Lesson for 7/17

Hey all, the Sunday school lesson for tomorrow comes from Romans 3:21-31. Its titled "God Sets Things Right." Our lesson continues on in our series where Paul is addressing the Jews of Rome. As a brief recap, we recall the Jews of that time and how they withheld the Mosaic Law to the highest standard; they were self-righteous and believed their works alone would give them eternal life. Here we find Paul in verse 21 saying, "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." Verse 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. For all have sinned, and come short of the Glory of God. Verse 24, "Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins." To pause for a moment, again we recall the Jews of that time who did not want to believe Paul's teaching here. They were still stuck on obeying the law and refused to believe Jesus was the Messiah. They felt Paul's teaching of "grace" gave people free reign to do what they wanted; If we look at Ephesians 2:8 we see that  "For by GRACE you have been saved through FAITH, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." Again, the Jews of that time were big on their self-righteousness; Paul reminds them that as Jews, they are no better than the Gentiles. Verse 25 "For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.." God declares sinners to be right in His sight when they believe in Jesus. Can we boast that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, verse 27-28 brings out that is not based on obeying the law. Its based on faith! Whether Jew or Gentile, there is only one, and He makes people right with himself by faith! As we reflect on what Paul is saying, let us note that it is not about our works, or self-righteousness, but it's about what Jesus did! We can't make it on our own strength, but our trust should be in God, through Christ Jesus! God sets things right, in the midst of any and everything that may be transpiring in our lives, and in this world right now. We must have faith that God is in control, "for without faith, it is impossible to please God." - Hebrews 11:6.

Thanks for reading, God bless!!