Enjoy Life, Enjoy God

BUT NOW

August 31, 2009

In our lives occasionally we come to a fork in the road, and end up going in an entirely new direction, one that changes everything.

This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
-Romans 3:22-24 TNIV

The Apostle Paul reveals a chain of thought, a flow of logic. He speaks not only of our sinfulness, but of the Law's inability to fix us, heal us, rescue us from ourselves. The Romans 3:21 launches with two little words, "But now..." That's the fork in the road. The tide turns with the coming of Jesus Christ. Our failure and our breaking of the law gives way to our rescue and living in faith looking to Christ. The phrase "Christ-centered" comes to life as we look to Christ for all.

It's not about religion, not about doing this and not doing that, it's about a relationship with Jesus Christ. Being a Christian is not centered on being nice, or kind--not reduced to a code for living--but about Jesus Christ. "But now..." tells us just that. As a pastor I'm not asking you to follow a code, but to follow a person, Jesus Christ. Oh, he's the one who said it, "follow me!"
Joyfully,

Dale Patterson