RIGHT WITH GOD

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” Romans 3:23-24 NLT

       One of the most wonderful truths I have ever heard is that who we are is not defined by our past mistakes.  We are who God says we are and if we are born again then we are His beloved children, stripped clean of our past, a new creation. Our past indiscretions and misdeeds will never be held against us. The Lord has a standard to live by; however, He isn’t a dictator who demands our allegiance.  He gave us a free will to choose what we would believe.  If you want to live your own life the way you want to live it, setting your own standards as you go, God has given you the right to do that.  He wants you to know that He loves you and that His Son died to pay for your sins.  He also wants you to know that your life choices come with resultant consequences.  Solomon writes in his Proverbs  (14:12) “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.”  Regardless of whether it is physical death or spiritual death or perhaps both, the results are not good.

       God’s love for His children is so profoundly deep and abiding; unlike anything we’ve ever experienced.  His grace, or undeserved favor, makes us sinless in His sight.  He sees us thru the blood of Christ.  What a blessing to know we are forgiven.  What a blessing to know that our past sins have been removed as if we never committed them.  Do you understand the magnitude of that statement?  No matter what you’ve ever done in your life, if you ask for God’s forgiveness He will readily forgive and not condemn.

       Having been forgiven we stand free men.  That which once bound us has been removed by the power of the Almighty.  We owe no debt; it’s been paid in full.  We have been made holy and righteous in the eyes of God.  The gap has been bridged.  The separation has been restored.  Living our life for the Lord is one of the most rewarding things we could ever do.  Rest in the peaceful knowledge of God’s gracious gift and serve Him willingly and without hesitation for all your days.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Resource: Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2012.