Day 52...

Today I am thankful for my new favorite Bible verse... Yup... A new favorite! Okay, so there's a little bit of back-story here... So I'll 'splain! On Wednesday nights my pastor does a Bible study called, "The Secret"... It's about sanctification. I haven't been going very long (in fact, this was only my second time to go!), so I am not sure where they began... Somewhere in Romans! Last time we studied Romans 7:14-25... Tonight we studied Romans 8:1-4

Romans 8:1-4

Life in the Spirit

¹There is therefore now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus.

²For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free
in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

³For God has done what the law,
weakened by the flesh, could not do.
By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh
and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,

⁴in order that the righteous requirement
of the law might be fulfilled in us,
who walk not according to the flesh,
but according to the Spirit.


Which brings me to my new favorite Bible verse... It has to do with verse 3 and what seems to be every one's favorite Bible verse... John 3:16!

John 3:16-17

For God So Loved the World

¹⁶"For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in Him
should not perish but have eternal life.

¹⁷For God did not send his Son
into the world to condemn the world,
but in order that the world
might be saved through him.

Do you know what the 2 most important words in John 3:16 are? In Him!

"We will never live up to the law - or do good - by seeking to do so. We will keep the law and do good only when we cease seeking to do so and live out our union with Christ as prompted and directed by the Holy Spirit"

Okay, so what about the law? I mean, the ten commandments! C'mon! Are we just supposed to ignore them and not follow them?! Of course not! But the ten commandments will not sanctify us and make us righteous! They were given to us to show that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. If we try to follow the law on our own, we will fail because without Christ becoming sin for us, we would never be made holy or righteous. In Leviticus, sin required an offering of a flawless, perfect, innocent animal. Well, we obviously don't do that now because Christ came into the world, fully God yet fully man, to be that sinless one who would die in our place. We all deserve death, and God sent His only son to live and die to bear the sins of the world. Okay, so now this isn't coming out quite like I had hoped, but it's what I have!