We are remarkably good at measuring ourselves. We measure our success against our neighbors. We compare our accomplishments with our coworkers. We notice who seems farther ahead financially, professionally, relationally, or even spiritually.
Sometimes we carry that same habit into our relationship with God. We imagine a kind of spiritual yardstick. We look at the good things we have done, the mistakes we have avoided, the church services we have attended, or the ways we compare with someone else. Then we quietly hope we have measured up.
Romans 3 gives us a very different picture. The Apostle Paul writes that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Then comes the good news: we "are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:23-24). Christianity begins with the recognition that none of us measures up on our own. The ground is level at the foot of the cross. Every one of us falls short, and every one of us needs grace. But Romans 3 is not ultimately a message about how badly we have failed. It is a message about what God has done. God does not tell us to try a little harder, climb a little higher, or improve our spiritual score. He points us to Jesus.
At the cross, God dealt seriously with our sin while demonstrating the depth of His love. Jesus gave Himself so that sinners could be forgiven, restored, and brought into relationship with God. Through Christ we are offered a new standing, a new identity, and a new hope.
And how do we receive this gift? By faith. Romans 3:28 says, "a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law." We do not earn our way to God. We trust the One who has already come to us. That means we can finally put down the yardstick. We do not have to spend our lives proving that we are better than someone else. We do not have to carry the exhausting burden of trying to make ourselves acceptable to God. Jesus has done for us what we could never do for ourselves.
So where is your faith today? Faith is only as good as the object in which it rests. Do not place your confidence in your accomplishments, morality, reputation, or ability to hold everything together. Place your trust in Jesus.
Word in Faith is a collaboration of Wayne Association of Congregations and Ministers (WACAM), an organization partially funded by the Wayne Community Chest.
