In Christ alone
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (NIV) Romans 8:1-4
God loves us so much that he would stop at nothing to save us. When we fail, he steps up. Romans 8:1 says: “…there is now no condemnation…” The word now implies that there has been a change; that previously there was condemnation but now there is not. What happened to bring this change? The question is immediately answered in the same verse. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”
At the risk of being repetitive I will ask again, where does our salvation come from? Is it something we did? Did we earn some credit that can buy us our salvation? If we hang around good people and do good things, will we be saved by some spiritual osmosis process? Romans 8:3 offers us the answer as a resounding NO to all these suggestions. We were the problem not the solution to our salvation. We couldn’t be saved by the law because of our imperfection. The words “…God did by sending His own Son…” in Romans 8:3 removes all doubt about where our salvation comes from. The text goes on to explain that because of Jesus sacrifice, God has given spiritual life instead of spiritual death to His followers through the power of His Spirit. This new covenant supersedes the old covenant which didn’t work because of our sin.
What is equally amazing to me is not just how we are saved but why we are saved. Every time I think about who I am and what I’m capable of, I am overwhelmed by God’s grace. Every time I look around my city, my country and the world, I am amazed by His love for His people. How could God love so completely the people who want nothing to do with Him? How could he continue to love me when at times I turn my back on Him? I mean, He doesn’t need anything I can give Him, He is God, and He already has everything. The best I could expect is for Him to put up with me like I might put up with a mosquito in my house. As long as I don’t cause any trouble I might hope to be safe but as soon as I cause Him pain because of my sin I would expect to be squashed like a bug. It is so amazing to me that God doesn’t operate this way and I am forever grateful that he doesn’t.