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Bob Schwahn | Lead Pastor\xa0| March 10, 2024\n\xa0\nRomans 1:17 (NIV)\nFor in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed\u2014a righteousness that is by faith\xa0from first to last,\xa0just as it is written: \u201cThe righteous will live by faith.\u201d\n\xa0\nRomans 3:20 (NIV)\nTherefore no one will be declared righteous in God\u2019s sight by the works of the law;\xa0rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.\n\xa0\nBUT NOW\u2026\nBUT (conjunction):\nUsed to introduce a phrase contrasting what has already been mentioned.\n\xa0\nRomans 3:21-24 (NIV)\nBut now apart from the law the righteousness of God\xa0has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.\xa0This righteousness\xa0is given through faith\xa0in\xa0Jesus Christ\xa0to all who believe.\xa0There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,\xa0for all have sinned\xa0and fall short of the glory of God,\xa0and all are justified\xa0freely by his grace\xa0through the redemption\xa0that came by Christ Jesus.\n\xa0\nIMPUTE:\nTo ascribe something to someone by virtue of a similar quality in another\u2026\n\xa0\nPhilippians 3:4-7 (NIV)\nthough I myself have reasons for such confidence.\xa0 If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more:\xa0circumcised\xa0on the eighth day, of the people of Israel,\xa0of the tribe of Benjamin,\xa0a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee;\xa0as for zeal,\xa0persecuting the church;\xa0as for righteousness based on the law,\xa0faultless.\nBut whatever were gains to me I now consider loss\xa0for the sake of Christ.\n\xa0\nRomans 5:6-8 (NIV)\nYou see, at just the right time,\xa0when we were still powerless,\xa0Christ died for the ungodly.\xa0Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.\xa0But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.\n\xa0\n1 John 4:16-19 (NIV)\nAnd so we know and rely on the love God has for us.\xa0 God is love.\xa0Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.\xa0This is how love is made complete\xa0among us so that we will have confidence\xa0on the day of judgment:\xa0In this world we are like Jesus.\xa0There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear,\xa0because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.\nWe love because he first loved us.\n\xa0\n\u201cReality, in fact, is usually something you could not have guessed. That is one of the reasons I believe Christianity. It is a religion that you could not have guessed. If it offered us just the kind of universe we had always expected, I should feel we were making it up. But, in fact, it is not the sort of thing anyone would have made up. It has just that queer twist about it that real things have.\u201c\n\u2014 C.S. Lewis,\xa0Mere Christianity\n\xa0\nReflection Questions:\nWhat accomplishments in this life are you especially proud of?\xa0 What would you want to put on your \u201clife resume\u201d?What are examples in our culture of the worldview that believes our resume/performance record is what validates or justifies our existence?How can this resume/performance worldview leak into our view of God and how we relate to Him?If you were to die tonight and stand before God and He were to ask you, \u2018Why should I let you into heaven?\u201d\xa0 What would you say?\nHow does the answer to this question clarify what we believe about what God expects from us?\nExplain.\n\xa0\nThe word BUT is a word of contrast. What is being contrasted in Romans 3:21 from what Paul has been saying up to that point?\xa0 What makes this transition so important and meaningful?In Philippians (above) Paul talks about his outstanding \u201cresume\u201d.\xa0 Why would Paul call those very good resume items \u201closs\u201d or \u201cworthless\u201d?\xa0 How does an understanding of the Gospel (good news) cause us to regard our resume as worthless?\nRomans 3:24 (NIV)<...