Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

The Holy Spirit will guide us through derivatives of classify this week.

Let’s begin with God classifying us as right.

Today’s scripture, Romans 3:22-24 (NLT) says…
[22] We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. [23] For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. [24] Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

Consider…
We’re our own worst critics. Especially when it comes to our standing before a Holy God. Many of us classify ourselves the same way the prophet Isaiah did in Isaiah 6:5 (NLT), when he said…
[5] Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

Unfortunately for many of us, we stop reading after that verse. It’s unfortunate because Isaiah goes on to say in Isaiah 6:6-7 (NLT)…
[6] Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. [7] He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”

God’s sequenced response is important. Notice…

• Heaven touched the unclean lips
• Heaven removed the guilt of the unclean lips
• Heaven reclassified the unworthy as forgiven

This sounds like what Jesus did for us.

• Hebrews 2:14 (NLT) says…[14] Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.

…A Holy Jesus touched an unholy humanity to save us.

• And Romans 8:1-2 (NLT) says…[1] So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. [2] And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

… Jesus removes our guilt

• Lastly, today’s verse [24] says…Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

…God says we are right in His sight through the lens of Christ.

Yet, despite knowing we’re made right through Christ, we still struggle with the sin condemnation of ourselves. We have internal conversations like Paul in Romans 7:18-19 (NLT), when he said…
[18] And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. [19] I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.

Paul’s guilt ladden confession continues in Romans 7:22-24 (NLT)…
[22] I love God’s law with all my heart. [23] But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. [24] Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?

And just like some of us did with Isaiah’s scripture, we stop and steep in the negative. We allow the tea bag of shame to color our disdain. Sadly, some of us loathe who we are, rather than celebrate who God made us.

As was the case with Isaiah, the next verse offers a remedy to our not-right-plight. Romans 7:25a (NLT)
says…
[25] Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.

But we, like Paul, won’t rest in God’s grace. We feel compelled to rehash our inadequacies, as he did in Romans 7:25b (NLT)
So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

Like Paul, too many of us end a chapter in our lives with the slave to sin classification. But thanks be to God, there’s a new chapter, Romans 8:1-2 (NLT), that says…
[1] So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. [2] And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

…the Holy Spirit is emphasizing that while we classify ourselves as sinfully flawed, God encourages us to sing with ‘We Are Messengers’…

If I didn’t know what it looked like to be dirty
Then I wouldn’t know what it feels like to be clean
And if all of my shame hadn’t drove me to hide in the shadows
Then I wouldn’t know the beauty of being free

Maybe it’s okay if I’m not okay
‘Cause the One who holds the world is holding onto me
Maybe it’s all right if I’m not all right
‘Cause the One who holds the stars is holding my whole life

You see, we are not incorrect in classifying ourselves as being woefully wrong. We just need to remind ourselves that God’s grace reclassifies us as righteous when we place our faith in Jesus Christ. Remember today’s verse [22] says…
We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

So today, when the voices in your head are classifying you as woefully wrong, remember God classifies you as righteously redeemed by His grace through His Son.

Today’s Song is…
You Say

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)