Hello Advent Family,

Have you ever seen part of something and you totally missed what the whole thing was?  My friend once got a tattoo that meant something to him.  He showed it to me after it was finished and it was a star.  I asked him what the star meant and he got upset with me.  He asked if I really didn’t get it, to which I responded that I didn’t.  He went on to tell me this elaborate story about Van Gogh and how this was one of the stars from Van Gogh’s starry night and it meant that he was one part of God’s beautiful masterpiece.  It was quite a beautiful picture once he explained it but to me I just saw a star.  I think that can happen to us when it comes to God sometimes as well.  We just see a small piece of what He is doing or saying and miss the beauty of the whole picture.  Let’s look at Romans 3 together today and try and see the bigger picture. 

What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. 10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands;  there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good, not even one.” “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.”  “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. “Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Romans 3 is often thought of as a chapter that focuses on our sin and our need for God.  This is true but there is also a beautiful picture in the midst of this chapter of God’s amazing grace. Romans 3:23 may be the most famous verse in this passage but what about Romans 3:24 – We are justified freely by the grace and redemption of Jesus.  What a powerful truth!  Yes we are all sinners.  Yes we all fail to measure up.  God’s grace is bigger than our sin though.  This bigger picture changes everything.  We now can seek to live for God without fear.  We share His love all the more boldly because of how incredible His love and grace is.  My friends star was fine, but starry night is amazing.  The whole picture of God’s story in our lives is the most amazing thing ever. 

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave