Made Right

Reading: Romans 3; Psalm 62

20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. 21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.  (Romans 3:20–22 NLT)

Being Right: We all want to be right. I know I do. Not only to be right but to be seen by others as “being right.” We justify our attitudes, our work, and our behavior because something in us knows the difference between right and wrong and we want to be right. For some people the attempt to be right comes through keeping rules, for others through charitable deeds or making sacrifices, for others through manipulation, and for others through becoming powerful and enforcing their will (Might makes right!).

Being Right: The really big problem is that none of those things make us right in God’s eyes. We are all made right in God’s sight in exactly the same way, by trusting in Jesus Christ to take our sins from us and give his “right”eousness to us. No one gets right in God’s sight in any other way. No one gets right in God’s sight partly by keeping the rules, partly by doing charitable deeds, and partly by trusting in Jesus to take away sins.

Made Right: It’s all and only and ever that we are “made right” and never, ever that we make ourselves right—not even partly right. And no one is excluded from being made right in this exact same way—by trusting in Jesus Christ to make us right. No one gets right any other way. No one is excluded who trusts in Jesus Christ to take away sins, no matter what we’ve done. No one excluded—no matter what we’ve done!

Prayer:

Father, Thank you for completely leveling the ground so that it’s the same for everyone—that no one has an advantage over another and that no one is excluded. I trust in your son Jesus Christ to take away my sins. I trust in Jesus alone. I believe that as I acknowledge and confess my sins to you and trust in Jesus’ sacrifice for sin, I am made right in your sight. In Christ and Christ alone. Amen.