Getting Right with God

 “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23-24)

Sin is described in the Bible as disobedience of the law of God (See 1 John 3:4), and rebellion against God. (See Deuteronomy 9:7; Joshua 1:18)  Sin had its beginning with Lucifer (The Devil or Satan).  Not satisfied with his position, he desired to be higher than God (Pride), and that was his ruin, and the beginning of sin. (See Isaiah 14:12-15)  He brought sin to the human race in the Garden of Eden, where he tempted Adam and Eve with the same offer, “you shall be like God.”  Genesis 3 describes Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God and against His command.  Since that time, sin has been passed down through all the generations of mankind and we, Adam’s descendants, have inherited sin from him.  (See Romans 5:12)  And scripture warns us that, “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)

Everyone understands that humans are imperfect.  Even if one doesn’t accept the Christian doctrine of man’s depravity (sinfulness), a popular cultural saying is “We’re only human.”  It’s an admission that people are flawed.  But as believers we should understand that this sentiment springs from the reality of sin in every human’s life.  Without “the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” we can live our life no other way but in sin. (Romans 14:23)  And so we live our life in a manner that leaves us “short of the glory of God.”

But the good news is that Paul didn’t stop at verse twenty-three!  We are raised from a place of condemnation to a place of acceptance.  It is as if we were on the stand during a trial and everyone knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that we were guilty.  But an amazing thing occurred, and rather than send us to pay the penalty for our crime, the Judge’s son took our place, and we were declared justified.  That is the beauty of the cross, that the just would take the place of the unjust. (See 1 Peter 3:18)  Receive your redemption through Jesus today and let His kindness lead you to repentance. (See Romans 2:4)

And never forget about verse twenty-four, because therein lies our hope.

 

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