Talk about a power-packed couple of verses!

Humanity, without the Spirit of God, can be an ugly thing—just sayin’. It seems like we hear more and more about atrocious things happening, especially to children, which makes you wonder how people can commit such horrible acts. Then there are those being martyred simply because of their faith.

Throughout history, Jews and Christians have repeatedly been targets of persecution. Both share a belief in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the enemy has a special hatred toward those who belong to Him.

Such is the world we live in, but we don't have to be of it.

Jesus' prayer in John 17 comes to mind. First, He says this:

“And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.” 
‭‭(John 17:3 NLT)

Jesus then goes on to say:

“I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do.” 
(John 17:14–16 NLT)

Let that sink in. We do not belong to this world anymore!

We have been transferred out of the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of light—God's Kingdom—because we belong to Christ (Colossians 1:13–14). We now serve in more of an ambassadorial capacity here on earth, representing the Kingdom to which we belong. We are still in the world, but we are no longer of it.

That is a huge distinction. We belong to another Kingdom, and that changes everything!

So when Paul says that we are no longer under any obligation to do what our sinful nature urges us to do, we need to understand why. Our sinful nature is no longer our master! We have been given a new identity, a new allegiance, and a new source of power—the Holy Spirit who lives within us.

And by the power of that same Spirit, we are able to put to death the deeds of the flesh and live for God.

We no longer have to live according to the dictates of our sinful nature. We have a choice! And with that choice comes the responsibility to live according to the Kingdom to which we now belong.

The question becomes: Who do you want to live for?

Which will it be? Are we going to let our sinful nature or the Spirit of God control our minds?

The choice is obvious—letting our sinful nature control our minds leads to death, but letting the Spirit of God control our minds leads to life—and peace. Who doesn’t need some peace in their lives?

Notice how Paul says that our sinful nature is always hostile to God. It is our constant enemy, seeking to undermine everything good God is trying to do in our lives. We choose what we allow ourselves to think about and dwell on each day—and trust me, those thoughts eventually lead to action. Paul makes it clear that we can never please God when we are controlled by our sinful nature.

How do we know if we are controlled by our sinful nature? We do what it wants! You could say that we are obedient to it. The same is true of the Spirit of God. If we are controlled by the Spirit, we will be obedient to Him and will not carry out the desires of the flesh. It is all about whom we listen to and to whom we give expression in our lives.

Christ lives within us, and even though our mortal bodies will eventually die because of sin, we have been given new life that will be fully realized when we receive our resurrected bodies at Christ’s return.

Sin has already been condemned through Christ's sacrifice in the flesh, yet our mortal bodies remain subject to death. As Paul reminds us, flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor can mortality inherit immortality (1 Corinthians 15:50).

But here is the wonderful news! The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives within us and will one day give life to our mortal bodies. We have the promise of resurrection and bodies clothed with immortality, just as Jesus has!

Lots to look forward to! However, in the meantime, there is lots to do as we learn to live each day under the control and direction of the Spirit of God.

The question is not simply whether the Spirit of God lives within us, but whether we are allowing Him to direct the way we think and live.

Wonderful news! It is almost as though Paul is saying, “I said all that to say this: There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus!” This is the pinnacle of his argument.

The Law of Moses could not save us. Our sinful human nature prevented us from fulfilling its just requirements, leaving us under judgment and condemnation. At best, the Law kept us in protective custody until Jesus came to rectify our situation.

So what does God do? He sends Jesus, who takes on a human body like ours, yet without sin, so that through His sacrifice, God could condemn sin in the flesh and break its power over us.

I am reminded of this passage of Scripture found in Hebrews:

“Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come— In the volume of the book it is written of Me— To do Your will, O God.’ ” Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” ‭‭
(Hebrews‬ ‭10‬:‭5‬-‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬)

Notice the wording being used: “A body You have prepared for Me.” And it is through “the offering of the body of Jesus Christ” that we have been sanctified once and for all!

Jesus did for us what we could never do for ourselves. He offered His sinless body as the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of mankind. In this way, God condemned sin in the flesh, breaking its claim over us so that we can now serve Him free from condemnation, provided we belong to Christ.

And that is the operative question in all of this, isn't it? Do we belong to Jesus?

If we do, then the “life-giving power of the Spirit” has freed us from the power of sin that leads to death.

Think about that! We have been delivered from sin's dominion, released from its condemnation, and given the Holy Spirit to empower us to live in a way that pleases God.

We really need to explore what that freedom means for us, because being free from sin's condemnation should change the way we live!

The battle is real, yet we choose who will have the victory in our lives.

As we discussed yesterday, we have been delivered from sin’s dominion because of Christ, yet its corrupting influence is still present and wars against our minds to the degree that we entertain it.

Notice what Paul says here: “This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.”

The operative word is still.

What haven’t we addressed in our lives? What areas have we not submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ? What back doors have we left open that have given the enemy not just access, but a right to enter our lives?

Yes, that’s right! We can give the enemy access into our lives through the things we entertain.

Some would say that a Christian cannot be possessed by a demon, but I beg to differ.

We choose each and every day whom we give expression to, and having personally experienced deliverance, I can tell you that I knew I was being oppressed by something. I prayed, commanding it to leave—we have that authority in Christ. However, whatever it was came out of me, making the most ungodly sound on its way out!

No one was more surprised than I was! I thought I was simply being oppressed from the outside, but whatever this was, it was on the inside.

So, although we have been set free in Christ, we must make sure we do not give the enemy any footholds in our lives.

If we are struggling in certain areas, we should bring those struggles before the Lord in repentance and ask Him for wisdom to discern what needs to be addressed. Sometimes we know what opened the door, and sometimes we don’t. That is why we need to seek God for wisdom and understanding.

That is what led to my personal deliverance. I simply commanded that demonic spirit to leave in the name of Jesus.

Never underestimate the power of His name!

We have authority in Christ to use His name to rebuke any inroads the enemy has made into our lives and command him to leave, never to return.

But we must also make sure we do not return to the very things that gave him access in the first place.

Christ has set us free from sin’s dominion, but we have a responsibility to guard that freedom. We must not give the enemy a foothold in territory that belongs to Jesus!

