). The good news is that there is a cure. Why would we hide that?
People are dying of a severe disease. There is a cure. We must share it with them...
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