Romans 3

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v10-12) No one is righteous, not even one and none of us do any good

  • Paul is telling the Romans that both Jews and Gentiles are equally sinners
  • Similarly, just because Christ has revealed himself to me, doesn't make me any better than any non-Christians
  • Also - I am not better of a 'Christian' just because my devotional life, or passion for Christ might be higher than a brother or sister
v20) Through works of the law, none of us will be justified because through the law comes knowledge of sin
  • Salvation through works alone will never save us
  • We cannot hope to 'rescue' or 'gain' our salvation through works
v21) However the righteousness of Christ has been manifest apart from the law

  • God's righteousness is no longer solely tied with obeying the law
  • Instead it is through something else
v23-24) All have fallen short of God's standard and are only justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ
  • God's righteousness is given to us by grace through Christ 
  • We are only saved because Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice e.g. we can never earn our own salvation
v28) We are Justified by faith apart from works of the law
  • We are saved by faith alone
  • Justification is 100% God - 0% us
v31) We don't just disobey the law because we have faith now - on the contrary, we are called to obey the law out of love
  • Paul warns that just because we have been justified doesn't mean we can live however we want to live
  • No, Paul wants calls us to live accordingly to the law - without the shackles and chains of sin
  • Sanctification is still 100% God - 100% us 
Application:
  1. Reminded that nothing I can do will earn my salvation - no matter how much I serve, how good of a boyfriend I am, how much I give - nothing I can do will get me into heaven. 
  2. Instead I need to reflect daily at the cross and forgiveness I have received and my works should be a response of obedience

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