Paul is describing a struggle familiar to every believer in Christ—the dilemma of having been made spiritually alive in Christ while still living in a mortal body that has yet to experience its full redemption.

We have been made new in Christ, yet we have not experienced the fullness of everything Christ purchased for us. That is why God has given us the Holy Spirit as a down payment—a guarantee of what He has promised until the time of our complete redemption.

We have been delivered from sin’s dominion, yet its corrupting influence remains present in our fallen world and continues to wage war against us. Although judgment has already been rendered against sin through Christ, the full consequences of that judgment, including sin's ultimate removal, have yet to be realized.

Consequently, we experience an ongoing struggle between our desire to please God and the sinful tendencies of our fallen nature. The victory has already been secured, but the complete redemption of our bodies is still to come.

We have been delivered from sin's dominion, but we are still awaiting deliverance from its presence.

Now, consider this little tidbit from Paul that he wrote to the Galatians:

“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.” (Galatians 5:16-17)

The law could reveal what was right. Our renewed minds could desire what was right. But only the Holy Spirit could empower us to consistently walk in what was right.

We are not simply waiting for our glorified bodies to experience victory over sin. We have been given the Holy Spirit so that we can experience that victory now, even while living in bodies that have yet to be fully redeemed.

So, even though we stand in this great privilege of salvation, we still have a responsibility to actively participate in the process of sanctification—not by doing things in our own strength, which is powerless to combat sin, but by yielding to the power of the Holy Spirit, who enables us to follow His lead.

Paul explains this beautifully in Philippians 2:12–13:

“Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”

Therein lies our victory over sin’s corrupting influence!

Paul seems to be describing sin as a type of corrupting, opportunistic force. We often associate sin with the devil, and yet sin is not synonymous with the devil. However, sin certainly found expression through his rebellion and continues to serve his evil purposes.

I’m not prepared to pontificate on the origins of sin, but suffice it to say that both Lucifer and mankind gave place to it through their own choices. Through Adam, sin entered the world, subsequently becoming a power that enslaved and corrupted humanity. It is a force to be reckoned with, and without Jesus, we are powerless to overcome its dominion.

As we have discussed, the law is good, but by its very goodness, it exposes sin for what it is. The law is like a light shining in a dark place, revealing what was previously hidden. Yet sin, in its insidiousness, exploits the very law intended for our good, using it to expose our guilt and bring condemnation.

As Paul states:

“So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes.”

But Jesus—thank God for Jesus!

Jesus changed everything! He dealt with the sin issue once and for all. For those who are in Christ, sin no longer holds the same power over us. Do we still fall prey to it from time to time? Unfortunately, yes. And to the degree that we allow it to go unchecked in our lives, we will suffer the consequences.

Understand, sin is something we commit, but it is also something that seeks to rule us. What begins with a choice can eventually become our master. Sin is not merely an action to be avoided; it is a power from which we need to be delivered.

The first requires forgiveness; the second requires deliverance. And in Christ, God has provided both!

Jesus didn't simply come to forgive the individual sins we have committed. He came to break the dominion of sin over our lives.

Salvation does more than restore what was lost through Adam. It brings us into a new life in Christ, restoring our relationship with God and our rightful place in His Kingdom.

We have not only been forgiven of sin; we have been set free from its power. The question is, are we living in that freedom?

Paul, by his own words, says that this is the main point he is trying to make: We died to the power of the law when we died with (and surrendered to) Christ, and we are now united with the One who was raised from the dead—Jesus.

We are no longer bound and controlled by our sinful nature, but we have been made new in Christ, set free to produce good deeds for God. We have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. And we now serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.

I have to admit, I have to take much of this at face value, for I do not fully understand all the ramifications of what Paul is saying here, other than that I am no longer bound by the law and am free to serve God in the Spirit.

Yet living in the Spirit does not mean that I can live however I want. Rather, it means that the Spirit of God has now become my personal guide. I follow His leading and promptings, understanding that He will guide me in the way that is best for me. He has become my personal Tutor, helping me navigate all the intricacies of life, working in me to make me holy and blameless before God.

Keep in mind, Paul warns us in Ephesians 4:30:

“And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.”

The Holy Spirit takes His role in our lives seriously, and so should we. There will be times when He reminds us of what God has said, especially when our intended actions reveal that we have either forgotten His words or are choosing to ignore them. All sin does is produce death in our lives. The Holy Spirit wants no part in sin and will remind us of that very truth.

I think what is different now is that we are no longer guided solely by the words in the Book—the Bible—words that, at times, we have a tendency to forget. We now have the Author living inside of us, always present to remind us of what He has already written, even when it is something we would rather not hear!

How perfect is that?

We truly can never get away from His Spirit. Whether we care to admit it or not—that is good for us!

We have not been set free from the law to live without restraint. We have been set free to live under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who leads us into the very life God intended for us.

You know…it would be one thing if we had to work for our righteousness, and many are still operating under the mindset that we must do just that. Yet Paul clearly tells us that eternal life is a free gift through Christ Jesus. He even makes the comparison using the terms “wages” and “free gift.” They are not the same. Sin pays us exactly what we have earned, but God gives us what we could never earn!

Why is this so hard for us to grasp? Maybe our pride gets in the way. It is humbling to admit that we need help, and for some, there is a reluctance to be indebted to someone else. We might even wonder, “What’s the catch?”

There is no catch! Salvation is a gift that must be received by faith. And through Christ, we have been given the power to live holy lives. Eternal life or eternal damnation? It shouldn't be a hard choice.

We all serve something or someone. Notice that Paul is not presenting freedom as the absence of a master, but rather as a change of masters. Are we going to continue serving sin, which leads to death, or are we going to change course and serve God, which leads to holiness?

Understand that freedom from righteousness is basically the freedom to destroy ourselves without restraint, packaged with a pretty bow. Sin begets more sin. It is progressive, leading us further and further into bondage and producing more and more death in our lives. Sin always promises more than it can deliver and ultimately costs more than we ever intended to pay.

Paul is asking us to evaluate sin not by its immediate pleasure, but by its eventual outcome.

