How to Get Right With God

Are you right with God…right now?

It’s possible, that you may be sitting here this morning, or whenever it is that you’re listening to this, that the answer to the question, “How to be right with God,” is not… what you think it is.

We’ve just begun going through the Book of Romans.

Romans chapter one takes on the heathens.

Romans chapter 2 takes on the religious hypocrites. But that’s not the end of it.

Romans chapter 3 brings the heathen and the hypocrites, and everyone else, to Jesus. And the result is, not a single one of us has the righteousness God requires to get into heaven. Romans lays out the message of the gospel, the essential message of Christianity.

How to be right with God.

Let me just read these two verses for you:

Romans 1:16–17 NKJV

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

This is Paul’s opening statement to the Romans. He’s just introduced himself. He tells the Romans who he is.

He hasn’t even gotten into sin or grace or justification yet. He hasn’t explained anything about the law or Israel or the church. He starts with this bold declaration: I am not ashamed of the gospel.

And he tells us why: because it’s the ONLY thing that can make us right with God.

Now, we need to talk about that phrase “being right with God.”

Because if we’re honest, a lot of people, even in church, think being right with God comes down to what we do.

Do you read your Bible enough? Do you pray enough? Do you show up at church often enough? Did you get baptized? Do you belong to the right church? Do you say the right prayers?

But Paul wants to make something crystal clear right from the start: Being right with God is about belief, not behavior.

Let’s break this down.

Paul says first,

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.”

Why would anyone think the Apostle Paul would even be remotely ashamed of the gospel?

At its core, the gospel is about what it takes to be right with God.

Why would Paul be ashamed of that?

For one thing, the Gospel was identified with a poor Jewish carpenter who was crucified. The Romans had no special appreciation for the Jews, and crucifixion was the lowest form of execution given a criminal. It was humiliating. Why put your faith in a Jew who was crucified?

Rome was a proud city, and the Gospel came from Jerusalem, the capital city of one of the little nations that Rome had conquered. The Christians in that day were not among the elite of society; they were common people and even slaves. Rome had known many great philosophers and philosophies; why pay any attention to a fable about a Jew who arose from the dead?

But Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel. He had confidence in his message, and he gave us several reasons that explain why he was not ashamed.

The Gospel Brings God’s Power, Not Our Performance

Romans 1:16 NKJV

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation…

That word power—in Greek it’s dynamis—it’s where we get the word dynamite. It means explosive, unstoppable power.

Now, why does Paul start here? Because in Rome, power was everything. Military power. Political power. Financial power. Rome ruled the world with it.

And religion in Paul’s day? It was all about performance. Sacrifices. Rules. Rituals. Sacraments.

But Paul says the gospel isn’t about our power to impress God. It’s about God’s power to save us.

You want to know something? God’s not impressed with us. Sure, He loves us. But nothing we could ever do could impress Him.

The bible tells us, “For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works.”

People all over the world are trying to work their way to heaven.

Paul says the gospel of Christ is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes.

Everyone who what? BELIEVES!

Do you see the difference? One is about me performing; the other is about me believing.

Key Point: Being right with God starts with what He did, not what I do.

Next, Paul tells the Romans, and us, for whom the gospel is effective.

Romans 1:16 NKJV

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

The gospel is not exclusive. It’s not just for one group of people.

It’s not just for the Jews, or the non-jews. It’s available to everyone.

The Gospel is for Everyone Who Believes

If you hear nothing else this morning, I want you to hear this… GOD DOES NOT ASK US TO BEHAVE IN ORDER TO BE SAVED, BUT TO BELIEVE!

He doesn’t ask us to do anything to get right with God. Just believe.

It’s faith in Christ, and what He did on the cross that saves the sinner. And… we’re all sinners.

That word believe—pisteuō—means to trust, to lean your whole weight on something. It’s not just agreeing with your head; it’s trusting with your life.

Years ago, part of my job was climbing radio towers. Everything from the small 50’ towers, to the 6’ wide 600’ tall towers. That was in the early 1980’s before the advent of safety lines and auto-braking descender devices that stop you if you lose your grip and fall.

