Day 197

1 Chronicles 22:1‐23:32; Romans 3:9‐31; Psalm 12:1‐8; Proverbs 19:13‐14

Bad News, Good News

Our passage today in Romans 3 is a vital one to understanding our condition without Christ and our position in Christ as believers.

Paul points out (using selected verses from the Hebrew Scriptures) that both those who know the Law (Jews) and those outside the covenant of the Law (Gentiles) are equally guilty before God and estranged from Him, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (v.23). That’s the bad news––and we’re all in it together. Then comes the good news: those who have faith in Jesus and put their total trust in Him are redeemed. They are forgiven for the sins which made them guilty before a Holy God, and they are no longer estranged from their Creator because the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah allowed God in His righteousness to “be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (v.26). Furthermore, we have no reason to feel proud or brag about our redemption and our new standing as children of God. We did nothing to earn this new position; it is entirely a “gift of grace” (v.24), received by faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God for His glorious gift of grace!

Laura Madison

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