For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. Romans 5:19 Is the Gospel too good to be true? The idea that we can be right with God simply by confessing and believing (not by our works) seems so unbelievably gracious that religious leaders at Jesus’s time were appalled by it. Regardless of how shocking it is, it’s true. The moment we accept Christ as our Saviour, right standing with God becomes ours. You might be thinking, “Are you saying that if someone comes to Christ when their life is a mess, they don’t need to clean any of it up to be a …

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! Romans 5:17 There’s a lot of misunderstanding out there about forgiveness and righteousness. In the Old Testament, people had access to a type of limited righteousness if they behaved right. But now, because of Jesus, every believer has righteousness as a gift. We are right with God because Jesus is right with God, and as he is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17). Because of Jesus, we are righteous. It’s not something we earn. We’re children of God, and because of Jesus, …