I woke this morning with a powerful sense of need to write down and express something of what we are presently seeing in God’s Word on Sunday mornings, and the implications of that for each of us. Our society is beginning to reap the rewards of the sin and decadence that have been among us for a long time. God is allowing the repercussions of abandoning Christ to be seen and felt in our nation, as in others. We are entering a difficult time when it is important to focus on what being a person of faith is really about. Here it is, spelt out in a fresh translation of Romans 3.21-26:
And now, apart from through Law, God’s righteousness has been revealed, which is born witness to by the Law and the Prophets. It is God’s righteousness, through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ, for all who would be faithful. For there is no distinction – for all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory, being brought into righteousness as a free gift of God’s grace. This free grace comes through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God displayed as a mercy seat in the faithfulness of His blood. God did this for the purpose of displaying His righteousness in overlooking, in the forbearance of God, sins previously committed. And He did this for the purpose of displaying His righteousness right now, showing that He Himself is just and is the justifier of anyone who takes on board the faithfulness of Jesus.
This is what being saved – being a disciple of Jesus Christ – is all about. It is about stepping into the life of Jesus Christ through the door of baptism, being brought into eternal life through the power of His resurrection from the dead. This power comes into us by the Holy Spirit.
And let’s be clear. The Holy Spirit is not just a nice feeling. He is the fire and wind and water of life that comes from God. And because of what He’s done for us all through His sacrificial life and death, Jesus is the key to anyone receiving this Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit? Death. With Him? Life.
So let’s also be clear about what the Holy Spirit does. Jesus spells it out in John 16.8-11. The Holy Spirit brings us into the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. He shows us where there is sin in our lives, that we might repent of it. He shows us the path of righteousness, that we might walk in it. He shows us that the dark powers that would blanket us with fear and would control us in daily life are now judged by God and are impotent in the face of the Holy Spirit’s life giving power.
I invite you to take these teachings very seriously. Press on into renouncing sin – especially sexual sin - and resolve to walk in holiness! Pursue policies as church together that seek to express God’s righteousness through personal goals as an individual and well as a congregation! Show the world around us what it means not to live in fearfulness of a defeated devil! Show the world rather what it means to live a life of purpose and purity rooted in the love of God.
I believe that all of us have the potential of being a light of Christ to many. But we need to be faithful. We need to walk in righteousness.
