2023_01_18 Insight Post- Rusty Coram
This week’s reading- Genesis 3, Romans 1
This week we read Genesis 3 and Romans 1. In Genesis, we see the choices Adam and Eve made that dishonored God when they ate the one thing forbidden to them. In Romans, we see the lasting impact this had as the human race continues the same attitude. We want our own way, and we are committed to pursuing it. Isaiah 53:6 states it clearly, “All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own.”
There is no one else to blame for our predicament except ourselves. But the amazing and very good news is in the second half of the verse, “Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.” This promise opens the door for us to be forgiven and free, and it the best news ever. It is what transformed Paul’s life and became the impetus for how he lived. In Romans 1, he says, “Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.” Romans 1:5 (NLT)
Here we find the difference between phony and real faith. Those that really get Jesus “will believe and obey Him”. Obedience is the evidence of true belief in Christ. Admitting that something is true, is not the same as acting on it. To obey is the sign of trust, faith, and belief. The reason many do not have a regular and powerful sense of God’s presence and pleasure is because of disobedience. Listen to what Jesus has to say about it:
“Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.” John 14:21 (NLT)
To obey God, out of gratitude for all He has done, is the one way to experience all He offers.
Rusty Coram
Senior Pastor