Text: Romans 8:1 - Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
- No condemnation = not doomed
= free from sin's penalty
= counted as righteous
= acceptable to God
What Doesn't Matter
1. What you have done
- "rule breakers" : King David and Paul (David: adulterer, cause death of lover's husband, but still considered a man after God's own heart. Paul: persecuted and hunted down Christians, wrote 13 of 27 books in the NT, used by God to spread the gospel to gentiles).
- "rule keepers" : the Pharisees
2. What you know
- e.g. the Pharisees (how well you follow the 'rules')
- 1 Corinthians 13:1-2 : If I... can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
- A warm heart is more important than a brain full of facts (Matthew 5:20)
3. What you didn't do
- e.g. the thief on the cross (Luke 23:40-42)
- Never studied the Bible, never attended the synagogue, zero spiritual growth
What Does Matter
1. Who you know
* To be acceptable by God, you must be in Christ Jesus
- Things that don't matter are covered by grace
- Grace is unfair and it doesn't make sure
- Grace only makes sense if I believe in a merciful God who always offers another chance
- Grace recognizes the ugliness of sin but chooses to see what God's original intent
- Grace doesn't depend on what we've done for God but rather on what God has done for us
One very important thing about grace is this: Grace must be received. I can hold out to you the greatest gift in the world, but if you never accept it, it's never yours. You can have the acceptance and forgiveness and love you've longed for your whole life. Stop trying to earn grace. Just humble yourself and receive it like a gift.
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