23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.
Paul clearly spells out, in the simplest of consecutive terms. The letter to the Church in Rome is probably the clearest, most distinctive exposition of the Gospel. It is Paul's Magnum Opus, if you will. Verse 23 speaks of man's radical depravity and the totality of God's holiness and rightness to judge mankind's sin. I find it interesting, by the way, that the volition, or free will of man, naturally goes against God. You see Adam and Eve choose to disobey God. They chose to question God and follow creation, instead of creator. It is only by the working and regeneration of the Holy Spirit that we are justified by his grace, as spelled out in verse 24. It is a gift of redemption, and to think of it in those terms is to rightly view salvation. God's justice and fairness doesn't require him to intervene and save anyone. But he does. God put forward a propitiation, atonement, satisfaction, substitute, in the bloody sacrifice of Christ's endurance of the cross, His death, and his conquering of death in His resurrection.
The end of it says "to be received by faith." Consequently, later on in Romans 10, Paul says "faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." And God speaks to his people, through his word. God's truth perseveres throughout time. God's truth is unwavering and decided. Not all will understand truth. Not all will be saved. But God will save those whom he will save. (See Psalm 47:4 John 6, Matthew 11, Romans 9)
I was really convicted tonight by Mark Darling's sermon. The idea that people freak out and obsess over Lady Gaga more than I get eager to read scripture. The idea that Christ isn't always the boss of my life, or my decisions. The statistic that 4 out of 5 males leave the faith at the age of 23 and never come back. I wept tonight, because the reality of these things hit me like a ton of bricks. Habits I create now will impact ten fold in 5 years when I'm married. Even more than studying scripture, I need to reflect on how to let it impact and change my life. How will I let God change me. I want to be a pastor one day. I want to plant a church. I want to marry a godly, beautiful, intelligent woman. I want to have a nice home to invite people over and love on the Church. What will I do tomorrow to thread my life into the will of God? What disciplines will I subscribe to that will refine me even more? These are things to pray about, seek God on, be accountable to, and see what the Bible has to say regarding who I am and should be in Christ.
And at the very same time, understanding this truth is like waking up after a long car ride, with the sun shining in on my neck. And that warm warm refreshing feeling, and knowing that God gives me that. That his love is better than life. His warm warm love.
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