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Joy in heaven over those who do a U-turn
God cares not just for those who already follow him, but also those who don't yet have a restored relationship with him: ““For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NLT) God rejoices when just one person turns to him. God and the angels are overjoyed when people turn to God through faith in Jesus. They are overjoyed not just when many people turn, but when each individual turns to God. “Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!” (Luke 15:1–7, NLT) God doesn’t just call you to turn from sin to do good. That’s what the morally superior group of people had done in Romans 2:1-16. And judgment was still on them because they were not perfect. Turning away from sin is not enough. We need to turn away from self-reliance too, and rely on God’s grace and mercy, not our own self-righteousness. We need to trust in Jesus Christ, and be accepted by the Father through faith in him. “But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” (Romans 3:21–24, NLT)
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By CGCFGod cares not just for those who already follow him, but also those who don't yet have a restored relationship with him: ““For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NLT) God rejoices when just one person turns to him. God and the angels are overjoyed when people turn to God through faith in Jesus. They are overjoyed not just when many people turn, but when each individual turns to God. “Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!” (Luke 15:1–7, NLT) God doesn’t just call you to turn from sin to do good. That’s what the morally superior group of people had done in Romans 2:1-16. And judgment was still on them because they were not perfect. Turning away from sin is not enough. We need to turn away from self-reliance too, and rely on God’s grace and mercy, not our own self-righteousness. We need to trust in Jesus Christ, and be accepted by the Father through faith in him. “But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” (Romans 3:21–24, NLT)