Forever Home in the Eternal Family of God

Daily Encouragement for the Family of God by Kenton Cheek

31 July 2025

Reading From Romans 3

“But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith inJesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 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— 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 3:21-26

     The coming of Jesus was not something that happened out of thin air.  His birth, life, death, resurrection and the implications for those things had been foretold for thousands of years through the Law and the Prophets.  We have these hundreds of prophecies, types, symbols, and foreshadows recorded in the written record of divine revelation known today as the Bible.  The Bible has been proven accurately preserved from the evidence of thousands of ancient manuscripts discovered by archaeologists.  The Dead Sea Scrolls, found in 1947, contain an entire copy of Isaiah which was transcribed over one hundred years before Jesus.  Isaiah is filled with Messianic prophecies fulfilled by Jesus.  Jesus is real and the Bible is His Word.

     Sin is pervasive in humanity.  All have sinned; no one is exempt.  There is a God-shaped void in each of us that only He can fill and bring true satisfaction.  It is interesting to me that most people do not have a problem admitting they aren’t perfect, but to confess that they are a sinner is too much for them.  What they do not understand is that God’s standard is perfection and that because He is completely pure and holy, we cannot have unity with Him if we are imperfect and sinful.  We need to be purified from all unrighteousness and healed from the very core of our being.  It isn’t just that we make mistakes sometimes, we need to be cured of that natural predisposition and tendency toward worship of self.

     This passage shows that not only is the problem pervasive in all humanity, but the solution is also available to everyone as well.  “For all have sinned…and all are justified freely by His grace.”  Does this mean that all humanity is now in the family of God simply because He made access available?  Unfortunately, not.  He is not going to force anyone into a relationship with Him.  We must freely choose faith in Jesus and His atonement, turn away from our old way of life, confess Him as Savior and Lord to receive Him and be welcomed as children of God.  Redemption is available to everyone, but only experienced and enjoyed by those who choose to receive it by faith.

     God’s grace is not arbitrary.  He is only able to freely give it to all who believe and receive because it has been bought and paid for by His own blood.  Justice was satisfied by Jesus.  Only He was uniquely qualified to provided the atoning sacrifice for all mankind because He as God the Son He became the Son of Man.  As God, He had the ability to lead a sinless life to be the spotless Lamb and yet take all the sins of the world upon Himself.  As man, He showed us that He is truly able to sympathize with our weakness, and He experienced human suffering, grief, and growth.  As Son of God and Son of Man, He was able to die in my place and in the place of every human who has every lived.  We are justified, made right with God, by grace through faith in Jesus and His amazing atonement.

“Wonderful Jesus, there are no words adequate to describe how grateful we are for Your ultimate suffering and sacrifice from the Garden of Gethsemane, through the pain of trials and torture, and Your death upon the Cross of Calvary.  Thank You Jesus.  We confess that we are sinners in need of Your grace.  None of us are perfect and we need Your grace and mercy.  Jesus, we believe that You are God and we believe Your Word the Bible that tells us of Your life, death and resurrection.  Please forgive us our sins, cleanse us with Your blood, fill us with Your Spirit, and write our names in the Lamb’s Book of Life.  Thank You for Your redemption.  Inspire us with Your love and empower us with Your Spirit to love You, love others, love ourselves, and make disciples.  Help us to learn more about You, live holy lives and show genuine compassion to others.  In the Name of Jesus I pray these things.  Amen.”

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

—Titus 3:3-7