Self Help or GOD's Gift

The self-help industry is one of the biggest money generators in our society. And the biggest problem in the self-help industry is that many (not all) promoters make false promises. They promise hugely unrealistic results, as if reading a single book or attending a single seminar will produce all the permanent changes you need to make your life absolutely perfect. Yet people still buy these products because they really want to believe the marketers are telling the truth. And probably more notably, people are keenly aware that they do indeed need help.

Today, I want to focus on Romans 3:23-24. Verse 23 lays out for us that universal need for help: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...” And verse 24 gives the all-sufficient remedy for that need: “…and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ.” What these two verses say is more important for your future that 10,000 self-help books to help you solve your problems. These are the words of God spoken through the Apostle Paul. They tell us our true condition as human beings. And they tell us what God has done to save those who put their trust in his Son, Jesus.

The whole point of Romans 1:18 – 3:20 is to show us that each of us -- without exception – is a sinner. And the outworking of being a sinner is that we fall short of God’s glory. “Falling short” is literally “lacking.” We lack ever seeing or experiencing GOD’s Glory.

Verse 24 is the greatest “self-help” statement ever spoken or written. Reason being, it requires no self! What is so great about this verse is that it is all about what GOD has already done to save us.

The first phrase is “being justified . . . ” This isn’t something we do. God is the actor here. God is justifying us. And it does not mean that God makes us righteous. Not at all! He declares us righteous. Justification is not a change of our nature or state, but a change of our standing before Him.

Second “as a gift . . . ” The point here is we are declared righteous in such a way that we cannot pay for it. Ever! We cannot purchase justification. It is a gift. It’s free. There is no payment we can make. We cannot buy or barter or rent it. God’s act of justification is a gift.

Third, “by His grace. . .” Getting something by grace means we cannot work for it. Grace is that you get from someone who owes you nothing. So not only can we not pay for justification, neither can we work for it.

Fourth, “through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” Redemption means “deliverance at a cost” or “release by payment.” Think of it in terms of a ransom. Jesus was the ransom. He gave His life so there could be deliverance and release from the universal problem of vs. 23!

There are some truths that are so foundational and so central that we should literally build our lives upon them. Romans 3:23-24 are such verses. Base your life on these verses and ground your hope on it.

- Pastor Mark