The Bible is a Challenge . . . or Is It?

Walking in the Truth

Today's Scriptural Truth

"For all have sinner & fall short of the glory of God, & all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."  Romans 3:23-24

Today's Devotional Thoughts

I know people--& perhaps you do, too--who have developed a sense that the Bible is a challenge to read . . . too dense . . . almost impenetrable . . . for sure not worth the time & effort . . . except maybe in small doses.

We might remember the Bible stories our parents read to us . . . the ones we heard in Sunday school . . . children's sermons . . . Little Visits with God? . . . All well & good . . . but to carve out some meaningful time & really soak it in . . . really do some pondering . . . Admit it . . . Okay, I'll admit it . . . It can seem like a burden.

But you can approach scripture from a simple way when you are looking for simple truths. Here goes.

When we believe that the Truth is found in Holy Scripture, we are enabled by the Holy Spirit to accept by faith that this passage teaches that everyone . . . and, yes, that includes you & me . . . is a sinner. That means we all fall short of meeting God's standards. Our sin separates us from God completely . . . 100% . . . We cannot be saved . . . 

And brace yourself for the absolutely scary thought . . . We cannot be saved because God is a holy God who cannot tolerate sin & so His punishment is absolute! That means eternal damnation for all of us.

If our scripture stopped there, hopelessness would prevail. In that sense, the Truth of the Bible does seem too challenging to penetrate.

But praise God . . . scripture doesn't stop there, and God's Truth prevails as we continue to read. We are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Jesus!

You want the Truth, the whole Truth, & nothing but the Truth? There it is! His grace--His love which comes to use totally undeserved through nothing we've done comes because of everything His holy Son Jesus has done.

• Jesus redeems us
• He buys us back out of the enslavement of sin
• We are justified before God
• Forgiven . . . saved . . . 
• And now this Truth penetrates our hearts by the grace of God!

Hopelessness becomes hope . . . Condemnation becomes forgiveness. 

Truth prevails!

Today's prayer

We praise You, O Lord, for Your great love in Christ Jesus. We know by faith that we are redeemed & saved by Your Son. May we be blessed as we read Your Word & discover & grow in its simple Truths. Amen.

Addendum

I adapted this devotional from one I wrote for the Lutheran High Northeast Daily Announcements on 10/21/14.