Daily Devotional

A Ministry of the Kerwin Baptist Church

February 8, 2018

by Pastor Hawtree

I AM PERSUADED THAT HE IS ABLE TO:

SEE US ALL THE SAME

Romans 3:22 “..the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:”

We are not all the same, not by a long shot. We all think different, see things different, and have different opinions. Different backgrounds, different upbringings, and different points of view create great diversity. And don’t even get me started about growing up in different parts of the country. We all grew up in different family atmospheres, and different religious environments. Ok, I have made my point, enough of that. We are all different.

Our diversity is contrasted by God’s divinity. We notice here, “the righteousness of God”. That is an accurate statement because righteousness can only be found in one person, that is God. In Him is the only place that righteousness exist. If it is ever found anywhere else or in anyone else, it is still the righteousness of God because He created it.

As we continue to put the pieces of this verse together, we see the two words, “by faith”. These are the connector words. “By faith of Jesus Christ.” What do you get when you mix our diversity, God’s divinity, and Christ’s death? What you get is a powerful verse that says that the righteousness of God is available “unto all and upon that believe”. So if I put my faith in Jesus Christ, God places His righteousness on me. It does not matter if I am Jew or Gentile, Black or White, Asian or Latina, rich or poor, yankee or southerner, or Tarheel or Blue Devil. (That was difficult for me to write)

Yes we are all different, but God sees us all the same. He sees us as sinners. But if we put our faith in Christ, He sees the righteousness of God in and upon us. Christ is what brings us all together. Christ levels the playing field. We, who have no righteousness, are given and covered with the righteousness of God. And it doesn’t matter who we are. Did we hear that? It doesn’t matter who we are!

Don’t you love the very last phrase? “For there is no difference.” You and I are very good at focusing on what makes us different from others. We should be focusing on what makes us the same.we are good at making issues out of everything that someone does different than us, and why we are better than them because of it. But in God’s eyes, “there is no difference”. Either God sees our sin, or He sees the righteousness of Himself. Aren’t you thankful that we are judged and governed in the eyes of God, not the eyes of man?

Even though we are all different, I am persuaded that He is able to see us all the same!