The Blessed Gift

And the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. Acts 3:16

D.L. MOODY
Faith is the hand that takes the blessing. But don’t look too much at the hand. Suppose I ask a man who has just received a thousand dollars from a friend: “Did he give it to you with his right hand?” He would reply: “What do I care about which hand? I’ve got the money.”

ERWIN LUTZER
Faith takes the gift of salvation from the hands of Christ. Our problem is that our sin is so great and God is so holy, we can do nothing to bridge the gap. Martin Luther, a German monk from over 500 years ago, began his quest for perfection by taking advantage of all of the means of grace that were afforded him in the monastery. He lived a life of strict discipline. He wore coarse clothing, hoping this discomfort would help mortify the flesh. He sometimes fasted so long that some of his friends saw his emaciated body and worried that he might die.
Then Luther saw something in the Bible he hadn’t realized before. There was not only a righteousness of God, but there was a gift of righteousness given to needy sinners. When we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior and believe that God raised Him from the dead, God places upon Christ all of our iniquities and all of our sins and, in return, we receive Christ’s righteousness to stand before God.
So, we receive salvation freely from the hand of God.

PRAYER
Father, thank you for the blessed gift of Christ’s righteousness purchased by the wounded hands of Christ.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS
Have you ever tried to earn your relationship with God through acts like Luther?

Now that you are clothed in Christ’s righteousness, how should you interact with Sin?