Righteous by faith apart from the law:

Jesus used the law before the cross to show people that they cannot be righteous by their works.

To those who were trusting in their works, He told them to:

• Forgive others to be forgiven
• Love God with all their heart and love their neighbor to be saved, by selling everything to the poor.
• Love enemies and not just their neighbor.
• sell everything and give to the poor
• Forsake lands, jobs, families, etc..to be His disciple.
• Be perfect as God in heart, word, and deed.
• Carry the cross and renounce everything.
• Jesus Christ is the only one who did all of this perfectly.
• Nobody else could do this.
• Even the 12 Apostles who had initially followed Jesus, ran away when Jesus was arrested.
• Peter who was the greatest apostle of the Jews, denied Christ 3 times.
• They failed to keep the law.
• This is why Paul said later on, that nobody is righteous, not even one, nobody could keep the law.

Romans 3 ““There is no one righteous, not even one;…. 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.”

The law was not given to save anyone.

The law was meant to show people that they are sinners so that they can come to Christ for salvation. After Peter failed, Jesus restored him by grace.

This is a picture of salvation, apart from the works of the law.

Romans 3 “21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

We are made righteous not by our works, but only by faith in Jesus through His work in His death and resurrection.

Romans 4 “4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness…..God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”

Jesus Christ fulfilled the law by His death and resurrection so that Righteousness is given to all who believe.

Romans 10 “4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”

Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ is forgiven all sin and is made righteous without any works!