And then Paul makes this statement:

"But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life." (Romans 6:22 NLT)

Notice that Paul says we have already been set free from sin's power. He is not telling us to earn that freedom through righteous behavior. He is telling us to live in the freedom Christ has already provided.

As we have been discussing, this distinction is essential to understanding Romans.

We do not become righteous through our good works. We are made righteous through faith in Christ, and that new relationship should produce the fruit of holiness.

Holiness is not the price we pay for salvation; it is the fruit of a life surrendered to God.

Grace doesn't eliminate the importance of our choices. It gives us the ability to make different ones.

What’s our responsibility? We have been set free from the dominion of sin, but we must choose to walk in that freedom. God has provided everything we need to live a godly life, but He will not make those choices for us.

The question is no longer whether we have the power to live differently, but whether we are willing to yield ourselves to the One who has set us free.

Grace was never intended to make us comfortable with sin. It was given to free us from its dominion so that we could live for God.

Are we using our bodies as instruments of sin or of righteousness?

Paul is pleading with us that now that we have been set free from sin by God's grace, we should use that freedom to live righteously. It really comes down to whom we choose to serve in this life. And that freedom of choice comes with great responsibility.

God has truly removed all of our excuses by giving us everything we need to live a godly life (2 Peter 1:3).

So why would we choose to go back to sin?

Peter addresses this in 2 Peter 2:20–22:

“And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.””

These are the kinds of Scriptural warnings that keep me up at night. Statements like, “It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life,” tell me that I really don't want to know what is on the other side of that warning.

Sin offers us no lasting benefit, only temporary or fleeting pleasure. There is nothing there for us worth returning to. And as Paul says, “You can be a slave to sin which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.”

If you think you can't change your ways, then you are still living as though you are a slave to sin. The only way out of this destructive cycle is through Christ Jesus. He gives us the power to live godly lives. We simply have to choose to walk in obedience to Him.

And that is where the rub comes in.

It is often easier to make excuses for remaining as we are than to make the changes necessary to live differently. We can justify our behavior, blame our circumstances, or convince ourselves that we simply cannot change. Yet Scripture is clear that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).

God has not left us powerless against sin. Through Christ, He has broken its dominion over our lives and given us the grace and strength to walk in righteousness.

But we must choose whom we will serve.

As I said, God has removed all of our excuses. The choice and responsibility are ours.
 
The question is not whether God has given us the power to live differently, but whether we are willing to surrender our will and walk in obedience to Him.

Do we consider ourselves dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus?

I have to admit, some days I walk in this understanding more than others. I find that this tends to ebb and flow in direct proportion to my daily reading of God's Word—or lack thereof.

I don’t know how God does it, but it is amazing how what I read in the morning often contains an important piece of wisdom I need for the day. It is equally amazing how ill-prepared I can be when I neglect that time in His Word. That lack of preparation usually reveals itself in a lack of focus or an inability to handle situations in the best way, mentally and otherwise.

That is part of the reason I started writing these posts. It is a daily discipline that helps me keep the Word of God before me.

We need God’s grace every day. We need to come before Him daily to receive what is necessary to face the challenges ahead. Oh, we may try to live off yesterday’s manna for a while, but it will not sustain us indefinitely. We need fresh nourishment from His Word.

Consider what God told Joshua in Joshua 1:8:

“Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.”

You know what catches my attention about this verse? Two words—“only then.”

Who doesn’t want to prosper and succeed? God tells us where to find the principles needed to live a successful life. They are right at our fingertips, readily available to us. We simply need to avail ourselves of the treasures of wisdom, knowledge, and revelation found in His Word as the Holy Spirit illuminates our understanding.

And what did Jesus say?

“Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
(Matthew 4:4)

God has already provided what we need to walk in victory, and part of that involves understanding this important truth—Jesus took care of the sin problem.

We are no longer bound as slaves to do sin’s bidding. The prison door has been opened; we need only walk out in the freedom Christ has provided. Sin brought death into the world, and its destructive consequences have touched every one of us. But through Christ, we have been set free from its dominion.
Whom the Son sets free is free indeed!

God’s help is always available to us, but its transforming power becomes more evident in our lives as we walk in obedience to His Word. Obedience does not earn us His grace; rather, it positions us to walk more fully in what His grace has already provided.

We are alive to God through Christ Jesus. Now, let us learn to walk in the fullness of that life!

There will always be those who like to play “devil’s advocate,” and Paul anticipates what some might try to argue: If grace abounds more and more, then why not keep on sinning so we can experience even more grace? If salvation is a free gift and is not earned through obedience to the Law, does that mean our behavior no longer matters?

What kind of crazy thinking is that? We have died to sin, so why would we continue to live in it? Grace is not permission to sin; it is the power to live free from sin’s dominion in our lives.

As a reminder, we do not stop sinning in order to become righteous; rather, because we have been made righteous through faith in Christ, we should no longer continue living under sin’s dominion.

Paul brings up the symbolism found in water baptism—that when we were baptized into Christ Jesus, we were baptized into His death.

This is a profound spiritual truth.

Through faith, we have been united with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. Water baptism outwardly illustrates this inward spiritual reality.

Consider the symbolism:
* Going beneath the water represents our identification with Christ in His death and burial.
* Coming out of the water represents our identification with His resurrection and the new life we now have in Him.

Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, we too are now able to walk in newness of life.

Our old selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives, and we would no longer be slaves to it. We have been set free from the power of sin, so again, why would we choose to continue walking in that which produces death in our lives?

Grace does not make sin acceptable—it makes living free from its clutches possible.

The question then becomes, “Have we truly died with Christ?”

And if we have, are we living as those who have been raised with Him?

There is a difference between knowing that Christ died for us and understanding that, through faith, we have died with Him. The first speaks of what Jesus did for us; the second speaks of what His sacrifice has accomplished in us.

We are no longer who we once were. Sin no longer has the right to rule our lives. We have been given a new life in Christ, and now we must choose to walk in it.

We have been set free from sin's dominion. This is a truth that must be received by faith. The question is, are we living like it?

Paul continues to emphasize this main point: Just as one man’s sin—Adam’s—brought condemnation and separation from God to everyone, so one Man’s act of righteousness brought the gift of life, forgiveness, and a right relationship with God to all who would receive Jesus.

