Begin with two minutes of stillness and silence before God.

This passage is a straightforward explanation of the Gospel. As we end this week and look at how we are not saved by the law, but rather faith in God through Jesus, these verses lay it out plainly for us. 

The Law once saved you- as long as you followed all the rules, you were considered a good, religious person. 

Jesus took on our punishment for breaking the law by giving His life as a sacrifice for our sin - “by becoming a curse for us.” 

When we put our faith in Him and surrender our lives to His will; we no longer are bound by the punishment of the law. Instead, we are freed by God’s grace which gives us eternal life with Him. 

The Law, God's commands, is our guide for how we are to live. But we don’t follow them because we are afraid of punishment if we don’t. We follow them out of a desire to reflect Jesus in our lives because of His sacrifice, and as Christians, our greatest desire should be to live a life that brings others to Jesus. 

Christianity isn’t just a list of do’s and don’ts that keeps us from enjoying life.  It is the gift of the greatest life that, over time, changes our desires to do the things that are pleasing to God and honor Him rather than pleasing our flesh.   

There is so much freedom in not having to check off a list of all the rules we followed and good things we did each day, but instead getting to live under the grace and mercy of Jesus with the hope of eternal life in Heaven.  We simply have to say "YES" to Him.  

We live in a fallen world, which means none of us is perfect.  God knew that we would mess up and fail daily, but He gave His only Son as a sacrifice for our sins so we could have the gift of eternity in Heaven with Him.  It's not so that we could live like the world, but so that we could show His love to the world.    

Take two minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflections:

• Do you know God’s gift of grace, or are you trying to earn forgiveness? If you are interested in knowing more about what it means to be saved by grace visit venturechurch.org/baptism. You can even connect with a pastor from the campus closest to you.  
• Is there someone in your life who needs to know about the good news of Christ’s forgiveness? God has put them in your story for a reason. Begin praying for their understanding and an opportunity to have a conversation with them.  
• Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for the gift of Your grace through Jesus Christ. Help me to live in the freedom of salvation daily and come to when I mess up. I know that, because I am human, I will forget, so remind me of Your grace when I lose sight of it. In Jesus' name. Amen.