Author: John Johnstone

The law cannot justify the sinner nor sanctify the saint. Only Jesus can empower us to be more like him. So if as a Christian, the law convicts you of sin and you feel the internal struggle of the Christian fight, don’t stay there, but rather run into the arms of Jesus, confessing your sin and asking him to empower you to know victory over sin in your life.

Sin is a terrible master every single time not least because it always pays us fair wages. The thing is, the wages of sin is death (verse 23). And this is what we deserve by refusing to yield to Christ. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There is a wonderful alternative. Those who are slaves to Christ and to righteousness are not given wages. Instead, we are given a free gift, and that gift is eternal life.

As Christians we are ‘dead to sin’ so let’s weed out sin in our lives. Since now in Christ we are ‘alive to God’ the natural thing for us to do is to give the whole of ourselves to God in service. Don’t withhold anything from him. Serve him in your work and in your family and in your community. Yield your mind and your heart and your will to him.

Because Jesus is our covenant head, our representative, our salvation it totally assured. He has already defeated death and he cannot fail. And because he cannot fail, and what happens to him will happen to us, those who trust him are assured of eternal life. We are assured of eternal life. So, if you haven’t trusted him yet, then do so now.

Think of the dimensions of God’s love, dying for us while we were still sinners.  Think of the fact that enemies have brought into the very family of God and have a spectacular resurrection to look forward to.  Let’s rejoice in God for what he has done, for what he is doing, even in our suffering, and what he will do on the Last Day.

There are many blessings of justification: we have peace with God, we stand each day in his generous grace, and we have something quite awesome to look forward to, the display of God’s glory in the earth, in us, and in Christ.

You don’t want to miss out on these things. Why not come to Jesus in prayer, admitting your need of forgiveness, and placing your confidence in Jesus and his work? You will never regret doing so.

If we are Christians, how much of God’s wrath can we receive on the Day of Judgement? The answer is none! Jesus has already absorbed all the anger of cross when he experienced Hell in our place. There is no wrath left for us. Hallelujah!

Sermon: Sunday, 29th September, 2024 Speaker: John Johnstone Scripture: Romans 2:1 – 3:8 It can be heart-breaking when people trust in the wrong things or

Why is the gospel such good news? Because all people need to be saved. None of us is righteous. Pagans aren’t righteous and respectable and moral people aren’t righteous. How much we all need God’s righteousness! Why then will you not come to Jesus and ask for it?

We often think of God’s love, sending his own Son to die to pay the price for our sin and to gift us his goodness. But there’s also a more unpopular truth – the wrath of God. God will not be mocked. When God is rejected, what happens? Society starts to unravel.