The Book Of Romans

The book of Romans is vast but we can learn two important thing...two things that are deeple embedded in Faith : Living a life of Righteousness by Faith and Living a life of Conviction of your Faith.

LIVING A LIFE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH

The day the Holy Spirit opened the eyes of my understanding to realize that my righteousness is by faith and not by works was a day of liberation. Now I know; because I have faith in Christ I am righteous. No wonder Paul wrote in Roman 1:17 (AMP)... "For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith]. As it is written, The man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith".

Righteousness, within the context of this discuss, means to have right standing with God....it means that God looks at me and smiles; all because I have faith...no wonder Paul said, in Hebrews 11:6, without faith it is impossible to please God. So because I receive righteousness by Faith in Christ God looks down on me and He is pleased.

To be honest, this sometimes is hard to believe. How can I be righteous... How can God look down on me and smile and declare I have right standing with Him just simple because I have faith. Didn't I just do this and that yesterday. No! It’s impossible! I need to do something. Maybe if I pray and fast 7 times a day I would be worthy. Does this mind struggle sound familiar?

Well if the was something I needed to do then grace and faith wouldn't have its perfect way and I would be bound under the law. This was the big mistake of the Jews. They thought something had to be done; but the gentiles simply believed and they immediately got access to the living God. Paul in Roman 10:1-3, expressed his grieve for the Jews who were blinded by the law or religion hence didn't receive.

It important to note that the Law is good but as Paul said in Roman 7:11(AMP)... "For sin, seizing the opportunity and getting a hold on me [by taking its incentive] from the commandment (law), beguiled and entrapped and cheated me, and using it [as a weapon], killed me. The Law therefore is holy, and [each] commandment is holy and just and good",

So the law is good but what it only does is to make us aware of sin nature of the flesh which only leads to condemnation. In the light of this Paul expressed his frustration in Roman 7:14-25. He explained how the desire of flesh (which is exposed by the law) is in constant tussle with the desire of the spirit. Verse 14 explained the fact that we are flesh and cannot live up to the expectation of the law by ourselves.

He then concluded that the only victory he has is in Christ; which means Christ is the fulfillment of the Law (Romans 10:4 AMP-"For Christ is the end of the Law [the limit at which it ceases to be, for the Law leads up to Him Who is the fulfillment of its types, and in Him the purpose which it was designed to accomplish is fulfilled. That is, the purpose of the Law is fulfilled in Him] as the means of righteousness (right relationship to God) for everyone who trusts in and adheres to and relies on Him)". This means our righteousness is in Christ Jesus!

Let’s quickly look at Abraham in Romans 4. He was called by God and was promised a son at an impossible age. But the Bible recorded in Genesis 15:6 that Abraham believed (or had faith) and it was credited to him as righteousness or accounted to him as righteousness. He didn't do anything but just believed or had faith. Also, to gain righteousness under the law you must be circumcised but not the case with faith because Father Abraham was circumcise after he was declared righteous by God.

What does this mean? It means....you must pray because you are righteous and not pray to be righteous....it means you must fast because you are righteous and not fast to be righteous.....its means you must do the right thing always because you have right standing with God and not do the right thing to have right standing with God. Your fasting, praying and doing the right things cannot make you any more righteous than you already are because you are either righteous or not!

LIVING A LIFE OF CONVICTION OF YOUR FAITH

In Romans 1:17b (NIV) Paul said the righteous would live by faith. In Heb10:38 (AMP), he wrote..."But the just shall live by faith [My righteous servant shall live by his conviction respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, and holy fervor born of faith and conjoined with it]; and if he draws back and shrinks in fear, My soul has no delight or pleasure in him". What those this mean?

Now the real question is: What is our personal conviction as a believers in Christ? This is an important question because this reflects, in your daily decision making and life style, your unique relationship with God in Christ Jesus. When you live your life by your personal conviction in Christ or on the Word of God you mature and eventually become who God intended you to be. The down side of not walking in you conviction is that you continue to follow the crowd and might end up not discovering your True Identity in Christ Jesus

My conviction is personal and unique with my relationship with God. This could be different from any fellow believer’s. Living a life of conviction is a higher level, way beyond the ‘Thou shall not....’ We all know that stealing is a sin. So making a decision to steal or not to steal is easy. But what about the subtle ones which aren't stated clearly in the bible; like should I smoke or not....should I drink alcohol or not...should I watch this TV program or not...should I read this book or not.

We live in a complex world whereby things aren't black and white hence a believer would need the Holy Spirit to reveal the mind of God based on their conviction. Awhile ago, the was a TV series I was enthralled with...I never missed it. Suddenly, I could feel in my spirit man that God wanted me to stop watching it because of the nature of the story which hindered my spiritual growth. God was out rightly telling me to stop watching the program. Now for me watching that program would be wrong but could be right for another believer.

In conclusion, YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS IS BASED ON YOUR FAITH IN THE FINISHED WORK AND NOT YOUR ACTION! So you do the right thing because you are righteous already and NOT do the right thing to be righteous. Also, as a believer you are required to live a life of the spirit which is a life of conviction in Jesus Christ.