Readings for today: Acts 20:1-3, Romans 1-4
“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:21-26)
I cannot think of a more stunning statement from a former Pharisee of Pharisees. In his former life, Paul was known as Saul. He was a zealous for the Jewish faith. Believed with all his heart in the sufficiently of the Torah to lead one to righteousness. He was passionate about guarding the traditions that had been handed down. He trusted in Yahweh and believed he’d been set apart to protect the true faith. So up the road he went to Damascus. On his way to persecute Christians. Drag them from their homes. Bring them back to Jerusalem. Put them on trial for blasphemy. He was breathing fire against the followers of Jesus. And then he met the Risen Christ. Popular tradition tells us the experience was so powerful it knocked from his horse. The Bible mentions no such thing but clearly something dramatic changed in Saul. He went from being the Grand Inquisitor of the Christian faith to being her greatest evangelist.
What happened? Simply put, the very righteousness Saul had spent his entire life pursuing “manifested itself apart from Torah.” As a Pharisee, Saul believed in the resurrection of the righteous. He believed Yahweh would make all things right by raising those who were faithful from the dead. He believed one became worthy of resurrection through faithfulness to Torah or the Law. This had nothing to do with “earning” one’s salvation but was more about identity. How did one identify as a faithful Jew in a pagan world? When Saul met the Risen Christ, he was immediately confronted with a problem. If Yahweh had raised Jesus from the dead then, by definition, Jesus was righteous. And if Jesus was the Righteous One, then Saul had misplaced his faith. In the presence of the Risen Christ, it suddenly dawned on him that all the Torah and the Prophets - essentially the Old Testament - pointed to Jesus as Messiah! And this meant that all those who placed their faith - not in Torah - but in Christ would be “righteoused” or justified.
This changes everything for Saul. He changes his name. He changes the course of his life. He essentially does a 180 degree turn. What about us? Most of us are probably Gentiles, meaning we haven’t dedicated our lives to pursuing Torah-faithfulness. But all of us have dedicated our lives to something. It could be our jobs. It could be our lifestyles. It could be our kids. It could be ourselves. Whatever “it” is, it becomes a law unto itself. Subconsciously, we believe if we remain faithful to this “law” in our lives then we will be righteous. Then we meet the Risen Christ. And he displaces the “law” in our hearts. He becomes the only source of true righteousness in our lives. Faithfulness to Him means believing in His finished work. Trusting in the sufficiency of His grace. Surrendering our lives into His hands. All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Frankly, all of us have sinned and fallen short of our own “law” as well. None of us is righteous not even in our own eyes if we are completely honest. All of us stand in need of the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. All of us stand in need of the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross. All of us stand in need of the justification that can only come by faith. Thanks be to God for He has sent His beloved Son into the world for this very purpose!
Readings for tomorrow: Romans 5-8