Romans 8:1- 4
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."
I'm going through the book of Romans for my devotional, and this part of the passage stuck out to me. For one, I find it amazing that just within these couple sentences, God's grace is clearly demonstrated and articulated; that God has done what the law could not do. Second, this passage shows how God accomplished this; by sending his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin (becoming fully human like us), then he condemned sin in this flesh, overcame all temptations, lived a perfect faithful/sinless life and conquered death and even resurrected. Third, the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us only through what Jesus had accomplished on the cross, which also points back to God's grace over his people. He didn't have to do all these things for his creation that turned against him, but that's what makes him so great and amazing. He didn't have to, but he provided a way out of our sinful bondage.
I think verse 3 sticks out to me the most, "For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do". Left to ourselves, we can't do anything because we are always weakened by our own sins. And the more we sin, the more clouded our thoughts are. And the more sinful thoughts we have, less of God there will be. But God, who is God of the universe and sees all this, saved us from our pathetic hopelessness! How wonderful and amazing his grace!
I heard many times growing up that Jesus is our hope and peace, but I never really thought long and hard about that. Just like memorizing my multiplication, 1x1=1, I memorized that as that kind of fact. But seriously by God grace, I'm able to see more and more how Jesus is our only hope and how he can only be the one that provides true peace. His death and resurrection was a mark of certainty that Jesus is human, he lived, was tempted, and suffered, and even died. But very unlike any other human beings, he resurrected and lives again! Only God is able to bring people back to life and that's exactly what Jesus did. Which means he had to be God. And it wasn't just 2 or 3 people that witnessed his resurrection, but 1000s of people were witnesses to this, they personally encountered him and had fellowship with him. So then, his death and resurrection validated him as fully God and fully human, it also validated all the promises and teachings he had proclaimed during his lifetime on earth; that there is eternal life after death, as well as judgment day coming near and that all creation will give account to every action and deed they had made. He validated his promise that He is the only one that can save and only through him, one can be at eternal peace.
Man, this became a really long post, but yea. I just found this passage super deep and a good reminder for me to live my life faithfully in the Spirit. I know that there are some things that I don't completely understand, but that shouldn't be an excuse for myself to stop learning about God and growing deeper into his Word. So I want to say to myself, shape up and fully rely on him with all of me and my life. And to really do this by praying with humility and submission to him. So let's pray more, Ann!
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Amazing sermon from Pastor Tim Keller that aligns with my devotional passage!
Imitation of Incarnation
I'm going through the book of Romans for my devotional, and this part of the passage stuck out to me. For one, I find it amazing that just within these couple sentences, God's grace is clearly demonstrated and articulated; that God has done what the law could not do. Second, this passage shows how God accomplished this; by sending his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin (becoming fully human like us), then he condemned sin in this flesh, overcame all temptations, lived a perfect faithful/sinless life and conquered death and even resurrected. Third, the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us only through what Jesus had accomplished on the cross, which also points back to God's grace over his people. He didn't have to do all these things for his creation that turned against him, but that's what makes him so great and amazing. He didn't have to, but he provided a way out of our sinful bondage.
I think verse 3 sticks out to me the most, "For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do". Left to ourselves, we can't do anything because we are always weakened by our own sins. And the more we sin, the more clouded our thoughts are. And the more sinful thoughts we have, less of God there will be. But God, who is God of the universe and sees all this, saved us from our pathetic hopelessness! How wonderful and amazing his grace!
I heard many times growing up that Jesus is our hope and peace, but I never really thought long and hard about that. Just like memorizing my multiplication, 1x1=1, I memorized that as that kind of fact. But seriously by God grace, I'm able to see more and more how Jesus is our only hope and how he can only be the one that provides true peace. His death and resurrection was a mark of certainty that Jesus is human, he lived, was tempted, and suffered, and even died. But very unlike any other human beings, he resurrected and lives again! Only God is able to bring people back to life and that's exactly what Jesus did. Which means he had to be God. And it wasn't just 2 or 3 people that witnessed his resurrection, but 1000s of people were witnesses to this, they personally encountered him and had fellowship with him. So then, his death and resurrection validated him as fully God and fully human, it also validated all the promises and teachings he had proclaimed during his lifetime on earth; that there is eternal life after death, as well as judgment day coming near and that all creation will give account to every action and deed they had made. He validated his promise that He is the only one that can save and only through him, one can be at eternal peace.
Man, this became a really long post, but yea. I just found this passage super deep and a good reminder for me to live my life faithfully in the Spirit. I know that there are some things that I don't completely understand, but that shouldn't be an excuse for myself to stop learning about God and growing deeper into his Word. So I want to say to myself, shape up and fully rely on him with all of me and my life. And to really do this by praying with humility and submission to him. So let's pray more, Ann!
_________________________________________________________________________________
Amazing sermon from Pastor Tim Keller that aligns with my devotional passage!
Imitation of Incarnation
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