-Strenght for Today "Realign Your Spirituality. - Romans 3: 23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:.10,13.
In Chapter 10 of Romans we find once again that the nation Israel is our model for understanding how God works. Now we’re confronted with the fact of human responsibility. It’s true that God draws men to Himself: it’s also true that no one will come unless they respond to His righteous appeal. Therefore, when people want to realign their lives spiritually, to come to the cross, to meet the Savior:
- What do they do?
- How does it happen? And
- How are they actually born again”- John 3:3?
For some of you this is elementary and repetitive, but I'd like to stir up your memories this morning by looking at four brief passages from the book of Romans. Because being “born again” isn't about
- intellectual pride, nor is it based upon
- Religious dependency,
But about of God’s view of humanity.
1. Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
To fall short of God’s glory, portrayed in Scripture is seen as wondering sheep grazing unaware of the dangerous cliff before them, and if not checked, they’ll be destroyed.
2. Romans 6:23, says, “For the wages of sin is death.” This verse begins by telling us the result of our sinfulness because:
- God is life and light, pure and perfect.
- His presence cannot abide sin.
We're thus separated from Him by our sins; and as a result, we die, just like the limb of a tree when sawed from the main trunk. The word death used in the Bible is used in a sense of separation.
Physical death occurs when the soul is separated from the body - James 2:26; Matthew. 27:50. But there’s a second death, and that, too, is separation - Revelation. 20:14. It occurs when the spirit and body are separated from God eternally—and this is the condition the Bible calls the “lake of fire, or as most of us refer to it as "hell."
3. Romans 5:8—God Demonstrates His Love. The word "demonstrates" is a solid, active verb. Most of us have feelings of love toward someone else—it may be a husband or wife or child or parent.
But those feelings don't mean a great deal until we manifest or demonstrate our love, until we find a need in that person's life and proceed to meet that need without thought for anything in return.
Many people long for a friend or family member to do this. That's what God was doing at the cross. "God demonstrated His own love for us in this—that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us". This is Isaiah’s meaning of Calvary in chapter 53:5, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we’re healed.”
4. Romans 10: 9-10, 13, God’s unconditional love, says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whoso ever shall call upon the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
So, when we commit ourselves to Christ by faith, asking Him to forgive our sins and to take control of our lives, we will be saved.
Author: Plez Lovelady. Jr., PhD