We are sinners

 

We are sinners

Today I would like to invite you to come along on a journey that we do want to start on a series of devotionals.  The Lord put on my heart a topic that has been on my mind ever since I listened to Charles Price on Living Truth. And he was talking about how the apostle calls us saints. In Romans 1:7 “To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.  He mentioned among other things: At one point the apostle calls the sinners as he refers to the Romans in chapters 3 to 6.

So the question is: “are we sinners or saints”?  ________________________________________

And if we are one or the other, how to we change from one to another? How did we become sinners? How do we become saints? This will be the subject of our devotional as the Lord helps me to find the scripture to talk about it here.

Can you tell us your experience how you changed from be a sinner to a saint? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The objection in this serious is to point out the intent that God had with mankind when he created us in his own image and likeness; and what was it actually that He did want us to be. Now to some of us it is most likely that we think and say: well God wanted us to be His children in love, and from there on it is kind of difficult to describe the rest. Somehow we get stuck in the rout; and do not know how to phrase the rest. With God’s help we will try to go on a journey where we will try to look for some answers.

I find it wonderful that God uses His people like you, me, the apostles and other men and women in the past to talk to us; and to make known His love and His plan towards us and for us. Paul addresses the Romans with this subject, and if you have your Bible with you; please let us take a look at some Scriptures today.

Bible says: “we are sinners”. So the question is were we born sinners? _________________________

Were we created as sinners? __________________________________________________________

God created us in His love, according to His image and likeness. In Genesis we can read that: Genesis 1:26  “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”

God had a marvelous plane for all of us. But, than the thought might come in our mind: so why than now: “sinners”? Was, this already designed to come out this way? Was this what God had in mind? ___________________________________

And the answer is no, this was not what God had in mind for us to become sinners. It was the consequence of the human’s choice. But, God loves us and He does not want us to be separated from Him through sin, so therefore He brought us the Savior; who makes us saints.   We can be made saints if we follow what the Word of God says, and we do need to live upon the Word of God. The apostle Paul was teaching the Romans. We will be using the Halley’s Biblical Handbook; to be able to help us along a little bit better on this Journey, so we can state time, periods and occasions where things were written by Paul. And in this manual we find the description that Paul was in Corinth, while writing this letter to the Church in Rome. In the year of 57-58d.C.  The apostle Paul was at the end of his third missionary trip and he was planning to go to Jerusalem, taking along the offering that was sent with him, (Rom. 15:22-27). A lady named Phoebe, mentioned in chapter 16:1-2, was going there and Paul sends the letter along with her.  So, in this letter to the Romans, Paul explains many things that we need to learn as well.

The purpose of the Letter to the Church in Rome.

The purpose of the Letter to the Church in Rome was to inform the Christians that he was on his way to visit them. And this was written before God told Paul that he would be a witness for God in Rome; check it out in Acts 23:11. Paul was not certain that he would be still alive in Jerusalem and in Romans 15:31 he makes it clear. “Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea and that the contribution I take to Jerusalem may be favorably received by the Lord’s people there”.  Paul was not favorably received everywhere he went, and so he asks for prayers, in this respect. 

Would you have the boldness and the courage Paul had to go and follow what God said to him, what he was supposed to do?  _____________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________

 

Content of the Letter to the Church in Rome. 

The Jews believed that the Law of Moses was final and decisive as a universal mandatory expression of God’s will for mankind. And Paul goes on to explain how God took us from being justified by the Law to being justified by Jesus before God.  

In our next devotional we will start to address this beautiful subject as how every human being can go from sinner to being a saint. We are looking forward on sharing what God has put in our heart on a weekly bases.

Greetings unto you in Christ Jesus

 Your sister in the Lord

 Antonina Penner