No matter where you are in your faith, the book of Romans offers an amazing explanation of the foundations of Christianity. The core truths of knowing and following Jesus are life-changing.
Romans is a letter written by the apostle Paul to Christians in Rome. The church was made up of Jewish and non-Jewish (Gentile) Christians, and they were confused about how they as Christians fit into God’s story. Paul wrote to clear up confusion about God’s plan of salvation for all people (not just Jews).
Paul starts by emphasizing that everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). Not just Gentiles, not just Jews, no matter how good or how bad they might believe themselves to be—everyone. The only way we could be righteous is by following God’s law perfectly, but none of us can follow the law completely because we are all sinners by nature (Romans 3:19-20).
The great news: Jesus, the Son of God, the only one who could follow the law perfectly, came to live among us, die the death we all deserved, and raise to life— defeating sin, death, and brokenness forever! Now, if we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we can all be saved. If we believe in Jesus, He has forgiven us and promised us His eternal life! It doesn’t matter who we are or what we’ve done: God extends this amazing gift to every one of us.
Yes, there will be difficult times as a Christian: we will face temptation, persecution, and hardships. But God is working all things for good, and our present sufferings are nothing when compared to the hope we have in Jesus (Romans 8:18-39). He freed us from sin and death, and when we accept God’s gift of eternal life by putting our trust in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:39). • Abby Ciona
• Have you ever felt like the good news of Jesus wasn’t for you? How might today’s reading speak into that? (You can read more about the good news on our “Know Jesus” page.)
• What difficulties are you facing today? How might the hope Jesus offers give you comfort?
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NIV)
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