Justified

I've been reading through Romans in my personal time in the Word. It has been so rich! Every time I open up, I am blown away by the treasures to discover. I spent some time reading Romans 3 last week, and here is what I've found. Every sentence is packed with Truth helping to further explain and understand the Gospel. One thing that has been so refreshing is reflecting on an important aspect of God's character: He is just.

It is easy to gloss over this attribute, but never should it be diminished! I am struck by God's work in sending Christ as an atoning sacrifice. I know this is the very essence of our faith in Christ, but I pray it always strikes a cord with me, that I never grow numb to it. God is the only one who has the right and the place to judge, because he himself is without flaw and cannot be judged. And because he is just, he will judge. I try and imagine a world in which God is not just, and that is a world I never wish to experience. If this were the case, God would be unpredictable, unfair, and untrustworthy. But because he is just, we can trust that he will give what is deserved.

With this in mind, we have great need, for what do we deserve? According to Romans 6:23, because of our sins, we have earned death:

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

But because of Christ's atonement, God sees us as righteous! Not just as "not guilty," which basically means we break even; but Christ's righteousness has been credited to us! So when God looks upon us in judgment he doesn't see us as guilty, nor does he see us as not guilty: he sees us as righteous!

"But if our unrighteousness brings out God's righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world?"
(Romans 3:5-6)

How amazing that my unrighteousness points out God's righteousness. It's like comparing black and white: white is more vibrant the darker it is compared to. If this is true, then of course he is just in bringing his wrath in order to bring justice for our sins. The only thing that keeps us from experiencing that wrath is Christ standing between us, for a couple of reasons: To take our sins upon himself, to give us in turn his righteousness, and to absorb God's wrath (all of which has already been displayed on the cross).

So, if Christ stands between us, that means that God looks at me through Christ, and so he sees His righteousness, which covers me completely, instead of my sin, which Christ traded with me on the cross in the greatest exchange ever:

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
( 2 Corinthians 5:21)

Paul continues in his letter to the Romans to explain:

"But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."
(Romans 3:21-26)

I love how it is phrased here "through faith in his blood," that we would believe that Christ's sacrifice of his life- the shedding of his blood- would free us, if only we believe that this is what spares us from God's wrath and justifies our sin. Because of Christ, I never have to experience God's wrath. He has absorbed my sin, and therefore God's wrath, and I only receive Christ's righteousness instead! I am justified freely by his grace. I have done nothing to deserve this- it's free! This is how God's justice is demonstrated: through Christ. The firstborn son was often given as a sacrifice for the sins of the family, and God did this by sending his very own Son as a sacrifice. He demonstrates his justice by not holding back his wrath from the son whom he loves. It is this very wrath that I deserve and was rightly mine, that Christ took upon himself.

I later read this in a book:

"The Son of God dropped to the dirt in an olive grove- Gethsemane- and vomited in his soul at the prospect before him. Eleven men who would later change world history- some accustomed to working all night on their fishing boats- could not keep awake for the scene. Yet sixty feet away their eternal destinies were being fought over. Except for the heaving of these shoulders that bore the weight of the world, nothing could be seen in that shadowy spot where the Son of God groaned. But the bleachers of heaven filled to capacity that night- and hell strained its neck to see how the spectacle in that lonely acre would end. The Father gazed down and gave his sober nod. The Son stared back, and bowed his acceptance."
-Joni Eareckson Tada, Steve Estes

Wow.

I kept reading on in Romans. Not only is God just, he is the one who has justified us- and this justification comes freely through faith in Christ, in the grace shown in his redemption. It was through this scene that he has demonstrated his great act of justice. I began to digest another part of this: the law versus faith:

"Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God."
(Romans 3:19)

So the law was originally for God's people, the Jews, those who are under the law, but then the end of this verse shows that Jews as well as Gentiles (all non-Jews) are held accountable. Paul goes on:

"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin."
(Romans 3:20)

So it is not through the law that we are saved- no one can obey the law perfectly. We do not, therefore, become righteous by observing the law. So what then is the law good for? To make us aware of our sin and our need for a Savior! Paul writes,

"What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law."
(Romans 7:7)

