Transformed Life

Romans 1: 1-4

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

What a wonderful picture the Lord paints for us here in these scriptures pertaining to Paul. When Jesus appeared in all His Glory before Saul (Paul) at his conversion, he had no idea what he was getting into. All he knew was he saw Jesus Christ, the one he was persecuting, transform his life right before his eyes.

Out of all the people Jesus could have picked for the job, he picked Paul. Why would he pick such a horrible, wretched sinner like Paul? Because like Paul, we are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God. We might look at murder as a worse crime than stealing, but in God’s eyes sin is sin. That doesn’t change the fact that murder is still bad just like stealing is, it just means that to God, if you commit one you commit them all. It separates us from God forever. That’s why he sent Jesus to cancel our sin debt. I believed Jesus chose Paul because he wanted to show how much he loves us and will forgive us of all our sins when we accept him as Lord.

When people say, “Oh, I could never follow God and serve in ministry,” we continue to accept the lie from Satan saying we aren’t good enough. We have done too many wrong things to deserve God’s love. If we look at ourselves as dirty rags and realize that we have an awesome God that loves us, then we will have complete joy in our lives for what Christ did for us at the cross. Paul realized this and changed the world around him in his lifetime. Even though he died for his faith to Christ, the world would feel the impact of his loyalty to the gospel. Many people are now saved because of the foundation he and so many other first century Christians did for the sake of the gospel.

Dear Jesus, thank you so much for paying for my sin debt. Thank you that I can come humbly before you and know you as my Savior and King. Please help me to remember the precious sacrifice you made for me at the cross. Help me to live out my faith everyday for your glory. In Jesus name, Amen!