To reiterate a point made yesterday: Sin is universal; however, salvation must be received.

How do you receive a gift?

I remember one Christmas when my dad wasn’t particularly happy with me about some decisions I had made. In my travels, I had gotten him a gift from South Korea—a beautiful, hand-carved, medium-sized wooden chest that he refused to open. In fact, that gift remained wrapped and unopened in a hall closet, and it wasn’t until about five months later that he finally opened it. (I think I got my stubborn streak from him!)

The gift had been given, but it wasn’t received until months later.

A gift has been given to us. Have we received it and opened it yet? God provided the answer to the universal problem of sin, but have we personally received the life-giving, grace-filled answer found in Christ?

Either sin or grace rules in our lives. In fact, it is God’s grace that gives us the power to say no to sin. Sin is no longer our master when we have received Christ and are walking in His life-giving power.

The same Holy Spirit who raised Christ from the dead lives in those who belong to Him and gives life to our mortal bodies. In fact, we have already passed from death to life spiritually. Our bodies will follow at the resurrection.

Think about that! What Adam lost through disobedience, Christ restored through His obedience. Where sin brought death, grace brings life. Where sin brought condemnation, Christ offers righteousness. And where sin once ruled, grace now reigns through Jesus Christ our Lord.

But we must receive what has been so graciously offered.

A gift may be freely given, but it cannot be enjoyed until it is received.

This is one gift you do not want to leave unopened under the Christmas tree!

Paul is explaining here how death entered the world through Adam’s sin. Our need for a Savior is based on this fact:

“When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.”

We were never meant to die. Sin entered the world through Adam’s disobedience, and its consequences extended to each successive generation, leading to their eventual death. Death was not part of God’s original design for humanity, yet we all bear the consequences of Adam’s sin because we all eventually die.

Death is the evidence of the profound effect of Adam’s disobedience.

One man’s act affected the entire human race.

Never underestimate the power of your choices or the ripple effects they can cause.

Now notice that people from Adam’s generation all the way to Moses’ generation died before the Law was even given. Death was not the result of breaking the Mosaic Law but rather a consequence of sin entering the world through Adam. The Law exposed sin. It identified the problem, but it was not the answer.

Now, if breaking the Law didn't create the problem, why would we think keeping the Law could solve it? The problem existed long before the Law was given. Sin and death entered the human experience through Adam, and their consequences extended to all mankind.

Paul describes Adam as a “symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come.”

Through Adam, sin and death spread to all mankind, but through Christ, righteousness and eternal life became available to all who believe.

Both men made choices whose consequences extended far beyond themselves.

Death came as the result of one man's disobedience, yet life came through one Man's obedience. What Adam ruined, Jesus restored.

Yet this gracious gift of life was not merely a counterbalance to the consequences of Adam's sin. It provides so much more! The two are not equal in power, measure, or scope.

Jesus' sacrifice was sufficient to address not merely Adam's original transgression but the countless sins committed throughout human history. One sin brought condemnation, yet Christ's one sacrifice is sufficient to provide forgiveness for the sins of the entire world.

The power of Christ's sacrifice far exceeds the destructive power of Adam's disobedience.

And those who receive God's gracious gift are declared righteous through faith in Jesus Christ.

Yet there is one more point worth considering. We are all born into a fallen world. Sin is universal; however, this gracious gift of life must be received. This is where our power of choice becomes so important.

Adam, a type of Christ, was created without sin but chose disobedience, bringing sin and death into the world.

Jesus entered the world without sin and chose obedience, even to the point of death on the Cross, making salvation available to all who will receive His gracious gift.

Consider the contrast. Through Adam, we inherited a condition we could not overcome on our own. Through Christ, we are offered a gift we could never earn on our own.

The first Adam brought death. The last Adam brought life.

And now the choice is before us. We can remain under the condemnation brought by sin, or we can receive the righteousness and eternal life made available through Jesus Christ.

The price has already been paid. The gift has already been offered. All that remains is for us to receive it by faith.

What are we waiting for?

We were helpless in our sinful state, completely separated from God and destined for eternal damnation—but Christ! Jesus did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He saved us by paying the price necessary to satisfy God’s righteous, holy, and just standards. He died for us, offering His sinless self while we were still sinners.

That is how much God loves us. Not only was God willing to send His Son Jesus to die for us, but Jesus was willing to personally endure the cross for those who were still considered His enemies. Who dies for his enemies? Jesus did.

And since we have now been made right with God through Christ, there is no condemnation. Jesus didn’t go through all of that only to turn around and condemn us. His sacrifice was complete. Our sentence was pardoned. The price was paid in full. There is no longer any debt to pay other than the debt to love God and love one another.

As we spoke about in the last post, we have already passed from death to life. Our friendship with God has been restored. We who were once separated from Him have now been reconciled to Him through Christ.

How can we not praise God for His incredible love, mercy, and kindness extended to us? While we were helpless, He came to our rescue. While we were sinners, Christ died for us. While we were His enemies, He made a way for us to become His friends.

Don’t pass up His invitation to life. The price has already been paid. Receive the gift.

This bears repeating—“Therefore”...in light of all these things...“since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ has done for us.”

This is an immutable fact. Thank God for His mercy and goodness extended toward us—we could never repay Him.

And...because of our faith, Christ has brought us to this place of undeserved privilege where WE NOW stand. Just think on that for a moment. We now stand in a place of undeserved privilege because of our faith in Christ. We could never take credit for what He has so graciously given us.

I am reminded of the words of Jesus in John 5:24:

““I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.”

Because we believe in Jesus, we have already passed from death to life. We are already partaking of the eternal life He has given us and will not be condemned. Our sins have been removed because of His sacrifice in our stead. Such wonderful truths that we would do well to meditate on.

Yet, we still have to live out our earthly lives here, which can be a challenge at times. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like undeserved privilege at all. However, Paul encourages us that, in light of our secured future, we can rejoice even when we run into trials and troubles. They are temporary, but God uses them to develop endurance and strength of character in our lives, leading to an increasingly confident hope of salvation.

