Let’s not be ignorant of God’s righteousness.

Romans 10:2-3 Having told his readers of his love for his brethren Paul continued to say, “For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.” We learn from Paul that it is possible for someone to have religious zeal, but be ignorant of God’s gift of righteousness. In fact, often it is the case that those ignorant of the gift of righteousness available through Jesus Christ, are more zealous than those who have Jesus’ righteousness. When you think you have to establish your own standing with God by what you do and don’t do, you’re motivated to make impressive sacrifices. As we live to love with Jesus, we are not seeking to establish our own righteousness before God. We live because Jesus lives. We have submitted ourselves to the humble position of being recipients of His love and the gift of righteousness, not based upon our hard work for Jesus, but based upon the love of God revealed to us in Him. When we have the knowledge that God never intended for us to be accepted by Him on the basis of our works, and that our mortal flesh was assigned by God to be weak and helpless, we are in a position to receive His love and the gift of righteousness by faith. Not only that, but having received God’s love as a gift, we are also prepared to live to love with Jesus. We recognize that we live because He lives. His life is in us. His righteousness is ours. We are full and lacking nothing. Therefore, we have His life as a source of love for everyone He puts in our paths. May we live out of His fullness today, knowing and applying the truth of the gospel to our lives. Let’s also be on the lookout for opportunities to tell those we love of God’s righteousness, given as a free gift in Jesus Christ to those who believe. Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com