All Have Sinned

If there is a message that I want to get out more than anything else, it would be a message of grace through the love of Jesus Christ. I believe that there are many people today who don't fully understand the amazing reality of grace. They feel condemned, unworthy, and lost. They are overpowered by guilt, discouragement, and shame. It doesn't help that all people, including Christians, are hypocrites to some degree. No one has their life together but we all like to front like we do. Maybe if we look happy, dress well, and speak Christianese, no one will ask us the tough questions and everyone will assume we are the 'perfect Christian or family'. I don't know why we like to fool each other, even in our walks with Christ. The more open you are about your brokenness, the more useful you are for the Kingdom of God. Remember, it is impossible to reach broken people if you yourself have not been broken.

When you hear of the Romans Road way of evangelism the first verse that comes to mind is Romans 3:23. I would assume that all Christians know this verse. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." This is true. Most people believe that 'Christians' are supposed to be perfect and therefore are just a bunch of hypocrites. But that's the problem, no one is perfect. That is why we need Jesus, daily. See, we all know Romans 3:23 but I'd be curious to know how many of us know Romans 3:24? I think it is wrong to quote 3:23 without quoting 3:24! Verse 23 says again, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Verse 24 continues that thought and says, "AND ALL are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Pretty much we all suck, Christians included. But we all have grace given to us freely because of what Jesus did. And without knowing Jesus, it is impossible to know grace...it is impossible to be free!

Tullian Tchividjian explains grace this way, "The operation of God's grace on our behalf doesn't imply any lessening of his demands. God has always and will always demand perfect obedience. But his grace is experienced when we realize that those demands for perfection for each of us have already been met by our Savior, Jesus. Jesus fulfilled all of God's conditions on our behalf. Christianity is the only faith system where God BOTH makes the demands AND meets them." Wow. Take a moment to marinate in that. The point is, it's all about grace. Our obedience should not be a result of fear or guilt rather, we obey from the secure basis of grace. Your obedience then becomes the natural overflow of your love for Christ.