THE GUTS OF THE GOSPEL (9 OF 34)
by Keith Krell
Scripture: Romans 3:21-26
This content is part of a series.
The Guts of the Gospel (9 of 34)
Series: Good News from God
Keith Krell
Romans 3:21-26
Imagine it's Sunday morning and you're seated in church anticipating the sermon. Suddenly, a man begins frantically canvassing the auditorium offering a life jacket to whoever would take it. Eventually, he approaches you with it. What would you do? You'd probably think he was nuts and turn it down, right? At best, you might politely accept it while yawning internally at your need for it. But, if you were on a sinking ship in the middle of the ocean, you'd lunge forward and grab that same life jacket as if your life depended upon it.
We've spent five sermons working through a section titled "Sin" that spanned Rom 1:18-3:20. These sixty-four verses contain nothing but the bad news that we're utterly unrighteous. Paul has constructed an airtight case that every creature that has ever lived, or will ever live, is leveled under the weight of sin. The inescapable conclusion is that we're not only guilty; we're absolutely helpless and hopeless. In other words, we're born into this world enslaved to sin on a sinking ship. God holds out a life jacket to us, but until we become convinced that our plight is truly desperate we'll never joyously and tenaciously grab hold of what's being offered to us. The intent of God in clearly exposing our sinfulness isn't to make us feel bad-it's to make us feel desperate! Desperate enough to wrestle with the question of the ages: "How can a person be righteous before God?" (Job 9:2)
Of course, a great chasm lies between Rom 3:20 and 3:21. It's a deep canyon, a wide gap separating our condition and God's character. We're sinful and God is holy. How can we bridge the gap? How can we go from one side to the other? We can't. But this is where the good news begins: Paul informs us in 3:21-26 that God does what we cannot do. This is not only the heart of Romans; it's likely the greatest paragraph in the entire Bible. Therefore, if we fail to u ...
Series: Good News from God
Keith Krell
Romans 3:21-26
Imagine it's Sunday morning and you're seated in church anticipating the sermon. Suddenly, a man begins frantically canvassing the auditorium offering a life jacket to whoever would take it. Eventually, he approaches you with it. What would you do? You'd probably think he was nuts and turn it down, right? At best, you might politely accept it while yawning internally at your need for it. But, if you were on a sinking ship in the middle of the ocean, you'd lunge forward and grab that same life jacket as if your life depended upon it.
We've spent five sermons working through a section titled "Sin" that spanned Rom 1:18-3:20. These sixty-four verses contain nothing but the bad news that we're utterly unrighteous. Paul has constructed an airtight case that every creature that has ever lived, or will ever live, is leveled under the weight of sin. The inescapable conclusion is that we're not only guilty; we're absolutely helpless and hopeless. In other words, we're born into this world enslaved to sin on a sinking ship. God holds out a life jacket to us, but until we become convinced that our plight is truly desperate we'll never joyously and tenaciously grab hold of what's being offered to us. The intent of God in clearly exposing our sinfulness isn't to make us feel bad-it's to make us feel desperate! Desperate enough to wrestle with the question of the ages: "How can a person be righteous before God?" (Job 9:2)
Of course, a great chasm lies between Rom 3:20 and 3:21. It's a deep canyon, a wide gap separating our condition and God's character. We're sinful and God is holy. How can we bridge the gap? How can we go from one side to the other? We can't. But this is where the good news begins: Paul informs us in 3:21-26 that God does what we cannot do. This is not only the heart of Romans; it's likely the greatest paragraph in the entire Bible. Therefore, if we fail to u ...
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