Overcomes

DEVOTION

ROMANS

OVERCOMES

Rom 5:18-21

18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. 20 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

NIV

So this is kind of the end of the whole discourse about life and death. Paul comes to the conclusion that death is the result of sin and life is the result of being in Christ. There really is no other conclusion. A person is either going to live or die. Yes, of course we all have to put this body down at some point in time. In fact God has told us that he has our days numbered.

Ps 139:16

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

NIV

We all will die in the physical but what is being talked about in Romans is the life and death of our spirit. Yes, at some point in time our bodies will be resurrected, at least that seems to be the general consensus of all the theologians. No one really knows how that will all play out exactly, but the fact is if we have accepted this gift from God, if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we will live eternally. We will be aware that we are alive and in paradise with Christ. The new creation will be our home. Every person ever born will die because of the sin of Adam. But not every person will live because of Jesus. It is possible that every person could live because of Jesus, but the fact is some have and some will continue to refuse Jesus and die eternally. God’s grace is available for all through Jesus, as death is available to all through Adam. Why anyone would chose death when they can have life, seems really strange. Could it be some never have heard the choice? Could some think this Jesus thing is just hogwash, a religion made up by men? Could some have such a difficult life they just hate God, or the idea of a God. Some ask, how could a loving God allow this? There are all sorts of reasons people refuse to accept his gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Maybe they are not really reasons but more like excuses, because they don’t want to give up the pleasures they prefer to enjoy in the here and now. God says that, in fact, men love the darkness.

John 3:19-21

19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."   

NIV

It seems foolish to not come into the light, to not accept the gift of God. We have so much peace in our heart because of living in the light of Jesus. There is a calm, a serenity that far exceeds anything in this life. To know with all certainty that we will live forever reigning with Christ, sitting on his throne with him, being dressed in white, having a new name, eating from the tree of life, not being hurt by the second death, eating some of the hidden manna, having authority over the nations, and having our names never blotted out from the book of life. All this to him that overcomes self, and accepts Jesus.