December 2021 – Standing Before God, This We Are and No More

The advent of the Son of God was when the “goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared.” It was in Christ that God saved us from continuing in hostile rebellion against Him. Paul writes in Romans 5 that for those who believe in Christ were reconciled to Him when they were enemies of God. You see, He saved us, not because of anything we did, do, or could do. No, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly …God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ Jesus is the mercy of God! The mercy of God isn’t just God restraining His anger. It’s more than passive. It is active. His mercy is when He draws near to us, condescends to us, despite of all our helplessness and sin. As Paul makes so clear in Philippians, it is against the backdrop of our utter bankruptcy before God (Philippians 3:7-11), that Christ condescends to save us and purchase us as His own people (Philippians 2:5-11). Jesus coming into the world means God saves by mercy—not by works.