Theology for Everybody: RomansSample

(Continued from Day 123)

5. Because you love Jesus the most, you hate sin because it killed the One you love. You can’t love Jesus and love sin. Sin killed the One you love the most. Have you ever loved somebody who had cancer? Seeing them die slowly and painfully, you would never say, “I love cancer.” You can’t love cancer if it killed the person you love. No, you hate that which killed the one you love. If we love Jesus, we hate sin.

6. Because Jesus died for sin, you can put your sin to death. Jesus died for your sin, and now you can join Him in newness of life and put your sin to death.

7. Because you are changed, you can change. Many people want to change their behavior, but God wants first to change our nature. Once He changes our nature, then there can be a change in our behavior.

8. Because Jesus lives, you also live for and with Him.

9. In this life, you will not be perfect, but you will make progress if you are a true Christian. As believers, we need to nurture a culture that encourages progress and doesn’t demand perfection.

10. You are not saved by your good works, but you are saved to your good works. God does a work for and in you, and then He does a work through you. The result is your behavior starts to change by the grace of God.

11. A sinning Christian is a miserable person. After you meet Jesus, you are miserable when you sin, and you now hate the things you used to love. The things that you used to look forward to, you now regret.

12. Your relationship with God is what matters most. Your relationship with Jesus is more important than anyone or anything else. You love Him and don’t like anything that causes you to experience distance in your relationship with Him. It’s not so much about the rules; it’s about the relationship. It’s about being grafted in and walking in newness of life.

God works for you. God works in you. God works through you.

Today’s Reflection

Does your life reflect that you love Jesus or that you love sin?