Psalms 132-134
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23
Of all the letters that the Apostle Paul wrote, the book of Romans gives the most thorough understanding of the gospel. In fact, he began by declaring, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). Paul started by boldly declaring that he was not ashamed of the good news of Jesus Christ.
Then, he went on to talk about the bad news. Paul wrote, “Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles….They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator...” (Romans 1:22-25). If we think we are exempt because we do not worship idols, the “created things” that Paul referred to also include things like our job, our relationships, our desires and our pursuit of pleasure. No matter how hard we latch on to something, we are looking for it to provide something that only God can provide for us.
About the condition of all humanity, Paul stated, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). If we have read the news headlines or watched the evening news, we could see that the world has some issues, such as wars, famines, droughts, unspeakable things that human beings do to other human beings. Even if we try to live righteously, it does not measure up to God’s holiness. Because the bad news is really bad, the good news is really good. Paul tells us, “For what the law was powerless to do…God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering” (Romans 8:3). Because we need outside help to redeem us, that is why God stepped in.
Christ Jesus came and did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He lived the perfect life that we could not live and died the death that we all deserve. He went to the cross to atone for our sins and we did nothing to deserve this; it was His grace freely given to us. Paul wrote, “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
No matter who we are or what we did, Jesus Christ came for us.
Almighty God, thank You for the gift of salvation that I do not deserve. You alone are holy and righteous. Praise You!
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23
Of all the letters that the Apostle Paul wrote, the book of Romans gives the most thorough understanding of the gospel. In fact, he began by declaring, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). Paul started by boldly declaring that he was not ashamed of the good news of Jesus Christ.
Then, he went on to talk about the bad news. Paul wrote, “Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles….They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator...” (Romans 1:22-25). If we think we are exempt because we do not worship idols, the “created things” that Paul referred to also include things like our job, our relationships, our desires and our pursuit of pleasure. No matter how hard we latch on to something, we are looking for it to provide something that only God can provide for us.
About the condition of all humanity, Paul stated, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). If we have read the news headlines or watched the evening news, we could see that the world has some issues, such as wars, famines, droughts, unspeakable things that human beings do to other human beings. Even if we try to live righteously, it does not measure up to God’s holiness. Because the bad news is really bad, the good news is really good. Paul tells us, “For what the law was powerless to do…God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering” (Romans 8:3). Because we need outside help to redeem us, that is why God stepped in.
Christ Jesus came and did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He lived the perfect life that we could not live and died the death that we all deserve. He went to the cross to atone for our sins and we did nothing to deserve this; it was His grace freely given to us. Paul wrote, “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
No matter who we are or what we did, Jesus Christ came for us.
Almighty God, thank You for the gift of salvation that I do not deserve. You alone are holy and righteous. Praise You!
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