A Righteousness We Cannot Earn

We put our faith in all kinds of things on a daily basis. Many of them are concrete and tangible. For example, we have faith that our car is going to transport us from point A to point B without incident, or that the chair we sit on will hold our weight. But faith in the creator God is not tangible and is therefore more complex and much harder to understand. Seeing others who model lives of faith helps us comprehend faith in God and see what that faith might look like for us personally.

There is a temptation to think we need to do things to earn the righteousness, which is ours by faith in Christ, but as we work our way through the next few chapters of Romans, we will see that there is nothing we can do to earn the righteousness that is offered to us. We are declared righteous (made right again) in the sight of God by his grace alone. This grace is ours through faith in the saving work of Jesus on the cross.

How are you temped to earn your righteousness by doing? Gather around God’s Word and put your faith and trust in the one who has extended grace to the undeserving.

FALLING SHORT

“For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.”

Romans 3:22b–25

I often feel as if I fall short in everything I do. I struggle in my job at church while dealing with issues involving our children. I fall short in my marriage due to unexpected work crises. I’m overwhelmed by clutter at home and collapse in front of Netflix instead of being present with my family. Too often, I convince myself that there aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish everything.

This sense of falling short makes me anxious. I realize I don’t have what it takes to “dig deep” and succeed in everything, and I doubt I’m alone in this feeling. Our constant sense of inadequacy points to a much bigger truth: We all fall short of the glory of God. Even if we could get everything done, we still wouldn’t find rest.

Studying these verses, I feel a wave of relief: “For there is no distinc­tion—all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:22–23). This reality, though sobering, is comforting because we are justified by God’s grace through faith in Christ (3:24).

Paul teaches that God’s righteousness is revealed in Jesus (3:21). The Bible points to this throughout Scripture, and we access that righteous­ness through belief in him (3:22). There is a reason that we feel as if we are falling short all the time—it’s because we are! We will for the rest of our lives. Why? Because we are fallen human beings. But we are made right with God by his grace. This doesn’t give us an excuse to stop striving for the right things, or stop digging deep when God calls us to something, but it does remind us of the grace extended to us when we do fall short. What a reason to celebrate as we walk into our day today.

BOAST IN THE RIGHT THINGS

“For what does Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.’”

Romans 4:3

We all know people who are boastful about their accomplishments. Social media makes that easy. We are bombarded with personal accolades of countless individuals and their family members. Boastful posts create a range of emotions in us, the readers, from frus­tration and a sense of insecurity in our own abilities to a misplaced awe of the ones posting. I find it hard not to compare my situation to the ones I am observing online. It becomes more complicated when we struggle in the area that is being showcased. When our child doesn’t get accepted into the college of their dreams, the video of someone else’s child achieving that stings. When we have lost our job, it feels hopeless to watch someone else climb the professional ladder. Emo­tions like these are typically not good for our hearts. There are excep­tions, obviously, but in general, witnessing others boasting about their accomplishments creates negative and often ungodly responses in us.

In Romans chapter 4 we are challenged to believe in something en­tirely different from what we see on social media. There is a contrast between our own works and what Paul is drawing our eyes to—faith in God. Are you willing to turn from what the world views as achieve­ment and turn instead to what is truly lasting and worth boasting in?

In the Bible, we see Abraham trust com­pletely in God’s promise to him. In Genesis 15:1–6 God promises childless Abram—later called Abraham—he will have a son as an heir. Not only that, but God shows Abram that his descendants will be as many as the stars in the sky. Abram doesn’t question that promise. He believes it (Romans 4:3). He has faith that God will fulfill his promise, and God counted that faith as righteousness.

We are tempted every day to feel good about ourselves by doing admirable things, but as believers we don’t want to boast in our own achievements. Instead, we want to follow the example of Abraham and trust in God, remembering his promises in our lives. Start your day trusting in the one who sent his only Son to live a perfect life and die on the cross for us. Have faith in him and it will be counted to you as righteousness. This is a promise we can trust in. Let that be your boast.

HOPE WHEN LIFE FEELS HOPELESS

“That is why his faith was ‘counted to him as righteousness.’ But the words ‘it was counted to him’ were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”

Romans 4:22–24

Trusting in God’s promises during seemingly hopeless times is a remarkable gift. Many of our friends and family have faced cancer diagnoses, and for me, it’s deeply personal; my mum passed away from cancer more than nine years ago. Hearing that devastating news from a doctor feels overwhelming. As medical procedures unfold, the path ahead becomes uncertain. Some find no guarantees of recovery, while others experience glimmers of hope. Each journey is unique. My mum, typically private about her emotions (we’re British, after all), made it challenging to discern her needs and desires. Navigating this was often painful and exhausting. Many days felt hopeless, and I struggled to know where to turn.

Yet having faith in God’s promises carried me through when taking the next step felt impossible. In today’s passage, we see Abraham confronting an insurmountable obstacle. God promises him that he will be the father of many nations, yet he was 100 years old and childless with a body “as good as dead” (4:19). Despite this, Abraham holds on to hope and trust in God’s promises (4:18). His faith sustained him throughout his long journey. He may not have seen all of these promises get fulfilled, but he maintained hope when circumstances seemed bleak.

Your journey may or may not lead to ful­filled prayers on this earth, but it ultimate­ly ends in glory with Jesus. I witnessed God sustaining our family during hopeless times. Though the details were uncertain, his good­ness shone through. In his kindness, he met our needs abundantly. His grace and mercy brought light to my darkest days, strength­ening my faith in ways I never expected and prompted me to glorify God in the midst of the trials.

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Excerpted from You Stand in Grace: Devotions for Walking in Faith © 2025 by Abi Byrd. Used with permission of New Growth Press. May not be reproduced without prior written permission.

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Stop Running and Stand in Grace

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