Romans 3:21 says,” But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,…”. In the Old Testament, the laws had to be obeyed from A to Z in order to make a man righteous. And Deuteronomy 28 says that only a person who obeyed the Law fully would be blessed. None other than Jesus could obey the whole Law and fulfill them. But what a beautiful provision God made for us ;now when we believe in Jesus, all those blessings come to our lives freely through Christ. Further down, Romans 8:3,4 says, ” For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

It says, that what the Law could not do, God did for us. How did God do it for us? He did it by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh for our sins. Jesus became sin for us that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us . And it is fulfilled in us, when we keep in step with the Holy Spirit and not according to the flesh. The righteous requirement of the Law was to obey the Law fully and now a person who believes in Jesus and who is led by the Holy Spirit has this requirement fulfilled in him. Righteousness came as a gift from God.

Let’s read Romans 2:4 where it says ,” Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” which means that the riches of God’s goodness always leads us to repentance. When Jesus gave Peter a humongous catch of fish that overloaded 2 boats, it led to repentance in Peter. He didn’t go after the catch, but instead fell at Jesus’ knees and cried out,”Depart from me, for I am a sinful man , O Lord!” This shows that as God’s goodness in us abounds, the more it leads us to repentance.We are not blessed because we are good, but because He is good.

– Tangu Bro
(to be continued…)