“For I am convinced [and continue to be convinced–beyond any doubt] that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present and threatening, nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the [unlimited] love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 AMP
If there is anything common amongst people, it is the desire to belong. Look at the current trends’ circulation on Facebook and other social media platforms. All kinds of crazy dangerous stunts are putting young people in hospitals just for the sake of increasing their like status. From the beginning of man’s separation from God he has been concerned whether he has been accepted by his god or not! We even see in the book of Acts that the people were so consumed with being accepted by a god that they had a statue erected the “Unknown god” in case there was one that they forgot!
“So Paul, standing in the center of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I observe [with every turn I make throughout the city] that you are very religious and devout in all respects. 23Now as I was going along and carefully looking at your objects of worship, I came to an altar with this inscription: ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you already worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.” Acts 17:22-23 AMP
The Apostle now challenges the Christian with an important question, “What can separate you from God?” Many of us came from sorted backgrounds and carry with us the guilt and shame of what we were before Christ. The good news is that when we turned it all over to Christ, He accepted us! He adopted us into His eternal family, put a royal robe on our shoulders, and proclaimed us His child! What a wonderful act of love that He has demonstrated. He loved us so much that He gave His life for us while we were still lost in our sin! Here, the Apostle Paul, a persecutor and murderer of Christians reminds us of God’s unending love toward us!
We must remember that while His love for us is unending, our sin can and does hinder our relationship with Him. Since the Holy Spirit now lives in us, we feel the conviction of our sin and it can easily derail our relationship with Him. We fear that since He has forgiven us, how can we do or think the things that He has delivered us from. I am reminded of a beautiful Scripture:
“If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude ourselves and the truth is not in us. [His word does not live in our hearts.] 9If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises] and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose].” 1 John 1:8-9 AMP
This does not give us a license to sin but rather the grace to carry on the battle between our flesh and our Spirit! Have a blessed day, Pastor Ken