Daily Bible Reading - Day 24
Romans 3
Key Verses
9-12 - What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
My youth pastor (when I was young) told us that the letter of Romans is the letter to read to understand the gospel message in an abstract and detail way. If you were to explain the gospel to someone who doesn’t know Jesus, the letter of Romans is the letter to share.
If you imagine the “gospel message” as like a story plot, the first three chapters of Romans is like the introduction, or what literature 101 would say, the “exposition”. Apostle Paul (the author) takes a moment to build the setting of the gospel.
Chapter 3 shows us that if Jesus and the cross is the climax of the gospel story, the exposition is that we are sinners who are in need of Jesus. Apostle Paul before giving us the "Good News" that Jesus died so that we can free of sin, he first sets up the truth that are sinners who are in need of Jesus. To be more specific, he tells us, that no-one is sinless. We are all sinners and that only Jesus can truly free us from this bondage of sin.
To keep it simple, today we are reminded that before we can understand the climax of the gospel (Jesus' death on the cross), we have to first understand and confess that we are sinners in need of a Savior. If we don't see ourselves as sinners, then Jesus' death for us becomes meaningless.
As we read Romans, we reflect first on our sinful hearts. We take a moment to truly reflect whether we see ourselves as sinners. And it is in that confession that we then can truly see the Goodness of Jesus who saves us through his death. --
Special Prayer - Father, today we take a moment to pray to reflect and accept that we are sinners. In accepting our sinfulness, we then confess our need for You. And knowing what You have done on the cross, we celebrate that ONLY through You, we can be free from the power of sin. In Jesus' Name, we pray. Amen