Someone reported seeing this legal advice spotted on a billboard that was an ad for the North Carolina law office of an attorney: “Just because you did it doesn’t mean you’re guilty.” Well…that’s an interesting thought. That you can do wrong, break the law, but until a court finds you guilty…well…you aren’t. At least according to that attorney’s ad. That’s kind of how our world looks at wrong doing these days. It seems like the attitude is that you can do what you want and aren’t really guilty until someone finds out and then someone declares you guilty. The Bible talks about guilt in a whole different way. It tells us in the Book of Romans that everyone has sinned. No exceptions! That every person walking on the face of the earth is guilty whether you or anyone else says so, because we have fallen short of God’s glorious standard. That sounds disheartening but most folks figure that the same rules we have set up as humans really are the standard by which we should measure our lives, beliefs and conduct and that will determine how God views us when we leave this earth…if indeed there even is a God. Well, I’m going with the Bible. And it tells us that God is real and because we have fallen short of his standard, we are all guilty. Can’t bully God into changing his mind when he talks about him judging our lives when they are over. As a matter of fact, if we are all guilty, doesn’t that mean that there is no hope for any of us? Yeah, that’s pretty much it…except for the fact that there is Christmas. God knows we are a mess and that we are not even close to his standards. But at Christmas God began that process of making us right in his sight through Jesus Christ, whom the Bible says was God who came as a human in a miraculous way to our earth and did live, teach, heal, love and then die on the cross as payment for our sins. God makes us free from
the consequences of our sin and they are real consequences. And he did it through Christ Jesus who freed us from the penalty for our sins. So, the bad news is that none of us are good enough for God…and we did that by choice. The Good News is that at Christmas God put in motion the avenue by which any person can come and have his or her guilt wiped away forever and be forgiven and stand “not guilty” in the presence of God. That’s good news and it all starts on that first Christmas. But this forgiveness is a limited time opportunity. It can only be had while you are alive on this earth, and to receive it you need to humbly come to him and confess that you are indeed a sinner…like everyone else. And receive not only forgiveness, but life eternal. And that my friends, is the best Christmas gift ever! Here’s our Bible verse for today…
Romans 3:23-24 NLT For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. (24) Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.
Remember I’m praying for you…
PJ
the consequences of our sin and they are real consequences. And he did it through Christ Jesus who freed us from the penalty for our sins. So, the bad news is that none of us are good enough for God…and we did that by choice. The Good News is that at Christmas God put in motion the avenue by which any person can come and have his or her guilt wiped away forever and be forgiven and stand “not guilty” in the presence of God. That’s good news and it all starts on that first Christmas. But this forgiveness is a limited time opportunity. It can only be had while you are alive on this earth, and to receive it you need to humbly come to him and confess that you are indeed a sinner…like everyone else. And receive not only forgiveness, but life eternal. And that my friends, is the best Christmas gift ever! Here’s our Bible verse for today…
Romans 3:23-24 NLT For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. (24) Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.
Remember I’m praying for you…
PJ