Today I led my church family in our monthly observance of Communion. I shared God’s Word from Romans 3:22-26:
We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes – no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned. We all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God – with undeserved kindness – declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life – shedding His blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when He held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for He was looking ahead and including them in what He would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate His righteousness, for He Himself is fair and just, and He declares sinners to be right in His sight when they believe in Jesus.
We are made right with God – despite the fact that we are sinners. We have always been sinners. We will always be sinners. But Christ took all of our sins to the cross, so that we may live eternally with Him – because we believe in Him – because we follow Him – because we have faith in Him.
God has declared us righteous through Christ Jesus. We didn’t earn it. We don’t deserve it. With undeserved kindness. With unmerited favor. With grace. With mercy. With love. Christ Jesus is God’s greatest gift to us – now and forevermore.
All rights reserved (c) 2019 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries