In Islam, the Quran says a lot of nice things about both Jesus and Mary his mother, but absolutely denies the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (Surah 4:156-157). Why would that be? Something about the cross makes the world nervous. From a biblical perspective the cross is, well, crucial. In Romans 5:1-11, Paul gives us ample reason to focus on it and fully understand its meaning.
Today’s chapter answers the question of whether a New Testament faith in Christ agrees with the teaching of the Old Testament. Does the Hebrew Bible teach a righteousness based on works, rituals and law or a righteousness based on faith? Paul looks at the life of Abraham to show us that the two Testaments totally agree.
We all indulge to some extent in the delusion of self-justification. At the very least, self-justification gets in the way of healthy relationships and prevents our personal growth. It also does something worse: It keeps us from understanding why we need Jesus so badly. It can, therefore, allow us to go on in our sin, whatever that sin is, and allow our lives to remain unchanged by the love of Jesus Christ. The chapter we read today, Romans 3, hammers away at this important thought:
The more clearly we see our sin, the more deeply we’ll know our need for Jesus.
In this chapter we take a look at the sin of the religious or moral person. The point is that both irreligious and religious people, both the immoral and the moral, are still corrupted by sin in God’s sight.
Central Reflections 