Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Stop Working And Be Blessed!

As usual I am up early and hanging out with my Maker.  I love these early times when it's God and me.  I love to read and study His Word and today is no exception.  I've just started studying the book of Romans.  This morning I started with Romans Chapter 4.  However I cannot get past verse 5.  I've been meditating on this verse and getting my bedroom slippers blessed off.  Here's how it reads:  "But to the one who does not work (for his own righteousness), but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness."  (Parenthesis added).  Rom. 4: 5

The rock of truth in this short scripture is God justifies the ungodly.  Not you or me.  We must understand that only God can justify or make us righteous in His eyes.  That's what counts!  When that sinks in, we understand the power of His grace and how He allows us to appropriate it simply by faith.  Let me put it another way.  God is the One...the only One who can justify you and me.  However...we must simply believe in Him (that He has done it) to receive it.  Some struggle to believe.  But believing is very easy compared to working for it.  Believing that one cannot make themselves righteous through works helps us to believe that He has already done it!

I really like the way Paul quotes David to illustrate his point in this passage.  Listen to this.  "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered."  Wow!  Jesus came and completed the work.  Your lawless deeds have been forgiven.  When you simply believe in Jesus (and what He did) you are forgiven.  You do not have to work for this!  David considers this an incredible state of blessedness!  He goes on to say in Romans 4: 8, "Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not take into account."  This is great news!  No matter what you've done in the past, not matter how much of a scurvy dog you were, believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior, and what He has done frees you from ALL your sins!

Stop working to be accepted by Him.  He has forgiven you!  I John 1: 9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness."  What do you think my friend?

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