God Accepts Everyone who Believes in Christ 

Picture of details on the doors of the Sagrada Familia Basilica, Barcelona.

Romans 3: 21-30

21 But now we know how to become right with God. God has shown us the way that He will accept people as right with Himself. This is not part of the Law that He gave to Moses *. But God's Law* and the messages of His prophets*  have told us about it.

22 God accepts people as right with Himself because Jesus Christ did what God wanted. God accepts every person who believes in Christ. It is the same way for everyone, whether they are Jews or Gentiles*.

23 All people have done wrong things. Nobody is as good as God in His glory wants them to be.

24 But because God is very kind, He accepts us as right with Himself. That is God's gift to us. Jesus Christ has paid for our sins* so that we have become free.

25 God showed clearly that Jesus Christ died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. God forgives us if we trust in Jesus and the blood of His sacrifice. God did this to show clearly that He is always right and fair. In past times, God was patient. He did not punish people who did wrong things.

26 He did this to show us today that He is completely right and fair. He accepts people as right with Himself if they believe in Jesus.

27 So nobody should boast about themselves. Nobody becomes right with God because they have done good things. No! God accepts someone only if they believe in Jesus Christ.

28 So this is what we are saying: A person becomes right with God if they trust in Christ. It is not because they do the good things which God's Law teaches.

29 God is not God only for Jewish * people. He is also God for the Gentiles. Yes! He is the God for all people.

30 There is only one God. He will accept Jews as right with Himself if they believe in Christ. He will also accept other people as right with Himself if they believe in Christ.

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Important Vocabulary to Learn

(Some of these words are from the reading, and some are from the questions below.)

1. Words from the first 1000 high frequency General Service Word List

    accept, action(s), blood, clearly, cross, fair, free, gift, himself, paid, quality/qualities, trust, whether, wrong

    (And all the other words in the reading that are not listed in numbers 2 and 3 below.)

2. Words from the second 1000 high frequency General Service Word List

      boast, forgive(s), glory, messages, patient, punish, sacrifice, show/shown

3. Glossary of Special Terms (these words are marked with a *)

       Gentiles - Everyone who is not Jewish, and who does not follow the Jewish faith.

God’s Law - The rules for living that God first gave to the Jewish people. These are in the Ten Commandments, but also include other rules for living that Jewish people try to follow. These rules are written in the first five books of the Old Testament. (These books are also called ‘The Torah’.) 

Jewish - (adjective). A word to describe the people of the nation of Israel and the Hebrew people of the ancient world. It also describes anyone who follows the religion of the Jews. Jewish people live in many places today, not just in Israel.

Moses - The name of a prophet * of God who lived many hundreds of years before Jesus. God gave His Law to Moses. Moses then gave God's Law to His people. You can read about this in the Old Testament book of Exodus. (See also 'God's Law' above.)

prophets - People sent by God to give important messages to us. In Old Testament times, there were many prophets sent by God to tell the people of Israel how they should live. Some of these prophets were Moses, Elijah and Isaiah. Many of the books of the Old Testament were written by the prophets of God. The writer of Romans (Paul) is talking about those people in this reading. A prophet often talks about things that will happen in the future.

sins - any wrong action, word, or thought that breaks God’s Law. The Bible teaches us that every person has sinned against God, and that no-one has ever kept God’s Law completely except Jesus (who was without sin). (See verse 23 in the reading.)

 

Learning Questions and Activities 

1. Remembering - Why did Jesus die on the cross? What word does the writer (Paul) use to describe the action of Jesus when he died for us? 

2. Understanding - What is a ‘sacrifice’? Can you explain the meaning of this word? Why do you think Paul uses this word? Why does Paul also use the word ‘paid’ when he talks about what Jesus has done for people who believe in him? Who paid? What was paid? 

3. Applying - Can you or I ever please God (and become right with Him) just by being good or doing good things? Instead of us trying to be good enough for Him, what does God really want? Give reasons from the reading for your answer. How does it make you feel to know that Jesus has paid the price for your sins?

4. Analysing - List some of the qualities and actions of God that Paul wrote about in this reading. What do these qualities and actions tell us about God?

5. Evaluating - Some people may say it is not fair that God doesn’t accept our good works as a way to become right with him. Why aren’t our good works good enough for God? Why does God ask us to put our trust in Jesus alone, and not in our own goodness?

6. Creating - Make a ‘Wordfind’ game using some of the vocabulary from this reading. You can read the words from left to right, from top to bottom, from back to front, or on an angle. Here is an example… 

Wordfind (with the answers shown)