Author: David Worcester

From my reading in Romans 9:1-15 in the One Year Bible New Testament.

Someone has to sacrifice for someone else to be saved.

Jesus sacrificed his life so that we could be saved. The Apostle Paul was not only willing to die to see his Jewish brothers and sisters saved he was willing to go to Hell for them!

“My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief  for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them.” Romans 9:2-3

That is radical love!  You may not be at the same place as Paul but the question is…

What are you willing to sacrifice to see people saved?

Money? Time? Energy? Comfort? All of these things need to be sacrificed for people to get saved.

It takes money to send missionaries and support churches.

It takes time to invest in others and share the good news with people.

It takes energy to pray for people and really care about the lost.

It takes us going out of our comfort zones and being willing to do awkward things sometimes.

Maybe a better question is…What are you NOT willing to sacrifice to see people saved?

What you are not willing to give up is often the thing that has become your idol.

I encourage you to pray that God would bring you to a place where you are willing to give up your very life for others to come to Jesus.

We all must sacrifice something in order to see others saved and the see gospel spread to the whole world!

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From my reading in Romans 8:22-39 in the One Year Bible New Testament.

If you love God have are following Jesus then these truths apply to you.

1. The Holy Spirit is your preview of the future glory you will experience in heaven.

“And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. Rom 8:23a

2. You will be given a new body in heaven.

We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. Rom 8:23

3. The Holy Spirit prays for you!

“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” Rom 8:26

4. God works all things together for your good.

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

5. God chose you to become like Jesus.

“For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” Rom 8:28-29

6. If God is for you no one can stop you.

“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” Rom 8:31

7. Overwhelming victory is yours through Jesus.

“No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” Rom 8:37

8. NOTHING can separate you from God’s love.

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom 8:38-29

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From my reading in Romans 5 in the One Year Bible New Testament.

The Christian life should be one characterized by joy.

If you have been saved then you can rejoice in all that you have received in Christ!  The Apostle Paul said,

“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.” Rom 5:1-2

When you receive Christ’s forgiveness you can confidently and joyfully stand before God.

Not only are we made right through Christ, we also will share in his glory!  That is something to celebrate!  Later in the chapter Paul says,

“So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.” Rom 5:11

Through His death on the cross Jesus opened up a way for us to experience a friendship with God!  Jesus is the way to true joy and peace in life. If you are looking for it in other ways then you are looking in the wrong place.

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From my reading in Romans 4 in the One Year Bible New Testament.

We don’t have to do anything in order to be saved, other than trust Jesus with our lives.

“But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.” Rom 4:5

Our works don’t work!

Faith is the only thing that really works when it comes to being saved. Paul used the example of Abraham to explain that faith is really the only thing that saves you and not good works,

“And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.  He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.” Rom 4:22-25

Jesus did all the work necessary for our salvation.

Jesus lived a perfect life in our place, then he died in our place. He did this so that we can be made right in God’s sight!

God will count us righteous also if we will put our faith in him, offering him our lives.

What is holding you back from putting your faith in Jesus and receiving eternal life?

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From my reading in Romans 3 in the One Year Bible New Testament.

The world is full of problems.

Violence. Injustice. Famine. Disease. Pain. Broken relationships. The reason for this is sin.  The Bible teaches that since the first sin, people have been born with a “sinful nature”. That basically means we can’t help but sin. We can do some good things, but we will always end up messing it up some how. In one of the most quoted verses in the Bible Paul says…

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” Rom 3:23

Everyone has sinned!

The world is messed up because our sin has messed it up. Instead of getting depressed about all the horrible things sin as brought let’s look at the only solution for sin. Most people quote vs. 23 and don’t quote 24-26 which says,

“Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. 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,” Rom 3:24-26

If you have put your faith in that Jesus’ sacrifice for you, then you are righteous in God’s sight.

If God were to eliminate all sin from the earth right now then he would have to eliminate everyone! He is patiently waiting for more people to turn to him for forgiveness of their sins!

Someday when Jesus will take us to his new Kingdom where there will be no more sin or any of it’s effects! When Jesus died on the cross he won the ultimate victory over sin and we get to share in that victory!

Praise God I don’t have to pay the penalty for my sin because Jesus did it for me!

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From my reading in Romans 1 in the One Year Bible New Testament.

It is a shame to be ashamed of the good news.

If the gospel has changed your life, then why hide it?

Jesus died so that I can have life. If I am ashamed of the gospel, basically I’m saying I appreciate the sacrifice you made for me but I want you just for myself. How selfish!

I am guilty of not sharing when I have been given the opportunity.

Now, this should NOT be a guilt trip that if I am not sharing aggressively all the time than I am sinning. It should be a wake up call to start trying to boldly take opportunities to share when they come up.

Paul is a great example of boldness in sharing. He said,

“For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.” Rom 1:16

The gospel is powerful.

When we experience that life changing power personally we should be motivated to share it with others.

Are you ashamed of the gospel? Have you been missing opportunities to share? If so start seizing those opportunities today!