Romans Essentials of Faith - Righteousness

Good morning, Five Minute Families. Weather patterns across the US have been crazy with late spring-like weather mere hours before freezing temperatures and a blanket of snow. Memes abounded last week about the “spring of deception” or “third winter.” Our scheduled plans had to change yet again to accommodate something we cannot control. Part of life is coming to terms with what we can control and what we cannot, and seeing how powerful and mighty God is in the process. Today, we are beginning a series to discuss how a family can dive deep into four essentials of faith as Paul discusses them in Romans - righteousness, redemption, resources, and revival. The term righteousness appears thirty-five times in Romans. Righteousness is defined as ‘the quality of being morally right or justifiable’ or as ‘acting in accord with divine or moral law.’ And, you know, it is intriguing how even the slang meaning for righteous touches on the depth of the concept wherein the slang use is defined as ‘genuine or excellent.’ Paul defined righteousness as “inward and outward conformity to God’s law” (Insight for Living Ministries). As Romans 1:17 explains, “For in [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.” Believers must understand that we cannot have righteousness apart from God and His working in our lives. If righteousness is not possible apart from faith in God, then, parents, it is fundamentally important that our children understand what it means to be a Christ-follower. We would like to walk you down what is commonly referred to in Christian lingo as “The Romans Road.” Each time the discussion occurs, and, yes, it should occur more than once over the years, you will see growth in your kids, and in yourself as a disciple of Christ. 1. To begin, ask “Are you a good person?” No matter their answer, the truth lies in Romans 3:23, 3:10, and 5:12. So, with littles, you can share the simple statement that no one is perfect, and we will make