In him we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness
of sins, in accordance with the
riches of God’s grace that he
lavished on us.
Ephesians 1:7-8
We’ve all made a mess of life. If your life is like mine, the life that you have enjoyed is punctuated with failures and regrets. I’ve
made my share of mistakes, done plenty of wrong, and hurt some
people that should have been treated better. Worst of all, I have not treated God like God.
When we resist God, that is what the Bible calls sin. We’re all sinners. Even though many us try to live good lives, our goodness is never good enough to erase the wrong we have done. There is no cosmic set of balances where we try to offset all the wrong we have done by trying to be good. Where did you get that idea anyway? What sinners need is redemption,or a way to make us right with God.
The Apostle Paul says that in Jesus, “we have redemption through his blood.” This is how an unworthy sinner like me gets made right with God. Jesus took the sins of the world to cross where Jesus endured the wrath of God you and I deserved.
Jesus took our place and received our death sentence, so that we could take his life and his righteousness. Your salvation will not be bought by your attempt to live a good life. If you ever get saved it will be because Jesus bought your salvation by his own blood. When we turn away from our sins and turn toward Jesus, Jesus forgives our sins, extending “the riches of God’s grace.” In this grace, Jesus does for us what we cannot
do for ourselves: Jesus takes away our sins and makes us new.
