SATURDAY March 16, 2024
Free From Guilt
And it came to pass after three days that Paul called the leaders of the Jews together. So when they had come together, he said to them: “Men and brethren, though I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans, who, when they had examined me, wanted to let me go, because there was no cause for putting me to death.”
Acts 28:17-18
The Apostle Paul wanted to make sure that the local Jewish leaders in Rome understood that he was there by his own will. He explained that he was falsely accused by the Jews in Jerusalem, and, if he had stayed there, they would have killed him. Therefore, as a Roman citizen, he appealed to Caesar before Felix, the Governor of Judea.
Paul made himself accountable to his Jewish brethren. He knew he was not guilty of anything, nor did the Romans find any cause to put him to death. Although in chains, he was confident God still had His hand upon his life. All these circumstances were according to God’s will.
As sinners, we stand before God, guilty. Paul, in the book of Romans, explains to us that the Law has purpose. It causes us to see that we cannot keep it. We have all broken the Law of God:
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:19-20).
The only reason we can stand before a holy God free from our guilt is because of Jesus’ death on the Cross for our sin. Some people argue that they are a good person; they have never murdered anyone! But we are all born as sinners. We have all broken God’s Commandments in some way. You may not have murdered anyone, but have you ever lied, stolen or coveted? What can you do with your guilt and sin? You only need to come to the Cross of Christ to be free of it.
Two thousand years ago God invited a morally corrupt world to the foot of the cross. There God held your sins and mine to the flames until every last vestige of our guilt was consumed.
~Billy Graham~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
