Payday

Romans 3:21-26

Verse 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Yesterday we talked about what the Great Commission truly means not just to our mission but to us in our relationships in the Church. Today we will look at why the Great Commission is just as important to us as it is for others.

One reason we tend to forget that the Great Commission is important to us as Christians is because we don’t like to think about how much we need Christ’s redemption. If not for Jesus’ death and resurrection we would have been stuck in the penalty of sin for eternity. We have to come to the point in our lives that we get honest with ourselves about the sin that we are dealing with. We all have at least one sin that we struggle with and we won’t begin to surrender to God and do the hard work of purging it from our lives if we don’t first admit that it is there.

Sin is one of those things in life that we like to ignore in ourselves and point out in others. Our passage today talks about how righteousness is given through belief in Jesus Christ. He proved He was the Christ (Messiah) by rising from the dead. No one but God could have done that and so we know He has to be God.

If He hadn’t triumphed over death by raising from the dead, the debt we owe due to our sins could never have been paid. Sin is a serious business, one that we don’t take seriously enough. If we did have a healthy and sober understanding of sin we wouldn’t be so ready to indulge in it. Could it be that we enjoy our sin more than our relationship with God?

Sin separates us from God and that alone should cause us to hate it. Sin is a death sentence and we deserve to die. There are no two ways about it – we are either sentenced to death because of our sin or we believe that Jesus is the Messiah and through His death and resurrection we receive eternal life. But remember, sin, our sin, is what sent Him to earth, the cross and the grave. It is His grace and love that we receive because He rose again.

Making It Personal

How do you feel about sin in your life? Does it reflect what God thinks about sin? How does it make you feel to think about Jesus dying for your sins?

Making It Personal Kids

Why did Jesus die? Did He die for your sins? What does knowing that Jesus died for your sin make you think about sins that you do?

Closing Prayer

Father, thank You for sending Jesus to pay the price for our sins. Help us see our sins for the horrible things they are. May we see sin as You do. In Jesus’ name, amen.