In my younger years I received a few speeding tickets, which is somewhat ironic since I was usually driving an old VW Rabbit. I even received a speeding ticket in an 81 Diesel Rabbit, the officer said we where doing 81 m.p.h. I don’t recall what the limit was it was out on I-70 in Missouri in the middle of no where. But I don’t believe the car would have done 81 had we been going down hill with a tail wind.
There is one particular instance I remember when I got pulled over and I was innocent for sure, fortunately I didn’t receive a ticket. I had just gotten off work in the middle of rush hour and I was stopped at the light waiting for it to turn green. When it did I checked to make sure it was clear and then proceeded. Now I will admit I have a lead foot at the light, however, I never intentionally burn rubber because that is hard on the tires. I was half way through the intersection when a car on my right pulled into the intersection turning right. I hit the breaks to avoid hitting the car and locked up the wheels causing them to screech and leaving some skid marks. Immediately after that I saw flashing red lights in my rearview mirror. I pulled over trying to figure out what I had done wrong. Basically the officer thought I had laid some scratch at the stop light, he was 3 or 4 cars back and all he saw was the skid marks. I tried explaining to him that the skid marks where from breaking to avoid an accident. He let me off with a warning since at the time I didn’t have any other violations. For awhile I thought if that ever happens again I’m not going to try and avoid the accident and just run into the person.
Let’s face it none of us wants to be a law breaker. We want to be on the right side of the law. But there are some laws that we just don’t agree with…speed limits, seat belt requirements, and some we believe breaking are worth the risk, those who enter the country illegally for instance, or laws that we kind of dance around playing in the grey areas, like our politicians and the discussions they have with others over certain political appointments.
Now there are basically three ways to be righteous in the eyes of the law. The first is to not break the law to begin with. That is the easiest and probably the best way to be righteous. However, it is hard to obtain. The cruise control doesn’t work in my car and so sometimes I find myself going faster then I intended and have to correct the situation, and on occasion when I’m in an unfamiliar town looking for the place I need to be I have missed a stop sign or two. Those things happen, it is almost impossible for us to obey every single law. So trying not to be a law breaker is difficult if not down right impossible.
The second way to avoid being a law breaker is to have the law changed. When my friend Clint was ordained we went to Montana for the service. The prior month the state had just repealed its daytime unlimited speed limit. Well the correct speed limit was whatever was reasonable and prudent for the driving conditions, in effect no speed limit. So had we been driving during that time we could have driven as fast as we wanted. One of the debates raging across our political landscape now is the illegal immigrant situation. Some say the solution is a complete overhaul of our immigration laws and creating a way to basically make those who are here illegal not illegal anymore. Changing the law is a way to avoid being a law breaker. Of course if the law is always changing it makes it difficult to know what the law is and can lead to chaos. For those of you who where Calvin and Hobbes fans think of Calvin ball where Calvin and Hobbes where constantly changing the rules of the game and making them up as they went along always to their own advantage. It always degenerated into a brawl.
And the third way we have to avoid being a law breaker I suppose is to not get caught. Now technically that doesn’t help you avoid being a law breaker but it does help you avoid the consequences.
Now all three of these ways have obvious flaws and draw backs, to avoid being a law breaker, to make us righteous in the eyes of the law. Paul has a better way in our scripture today which has no draw backs or flaws. Paul writes , “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." So Paul tells us first how righteousness can truly be obtained through faith. What he writes next is a warning of why we need righteousness.
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator — who is forever praised. Amen.
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind; to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
As we can see when it comes to God’s laws there is no getting around being a law breaker. We cannot change the law, we cannot live up to the law, and there is no way to avoid being caught. Now there are many who are trying to change the law and they use science, and appeal to our empathy, and our sense of independence. They say things like what goes on between consenting adults… They argue that the scriptures are outdated and they didn’t understand what we understand now. But the fact is that God’s law cannot be changed. God doesn’t act under a democracy. In fact Paul writes there is no excuse because “what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”
That is the bad news, we can’t live up to the law, we can not change the law, we can not become righteous on our own and if we try without God, then He gives us over to our own sinful wicked nature. But the good news is what Paul writes in verse 17 “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
Faith, that is the only thing that will make you righteous, that is the only thing that will make you not a law breaker. Faith in Jesus Christ, faith that He is the Son of God, faith that He became human, faith that He died to take the punishment for our own law breaking, faith that God raised Him from the dead. Without that, then you are dead in the law, and it doesn’t matter what you believe about the law, how you try to change it, or get away with breaking it. Only faith in Jesus makes us righteous in God’s sight. Only faith in Jesus helps us to live lives worthy of God. The law condemns us all but faith in Jesus makes us righteous in God’s sight.
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