In Romans 3:22 I read, “God says he will accept and acquit us—declare us ‘not guilty’—if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like.” (TLB)
Salvation is a free gift. I can have all my sins forgiven and get a free ticket to heaven. But, while salvation is free to me, it is also costly, because somebody had to pay for it. When Jesus went to the cross, he paid the price for my sins to be forgiven.
If there were any other way for me to go to heaven, God would have used it. If there were any other way for a holy God to let an imperfect person into a perfect place, God would have done it rather than sacrifice his own Son.
A lot of popular psychology and thinking believe you can go to heaven by being a good person or by just believing God and heaven exist. But if that’s true, then why did Jesus have to die? He wouldn’t have submitted himself to that kind of agony if it wasn’t necessary.
The truth is everyone is full of sin. And a perfect God couldn’t let me into his perfect home without an enormous price being paid for that sin. That’s why it’s not enough to be a good person. In fact, there is no truly good person. The Bible says we, every single one of us, all fall short of God’s holiness. That’s why I need a Savior!
God is holy, and my sin is ugly. Salvation from my sin is costly, it cost Jesus his life! How should I respond to that?
I need to turn from my sin and trust Jesus to save me. The Bible says, “God says he will accept and acquit us—declare us ‘not guilty’—if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like” (Romans 3:22 TLB).
Anyone can come to Christ “no matter who you are or what you’ve done.” Isn’t that the kindest thing that’s ever been offered?
What am I most ashamed of in my life? Jesus paid for it. I can stop beating myself up, because Jesus allowed himself to be beat up for it. I don’t have to pay for something he’s already paid for!
So turn from my sin today, and trust that Jesus has already paid for it by being my substitute on the cross. It is finished! That’s how much Jesus loves me.
In summary, God says he will accept and acquit us—declare us ‘not guilty’—if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. We can be saved by coming to Christ. Salvation is a free gift. With it, I can have all my sins forgiven and get a free ticket to heaven. While salvation is free to me, it was costly, because somebody had to pay for it. When Jesus went to the cross, he paid the price for my sins to be forgiven. If there were any other way for me to go to heaven, God would have used it. A lot of popular thinking believes you can go to heaven by being a good person or by just believing God and heaven exist. But if that’s true, then why did Jesus have to die? The truth is everyone is full of sin. And a perfect God couldn’t let me into his perfect home without an enormous price being paid for that sin. That’s why it’s not enough to be a good person. In fact, there is no truly good person. Every single one of us, all fall short of God’s holiness. That’s why we need a Savior! How should I respond to this? Turn from my sin and trust Jesus to save me. Anyone can come to Christ “no matter who you are or what they’ve done. We don’t have to pay for something he’s already paid for! So turn from my sin and trust that Jesus has already paid for it by being my substitute on the cross. It is finished! That’s how much Jesus loves me.
Trusting means that I put my confidence in Christ to forgive my sins, to make me right with God, and to empower me to live the way he taught us. God's solution is available to all of us regardless of their background or past behavior.
Father, thank you for this reminder and I ask that with the help of the Holy Spirit in my life that I can continue to put my trust in Christ for my salvation. I ask you for wisdom and guidance for my day, my work, my leadership, my interactions with others, my training for a future job role and learning a small group. I ask these things through you Son Jesus’ name, amen.
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