By David ReayFriday 9 Aug 2013LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
Read Romans 5:1-2
1 Therefore,since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith,we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith,Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand,and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. (NLT)
The Christian message is good news because it comes to us against the backdrop of bad news. The bad news is that we have wronged God by pursuing our own self-centred independence. We are thus estranged from God. The good news is that God doesn’t want this state of affairs to continue. He offers us pardon if we trust in what Jesus has done for us. He took our guilt on himself so we may be free of it.
Once we embrace what Jesus did we are right with God. Any good deeds we do after that do not earn us any more favour. Our own human imperfections after putting our trust in Jesus don’t earn us condemnation. What was wrong has been put right. God’s act in offering us friendship was primary; our response of faith is secondary though essential.
When a human judge pronounces an accused not guilty,he or she is acting in a formal and strictly legal sort of way. But when God declares us not guilty,he not only sets us free from the penalty of our wrongdoing but also brings us into personal relationship with him. Our God is both a just judge who declares us not guilty and a loving Father who welcomes us into his family forever.
Blessings
David Reay