By: Rex Stump
“Life is hard!” This is a general statement, true for everyone in some form or fashion. But Jesus told us that we would have misfortunes and sufferings (John 16:33).
But at the heart of our suffering, at the root of all issues is sin. From Romans chapter 1 through chapter 3, Paul basically takes us through the garbage dump of human degradation. It’s a depressing read.
He concludes in verse 23, “For all have sinned; and fall short of the glory of God. We are sinners. What’s worse our sin has consequences. Sin earns us eternal death. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
Sin earns us eternal death. This is horrible news. Good news is needed! God says “I want a relationship with you. I want to give you eternal life. I want to heal your aches. I want to forgive you of your sins.” That’s love! That’s the GOOD NEWS that we need.
Here’s how we receive and apply the GOOD NEWS. Romans 3:21-22, “But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 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.”
Mankind loves to boast! We accomplish a task, score a touchdown, win a game, receive a scholarship, get a promotion, and we tell the world. It’s natural to let everyone know what we did.
Why is it so hard for mankind to receive this gift of eternal life from God? Because we like to boast. But if you receive God’s gift, what Jesus did for you, there’s no boasting or bragging. He did it all.
Romans 3:27-28, “Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.”
It’s like a chore chart at home when my kids were young. The kids do their chores, mark off what they did on the chart, and they get an allowance or a reward. How do we get right with God? How do we get into heaven? A spiritual chore chart?
We attend church, give an offering, go to Bible study, do a service project, get baptized, pray, memorize verses and get eternal life? NO. It’s 100% God’s grace! We are made right with God through our faith in what Jesus Christ did on the cross.
Stop trying to give God reasons to love you. He simply loves you because He is God. You can’t do anything to earn his love. Life is hard, this is no surprise.
But there is GOOD NEWS. Our Holy God loves us and wants to rescue us. Believe it…receive it…and give God thanks.
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Rex Stump is the Area Director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and serves as a Pastor at True North Church in Wauseon, Ohio.