And this hope will not disappoint us. Why? Because God has already given us the Holy Spirit, filling our hearts with His love and assuring us that what He has promised is yet to come.

So we must use our time here wisely. God has great things in store for us, as Paul later reminds us in Romans 8:18:

“Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.

”
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Sometimes we have to go through stuff. Jesus made it clear that we would experience trials in this world, but He also told us to take heart because He has overcome the world.

That changes our perspective. Our trials do not determine our standing with God, nor do they change our destination. We have peace with God because of Jesus Christ. We stand in His grace because of faith. We have the Holy Spirit within us, and we have the promise of glory ahead of us.

We know where we stand, and we know where we are going.

That gives us all the more reason to rejoice.

Abraham’s life story is amazing. Genesis 12–25 gives the account of his life, which is packed with tremendous testimonies of the faith he walked in with God. He believed what God told him, and God honored him because of his faith. Abraham was fully convinced that God was able to do whatever He promised. It was because of that faith that God counted Abraham as righteous.

Yet, as we continue reading Genesis, we find that God is not only the God of Abraham, but also the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. He is the living God for every generation of those who seek after Him.

For Abraham, his walk with God involved leaving his homeland and becoming a sojourner in a foreign land that God eventually promised through covenant to give to him and his descendants. Not only that, God promised him a son through Sarah—an impossibility by earthly standards because of their age. Yet Abraham believed, knowing, as we mentioned yesterday, that God was able to bring the dead back to life, which included their 90- and 99-year-old bodies.

His son Isaac was born, and then the Lord tested Abraham by telling him to sacrifice his son. Abraham didn’t flinch but obeyed, believing God’s promise concerning his descendants through Isaac. However it was going to play out, Abraham trusted God to fulfill His promise through Isaac. And God provided a ram just in the nick of time, after it was obvious that Abraham intended to go through with it.
Consider God’s words to him:

““This is what the LORD says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.””
Genesis‬ ‭22‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The book of Genesis is filled with incredible stories of faith in the descendants who followed Abraham, each filled with their own challenges and acts of obedience. God continued to speak to each successive generation, giving instructions specific to their time while setting things in motion for the generations that would follow.

And here we are today—and He still speaks.

Throughout the Old Testament, God spoke of His Son who was to come. Now we each have the choice of whether we are going to listen to Him and follow His direction.

Bringing it back to our passage for today, Paul states:

“And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.”
Romans‬ ‭4‬:‭23‬-‭25‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God has taken humanity on a journey, and we each have an opportunity to follow Him. This is a living relationship, not merely one we read about. Abraham had a living, vibrant relationship with the Lord, and when the Lord spoke, Abraham answered, followed, and obeyed—revealing his faith in the living God.

Why do I say that? Because you don’t follow someone you don’t believe unless you are forced to or have ulterior motives. Mind you, that is the way of the devil, who uses fear and intimidation to try to get us to do his bidding. Learn to recognize the difference.

So what is the Lord speaking to us individually? Are we listening? Are we following His voice? Jesus said that His sheep hear His voice and follow Him.

Are we following the Word of the Lord—not only His written Word, which provides the foundation by which everything else must be measured, but also the leading of the Holy Spirit in our individual lives?

Abraham’s faith was not merely something he professed; it was something he lived. He believed God, and because he believed Him, he followed Him. His obedience did not earn his righteousness—his obedience revealed the faith that was already there.

The same is true for us. Saving faith is more than acknowledging that God exists. It is believing Him enough to entrust our lives to Him. When He says go, we go. When He says wait, we wait. When He asks us to trust Him when circumstances seem impossible, we trust that He is able to do what He has promised.

Abraham was fully convinced.

The question for us is: Are we?

I am not sure about you, but going through Romans piece by piece like this has really helped me see Paul’s argument much more clearly. This is the beauty of Scripture and the revelation brought by the Holy Spirit—our understanding of certain truths continues to grow deeper and fuller.

As I have mentioned before, I have struggled with somewhat of a “works theology,” probably developed, at least in part, from reading the Old Testament, or Old Covenant, early on in my walk with the Lord. But Christ’s sacrificial work on the Cross ushered in the New Covenant, and we are saved by grace through faith. So now, when I read the Old Testament, I do so in light of what the New Testament reveals.

Yet what Paul is showing us here is that it has always been about faith.

God’s promise to Abraham was not based on his obedience to God’s Law, but rather on a right relationship with God that comes by faith. And that faith, in turn, produces obedience. If we truly love Him, we will keep His commandments. Obedience is not the means by which we earn a right relationship with God; it is the fruit that grows out of that relationship.

“So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift.”

A gift cannot be earned—it is something freely given. If it can be earned, then it is not a gift; it is a wage.

It is so important that we understand this, lest we fall into a “works” theology and begin trying to earn from God what He has already offered us freely through faith.

Abraham believed God, and it was counted as righteousness to him. And what did Abraham believe? He believed in “the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.”

What a powerful truth to meditate on when circumstances look desperate or impossible. Abraham was looking at a situation that, naturally speaking, could not happen. Yet his faith was not based on what he could see or what he could accomplish. His faith rested in what God was able to do.

And so should ours.

The same God Abraham trusted is the God we trust today—the God who brings life where there appears to be death and creates something where there appears to be nothing. Our responsibility is not to figure out how God will fulfill His promises. Our responsibility is to believe Him.

Nothing is impossible with God.

What an interesting question Paul introduces: “Was he (Abraham) counted as righteous only after he was circumcised, or was it before he was circumcised?”

That adds another wrinkle to a law-and-works theology, because our founding father of the faith was counted righteous before he was circumcised.

Circumcision, like water baptism, is an outward sign of what has already taken place within. It did not make Abraham righteous; it confirmed the righteousness he had already received through faith.

Paul continues:

“So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted righteous because of their faith. And Abraham is also the spiritual father of those who are circumcised—but only if they have the same kind of faith Abraham had before he was circumcised.”

True to His word, God made Abraham the father of many nations—circumcised and uncircumcised. Circumcision without faith is useless, just as works without faith are dead.

Jew and Gentile are alike in this regard. Both can struggle with a works-based theology that threatens to replace the essential ingredient of salvation: faith.

