In Christ Alone

This morning I am reading from Paul's letter to the Romans 9:30-32 NIV:

[30] "What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; [31] but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. [32] Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone."

Paul's thinking here is very clear. As he has said before it is by faith not works, faith not religion, that we attain righteousness. This is only possible when we unite ourselves to Christ and receive His righteousness. There is no amount of sacrifice or good deeds that can ever achieve righteous perfection for us. The only way is through faith, entering into relationship with Jesus and receiving from Him His righteousness.

This is why Jesus is the only path to the Father, the only way to Heaven, the only Savior. He is the only one who has achieved righteousness before the Father. He is the only one who made the perfect sacrifice for all our sins. He is the only one who fulfilled the requirements of the Law. He is the only one who was looked for throughout scripture, perfectly fulfilling the Father's plan.

Our beliefs in these truths are founded on the belief that the Father is the One and only true God. There are not other Gods of similar status, as the Greeks and other religions would believe. He is the one supreme God and He has provided one way in Christ Jesus.

There is no way to heaven through works and good intentions, but only through faith in Jesus. We can have all the best intentions, be good and nice people and yet not attain eternal life. We can go to church and fulfill all the religious works and not attain eternal life. There were people of Israel who pursued perfection, had great intentions and lived relatively blameless lives, racking up tons of good will, good works and having the intention of following God, but they were unable to attain perfection. Our actions alone will never meet the requirements of perfection. It is only through faith in Jesus and relationship with Him that we will succeed.

We recognize this, not so that we can proudly proclaim that our way is the only way, and judge all who don't believe this. Rather our hearts should be torn for those whom don't believe, as Paul said in the earlier verses in this chapter. "I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel." (Rom 9:2-4a). This should be our heart for all the unsaved world. Their's is a path of futility and frustration if they pursue a place in Heaven apart from relationship with Christ. Our hearts should break for them and our desire should be to help them find Jesus, their only true hope.

There are many who have believed the deception of the enemy, rejecting God, believing Him to be angry and full of judgment, and rejecting all that is fun and fulfilling. I have even heard people say they can't wait for the party in hell because that is where all the fun people are going. What a sad deception they live under. Again our belief is based on the Word of God concerning hell, final judgment and the eternal agonies that will be suffered by those assigned to that place.

Our hearts, again, should never be proud concerning our own salvation, for we did nothing to earn it, other than recognize our own need for a savior. It is in the place of humility that we understand our own sinfulness and inability to attain eternal life on our own, so how could we ever look down on those who haven't recognized this in their own lives. We were once in their same position, and God in His mercy called us out of that and saved us, and applied His own righteousness to our lives. We didn't earn it, Jesus did, and He distributes it freely to all who would receive it.

So, let us be thankful and grateful beyond words for our salvation which comes to us through faith in Christ Jesus. Let us also pray diligently for the same grace to be extended to those we know who have yet to receive the gift of salvation. Let us live our lives in such a way that they see our relationship with God bearing good fruit in our lives and desire the same in their own lives.