July 6 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

"But now...."

Here is the big turning point. Now means after God acted in Jesus Christ. Salvation hour has struck. And things will never be the same again.

"The righteousness of God has been made known." Righteousness of God refers to the way in which people can be right with God. This way was not discovered by people but was made known by God. And it is righteousness apart from law. This means that we receive it without works.

This is news. It was not told or revealed before Jesus' coming. Nevertheless, the Law and the Prophets testified to it; the Old Testament Scriptures pointed forward to this great event as with an outstretched finger. But now, in the fullness of time, the righteousness has been revealed.

The way to get right with God is "through faith in Jesus Christ." Christ is the content of God's revelation of righteousness. He took our condemnation, and we received his righteousness. Faith in him makes us righteous. Faith means that we give up trying to do it ourselves; we rely entirely on the work of Jesus.

This is it. It is amazingly simple and simply amazing. And it is for everyone, for "all who believe."

Not only does the revelation of God's righteousness serve to show the lostness of all people: "all have sinned" (v. 23), it also fills the need of all people by means of the one great gift—Jesus Christ. We are "justified freely by his grace" (v. 24). This is the gospel. Here all the weary roads of humanity end. And here we find a new beginning.

Now we must place all our trust in Jesus. In him God has given us what we could not find. In Christ God came to us when we could not and would not come to him.

REFLECTIONS

We should be willing and able to tell others the "good news" (gospel). Try phrasing that good news in your own words.

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.