Even before he made the world,
God loved us and chose us in Christ
to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
He is so rich in kindness and grace
that he purchased our freedom
with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.
Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God.
You will always harvest what you plant.
Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature
will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature.
But those who live to please the Spirit
will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.
But when the right time came,
God sent his Son, born of a woman,
subject to the law.
God sent him to buy freedom for us
who were slaves to the law,
so that he could adopt us as his very own children.
and because we are his children,
God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”
Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child…
So it is clear that no one can be made right with God
by trying to keep the law.
For the Scriptures say,
“It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
Let me ask you this one question:
Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses?
Of course not!
You received the Spirit because you believed
the message you heard about Christ.
How foolish can you be?
After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit,
why are you now trying to become perfect
by your own human effort?
I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless.
For if keeping the law could make us right with God,
then there was no need for Christ to die.
Praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD from the heavens,
praise him in the heights above.
Praise him, all his angels,
praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all you shining stars.
Praise him, you highest heavens
and you waters above the skies.
Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for he commanded and they were created.
…Christ lives in me.
So I live in this earthly body
by trusting in the Son of God,
who loved me
and gave himself for me.
Yet we know that a person is made right with God
by faith in Jesus Christ,
not by obeying the law.
And we have believed in Christ Jesus,
so that we might be made right with God
because of our faith in Christ,
not because we have obeyed the law.
For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.
(Grand Tetons National Park)
Jesus gave his life for our sins,
just as God our Father planned,
in order to rescue us from this evil world
in which we live.
