Conscious
Of Our Sin
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.
But now apart from the
law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the
Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to
all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his
grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as
a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by
faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance
he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate
his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who
justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires
works? No, because of the law that requires faith. For we maintain that
a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
Romans
3:19-28
We all have sinned. We
know that, we understand that. We also know that just being aware of our sin is
not enough. There are not enough good things we can do to get around that. We
have to admit our sin, and ask for forgiveness.
The
cross of Christ bridges the gap we could never cross on our own.
Our
Daily Bread – November 19, 2012