The righteousness that is by faith

Romans 10:4-13 (TNIV) -

4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
5 Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “Whoever does these things will live by them.”6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down)7 “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim:9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,

13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

My thoughts -

What does it mean to be saved? If we are saved from our sins do we get to avoid the consequences of them? Is that all we get? Why does Paul, when talking about being saved through faith in Jesus mention righteousness?

If I am saved from my sins then, not only do I not receive the punishment I deserve for them, but I don't have to keep living in sin. I have been saved from that through faith in Jesus and that faith enables me to become righteous. I no longer have to live the old way, dead in my sins, but I have been made alive in Christ.

If we believe, if we have faith, then Jesus saves us from our sins (we can't do it) and then we can have the righteousness that is by faith that Paul mentions here. That doesn't mean that we are no longer capable of sin. It just means that we are empowered to become righteous. We learn to love God and to love others and in that love we no longer desire to do harm but instead to do good. We no longer desire our own selfish will but instead God's will. When we do this we become righteous.

It is hard to cause suffering for those we love. When we learn to love through Christ then we no longer desire to sin which causes suffering. It all comes down to having faith, which enables us to love, which makes us righteous.

I may be over-simplifying this, but that's what I'm living with right now. I want to learn to love others like Jesus loves me. I want to learn to see God in all of God's creation and to love all who have been created by God. If I can have faith enough to do that I figure righteousness will happen. In that righteousness through faith I will no longer be a slave to my selfish, sinful nature. I will be saved from myself, saved from my sin, saved from my own will, and very much alive in Christ.