Romans 3:23-28

23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by

his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him

as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate

his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand

unpunished— 26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to

be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

27Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of

observing the law? No, but on that of faith. 28For we maintain that a man is

justified by faith apart from observing the law.


Meditation

1. Like prisoners on death row, all people are guilty, condemned and awaiting

the execution of God’s wrath. They sit silently in the miserable darkness of

their cell, all hope extinguished. Then abruptly, the door swings open and

darkness becomes light, death becomes life, and bondage becomes freedom.

“You are pardoned,” a voice tells them. But how? Why? This passage tells us

that this is exactly our situation. But how did I get pardoned? Why would

it happen?

2. When did the message of God’s grace become real to me? What impact is it

having on my life right now?


Personal Note:

I along with everyone else on earth have all failed to live up to God's standard of perfection. We sin when we missed God's standard. The wages of sin is death and we are all guilty. Some people may think that God is unfair. He is the one who created us and we are doomed to fail on our own. Our alienation and guilt resulted from our will to separate ourselves from God and we would like to be god ourselves. For example, a famous philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche said that God is dead and we killed Him. It is unfortunate that some people decided to follow the ways of the wicked. The ways of the wicked lead to miserable darkness.

God loves me and He knows that I cannot save myself. That is why he sent Jesus Christ to die for our sins and take the punishment on the cross for the sins that we deserved.

The message of God's grace become real to me eight years ago when I was led to Christ. From that point on, I experienced how God transformed my life from someone who lives for my own pleasure to someone who lives for God's glory. Of course, this takes time and today, I am far from being a total humble and faithful servant of Jesus Christ. I do have faith that God is at work in shaping myself to be more obedient to His Words and His leading. There is great joy and peace when I trust in God's love and faithfulness.