Relationship Not Religion

Scripture: Romans 2:28-29
"A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God."

Observations:
Paul drives home the unimporance and irrelevance of human effort to make a person right with God. Jews were circumcised as a sign of their covenant relationship with God. But what they didn't get was that a right relationship with God was not supposed to be about rule-following but rather a right response to who He is. But because Everyone has been corrupted on the "inside" by sin, no amount of "outward" efforts can ever make up for it. No amount of good behavior or even obedience to Gods commands will ever negate the power of sin that has separated us from God. According to Paul, a right relationship with God is not something to be earned but rather it's the transforming power of the Holy Spirit that takes place on the inside.  

Application:
Most people tend to view Christianity as just another man-made religion that obligates sinners to do good things like (going to church, praying, bible study, helping others, etc.) in order to win Gods approval. But nothing could be further from the truth. A right relationship with God has absolutely nothing to do with our "goodness" or "badness" but it has everything to do with us trusting in Christ's sacrifice as the ultimate payment of our debt and the Holy Spirit transforming us from the inside out. We don't obey God to win His approval; we obey Him because through Christ we have already been approved! 
 
Prayer:
Father, thank You for doing for us what we could never have done for ourselves. Thank You again for sending Christ, for making us right, and for truly changing us on the inside. Amen.



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