The law defines what sin is and points the finger at us. Essentially, we are condemned through the law. Paul writes later,

"For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit."
(Romans 8:3-4)

And so here we see the comparison, the turning point. The law is good, because it points out our sin, but it is powerless to do anything about it, to remove it or save us from the consequences (Romans 6:23). In fact, the law is weakened because of our sin. So even though the law had no power to save us from our sins and an eternity separated from God, the Lord himself took care of this weakness by sending Christ as a sacrifice of atonement (Romans 3:25). In doing so, sin was condemned, but not man! This was done so that the requirements for righteousness might be met in us. For now, sin is condemned within us, we have been credited Christ's righteousness, and are therefore declared righteous by very nature. Wow. That's the sound of my mind being blown away.

"For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law."
(Romans 3:28)

There is a distinction here. We are justified by faith, that much has already been made clear, but this is apart from observing the law. They are separate. We are justified by faith in Christ, not in the law. So what then? Is the law, the Old Testament as a whole, made obsolete because of Christ's work and God's new covenant with us given in the New Testament? Not at all! Paul goes on:

"since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law."
(Romans 3:30-31)

There is so much said here! First, there is only one God (speaking in address to the fact that God is God of Jews and Gentiles alike). This then infers that God is God of the law (circumcised) and also of faith (uncircumcised). The Jews have not been justified through this law, but through their faith in Christ. So Jews and Gentiles have the same faith if it is indeed in the forgiveness of their sins through Christ's sacrifice, and it is through this faith that God justifies us. Paul begs the question, is the law nullified by this faith? No. Quite the opposite actually. It is through our faith that the righteous requirements of the law are satisfied (Romans 8:3-4)! We uphold the law through our faith in Christ who imputed to us the righteousness he displayed in living a life that met all the requirements of the law. So much to take in...

So these are just some of the discoveries I am making in Romans, and this is only the beginning! I love that because God is just, I am justified. He is not only just, but He is the one who justifies. Praise God and Amen!

Into the Word

This week marks the 5th night of Bible study for the semester. Each week around 7 or 8 girls show up in the first floor lobby of Kellum Hall to study God's word together with us! It has seriously been a blast and the highlight of my week!

We are going through a Foundations study, which takes a look at what it means to be a Christian through different topics, such as making Christ the center of your life, memorizing scripture, finding our satisfaction in the Lord, our identity in Christ, and other disciplines like reading the Bible, praying, fellowship, and sharing the gospel with others. So far, the girls have really enjoyed the study and a core group of 7 girls continue to get time in God's word each week and then join us to discuss their findings.

These girls are an answer to prayer. I have so enjoyed getting time together with them over the past 5 weeks, both as a group and individually one-on-one. Last night we discussed our identity now that we are "in" Christ. We started the night by simply drawing a picture of ourselves along with all the things that we think define us. The pictures reflected friends, family, faith, hobbies, school pride, hopes, and desires. We shared why these things define us which led right into our study on identity. We focused most of our discussion on three passages of Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-5, Titus 3:3-7, and Colossians 1:21-23. In each of these passages we talked about how they each start off with the reality of what life was like apart from Christ, and then the good news comes at the end! Take a look at Titus 3:3-7:

"At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But 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."

Wow. I remember what life was like apart from Christ, and I never want to return to those days. I don't want to be foolish, making mistakes, or disobedient, choosing to do wrong, or deceived, being led astray by others, or enslaved to sin as I once was. What freedom we have in Christ! And what a joy it was to discuss the hope that we have for eternal life with this group of girls! It was so great to hear the girls' thoughts on the fact that it was not anything that we have done to deserve forgiveness of sins but it is only by his great mercy.

My favorite thing to talk about with students is the gospel, and that was basically all we talked about last night! I am so thankful for our Bible study and what God is doing in each of these young woman's life. Pray for them! Pray that they would continue to grow in a love for God and for studying his word. These girls have been faithful to come out each week and share their discoveries; pray that the hunger and faithfulness grows deeper!

I had one girl share with me: "You all are so sweet. I am so thankful I found this group of girls I can relate to and share with." I am amazed at how well our group has meshed together, even though we are all very different. A couple of girls have checked out the study once, pray that they return. My heart is so for these young women, and I know God is doing a great work in their lives and will carry it on to completion (Philippians 1:6).

