Devotional
Forgiven: Romans 5:8 – “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”
Jesus died on a cross as a sacrifice for our sins so that we could be forgiven and be reconciled to God.(John 3:16-17) To be reconciled to God means that we are brought back into a relationship with God, our creator. You see, our sin separated us from God; our relationship with Him is broken because of our sin.(Isaiah 59:2) So, if it’s broken, it needs to be fixed, right? But, no matter how hard we try, we cannot correct our relationship with God on our own. We cannot do anything to deserve everlasting life in heaven because our sins makes us deserve hell.(Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23)
But God, in all of His love and grace and mercy, sent Jesus to die for us as a sacrifice for our sins, washing them all away. “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”(2 Corinthians 5:21) And now, with our sins paid for, we have forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus when we accept Him as our Savior and make Him the Lord of our lives.
God orchestrated all of this even though we were sinners. God did not send Jesus to die for our sins after we agreed to follow Him. God showed us His extravagant love even though we were separated from Him, living in our sin. Just for a moment, think of the worst thing you have ever done. Jesus died for us even though you did whatever it is you are thinking about right now. While we were the worst person we could possibly be, God gave us the best of His love. He took all of the filth that we once were and washed it clean.
When you are forgiven, you are a new creation in Jesus. The old you is dead and gone; your old sin life has passed away. You are free to begin your new life living for Jesus who died for your sins. (2 Corinthians 5:15-17)
** I encourage you to use these passages from God’s Word as a resource in your daily life. Don’t let this truth just rest on this tag or on this shirt. Use it! Let it become a part of you, let the scripture be written on your heart and move you to live your life in obedience to God out of love. Dive into God’s Word, spend time with Him in prayer, connect with other believers, live for Jesus who died for your sins and rose again! **
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