Text: Romans 1:16-32
Key Verse: Galatians 2:20a, “My old man has been crucified with Christ. I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. (NLT)
The world is full of evil and wickedness of all kinds and we know it. What we are currently experiencing in our country today is a clear picture that the world is terrible, horrible and horrendous. The “world” here is just a word for man. It is the man referred to. We are not talking about the animals, birds and fish; They are already playing their roles. The man is very bad and the Bible confirms it in Genesis 13:13, that the men of Sodom were very bad and sinners before the Lord.
How is the most evil man? Man is so evil that everything that comes out of him is just evil. He doesn’t show evil once in a while, but all the time. God saw that the wickedness of man was great on earth (Genesis 6:5), and somewhere in the Scripture the Bible says that man looks at what is outside, but God looks at what is inside, and from what he sees in the interior, He classifies us.
Someone can be very handsome or very beautiful, women in particular know how to apply their cosmetics to look different than they are, but God is not interested in our external appearance and the sooner we notice it, the better for us.
There must be a differentiating factor between a believer and someone who does not live for Christ. That difference must be clear and visible for all eyes to see.
The Disciples of Christ were first called Christians at Antioch because they behaved like Jesus Christ (Acts 11:26). What is the difference between you and the unbeliever? Is Christ the difference in your life? That you built a church: is that all you have to say about your Christian testimony? Sometimes I go to a burial ceremony and people start testifying and say that this brother or sister is always in church and I’m like, ‘So what? If he or she is always in church, is that testimony to your spiritual life? Say something; let me hear something else. If you say that he is a chorister, many choristers are not even Christians and they sing very well, then tell me something that differentiates you from the man in the street. What makes you stand out in your family and among your relatives? Is it church membership? Membership in a church is good, but I don’t think that’s what makes us outstanding because each of us attends one church or another. So, there has to be something that makes you different.
The apostle Paul said that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). It is not the power of men or the power that comes from knowledge as they say knowledge is power, but spiritual power. This spiritual power enters you and transforms your life and you become a transformed being. This spiritual power transforms you, rolling everything around, throwing away everything that shouldn’t be there, and turning you into the new creature we spoke of in 2 Corinthians 5:7. This spiritual power makes you a child of God with a clear testimony before God, before Satan, before the angels of God who must have rejoiced on the day you gave your life to Christ according to the Scripture, and also before men who are near you.
My brother and sister, this is the most important thing to start with. It is the starting point of what anyone wants to be in Christ.
• Today’s Nugget: You must have a Christian testimony. Prayer: I receive the miracle of the new birth in Christ. Prayer lines: 08054477940. Email: servantofgod111@yahoo.com. Rev. Pastor Ejikeme Ejim, General Superintendent, Assemblies of God, Nigeria.