I would climb all the way to the top without being connected. All I had was a leather safety belt with a canvas belt clipped to a D-ring hanging at my side.

When I got to the top and was ready to work, I would unclip one end of the strap, pass it around a tower leg or cross brace, and clip it to the D-ring on the other side.

I believed the belt and strap would hold me.

Remember that word Paul used for belief? To trust, lean your whole weight on something.

It became trust when I let go with both hands, leaned back, and let the strap alone hold me 600’ off the ground. We stayed that way for sometimes hours while we replaced or mounted an antenna pulled up heliax with a winch we had to carry up.

All the while held up by a 3” canvas strap. That’s faith. Faith that something outside of me would hold me up.

Maybe it was just that in our 20’s we thought we were indestructible and bulletproof.

Many people believe that Jesus is God. And that He died for our sin. But are they willing to trust Him alone to save them?

And Paul says this message is for everyone. Jew or Greek. Religious or secular. Rule-keeper or rule-breaker.

But Paul says it’s about belief. So anyone who trusts Christ can be made right with God—no matter who they are or what they’ve done.

Key Point: Being right with God is about belief, not behavior, and it’s open to everyone.

Next, Paul reveals what the gospel is all about.

Romans 1:17 NKJV

17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

In the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed.

The Gospel Reveals God’s Righteousness, Not Ours

Righteousness is the only requirement God has ever required to get into heaven.

Think about it.

God made heaven, he sets the ticket price.

PERFECT righteousness is the only way in.

And you may be thinking, “How does anybody get in?”

The bible tells us, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

What does that mean? Not a single person is righteous enough to level up to God’s standard.

What’s the standard? Jesus. The standard is perfection.

Righteousness is being right with God.

Our problem is, we’re not right with God.

You know that feeling inside. What it feels like when you’ve done something and things just aren’t right with someone you know.

And you know it was you. You know you messed up. You know it in your gut right. You wish you could do something to make it right, but you know you can’t.

That’s where we stand before God. We are wrong, and we can’t make it right.

The righteousness that comes from God is only available through faith in Jesus Christ.

Here’s what’s huge: Paul doesn’t say righteousness comes from trying harder, keeping rules, or impressing God with your goodness.

He says it’s revealed in the gospel. It’s a gift God gives to anyone who believes.

The word righteousness—dikaiosynē—means a right standing with God. The state of rightness.

And Paul says this righteousness is revealed. It’s not achieved. It’s not earned. It’s revealed through the gospel because it’s a gift from God.

Then he quotes Habakkuk 2:4, “The just shall live by faith.”

That one verse changed church history. It’s what led Martin Luther to start the Reformation. It’s what set John Wesley’s heart on fire and launched a movement. And it all comes down to this:

You don’t live the Christian life by earning. You live it by believing, by faith from start to finish.

Do you know what that means? It means the Christian life isn’t lived by trying harder; it’s lived by trusting the righteousness of Jesus. Trusting in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as being the full payment for your sin.

And when you trust Jesus as your Savior, His righteousness is applied to your account.

TODAY… Stop striving for God’s approval. Start living out of the reality that, in Christ, you can already have it.

Why does this matter?

Paul says the gospel gives us three things:

Confidence – because it’s God’s power to save.

Clarity – because it’s for everyone who believes.

Certainty – because it gives us the righteousness we could never earn on our own.

When you get this, you stop being ashamed of the gospel and start living like it’s the greatest news in the world, because it is.

So here’s the challenge: Let’s not just know the gospel. Let’s believe it.

If you’ve never come to the realization that you are separated from God. A sinner that deserves hell. Admit it `to Him today.

Stop trusting in your behavior. Being right with God is about belief, not behavior.

In a moment you’ll have the opportunity, maybe for the first time, to know what it feels like to be completely right with God.

Don’t wait. Get right with God today! Don’t be ashamed. Let everyone know you’re trusting in the righteousness of Jesus, the power of God for salvation.

Let us be excited for you. Would you come?