We cannot miss this: the sign came after the faith. Abraham did not believe because he was circumcised; he was circumcised because he had already believed. His obedience followed his faith—it did not produce it.

The same is true for us. Baptism, church attendance, giving, serving, and good works all have their proper place, but none can replace faith in Jesus Christ. These things should flow from our faith, not become substitutes for it.

We do not obey God in order to earn righteousness; we obey Him because through faith we have been made righteous. Faith comes first, and genuine faith produces obedience.

Abraham Believed God

“Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”

I can’t tell you how many times I have read these words yet not fully understood their connection or importance to Christianity. Paul just stepped it up a notch. Using the Scriptures, he is making the case that the founding father of the Jewish people was not saved by all the laws that came afterward, but rather by the simple fact that he believed God—he had faith in God. Faith was the determining factor.

People are not counted righteous because of what they do. They cannot earn their salvation, as we have been discussing in previous posts. The free gift of salvation is bestowed on us through faith—through believing and trusting in God.

This hits me a little harder because, in my own walk and understanding of God, I have often operated in somewhat of a blend of the Old and New Covenants. As we spoke about in Romans chapter 3, Jesus ushered in a New Covenant, based on better promises according to Hebrews 8:6, which bears looking at:

“But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises. If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it.”
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Hebrews‬ ‭8‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Notice that it says there was a need for a second covenant to replace the first. Just let that sink in.
Yet what Jesus accomplished goes even further. Through Him, God is restoring what was lost through sin. What mankind could never accomplish through human effort, Jesus accomplished for us. He came to bring us back into right relationship with God.

And one more observation, free of charge. Consider this statement by Jesus:

““I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.”
‭‭John‬ ‭5‬:‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We have already passed from death into life—spiritually. The rest will follow later.

That is an incredible thought. Eternal life is not merely something we are waiting to receive someday; in Christ, it has already begun. Something has already changed. We were spiritually dead, but through faith in Christ we have been made alive. Our physical bodies are still awaiting their redemption, but spiritually, the transaction has already taken place.

The Old Covenant was based on laws written on stone, with its system of sacrifices, priesthood, and regulations pointing people toward their need for God and ultimately toward the coming Messiah. But those sacrifices had to be offered repeatedly because they could never permanently remove sin.

Jesus changed everything.

The New Covenant is secured by Christ’s once-and-for-all sacrifice on the cross. What the blood of bulls and goats could never accomplish, the blood of Jesus did. He paid the price once, for all time.

The Old Covenant served its purpose in God’s plan, preparing and preserving His people until the coming of Christ. But now the Lord has come, and through His death and resurrection He has begun restoring what was lost through sin in the Garden.

I say begun because we have not yet experienced the complete fulfillment of everything salvation promises. We have been saved, we are being transformed, and one day, when Christ returns, even our mortal bodies will experience the fullness of that redemption.

There is still more to come!

However, God has not left us here empty-handed while we wait. He has given us a down payment of His goodness in the form of the Holy Spirit, whom He has sent to live within us and help us navigate our time here on earth.

Consider the following Scripture:

“It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭21‬-‭22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I love that wording: “the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.”

Think about what a first installment means. It is a deposit—a pledge that there is more to come. God has given us His Holy Spirit as His guarantee that everything else He has promised will follow.

We have already received forgiveness. We have already been made alive spiritually. We have already been brought into relationship with God. We already have His Spirit living within us. Yet we are still awaiting the redemption of our bodies, the resurrection, and the fullness of eternal life in His presence.

The Holy Spirit living within us is God's assurance that He will finish what He started.

And this brings us right back to Abraham.

Abraham did not possess everything God promised him the moment he believed. Much of it was still in the future. Yet Abraham believed God. He trusted the promise because he trusted the One who made it.

And so must we.

We may not yet see the fullness of everything God has promised us, but we have something Abraham did not have in the same New Covenant sense—we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us as God's guarantee that the rest is coming.

God has already put down the deposit.

God is good for it!

Many have a tough time with this part of the argument. It is almost too good to be true, so instead, we keep trying to earn our way to heaven. Yet if we could have been good enough, Jesus would not have had to die for us. Let that sink in.

Don’t you think God the Father would have answered Jesus’ prayer—“Take this cup from Me, nevertheless Your will be done, not Mine”—in the Garden of Gethsemane if there had been any other way? That was the problem—there wasn’t.

If the Old Covenant—the Law of Moses—had been enough, and if the blood of bulls and goats had been enough to cleanse us, Jesus would not have had to come. But they weren’t. That’s why those sacrifices had to be repeated again and again, year after year. They were never enough to cleanse us completely before God; instead, they served as a reminder of our sins. Only the blood of the perfect, sinless Lamb would suffice.

Our salvation came at a high price. Jesus willingly paid a price He did not owe for people who could never pay it themselves. That fact reveals the greatness of His love for us. He endured the cross so that we could be reconciled to God and share eternity with Him.

Consider how the author of Hebrews explains this predicament:

“The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer. You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin. Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God— as is written about me in the Scriptures.’” First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10‬:‭1‬-‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The author of Hebrews is referencing the prophetic words spoken by David in Psalm 40:6–8. Jesus was their fulfillment, ushering in a New Covenant between God and man.

Yet many still choose to try to approach God through the Old Covenant and obedience to the Law. But the Law itself pointed forward to Christ. Even Moses spoke of One who would come after him and warned the people that they must listen to Him.

“Moses continued, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. For this is what you yourselves requested of the LORD your God when you were assembled at Mount Sinai. You said, ‘Don’t let us hear the voice of the LORD our God anymore or see this blazing fire, for we will die.’ “Then the LORD said to me, ‘What they have said is right. I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people everything I command him. I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet proclaims on my behalf.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭18‬:‭15‬-‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Everything that came before—the Old Covenant—was leading to Jesus. The Law and the prophets were pointing toward the One who was to come.

Wow! I don’t presume to understand all of this completely, but I understand it a little better today.

So why the Law in the first place? Because it revealed God’s righteous standard—what He says is right and true. The problem was never with the Law; the problem was with our inability to keep it perfectly. The Law revealed God’s standard, exposed our sin, and ultimately showed us our need for Christ.

