Worship for Today: Regenerated in Jesus Christ!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Ephesians 5:5,

 

"For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God."

 

This passage reminds me of a similar one in Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth, "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.

 

In the Corinthians passage, however, Paul goes on to acknowledge something we all know. These are the very things we have all been. Paul says in the following verse, "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

 

Sinful people cannot inherit the kingdom of God. God is holy and just and he will bring all sinners to account for the things they have thought, said and done. The good news, the gospel, is that all of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith are cleansed of our sins. Jesus Christ paid the penalty for them when he died on the cross and as a result we are reborn and renewed, "When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:4-7.

 

God has regenerated us. All who have placed their trust in Jesus Christ have been washed, sanctified, justified, reborn, renewed! We will not be inheriting the kingdom of God as sinners but as those who have been cleansed of their sins.

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com