Romans 3
by Philip Layton
God’s faithfulness and our righteousness through faith
Discussion Questions
- Do the Ten Commandments reveal our need for forgiveness (v 20)?
- Can you identify further evidence for the divinity of Jesus (vv 23, 24)?
Share your thoughts below, or tweet about it with the #boundlessbible hashtag. Don't forget this week's Children's Challenge!
Going Deeper From 'Words of Life'
What is Faith?
Righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe (v 22).
As human beings, like every other living being, we have the innate desire to protect our very existence by seeking out food and shelter. But, in contrast to other beings, we also have desires and concerns which are spiritual in nature - cognitive, aesthetic, social, political. They all centre around the word faith. For faith is an act of the personality, affecting all aspects of our personal life: faith to believe the sun will rise; faith to believe there’ll be air to breathe; faith to believe in a God who loves us beyond all understanding.
When we enter the sphere of faith, we enter the sanctuary of life. For where there’s faith there’s the awareness of holiness, the divine:
‘Do not come any closer,’ God said. ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground’ (Exodus 3:5).
Moses had faith to believe God had an ultimate plan for his life. It’s about believing God is; that he’s to be worshipped, loved. It’s faith to believe God created us with purpose; that he wants to build a relationship with us; that he’s to be the centre of our universe:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength (Deuteronomy 6:5).
Everyone wants to succeed in life. But in many cultures, success can become a god in itself – to the detriment of relationships and personal convictions. Faith is believing God defines success in a far different way from that dictated by society. It’s faith to believe God works in and through us, in order that we live a holy and God-centred life. Today, let’s live by faith in our Lord and Saviour:
The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20).
Beverly Ivany