Nothing Means Nothing
I don't know about you, but often, when I read "absolutes" in Scripture, I'm tempted to add my own little qualifiers to soften the blow. You know:
"Do nothing {unreasonable} from selfish ambition or conceit...." ~Philippians 2:3
or
"Let no {or at least not much} corrupting talk come out of our mouths..." ~Ephesians 4:29
This week, another "absolute" in Scripture stood out to me as I pondered the theme of the last two sermons Craig preached. The temptations to fear that so many of us face aren't limited to temporal issues. We can be tempted to fear that what we have done (or haven't done) in the last hour, day, week, or even further in the past could and will hinder our current and eternal standing before God. If you're like me, you face the temptation to add your qualifier to these verses:
"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else {except my sin, my lack of faith, my________} in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." ~Romans 8:38-39
But the good news of these verses must not be muted or discounted in our hearts and minds. Nothing can separate us from the love of God now that Jesus has defeated sin and death once and for all! Let the full weight of that "absolute" be felt in your heart and set you free from fear!
For all who put their hope and trust in Jesus, there is NOTHING that can tear us away from our union with God through Christ!
That's what we're going to sing about this Sunday. Here are the songs we'll be singing:
-God and God Alone
-Death Was Arrested
-Jesus Paid it All
-O Come to the Altar
-You Alone
And here's a Spotify Playlist of those songs.