Categories: Bible Lessons Leave a comment

#DailyDevotion Which Tree Are You Going To Choose?

#DailyDevotion Which Tree Are You Going To Choose?

Romans 518Now then, as by one sin all people were condemned, so also through one righteous act, justification which brings life came to all people. 19When one man disobeyed, the many were made sinners. So when One obeyed, the many will be made righteous. 20The Law came to multiply sin, but where there was much sin, God’s grace was so much greater 21that, as sin ruled in its deadly way, so His grace is to rule, giving a righteousness by which we live forever through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Yes by one man’s sin all people were condemned. We were all born in his image, his fallen image. So not only did we have his sin which condemned us having received his death, but we added to his sin and have become utterly sinful. This one sin is the root sin and all the sins we commit are its fruit.

The one righteous act is Christ death on the cross. Through that one act the world is declared righteous. As Paul says in 2 Cor. 519”In Christ God restored the relationship of the world to Himself by not counting their sins against them…” If our sin are not counted against us and sin is what causes us to be dead, then we have been restored to life. If we are no longer declared guilty but are justified, declared not guilty, then we have passed from death to life.

When Adam disobeyed all of us were made sinners. What else could we do? We did not have the life of God in us. We were dead in trespasses and sins. We could have an outward righteousness but our hearts were still opposed to God and his life. We would not and could not accept the things of the Spirit of God. When Jesus, the One, obeyed he declared us righteous and made us righteous before his Father in heaven. Indeed, Jesus will present us holy, blameless and without a fault to our Father in heaven.

Those who want to be righteous by following the Law, Paul has bad news for you. The Law was given to multiply sins so that sin would be utterly sinful. You will despair of God and try to hide from him because you will find yourself unable to keep his Law as he wants you to keep it. It does you no good to say, “Well I’ll keep the Law the best I can and depend upon God for grace to cover the rest.” This is a zero sum game. Either you keep the Law entirely inviolate like Jesus or you trust he has kept it inviolate for you. To depend at all upon your own good work in any amount is to blaspheme the work Jesus accomplished and to throw the gift, the free gift of God’s grace in Christ back into his face as a despised gift.

The good news is God’s grace in Christ Jesus is greater than our sin. We cannot sin so much that his grace cannot overwhelmingly cover it. And it is his grace that is to rule our hearts giving us a righteousness by which we live forever in our LORD Jesus Christ. As his grace rules our hearts and we live in his righteousness, then we will be about doing the will of God in our lives not out of compulsion but from a thankful heart knowing his grace covers all our sin and his righteousness our unrighteousness.

Merciful and Gracious Father, you gave us your Son Jesus Christ so that by his obedience he may overwhelmingly undo the death wrought by Adam’s disobedience. Grant us faith in Christ’s saving work that we may live eternally in his righteousness. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Share this post
Rev. Guillaume J. S. Williams, Sr.

The Reverend Guillaume Williams is the Pastor of Hope Lutheran Chapel of Osage Beach, Missouri. His pastoral ministry with Hope began in 2005 where he preaches the Christ crucified.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *