Daily Devotional for Sunday, February 9

Righteousness Comes by Faith

"But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteous­ ness. Wherefore? Because they soughtit not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;'Romans 9:31, 32.

When Jesus called Paul into service, Jesus told Ananias in a vision, "Go thy way: for he is achosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel" (Acts 9:15). Even though Paul hadbeen calledby God to preach the gospel primarily to the Gentiles, he never lost his desire to see his Jewish brethren saved. He understood that righteousness that is not of faithisnot true righteousness. Anything that we do to try to obtain salvation is actually self-righteousness. Paul had all the appropriate credentials according to the Jews, but he was not in aright relationship with God until he accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior, ''And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of Godby faith" (Philippians 3:9). Paul knew that the Jews could not be saved until they placed their faith in Jesus Christ instead of the works of the Law.

This was proven by the Gentiles, including many in the churches of Galatia, "What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith" (Romans 9:30).

We cannot be righteous by our efforts. God declared that "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). There is nothing you or I can do to be righteous in the sight of God, except to trust in His Son Jesus as our Savior. "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

CHALLENGE

Jesus did everything for us; not the other way around, "He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord" (1Corinthians 1:31).

Chris Floyd