Theme of the Week: What’s Wrong With The World? I Am
Bible Verse: “…nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38, ESV
Scripture Reading: Romans 8:31-38
We might expect that God would wash his hands of us disobedient creatures, but the good news is that our Lord came looking for us in the person of Jesus Christ in order to provide new hearts for us.
In response to our distrust, he demonstrated beyond a doubt that he can be trusted. Paul said, “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32).
The effects of the Fall can be reversed in only one way—by putting our trust in Christ, who is for us. Christ died the death we deserve. We are given new hearts when we submit ourselves to God’s authority and trust his goodness, even while confessing that we have committed high treason against our Maker.
John Stott summarizes this powerfully:
The concept of substitution may be said to lie at the heart of both sin and salvation. For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be; God sacrifices himself for man and puts himself where only man deserves to be. Man claims prerogatives which belong to God alone; God accepts penalties which belong to man alone.1
The only appropriate response is to cast ourselves on the mercy of God.
1 John R. W. Stott, The Cross of Christ (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1986), p. 160.
From Discipleship Essentials (Revised and Expanded) by Greg Ogden. Copyright (c) 1998, 2007, 2018 by Greg Ogden. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL. ivpress.com, ivpress.com/discipleship-essentials
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