Made Right
We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in His grace, freely makes us right in His sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when He held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for He was looking ahead and including them in what He would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate His righteousness, for He Himself is fair and just, and He makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus.
Romans 3:22-26 (NLT)
I remember the feeling I had when I heard a pastor explain that there is a God who loves us and created us. I believed that statement and felt in my heart that it was true. Then he said that God is perfect, and He cannot be in relationship with someone who has sinned against Him or disobeyed Him. Sinning against God is like saying, I’d rather do things my way instead of Your way because I think I know better. The pastor said that everyone has sinned, and that included me. He began to explain that sin brings consequences and must be punished. The punishment for sin is death. In fact, the punishment we all deserve is like the punishment Jesus received when He died on the cross. It’s a terrible punishment to be separated from the God who loves us and is the source of life. I remember feeling guilt and shame for my sin, and a feeling of dread came over me as I recognized that I deserved the punishment that Jesus endured on the cross.
Then the pastor said that Jesus lived a perfect life and that He never sinned. When Jesus died on the cross, He didn’t deserve it, but He placed Himself on that cross willingly to die in my place. God sent His only Son, Jesus, to take the punishment I deserved, and He did it because He loves me. I was overwhelmed by the fact that someone would die such a horrible death in my place. I was moved by this love and believed that when Jesus died on the cross, He was doing it for me. I believed that God raised Jesus from the dead to show His power over death and to assure me that I could now enjoy eternal life. I trusted that Jesus’ death was for me, and I surrendered the ownership of my life to Jesus.
I was made right in God’s sight because I trusted that Jesus’ death on the cross was for me. There was nothing I had done to earn a relationship with God or to earn eternal life. I simply trusted that Jesus died for me and surrendered my life to Him as my Lord, my Master.
The Good News story of what God has done through Jesus to make people right with Him is available to everyone. But the story of how I received that righteousness became my story because it happened to me. I thank God for allowing me to experience being made right at such a young age.
Application: Write down the story of how you felt when you first heard the story of Jesus dying on the cross for you, even if today was the first time.
Prayer: Father, thank you for sending Jesus to die for me. Give me the words to share the story of how I accepted Jesus doing that for me.
“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
- What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
- What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
- Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
- Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
- Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
- Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?