Faith Is More Than A Word

Romans 3:30 – 31 -   God treats us all the same; all, whether Jews or Gentiles, are acquitted if they have faith.  Well then, if we are saved by faith, does this mean that we no longer need obey God’s laws? Just the opposite! In fact, only when we trust Jesus can we truly obey him.

 

Paul has the difficult job of trying to explain that even though the Jews were chosen to be God’s special people...they no longer have the only ticket to salvation.  God may have entrusted them first with His law…but when Jesus …the Messiah…was born from that culture...the specific line of David…he opened a door of faith for all to believe and become part of the family of God. 

 

God treats all people the same…He requires only that we develop a faith in Him that changes our concept of obeying His law. Faith is so important in developing a relationship with God. I love the way my Life Application Commentary explained it’s significance.  First….faith eliminates human pride.  Next…it exalts God. Faith also makes salvation possible. Exploring faith at its deepest levels helps us admit that we can’t keep the law on our own.  Our belief is based on our relationship with God…not on performance for God.

 

I admit that my faith is still in the growing stages. I could beat myself up every time I pray for wasting so much of my early Christian years acting just like the Jews that Paul was trying to help understand that they were not entitled to anything…just because they were Jews. The name…the title of Christian did me no good until I began to develop a relationship with God that showed me that my faith is what helps me conquer the bad in my world.  And….The older I get...the more I experience of the world…the more I need God’s power to give me peace and contentment like Paul.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that I am in daily need of building as much faith in you as I can.  Forgive me for the times that I lean a little too much on myself…and forget that trusting you with everything will always turn out better in the end.  Help me to daily ask you for a greater portion of faith than I had the day before…so that I too can battle temptations and the struggles of this world with you always by my side. Amen.