The Father's Menu
Apostle Dr. Richard Udoh
Sunday, June 19, 2022
CHRIST QUALIFIES US
“And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.”
1 John 4:17
Main Text: Main Text: Romans 8:32-33
At one time or another we’ve all received the world’s pervasive message of not being good enough. We may have made the mistake of trying to live up to other people’s standards and qualifications, and failed. Thankfully for us, having faith in the finished works of Jesus causes us to succeed according to a much higher standard. When we trust in Jesus Christ, we’re always good enough in God’s eyes.
We don’t have to depend on self-effort to make a successful life for ourselves when we trust that God has already taken care of our success. Through His grace, He has given us all things pertaining to life and godliness; He is now waiting for us to simply receive from Him. Being born again allows Christ to live in us and make us everything He already is. He’s wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption—because we’re in Christ Jesus, all of those qualities are now ours.
We don’t achieve right-standing with God by doing the right things, but by being in Christ. It has nothing to do with our actions, but everything to do with our position. His great love for us perfects us in every way, because as He is, so are we in this world. The Holy Spirit instills a boldness in us we never had before; He frees us from worrying about how we’re judged by the world. Holiness isn’t a way we conduct ourselves; it’s a person, and His name is Jesus. Because of Him, we no longer have to identify ourselves the way the world identifies us; our identity is rooted in Jesus. God loved us enough to give us His own Son; therefore, with Christ He freely gives us all things. He’s the one who justifies us.
Prayer:
Father, no matter how many mistakes we make or how small we may feel, Your Word reassures us that we’re always qualified in Your eyes. This isn’t because of anything we do, but because of what Your Son did and our faith in it. We’re grateful and thankful for this. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Further Reading:
2 Peter 1:3 “By his divine power the Lord has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of the one who called us by his own honor and glory.”
1 Corinthians 1:30 (NLT) “God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.”
Read through the Bible in 1 year: 1 Kings 20:1-21:29 Acts 12:24-13:15 Psalm 137:1-9 Proverbs 17:16
Read through the Bible in 2 years: 1 Sam 28-29 & Prv 18