Incredibly Good News

Romans 8:3,4 The law was without power because it was made weak by our sinful selves. But God did what the law could not do: He sent his own Son to earth with the same human life that everyone else uses for sin. God sent him to be an offering to pay for sin. So God used a human life to destroy sin. He did this so that we could be right just as the law said we must be. Now we don’t live following our sinful selves. We live following the Spirit.

How good are you at obeying the rules? If you’re licensed to drive, when was the last time you drove without exceeding the speed limit by a single mile or kilometre per hour? Hmm.

My own inability to follow the rules has always baffled me. I was brought up in a disciplined, Germanic household. I trained for four years in a tough, disciplinarian environment to become an army officer. If anyone could obey the rules, wouldn’t you think it’d be a guy like me?

But oh no, just like you, I’ve gone astray many a time. We’ve all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) Why can’t we follow the rules, pray tell? We may want to, but we just don’t seem to be able to. Here it is. Here’s why:

Romans 8:3,4 The law was without power because it was made weak by our sinful selves. But God did what the law could not do: He sent his own Son to earth with the same human life that everyone else uses for sin. God sent him to be an offering to pay for sin. So God used a human life to destroy sin. He did this so that we could be right just as the law said we must be. Now we don’t live following our sinful selves. We live following the Spirit.

I always found that a bit confusing until I read this simple explanation by 16^th Century Reformer, Martin Luther: “The law discovers the disease. The Gospel gives the remedy.”

God did what the rules couldn’t do. He offered the life of Jesus to destroy our sin. That’s good news; incredibly good news.

And that’s His Word. Fresh … for you … today.