Verse: Romans 3:19-20
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
Devotion:
Stay with me here. We’re going to dive into these verses to help us set the stage for tomorrow’s devotional. Show up again tomorrow to get the whole picture (and the encouragement)! These verses are Paul summarizing the point being made in the beginning of this chapter before he moves onto his next big point.
The verses start with Paul identifying who the law is meant for—he states that the law is meant for ALL of those under His law—the whole world. God has dominion over the whole world, all of us. All of mankind falls short and sins, therefore we are all guilty before God. Not one of us is able to live a blameless, sinless life to the standard of the law set before us. Paul is also emphasizing that the law is meant for both Jew and Gentile. Many Jewish people were holding Gentiles to the standard of the law but not holding themselves to the same standard. Paul is making it clear that no one is above the law and God’s word.
The next part stated that no one will be justified by deeds of the law. The law cannot save us. It will not bridge our gap to the Lord. We can try to be as “good” as possible, we can try to avoid sin, but no amount of trying and deeds will justify us in the sight of the Lord. The law isn’t meant to give us a list of deeds to make us “better”. Rather, it brings us awareness to our own sin. Throughout the history of the Bible, starting with Adam and Eve, people try to do good deeds to justify themselves to God. There are no amount of good works that can be done to erase sin in our lives. The good news that comes with that? Take a deep breath. We are not perfect. We cannot be perfect. We will never be able to be perfect. Does that take the pressure off, or does that upset you?
If you’re like me, maybe it does both. It’s hard to know that no matter how hard we try, we will never be perfect. No amount of effort will fix it, thank God that isn’t where our story ends. We don’t need to be perfect because we have a perfect Savior. God didn’t leave us in our brokenness, separated from Him. We have the good news of Jesus to cover our multitude of sins so that we may not be separated from God. Our good news will pick up and continue from here tomorrow!
Prayer:
Lord, thank you for reminders of my need for You. Thank you for releasing me from the pressure of having to try to be perfect. But, I know that I don’t need to be because I have freedom in You. You paid the ultimate price to cover my sins and buy my freedom. Lord, help me to feel that freedom today. Thank you for not leaving me in my depravity, but for always meeting me where I am. Help me to keep my eyes set on You. Amen
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