During WWll, a company of American soldiers was captured at the battle of the bulge. They were taken to a POW camp deep in the interior of Germany.
At the camp, there were 1,292 non-commissioned soldiers, and a master sergeant was put in charge of them. There were 200 American Jewish soldiers in the group. In January 1945, the Nazi commandant ordered all the Jewish prisoners to line up outside the next morning. The master sergeant talked to all his men that night and said, “we will all go out in the morning.” They did, and his actions saved the lives of the Jewish American soldiers.
Years later, the Israeli Government Awarded Master Sergeant Roderick W. (Roddie) Edmonds, the only American soldier, the highest award they give, the designation of Righteous.
The Bible states there is only one that is truly righteous, and that is Jesus Christ, (Acts 3:14, 2 Timothy 4:8). It means to completely obey all of God’s laws and commands.
The Bible says we are not righteous, not one, even though we may think that or try to put up a front, (Matthew 23:28, Romans 3:10, 23). But God loves us, and when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, confess our sins and call upon Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are declared righteous by God only because we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, (Romans 5:1-11). See you in Church next Sunday.