Readings for today: 1 Chronicles 22-23, Romans 3:9-31, Psalms 12, Proverbs 19:13-14
All of us live under the Law of God. All of us are accountable for every thought, word, and deed. All of us will stand before the judgment seat of Christ where every part of our lives will be laid bare. Nothing will be hidden. Nothing held back. Nothing will escape God’s notice. For He sees all and knows all and judges all with righteousness.
Reflecting on the Law of God produces humility. It brings us to our knees. It stops every mouth. It ends every rationalizing and self-justifying thought. The purpose of the Law is to show us the depths of our sin. It holds a mirror up to our soul. It reflects back to us the reality that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. None are righteous. None understand. None truly seek God. All turn aside. All go their own way. All do what is right in their own eyes. Our thoughts are prone to deceit. Our lips prone to bitterness and curses. Our feet swift to shed blood, get revenge, take out our anger on those around us. Our paths are lined with the bodies of those we’ve hurt and wounded along the way. We do not fear God. We do not love God. We have no peace with God. This is the fundamental truth of our existence. We were conceived in sin. Born in iniquity. And there is no escape.
Many years ago, I took some classes on psychology. One of the experiments had to do with learned helplessness. As I remember it, an animal was put in a box with the lid closed and given a shock. Because it could not escape, it eventually stopped trying. It simply endured. Even after the lid was removed, it would not jump out. It “learned helplessness.” In many ways, that is the intended purpose of the Law of God. To teach us how utterly helpless and hopeless we are to save ourselves. We live in a closed system. A world corrupted by sin. There is no escape. The lid is too tight. We cannot get out. Our only hope is that the Master will come and save us from our broken condition.
This is what Paul is pointing us to this morning. The righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the Law! It is a righteousness available through faith to all who believe in Jesus Christ! This righteousness is a gift. It cannot be earned. It cannot achieved. It cannot be gained. It can only be received. God knows the broken condition of our world. He sees the helplessness of His creatures. He understands our hopeless condition. So He sends His Son to atone for our sin and to show forth His righteousness that God might both be just and the justifier of the one who believes.
The good news of the gospel is that God has done what we could not! He has achieved what we never could! He has kept the Law! He has fulfilled the Law! He has satisfied the Law with its demands! And now He simply calls us to believe Him. To trust in what He has accomplished on our behalf! Trust Jesus, friends! For your life! For your future! For our nation and for our world!
Readings for tomorrow: 1 Chronicles 24:1-26:11, Romans 4:1-12, Psalms 13, Proverbs 19:15-16