“For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.”
If I go to Georgia or Alabama, I would hear the locals speak and know where they came from. Likewise they would pick me out of a crowd as being from Texas. Why, because of the way we speak. New Yorker’s, Mid Westerner’s and even Californian’s all have that distinct sounding dialect you can pick out of a crowd.
Christians should also be this way. We should be living our lives and someone should see how we operate and say to themselves, “I will bet they are a believer. I can see it in the way they live their life.”
Our verse gives us the very difference we seek. One side is considered unrighteous while the other side is considered righteous. What is the difference? If you obey the law of God you are considered righteous, if you don’t, well then, you are considered unrighteous. Sounds really simple and it is. Can you characterize your life in this way? Do you go to church because of some obligation or do you go to seek God? Do you punch the card of church and sign up for the fire insurance and stop?
The real question is do you know what the law of God is and how to follow it? Studying the laws of God will not make you righteous. Debating the laws of God will not make you righteous. You have to have the requirements of the law written on your heart. Verse 15 reads, “They show that the requirements of law are written on their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times defending them.” Does this sound like you?
Today, get close enough to God and His Word and begin to really understand what it means in Psalms 1:2, “but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.” Your life is like a garden, you can plant whatever you like. There are a lot of different things to choose from. Some righteous and others do not. Those things you plant will eventually grow. The plants you water and take care of will flourish while the others you neglect will simply fade away and die.
What does your garden look like? Is it full of things that are against God and His law, filled with weeds and looks unkept? It may be time to start the work you know you have to do. You see, I am only proud to show off my lawn when it is nice and taken care of. I don’t want people to see the unkept parts. What are you hiding in your life that needs some attention? The difference is those who practice the laws of God and write them on their hearts will be righteous. All the other things you spend your time on are sinking sand (Matthew 7:24-27).
Prayer: Father we pray that you will sharpen our faith. Keep us tuned into your laws and promises through the Holy Spirit. We pray that we will practice all that your Word says of us to do so we can be confident that our house built on the rock of God and not the loose sand of this world. Help us be the difference and show your wonderful light to those around us. We pray that we are beacons of your love, grace and truth today. In Jesus name, amen.
Let It Go 
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