Bad Enough To Die – The Law and The Gospel

Bad Enough to Die

The Law and the Gospel

Romans 1.16, 17

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

But what about all my sins?

People have a sense that, if there is a God, and if He is holy (as they suspect He is), then He’s not going to be able simply to wink at their sins. Jesus may have fulfilled all righteousness for them, but what about all that bad stuff they’ve done in the past? How does that get cleaned up? Again, by the Law of God. The Law of God demands that all transgressions be punished, that no sin be left without judgment and justice. People experience the weight of the Law against sin in the form of the guilt and shame that haunt them for having done things they know were wrong and hurtful to others. How can God just overlook all that? He doesn’t. Jesus Christ not only fulfilled the righteous requirements of the Law, He also bore the full weight of wrath and judgment that the Law demands against sinners. Paul summarized this part of Christ’s work in relation to the Law when He said that He became sin for us, so that, through Him, we might gain the righteousness of Christ (2 Cor. 5.21). When we understand the enormity of the judgment God’s Law requires, we can better appreciate the depth of suffering Jesus endured – for us, and for our sins.

Have you thanked the Lord Jesus lately for suffering and dying for your sin?

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“In the Gates” is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.

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“In the Gates” is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.