Our scripture this morning is Romans 1:16-17.
For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
Paul quotes the prophet Habakkuk saying “It is through faith that a righteous person has life” (Habakkuk 2:4). Our faith connects us to God, Christ our Savior, and the Holy Spirit, as well as other believers. Paul says that by our faith “God makes us right in his sight.”
Faith is a very personal thing, but also something we share with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul writes “For we live by believing and not by seeing” (2 Corinthians 5:7), reminding us that our faith must guide us and not our interactions and earthly desires. In his letter to the Ephesians he tells us “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God” (Ephesians 2:8).
Faith is our response to God’s love and His forgiveness of our sins. It is our promise to God that we want to live in His righteousness, following the example Jesus has given us. We may never be perfect as He was, but we can strive with God’s help to do better.
Heavenly Father, by Your love we were created and by Your love we are saved from sin and raised to new life. Strengthen us in faith to be energetic workers for Your kingdom. Amen.