Paul says it this way in Galatians:

“Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world. But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you His heir.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭7 NLT‬‬

Paul’s illustration helps put all of this into perspective. The Law served a purpose, but it was never the final destination. It pointed us toward something greater—Jesus.

At just the right time, Christ came and did for us what we could never do for ourselves. We went from slaves to sons and daughters, from trying to meet a standard we could never perfectly attain to receiving what Jesus perfectly accomplished on our behalf.

That doesn’t mean God’s standards of right and wrong disappeared. Grace does not make sin acceptable. Rather, God did something far greater—He put His Spirit within us. Now we don’t obey in an attempt to earn our salvation; we desire to obey because we have already received it. We don’t obey so that we can become His children; we obey because we are His children.

This is why trying to earn our salvation misses the entire point of the Gospel. If we could earn it, Jesus would not have needed to purchase it. We could not make ourselves righteous, so He made us righteous through Christ. We could not pay our debt, so Jesus paid it for us.

What part did we play?

We believed and received—no boasting of our own accomplishments. We didn’t earn it, achieve it, or deserve it. We simply received by faith what Jesus accomplished for us.

Perhaps that is why grace can be so difficult for us to comprehend. We are accustomed to earning what we receive. But salvation is different. It is a gift purchased by Someone else at an unimaginable cost and freely offered to us.

The significance of what Jesus did for us can never be overstated. The Old Covenant pointed toward Him. Moses spoke of Him. David prophetically wrote of Him. The sacrifices foreshadowed Him. The Law revealed our need for Him.

And then, at just the right time, He came.

Jesus is not merely part of God’s plan of redemption.

He is the fulfillment of it.

“But now…” This is where Paul turns the argument from the problem to the answer. We had to understand the problem in order to receive the answer. We needed to understand our lost state before God before we could truly see our need for the Savior—Jesus.

The Law was insufficient to save us. It showed us how we were supposed to live while at the same time revealing our inability to meet all its requirements. As Paul says in verse 23, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”

So what does God do?

In His grace, He freely makes us right in His sight through His Son, Jesus, who paid the penalty for our sin. God did for us what we could never do for ourselves. He provided the way of salvation through faith in His Son.

We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood for us. Jesus did this once and for all time. His sacrifice was sufficient for the sins of humanity—past, present, and future. In doing so, God demonstrated both His righteousness and His mercy. He did not simply overlook sin; the penalty for sin was paid through Christ. God is both just and the One who makes sinners right with Himself when they believe in Jesus.

And before you say, “Well, what about those who lived and died before Jesus came to the earth?” consider the following Scriptures that Peter wrote:

“Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit. So he went and preached to the spirits in prison— those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood. And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” 
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭18‬-‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“That is why the Good News was preached to those who are now dead—so although they were destined to die like all people, they now live forever with God in the Spirit.” 
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

These are fascinating passages, and Christians have understood some of their details differently through the centuries. Exactly what Peter means when he says Jesus “preached to the spirits in prison,” and precisely what he means when he says the Good News “was preached to those who are now dead,” has been interpreted in several ways.

But the larger truth is clear: no one is saved apart from the work of Jesus Christ. His sacrifice reaches beyond the boundaries of time. Those who lived before the cross were not saved by keeping the Law any more than we are. Salvation has always depended upon the grace of God and ultimately upon the redeeming work of Christ.

That is what makes those two little words—“But now”—so powerful.

Paul has spent nearly three chapters showing us the problem. Jew and Gentile alike are guilty. The Law cannot save us. Our good works cannot save us. Our religious heritage cannot save us. We cannot make ourselves righteous before a holy God.

But now…God has provided the answer.

Jesus.

What we could not earn, God freely gave. What we could not accomplish, Jesus accomplished for us. The righteousness we could never attain through our own efforts is offered to us through faith in Christ.

That leaves every person with a decision. God has provided salvation, but we must respond to Him in faith.

The problem is sin.

The answer is Jesus.

And the choice of what we will do with Him belongs to each one of us.

Choose wisely.

Paul’s argument is coming to a head here, where he is showing that neither Jew nor Gentile can keep all the requirements of the Law, for we all fall short of its glorious standard. Yet he lets us in on a secret—the purpose of the Law is not to save us, but rather to remove our excuses and help us see our guilt and absolute need for a Savior.

The capstone of his argument is in this statement:

“For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.”

Just let that sink in—the Law’s purpose is to reveal our guilt because of our inability to keep all its requirements. We need to recognize our guilt before God—that is its purpose.

Consider what Jesus states in Matthew 5:17:

““Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.” 
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Consider some select portions of Paul’s words to the Galatians in Galatians 3:

“But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.” So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.” ….Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people….Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian. For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭3‬:‭10‬-‭12‬, ‭19‬, ‭23‬-‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The purpose of the Law is to lead us to Christ, who is the fulfillment of the Law. Everything points to Him.

What a difficult concept this must have been for those who had spent their lives trying to be “good enough.” They didn’t fully understand the nature or magnitude of God’s holiness—or their absolute insufficiency to stand before Him on their own merit.

Isaiah experienced this firsthand when he saw the Lord and exclaimed:

“It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.” 
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭6‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Mind you, Isaiah was a good man, yet obviously not good enough—and in the presence of a holy God, he immediately recognized his own sinfulness and guilt. That had to be a frightening moment for him.

The message in all of this is simple—we need Christ!

The Law, though perfect, was never intended to save us, but rather to show us our need and point us to the One who could. The Law reveals the problem; Christ is God’s answer.

God provided the way back to Himself through the sacrifice of His Son, who paid the price we could never pay. Jesus was and is perfect in every way. He alone fulfilled the righteous requirements of the Law and was able to offer Himself as the perfect, sinless sacrifice for us.

We could never be good enough, work hard enough, or obey perfectly enough to make ourselves right with God. That is precisely why Jesus came.

The Law says, “Here is God’s perfect standard.”

Our lives say, “We have fallen short.”

And the cross says, “The price has been paid.”

Everything points to Jesus. The Law showed us our need for a Savior—and then God gave us one.

