The NO Sandwich
Four years ago (Nov. ’22), I wrote about a scripture sandwich found in Romans 8. I pointed out all the good things God has for us spelled out between the first and last verse. My purpose was to get you excited about God’s love letter to us—His word.
Today, pulling a thread from the same verses, I want to tie a bow on this. Don’t let the title throw you. We have heard “no” so often in life but not today. Here it is: NO condemnation (v.2) and NO separation (v.39) for those of us who have made Jesus Christ our Lord and friend.
With so much bad news to greet us each day,
I thought a breath of fresh air would be welcome. There is so much amazing stuff God has planned for His children, that the decision to embrace the gospel that Jesus died for your and my sin and was raised on the third day to take His rightful place as ruler of everything, should be a no-brainer for us. I won’t even spend time trying to convince you how awful the alternative is.
Think about this.
In heaven, there will be no thieves, murderers, greed, anger, jealousy, egos, or tomatoes and cucumbers (just kidding about the last two). But look at the sandwich again. No condemnation. The verse actually says, “Now there is no condemnation.” We don’t have to wait until we get there. God has given us the gift of righteousness free of charge the moment we invite Christ to be our Lord. No strings attached.
And on the other side of the sandwich, no separation. Hebrews 13:5 promises, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.” In this life, I’m sure we have experienced disappointment from those we trusted, those we loved, who have up and left us for greener pastures. Not gonna happen as God’s children. God doesn’t lie. We can bet our eternal futures on every word from His mouth.
If you’re not yet in “the family,” don’t wait.
Take God seriously. Look forward to the glory of heaven that will be yours when you “sign the adoption papers” that Jesus has already signed in His blood. If you’re not sure about all this, click here for details on Steps To Salvation elsewhere on this site.