May the mumbling commence!
What did the Law call for? To state it simply: perfection, to do all things by the Law. Paul tells us in Romans chapter ten that it is theoretically right but humanly impossible to practice. Thank the Lord that there is another way. Read from Romans chapter ten:
Moses writes of righteousness-by-the-Law when he says that 'the man who does those things shall live by them' – which is theoretically right but impossible in practice.
But righteousness-by-faith says something like this: 'Do not say in your heart, Who will ascend into heaven?' to bring Christ down to us, or 'who will descend into the abyss' to bring him up from the dead? 'The word is near you, even in your mouth and in your heart'.
It is the secret of faith, which is the burden of our preaching, and it says, in effect, "If you openly admit by your own mouth that Jesus Christ is the Lord, and if you believe in your own heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
For it is believing in the heart that makes a man righteous before God, and it is stating his belief by his own mouth that confirms his salvation. And the scripture says: 'Whoever believes on him will not be put to shame'.
And that "whoever" means anyone, without distinction between Jew or Greek. For all have the same Lord, whose boundless resources are available to all who turn to him in faith. For:
'Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved'. (Verses 5-13)
What is that other way to righteousness? The path of faith is Christ. We must know that way. How are we to get to know Christ? Paul tells us that the Word of God is near us. It is on our mouths and in our hearts.
The sad part is that we do not know what is so near us. Sometimes we mistake it for something else. Billy Graham once said that everyone has a God-shaped hole in their heart. We try to fill that emptiness with so many things – food, money, possessions, human relationships, drugs, knowledge, and power.
But, if we welcome God into that hole in us, we will have many of the things we need – food, money, possessions, relationship, knowledge and power. God will transform these things into the goodness that we so rightly need. Any of these things without God is an empty pursuit.
How does this process of God filling us begin? It begins in our hearts. We know in our hearts that Christ is Lord. But knowing is not enough. We say with our mouths that the Lord Christ saves. And knowing and saying can lead to doing. Knowing and saying and doing can lead other people to the Lord of all.
That is righteousness by faith. Let us pursue it with all our being – together.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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