Devotion #2: Jesus Gives Us Life
“You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law.” Romans 2:23
One day, I was talking to a young lady that I was very close to about her relationship with the Lord when she asked, “Do you think I am a good person?” I do! She is a wonderful person. She loves her family and is kind. She is responsible, honest, and trustworthy. I would call her a good person, but not that lovely lady, or anyone else, is good enough to earn their way to Heaven.
Religion puts a lot of emphasis on works and being good, even “righteous.” So many people think that being a good and moral person is all that is needed to go to Heaven.
The Bible explains that we cannot work hard enough, be good enough, or ever be righteous enough to cover our own sinful nature. All through the New Testament, we find encounters that Jesus had with the Pharisees (the religious leaders at that time). They knew all the rules and followed them with boastful pride. They looked down on those they thought were not as devoted to the Law as they were. God reminds us in the book of Isaiah that we are all infected with sin that makes us impure, and our attempts to be righteous are like filthy rags to the Lord.
Religion says to work to be a good person, but the book of Romans says that there is no good in us. We are made alive with Jesus, as these verses in Ephesians chapter 2 explain so clearly:
“Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil - the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:1-10, NLT)
Jesus came to give us life. Being a good and moral person is wonderful, but without humbling ourselves and asking for forgiveness of our sins, we would never be good enough to spend eternity with God. Our sin is a debt we could never pay with our works or goodness. However, God made a way. Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”