Thank God for the Jewish people! Without them, we would not have the written record of their journey through history and the revelation of God through them. I have heard it said that one of the reasons God chose them was their meticulous recordkeeping. Their Scriptures preserved genealogies tracing humanity all the way back to Adam and Eve, spanning thousands of years.

I can only trace my own lineage back to my great-grandparents, although some in my family have done a bit of ancestry research, tracing some of our family tree back to the late 1800s.

We walk in the footsteps of those who have gone before us, and we wouldn't be here if it weren't for them. One of the things I look forward to in heaven is meeting my ancestors and learning about their lives here on earth.

Now, concerning the argument some presented to Paul—that somehow our sinfulness serves a good purpose because it demonstrates how righteous God is—that's some flawed logic!

We are always looking for excuses to justify the way we are. God has a plan for our lives, and sin is not part of it. I'm with Paul when he says, "Those who say such things should be condemned." Such reasoning only serves to keep people in captivity to sin.

It reminds me of those who attempt to justify their sin as though it somehow served a good purpose. They say things like, "Maybe it was a good thing that this happened because of what it produced in my life."
But sin itself never serves a good purpose in our lives. The wages of sin is death, and there is no reason to glorify that which brings death into our lives.

However, the mercy and grace of God are more than able to remove the lingering effects of sin and turn what the enemy meant for evil into good. But don't confuse God's ability to redeem our mistakes with His approval of them. Just because God can bring something good out of our sin doesn't mean the sin itself was good or necessary.

What we should celebrate is not the sin that brought us into captivity, but the grace of God that brought us out!

The honor and glory belong to God alone. Whatever good comes from our lives is the result of His grace at work within us. Sin may be part of our testimony, but God's redeeming grace is the reason we have a testimony worth telling.

Circumcision was considered a sign and seal of the Old Covenant. It identified the Israelites as God’s set-apart people. However, being circumcised, even as an act of obedience, did not save them. In the New Testament, water baptism is viewed much the same way. It is an act of obedience that identifies us with Jesus, yet it does not, in itself, save us.

Paul is explaining that circumcision only has value if one obeys God’s Law. God is not looking for a sign on our flesh but rather a change in our hearts. True circumcision is a matter of the heart, and a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God.

Again, Paul is emphasizing that a walk with God involves more than external obedience. Outward obedience means nothing if the heart is not right toward God. Bear in mind that a heart that is right before God desires to do what is right because it seeks praise from God, not from men.

We are not saved by our works, but our works demonstrate that we are saved. We don’t live right to get saved; we live right because we are saved.

Paul had unique insight into this truth. As a Jew and a Pharisee who had been virtually flawless in his outward observance of the Law, he came face-to-face with his true spiritual condition when he encountered the Lord of glory on the road to Damascus. Despite all his religious knowledge and meticulous obedience, he had fallen short in the most important matter of all—recognizing and receiving the One whom God had sent to secure our salvation.

What is the point of all that external obedience if the heart remains unchanged?

It is our hearts that God is after, for when He has our hearts, obedience follows. True obedience is not merely about following a set of rules or maintaining an outward appearance of righteousness. It flows from a heart that loves God and desires to please Him.

God is not looking for religious performance; He is looking for hearts that belong to Him. When our hearts are surrendered to Him, our actions become an expression of our love rather than an attempt to earn His approval.

After all, the greatest commandment is not simply to obey God but to love Him with all our hearts, souls, and minds. When we truly love Him, obedience naturally follows.

This goes back to what was said in yesterday’s post—it is sin to know what to do and choose not to do it. Put more simply, we are accountable for what we know, and with greater knowledge comes greater responsibility.

Paul is giving the Jews a hard time because they were the ones entrusted with God’s Law. In fact, they prided themselves on their special relationship with God and their knowledge of His ways. Yet Paul warns them that their privileged position does not excuse their disobedience. Quite the contrary! Their knowledge of God’s Law makes them all the more accountable when they knowingly violate it. Their sin is not born out of ignorance but out of willful disobedience.

Be careful! It is admirable to pursue knowledge and understanding, but with that knowledge comes accountability. Once you know the truth, you are responsible for what you do with it.

Consider what James says to teachers in James 3:1:

“Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly.”

Teachers bear a greater responsibility because they stand in positions of influence and are accountable not only for how they live but also for what they teach. Their words and actions can lead others toward the truth—or away from it.

Think about what Jesus said to the Pharisees in Matthew 23:13:

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.”

That is quite a judgment! How awful would it be to spend your entire life teaching something, only to discover in the end that you had been leading people in the wrong direction? And even worse, that your unwillingness to receive correction prevented others from discovering the truth.

What a sobering responsibility for anyone entrusted with teaching God's Word!

This is why we must never take ourselves too seriously or become so convinced of our own understanding that we leave no room for correction. No matter how much we know, there is always more to learn.

Consider the account of Apollos:

“Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well, had arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt. He had been taught the way of the Lord, and he taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic spirit and with accuracy. However, he knew only about John’s baptism. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God even more accurately.”
Acts 18:24–26 NLT

I love this account because Apollos was no novice. He was an eloquent speaker, well-versed in the Scriptures, enthusiastic about the Lord, and already teaching others with accuracy. Yet there were things he still did not understand.

Notice that Priscilla and Aquila did not publicly embarrass him or attempt to discredit his ministry. They took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately. And Apollos, despite his knowledge and influence, was willing to receive their instruction.

That is the mark of a teachable spirit.

We are all operating with incomplete knowledge. None of us has arrived at a place where we know everything there is to know about God and His Word. Therefore, we should never feel threatened when someone comes alongside us and helps us understand something more accurately. That is a gift we should never refuse!

The danger is not in what we have yet to learn but in becoming so confident in what we think we know that we are no longer willing to be taught.

And perhaps there is an even greater lesson here. Paul was confronting people who knew God's Word but were failing to live according to it. They were quick to instruct others while overlooking their own disobedience.

Knowledge of God's Word should never become a source of pride. It should produce humility, obedience, and a greater reverence for the One who entrusted us with it.

After all, the goal is not merely to know more about God but to become more like Him.