Rendered Righteous

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

RENDERED RIGHTEOUS

Rom 5:18-21

18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. 20 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

NIV          

This is sort of the conclusion of this argument, yet there is still more to come regarding salvation coming to us through faith and faith alone. Paul makes it clear that it was because of the first man, Adam, that sin has come into our lives. Many denominations have made a distinction between original and personal sin. This original sin is what we are born with because of the one man. This is where we can agree that not a single person on the earth who has ever lived, is living, and will ever live, has any righteousness, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Paul says this is the result of the one man. Is that the original or our personal sin? Is there a real difference? Can we ask forgiveness for the original sin we were born with and thus not have to worry about our personal sin? How can that be, as sin is sin, no matter what type it is? This would also apply to all sin, whether we hate someone, which would mean not loving them, which Jesus equates to murder, or we gossip, which seems harmless in a sense, both are sins, equally making us guilty of disobedience to God, and require repentance, which is simply changing the way we think, and looking to Jesus for the forgiveness of our sin. For as we were already condemned by the one man, we are now set free from that penalty of death, by the one man, Jesus, who gives us life. It is by grace, the gracious act of God, that Jesus brought us eternal life. We cannot earn it, make it more than a gift, by working for it, or by trying to pay it back through our good deeds. This is not to say, we should not do good things for the kingdom of God as a response to the love of God. Most of us believers are involved in service to the kingdom in one way or another. It is what we do, but it is simply from our love for God that we do what we do. It has nothing to do with enhancing our eternal life which is a free gift of God. However, as Paul also makes it clear, we will not ever be free from sin on this side of heaven and thus God’s grace will always increase because of our continual sin. We know the next statement very well about sinning so grace may abound, and we will deal with that in time, but for now, let us rejoice that we are under the grace of God and that through Jesus Christ we have been designated as righteous. Although many translate the Greek word kathistemi as made, the more wooden translation would be designated or rendered. Thus, we may not actually be righteous, or made righteous, but because we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and we are in him and he in us, God renders us as righteous. We can praise him for he has declared, or rendered us righteous, not by our works, but by our faith in Jesus.