Daily Devotion

Through Jesus, we have been justified—declared “Not guilty!” and credited with Jesus' righteousness. Because of Jesus, we are no longer subject to God’s wrath for sin, as he took care of that for us. Now, through Jesus' work, we have peace with God.

What does it mean to have a personal relationship with Jesus — not just to know about him, but to truly know him experientially? Today, we will explore Paul’s answer to this question. 

Weekend Recharge

Weekend Recharge

Works can never save us (I encourage you to read Thomas Boston’s explanation of this in tomorrow’s Weekend Recharge). This was clearly demonstrated in Abraham’s life when God promised him a son, which was considered physically impossible since he and his wife, Sarah, were both older and past childbearing years.

Okay, I believe in God's promises, that Jesus paid for all my sins. God imputed my sins to Jesus and then imputed Jesus’ righteousness to me. Isn’t this too good to be true? You know what they say—when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is! 

Is a relationship with God a reward for our good works? Or is it a gift of grace? Maybe it's a mix—receiving this relationship is a gift, but you need to do good works to maintain it? 

On Paul’s first missionary journey, he established churches in the Galatia region, which is now the central part of Turkey. He clearly preached the good news of Jesus and emphasized that faith in Jesus alone is the way for us to have a relationship with the living God. 

Today, we begin a new section in the book of Romans. After Paul declared that he was not ashamed of the gospel—the A-to-Z of the Christian life (Rom. 1:16-17)— he asked the question “Why?” Why do we need the gospel—the “news of victory” about Jesus’ work?