Many of you reading this article probably grew up like I did. I was born into a Christian home, taken to church every Sunday, and enrolled in Christian schools my whole life. I went to a Christian college, graduated, got married, and entered into ministry at the age of twenty-two. God has been faithful my entire life, yet there are moments when I still have to stop and ask an important question: Where do I place my confidence?
In Romans 2:17–29, Paul is writing to a Jewish audience. Just before this passage, he spends time calling out the sins of the Gentiles. I can almost picture the Jewish believers reading along, agreeing with him, maybe even cheering him on. But then Paul shifts his focus. He turns his attention to the “good people.”
Growing up in church, knowing Scripture, serving faithfully, or even being in ministry does not earn salvation.
These were the ones who said the right things and looked like they followed all the rules. I emphasize the word looked because Paul points out that while they talked about the law, they did not actually live it. Their confidence was not in God but in the law itself. They believed that knowing the law, teaching the law, and having the right religious heritage were enough to save them.
Paul is building toward Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (ESV). He makes it clear that the gospel is for everyone—the ones who know the law and the ones who do not. Yet many of these early Jewish believers still struggled to let go of the idea that the law itself was what saved them.
If we are not careful, we can fall into the same trap.
I am not talking about the Mosaic Law, but about the other things we place our confidence in. I thank God every day for the family I was raised in and the environment I grew up in, but I have to remind myself constantly that none of that saves me. Growing up in church, knowing Scripture, serving faithfully, or even being in ministry does not earn salvation.
This is something we must make sure the people in our churches understand as well. Jesus addresses this in Matthew 7:21–23. He says that not everyone who calls Him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven. Some will point to their spiritual activity—their works, their ministry, their obedience—and still hear the words, “I never knew you.”
Jesus is not trying to scare us into doubting our salvation. He is calling us to evaluate where our confidence truly lies. A confidence built on what we do will always be shaky. A confidence built on Christ is secure.
This does not mean we throw out everything we have learned. Prayer, Scripture, and church involvement are of immense value. They are gifts God uses to shape us and remind us of the truth. But they are not what saves us. They are meant to continually point us back to the One who does.
So, the question remains, and it is one worth asking often: Where is my confidence?
Photo credit: AI-generated
