Romans 1: 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith. From faith to faith, meaning our faith in the law is transferred to faith in Christ, and being righteous as a gift. Galatians 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

What has gotten lost in these verses is that the gospel says we are the righteousness of God by faith, as a gift. Apart from the good and bad that we do. Paul’s concern is that we are rejecting righteousness as a gift, by faith. We are rejecting God’s righteousness, as a gift, and trying to establish our own righteousness through the law. This is what John Calvin did. He brought the commands of Moses back into the “Christian life” and shipwrecked the faith. 

The law is written on our hearts, so it is natural to us. It seems right to us, but in the end it leads to death. We tend to naturally read the Bible through the lens of law. Instead of the Bible being a large rule book that we obey. It is a freedom from the law book. The gospel is not written on our hearts, it is foreign to us. It is a spiritual discipline to read scripture through the lens of freedom from the law.

Romans 10: 1 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God concerning them is for their salvation. 2 I can testify about them that they have zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 Since they are ignorant of the righteousness of God and attempted to establish their own righteousness, they have not submitted to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes, 5 since Moses writes about the righteousness that is from the law: The one who does these things will live by them. 6 But the righteousness that comes from faith speaks like this: Do not say in your heart, “Who will go up to heaven? ” that is, to bring Christ down 7 or, “Who will go down into the abyss? ” that is, to bring Christ up from the dead. 8 On the contrary, what does it say? The message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. This is the message of faith that we proclaim: 9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame, 12 since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him. 13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

To my fruit checking friends. The law of Moses does not come with us into the Christian life to rule over us. It is a heavy burden for us that we cannot bear. In Matthew 5, Jesus is the greatest in the kingdom of God, because he is the only one who can teach and obey the commands of Moses perfectly. If we have lust in our hearts, we commit adultery. If we hate in our hearts, we commit murder. Out of love for us, God fulfilled these commands and then took them away from us by nailing them to the cross. We can think of the law as being completed in Christ. The Spirit’s ministry is to convict us that we are the righteousness of God by faith, as a gift. The fruit that we are checking for is faith, and receiving righteousness as a gift.

Righteousness is not a high standard for us to live up to. It’s a gift. We will continue to break the whole law of Moses all day everyday, and we are righteous as a gift.

The power of sin is the law, 1 Corinthians 15:56. God is not helping us obey the law, but setting us free from it’s rule, authority, power to sin, and condemnation at the cross. The Spirit will be our guide in this renewed mindset. Our spirit will also guide us. We do not have to submit to the circumcision party. We are forgiven and free, and righteous as a gift on account of Christ, crucified and resurrected.

Related:

Being Holy as a Gift