So it will be interesting to see how this turns out... I actually already wrote this all out once. I hit publish. It deleted. The whole thing. Imagine my horror when I finally am able to sit down at my computer, my computer finally connects to the internet, I am able to type out a whole post complete with cross references. And bam. Gone.
Well, the message tonight in chapel was about not grumbling. And the speaker said he expected we would probably be tested in that area now that we had just listened to a message about it. Wasn't expecting that to come within hours of the message. But that's okay. We'll try this again and pray like crazy 1) that the new post would be honoring to God and 2) that it will save. If not... well, I will just have to pray even harder that I will not grumble about it.
Here goes...
"Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies." Romans 8:33 (NKJV)
This verse is a great comfort to me. I can easily be drawn into thinking about past mistakes, ways I have treated people that were wrong, and when I am drawn into that, I become discouraged. I look at my past as a measure of my future. It doesn't have to be that way. I have been offered a free gift by the God of the universe, Who is so big, by the way, that He measures the waters in the hollow of His hand (Isaiah 40:12). He promises me that all I have to do is believe (Acts 16:31).
Belief is my way of accepting my free admission into heaven. Pretty great ticket, really. But that's not the only benefit of my belief. When I believed in Jesus, He justified me freely (Romans 6:24). But what does that mean? It's a legal term, but unlike our legal system in the US where you are guilty or not guilty, it goes far deeper than that. Someone who is ruled not guilty is not ruled to be innocent. There is just a determination that the evidence is not substantial enough to prove they committed the crime. Reality is that person could still be guilty. But being justified says I am declared innocent (righteous). And the thing is, on my own, I could never be declared innocent. I've lied. I've cheated. I've let my anger control my words, my thoughts, my actions. I've hated. I could go on. But the great thing is I don't have to!
By coming to earth, living a sinless life, going to the cross, taking my sin upon Himself, dying, being buried, and rising again, Jesus made it possible for me to be righteous before God. God who cannot let me into His kingdom on my own merit (Revelation 21:27), made it possible for me to come to Him when He gave everything for me. And now Jesus sits at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1) and acts as my Advocate (I John 2:1).
Remember how we talked before about the fact that God's love in this passage is not some fluffy thing but rather passionate, dangerous, all encompassing love? That's what is happening here. No one can ever take away the justification I have received because of Jesus' sacrifice for me. That's not wimpy. That's not the love we think of when we tell people we love them in the culture of the US. We may really mean that we love a person, but the ultimate test of that love is laying down our life for that person. And Romans 5:10 tells us that God loved us so much that when we were His ENEMIES, He paved the way for us to be reconciled to Him by dying for us. Would you die for your enemies? I know I would be hard pressed to find that much love within myself. Pray for my enemies? Sure. Die for them? Umm... probably not.
But that's how deep and unfathomable and passionate God's love is for us. It's not mushy. It's not romantic by greeting card standards. It is dangerous. Not because He would harm us but because it lays itself on the line, takes a risk, puts it all out there despite the fact that it may result in rejection. And it does. Every day. People reject this beautiful truth for so many reasons. He knew that would happen and He did it anyway because He is not willing that any should perish (spend eternity separated from Him) but that all should come to repentance (II Peter 3:9). That word repentance is often used and misused. I won't spend a lot of time on it but it means to change one's mind about. Basically, before we believe in Jesus for our salvation, we think we can get to heaven on our own, or we don't care about heaven, or whatever it is that keeps people from believing in Jesus. But when we put our faith in Jesus, we change our mind and recognize that He is who He says He is (God) and He can do what He says He can do (save us from eternal separation from God). If you want to know more about it, I would recommend reading the book All About Repentance by Richard A. Seymour.
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