Only One Reason To Sing
A green light at checkout, a small picture of grace opening the way because of Jesus, not because of our performance.
Devotional Credit: Immeasurably More by Ray Stedman
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Paul’s words in Romans 3:27 to 30 level the ground. Boasting is shut. We stand accepted because of Jesus, not because of the best version of ourselves. Ray Stedman presses this home with kindness. The gift of grace removes any ladder we try to climb, and sets our weight on one Person, the Lord Jesus.
This good news is not for one group first and others later. There is one God. He justifies Jew and Gentile on the same basis, faith in His Son. That heals superiority and shame at the same time. No one is above needing grace. No one is beyond receiving it.
Does grace make the Law useless. Stedman reminds us that the Law’s righteous demand is fulfilled in Jesus for us, and by the Spirit in us. The Law still exposes what hurts love, but it no longer condemns those who are in Christ. Instead, when we stumble, we confess, and we keep walking in the light we already have.
Here is where the heart can rest. The Father is not asking for religious polish. He gives us His Son. We live this day from union with Him, not to earn a place, but because we already have one. Thank You, Ray, for pointing us back to the simple center.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I quiet your boast. Your standing is a gift. I justify by faith apart from works of the Law. I am one God over all, and I welcome every kind of person on the same ground, faith in Jesus.
I write My righteousness on your heart in Him. The Law showed the problem, and the Son fulfilled the requirement. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Walk by Me, and the righteous requirement of the Law is fulfilled in you, not by your effort, but by My life expressed through you.
I remind you that you are crucified with Christ, and you live, yet not you, but Christ lives in you. Consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Him. When you sin, agree with Me, and I forgive and cleanse. Stand up again. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Let your faith work through love, and let your words carry grace.
I keep you in My peace as you set your mind on things above. I lead you to present yourself to God, to be transformed by renewal, to rejoice that you are complete in Him. Your boast is the Lord. Your song is mercy. Your life is union with My Son.
Scripture references: Romans 3:27 to 30; Ephesians 2:8 to 9; Titus 3:5 to 7; Romans 5:1; 1 Corinthians 1:30 to 31; Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:6 to 11; Romans 8:1 to 4; 1 John 1:9; Galatians 5:6; Colossians 3:1 to 4; Romans 12:1 to 2; Colossians 2:9 to 10.
Real-Life Analogy
At the grocery checkout I tap a card, the light turns green, and the gate opens. Entry is based on the account behind the card, not on how nicely I stood in line. Living by grace works like that. The Holy Spirit keeps the heart focused on Jesus, the true account that covers the cost. From that focus comes patience with a slow cashier, kindness to a tired shopper, and honesty about a pricing mistake.
Try this today. Before you pay a bill or check out online, pause and say, Lord, I trust You to turn my eyes to Your finished work, and to let Your kindness flow through me in the next conversation.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You that my boasting is excluded. Thank You that Youjustify me by faith in Jesus, and that I stand in grace. Thank You that the Law’s demand is fulfilled in Your Son, and that Your Spirit fulfills what love requires in me. I receive this day as a gift. Lord, I trust You to keep me centered on Your grace and to express Your mercy through my words and choices.