It has also been a blessing to live life among these girls. We get dinner together once a week, we've had fun eating fondue, painting our nails and watching a movie, and cheered on Florida State at a tailgate. I honestly have to ask myself sometimes, "Has God really blessed me this much that I get to invest in the lives of the next generation of leaders and laborers? How am I so fortunate to know these young women and share life with them, lead them in studying God's word, and helping them discover how to have a deeper and more personal relationship with the lover and creator of their souls?" Praise God. That's all I can say :)

Beach Retreat

What do you get when you combine 81 students, 10 staff, and Panama City? A spectacular beach retreat weekend!

Valdosta State and Florida State met up together for the weekend at Laguna Beach to bring our students out for a getaway far from the stresses of studying to help get them into the Word and build community among our campuses. It was a wonderful turnout! I was blown away by the number of students who gave up their weekend to invest it in their relationship with God and fellow believers. We had over 60 students from Florida State join us!

We met on campus on Friday afternoon and loaded up our cars and caravanned across the top of Florida to Panama City. I had three great girls in my car, and we spent the time swapping stories, asking questions, and getting to know one another. Once we finally arrived we unloaded our stuff into the bunks (we had about 15 girls in one cottage! Triple bunks!) and headed out to the beach! It was such a sweet location! Not crowded at all, and we had the whole resort to ourselves! Talk about blessings!

Later that night we did "Skit bags" to help break the ice. This is such a wacky and fun activity to play in a group! We split the students up into teams and each team was given a bag of seriously random props and 10 minutes to come up with a skit to perform. The results: hilarious! The students got really into it and what a show we had! The rest of the night was free for relating with other students and spending time on the beach or at the pool.

The next morning I got up a little early to spend some time praying on the beach. Oh, how refreshing for the soul! There's something about looking out into the ocean that makes you feel so small. It just seems to go on forever, never ending. What a reflection of our God. I sat there, taking it all in, praising God for the answered prayers we've had so far, and I saw some dolphins! What a sweet morning that was to spend with the Lord enjoying his creation.

As I prayed, I realized how the students that came out to our retreat are a glimpse of our answered prayers. Two things we've been praying for our campus are young men to grow up to be leaders in the ministry, and diversity among our students! Well, we had a ton of guys come to the beach! One of my teammates entire Bible study, 8 freshmen, came together! Wow. We also have a number of new upper classmen guys as well! On top of that, the guys, as well as the women, are so diverse! We have students from all different nationalities, and what a joy it is to look around and see more than white faces! We also had several international students join us from Pakistan and China! What a beautiful picture of what future glory will be like as every nation, tribe, language and people come together to worship the Lord. It's written all over Revelation:

"After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" " (Revelation 7:9-12)

My heart skips! I cannot wait to experience this in person! Please continue to pray for these students as the Lord works in their lives, making Himself known to them.

I returned from the beach for breakfast and then we met together as a group for a workshop on how to spend time reading the Bible, God's Word. After this we were dismissed to spend time in the Word together with a friend, reading Psalm 139, one of my very favorites! I got together with Hannah, my Bible study co-leader, and Katie, a girl in our study. We spent time reading Psalm 139 and sharing what it says, what it means for us personally, and how we can live it out and apply it to our lives. We had a really great discussion about how we can't run or hide from God, so why do we try?

"Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"

even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you"

Psalm 139: 7-12

We were able to share personally what that has looked like in our own lives, and Katie was honest with us in sharing that she still feels like she's resisting. We talked more about why this is, and I told her I had an illustration I could share with her to figure out where she is in relation to God and how to get right with him. She said she'd love to see it, so we planned on looking at it during our free time that afternoon. We had a little time before lunch and I asked her what she was planning on doing and she said, "Actually, do you think you could show me that illustration you were talking about earlier?" Yes! So Hannah, Katie, and I sat down and we were able to share the Bridge illustration.

For those of you who might not be familiar with this, it's basically a simple diagram, using a single verse from the Bible, to explain man's broken relationship with God, the gospel of Jesus and the reconciliation he has brought to us and God, and to pinpoint where we are in accepting Him. We had a great discussion over the illustration and Katie was open and honest with us; I'm so thankful she's a part of our Bible study!

