ROMANS & I CORINTHIANS

It's Christmas Eve!  My daughter and grandsons spent the night last night and this morning awakes to joyous children excited about Christmas.  Our church service was so sweet last night and so well attended.  God has blessed us beyond our ability to verbalize, but to Jesus be all the glory.  I've been reading with activity going on all around me, but still in a world of my own with God's Word.  I read almost one chapter out loud as my youngest grandson looked at the words I read.  God is good!  Here are a few thoughts.... I had so many today, but I will give only a few: 1) GOD'S COUNTING- In Romans 4:3, we see that God has a special way of counting.  "For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness."   God counts our believing Him as righteousness!  Now, that word "counted" is an accounting term.  It means to put on our ledger.... righteousness!  Our heavenly record says:  "righteousness"!  Wow!  I like God's counting.  But, He is not done yet in making His point.... Romans 4:5  "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."  He wants to clearly understand that His counting is not based upon our works, but upon our believing!  No verse could state this clear that this verse in the Bible.  Still, God wants us clear about it, so He goes on:  Romans 4:8  "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin."   The word "impute" here, is still an accounting term.  It means that God will not count "sin" to our record, only "righteousness".  Again:  Romans 4:11  "And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:"   Again, the word "imputed" means "counted".  So, can you agree with me that you like God's way of counting?  Amen!  Praise the LORD!!  He counts us righteous, and He does not count our sin! 2) IT IS IN OUR GENES- Romans 5:12  "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"  Adam passed down our sin nature because he was the father of our flesh.  We were all "in" Adam and so our sin nature passed down to us through our physical genes!  But, we we were "born again", we received the spiritual genes of Jesus Christ, God in flesh!  So we have His genes within us.... spiritual genes.... the Holy Spirit who brought us alive in Salvation!  Our physical genes brings us sin and death; our spiritual genes brings us righteousness and life! 3) IT'S ALL ABOUT JESUS- Romans 11:36  "For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen."   It's all about Jesus and this verse says it all!  Praise the LORD! 4) DON'T TELL ME YOU LOVE JESUS- You might think that strange, but the reason you don't need to tell me you love Jesus, is that IF you do love Him, I'll know it.  1 Corinthians 8:3  "But if any man love God, the same is known of him."   When we truly love God, then everyone around us will know that we love the LORD.  Our actions will speak much loader than our words! On this Christmas Eve, I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas!  May God bless you!   Pastor Mike Mutchler