Romans 3:29
Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also,
There is no other way to the Father than through faith in Jesus and in Him whom sent Him. We are saved only by faith in the works of salvation in Jesus the Christ who willingly gave up His life to save ours. There is no longer Jew nor Greek, male nor female, slave nor free. We are all one in our faith in Him whom sent freedom to the masses! And who are the Gentiles? All who believe, in every nation, every person who believes in Him. Just believe! Carla
Romans 10:8-13
8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” NKJV
There are two kinds of righteousness, by works or by faith. One is inaccessible, the other is very accessible. Paul uses the words of Deuteronomy 30:11–14 to demonstrate that righteousness by faith is not far off and inaccessible, but is as near as a person’s mouth and heart. All one has to do is repent, believe in Jesus, and confess that belief.
Confess comes before believe in this verse because “mouth” precedes “heart” in Deuteronomy (verse 8). The order is reversed in the next verse. One has to confess with the mouth to be saved. For indicates that this verse explains verse 9. The condition for righteousness, that is for being justified, is internal faith. The condition of salvation, meaning deliverance from wrath and from the power of sin, is external confession, which is calling on the Lord for help (verses 12, 13). The NKJV Study Bible
What is righteousness? Most of us immediately think of a person trying to keep a list of rules, like a little boy or girl who never steps over the line. When Paul speaks of righteousness in Romans, he means far more than this commonsense understanding of the word. He draws on the Old Testament concept of righteousness, which speaks of a proper relationship between God and a person, or between God and His people.
In the Old Testament, righteousness is fundamentally an attribute of God (Psalm 71:15; 119:42). He alone is truly righteous. He is the One who remains faithful, to His promises, His covenant with Israel, and the Law. In turn, the Israelites as God’s people had the responsibility to exemplify God’s righteousness on this earth. Ultimately, this meant they had to love and worship the living God alone.
The Law of Moses could be summed up in that command and its corollary, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18; Mark 12:31). Tragically, the Israelites did not comply. They proved unfaithful to the covenant, although God proved Himself as faithful. By sending prophets to His people, the Lord warned them again and again of their sinfulness. Finally He had to discipline them, with famine, military defeat, and even exile in Babylon. But God remained faithful, and He restored His people to the land and to Himself when they repented and turned to Him.
After their return from Babylon, the Israelites confused righteousness with a strict adherence to the Law as recorded in the Pentateuch. Indeed, the Jewish religious leaders added numerous amendments to the Law to ensure that no one would inadvertently break it. Zealous obedience to the Law was equated with righteousness. Yet mere external compliance to a set of rules did not please the Lord. What God wanted was repentant, humbled hearts that truly worshiped Him. He wanted to be the God of their hearts and minds, and the center of their devotion.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul clearly states that no one has achieved this standard; no one has completely loved and worshiped the Lord as they should (3:23). All have sinned. No good work or outward appearance of piety can restore a proper relationship with the Holy One. (Isaiah 64:6).
On the one hand, the Gentiles did not pursue a right relationship with their Creator, so they had been given over to all kinds of evil (1:18–31). On the other hand, the Jews through external obedience to the Law and their traditions were attempting to justify themselves before God (9:31, 32). Both failed.
Jesus is the only One who can stand before the glorious God; He is the only One who is truly righteous. Remarkably, He has offered us a way out of our slavery to sin. By placing our faith and trust in Him, we can be declared righteous. We can have a righteousness that has nothing to do with our own works but instead relies on Jesus’ sinless life and His sacrificial death for our sins. The Lord forgives us and declares us righteous because of our identification by faith with the righteousness of His So. Through Jesus, we can finally be released from the guilt of our sins. Not only can we approach the Holy One in praise and thankfulness, but we can do God’s will. The NKJV Study Bible
Deuteronomy 30:12–14
It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’…
Joel 2:32
And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the LORDS
Shall be saved.
For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance,
As the LORD has said,
Among the remnant whom the LORD calls.
Isaiah 28:16
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation,
A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;
Whoever believes will not act hastily.
Matthew 10:32
“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
We are on this journey together.
That is where we find our bearings for resilience.
That regardless of fear, we can choose hope.
That regardless of uncertainty, we can choose to trust other people.
That regardless of ugliness, we can choose to give and receive grace.
That regardless of discord, we can choose to seek harmony.
That regardless of animosity, we can choose kindness.
That regardless of intolerance, we can choose inclusion.
Or John Pavlovitz’s reminder today for the child in every one of us. “And I’ll remind them that even when bad people are rewarded, doing the right thing is still the thing most worth doing.I’ll teach them that when hatred seems the most treasured currency, love is still worth more than gold.”
Rev. Cameron Trimble’s reflections were good for my heart today. “Howard Thurman wrote about the ‘growing edge’ of a society, the place where new life is possible because people refuse to accept what diminishes human dignity. That edge is not held by those in power alone. It is held by communities, by individuals, by those who choose to remain grounded when the systems around them begin to lose their balance.”
We cannot control the interior life of those who hold high office. We can decide how we will live in response.
We can refuse to mirror instability with instability. We can resist the pull toward fear-driven thinking. We can stay rooted in relationships that hold us accountable and keep us connected to reality.
This is the work of disciplined, mature leadership. It is the work of remaining human in a moment when power itself seems to forget what that means. The biblical witness does not promise that such moments resolve quickly. It does insist that they do not have the final word, because power that loses its mind eventually collapses under its own weight.
What remains, and what rebuilds, are the communities that learned how to live with clarity, courage, and care in the midst of it.” Sabbath Moments
