Letter No. 3

Hey Kid,  

I’m going to be real with you, this is the third letter I’m writing, but the first one isn’t in the mail
yet.  It’s a goal for this week is actually to put at least one of them in the mail.  Enough excuses, though, I’m about to lay Romans chapter 3 out for you! 

The chapter starts out with a hypothetical conversation between Paul and a Jew.  They’re
arguing about whether or not the Jew deserves God’s thumbs up (just so you know, NO ONE deserves God’s thumbs up, not even the Jew). To prove his point, Paul reminds his imaginary opponent about Psalm 51, in which David (the best Jew after Abraham) goes to court against God, and God is justified, not David!  God is the only One who can ever be announced right.  Paul uses a lot of Old Testament quotes to back up this idea, but then it finally gets good, Kid! 

Starting in verse 21, Paul announces that now, through Jesus’ death on the cross, God is giving His right status to everyone who believes that what Jesus did was enough.  In the Old Testament time period, God had set up for Israel a system of sacrifices that looked forward to what Jesus was going to do on the cross. Those sacrifices didn’t pay for Israel’s sin, it just covered for the sin like a credit card.  Then, when Jesus lived the whole Law out and died on the cross, all sin was paid for IN FULL by His blood.  Paul also announces that payment wasn’t just for the Jews, it was and is for anyone who will trust that Jesus’ payment is enough!  This doesn’t mean the law is dead and gone, it just means that it is fulfilled and now we get to live in Jesus’ fulfillment of it! 

How does this apply to my life today?  SO MUCH, KID!  I used to think that I could only fit into
God’s plan if I followed Jesus’ life exactly and obeyed the Law to its fullest extent.  I thought that was the only way God would be happy with me.  I trusted Jesus when He said He would save me in the Bible, but I also thought He would save me even though He was angry with me for failing at the Law every day.  I love this because it explains what it took so long for me to understand as a teenager. Jesus did everything for everyone; it’s simple.  All we have to do is trust Him that He did everything He says He did.  Of course, Paul is going to keep explaining the ins and outs of the salvation situation as we go, but I hope this letter encourages you

I love you, Kid.

Viv