“What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! …As it is written: ‘There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit…There is no fear of God before their eyes.’… No one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known… This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”
Romans 3:9-13, 18, 20-22
Someone once asked an evangelist “Is it hard to get people saved?” He thought for a moment then replied, “No, but it sure is hard to get them lost!” He’s right. It’s hard to get people to see how utterly lost they are. Yet before the Good News can sound good, a person must hear the bad news — that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
No one is righteous before God — not even the person who tries to consistently do the right thing. It’s impossible to always live the right way, to always keep the law. The purpose of the law is to show a person how far he misses the mark. But bad news never sounded so good…for then, we see the need for a Savior.
Christmas is upon us and our hearts are happy as we celebrate the arrival of Jesus, God’s Good News! But let’s not forget the bad news — that a heart without Christ is full of deceit. Oh, how we need Jesus; and to live rightly is to live daily in His grace. It really is all about Him!
Father, it’s hard to understand how lost I really am without Jesus Christ. Help me to live completely and totally on the grace of Jesus today!