The afternoon was free time where students could hang out on the beach, swim in the pool, nap, study, play volleyball, or watch the football game. Later that night we had another workshop on fellowship among believers; what it is and what it isn't. We had an awesome dance party that night where Candice taught us a few dances, and everyone had a blast! Oh how I love to dance :) Put me with a group of students at a dance party, and I am happy as a clam!

We shared another quiet time in God's word the next morning (this time I was with Ruthie and we looked at 1 Corinthians 12:12-30), and then it was time to clean up and head out. Our drive back was even better than the drive there. I enjoyed getting to know Emily, Alina, and Kelly so much! Our conversation got to personal questions, and I was amazed at the vulnerability the girls displayed in the car. Praise God.

So now, looking back at the weekend, I am continuing to see how good it was, how it impacted our students and united them together as a community, and how thankful I am for the privilege of working with college students. Please keep praying for hearts to be softened to the gospel, for our students to continue to grow in their relationship with God, to become leaders and life long labors, and for lives to be impacted on the Florida State campus! Pray that what the students learned in Panama City wouldn't be left behind there, but that they would bring it back to FSU and continue to read the Bible, seeking God on their own! And pray that we would keep building deep and meaningful relationships with students :) I am eternally grateful for your faithful prayers, friends!

Gladly spent.

I've been thinking about how very blessed I am to have this job, even though it's been exhausting so far! My job is to love college students!! This is done by leading a small group Bible study, one-on-one discipleship, planning large group events, reaching out to students who are curious about Jesus and the Bible, offering advice and encouragement, and simply serving students in any way I can (i.e., picking students up from the hospital like yesterday afternoon!)

So far I am really loving our small group Bible study. Tonight is the third week we'll be getting together to discuss God's word, what it means for our lives, and how we can live it out in a practical way. We're doing a Foundations Study, taking a look at the basics of what it means to follow the Lord. Last week we learned about making Christ the center and Lord of our lives, and tonight we'll be discussing the importance of memorizing Scripture.

I am leading this study with a student leader named Hannah, and what a blessing it is to be working with her as an insider! She is very relational and intentional, which has been a huge help in meeting and relating with girls in Kellum, her dorm. So far 8 girls have come to the study and I think two more might come tonight. What a fun group of girls!! They are all very different, but somehow it works! God is good at bringing people together to learn from each other like that. Honestly, the past couple weeks as I drive home after Bible study, I just praise God as I drive. I am blown away that I have the privilege of working with these students, and I am continuously brought back to 1 Thessalonians 2:8:

"We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us."

I know I've only known these girls for a few weeks, but I already love each of them! I can see their hunger to know God more and their desire to get connected to others. I love their hearts and personalities! It is an absolute delight every Wednesday night to get together as a group and share the gospel with them. And more than that, to share my life with them! I get to meet with them outside of Bible study too! Whether it's going to Wakulla Springs, math tutoring (I still get my math fix :), or getting a meal together, it has been a blessing so far to share life with these girls! They really have become so dear to me, and the year has only begun! That leaves me so excited to see what God has in store for the rest of the year!

I am also reminded of something else Paul wrote, this time to the church in Corinth:

"So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well. If I love you more, will you love me less?"
(2 Corinthians 12:15)

Sometimes ministry isn't planned or expected. That's part of the job- skipping a meal because something comes up, having to go to the hospital to pick up students instead of working on admin stuff, staying up late because a student is having guy problems and just needs to talk it out. I've experienced a lot of that so far; ministry is caring for others' needs at all times. See a need, meet a need. I have to always remind myself to have the same attitude Paul had in ministry, to very gladly spend all that I have (time, money, energy) and expend myself as well for the sake of the gospel! I am glad. I am so very glad :)

So as I mentioned before, tonight we have Bible study. Pray that the girls continue to make it a priority and come out again this week to get into the word together with us. Pray for open hearts as we build community. Pray that lives would be changed as they begin to see what it means to walk with Christ. Thank you all for your prayers and support! I couldn't be here without you!