The Bible makes it clear that our God is a loving and gracious God. Yet it also makes it clear that He is a righteous God who hates evil. This creates some tension: if He loves us, but we do evil things, does He punish us? If He didn’t punish us for our sins, wouldn’t He no longer be just? Today, Pastor Cody explores Scripture to reveal that the solution to that tension is found in Jesus Christ. Through Christ, God was able to pour out His wrath on our sinfulness, while still offering us a means for salvation.

As Pastor Cody teaches Romans chapter 3 today, he reminds us what this letter has looked like up to this point – the first couple of chapters of Romans are pretty bleak. They paint a picture of humanity that is awfully offensive to us; the Apostle Paul makes it clear that we are all sinful to the core, and utterly hopeless. But Pastor Cody encourages us to contemplate this tragic reality because it forces us to recognize that we need a savior. And that brings us to appreciate the good news of Jesus!

As Paul wrote Romans, he responded to the opposition he was facing from the religious leaders of his day. But why would people so vehemently reject the good news of Jesus? Pastor Cody suggests that it is because the Gospel is a message of grace. Today, he reminds us that we are all under the curse of sin. And for religious people who impose all kinds of rules on others, the idea that God is willing to graciously cast away anyone’s sins if they turn to Christ is an abomination.

As Pastor Cody teaches from the book of Romans today, he addresses a common argument that Paul had faced: that the unfaithfulness of some Jews nullified the faithfulness of God. But Pastor Cody points out that truth is not determined by whether or not people believe it. And this is what Paul gets at too – God is faithful, no matter how people respond to Him. Our responsibility, then, is to know the truth and trust in the righteousness of God, rather than rejecting reality.

In the book of Romans, Paul spends some time discussing how first-century Jewish Christians were to regard their Jewish lineage. Today, as Pastor Cody teaches on this passage, he explains how God chose to reveal Himself to the Jewish people, and they had a great advantage because of this. However, it was never enough to just be born a Jew, to follow certain religious practices, or to possess God’s Scripture. God’s Law was intended to expose sin, but only Jesus Christ is able to justify the sinner.

In Pastor Cody’s teaching today, he exposes how legalism not only misses the point of true faith in Jesus but will also always fall short. God’s standard is perfection, so no matter how much we may try and follow His law, we will inevitably fall short of that perfection at some point – or, more likely, at many points. But that’s why the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is such good news: no matter how much we’ve fallen in the past, He offers us forgiveness and grace if only we will trust in Him!

Today, Pastor Cody explores the book of Romans to differentiate true faith from legalism. He shows that the Jews in Jesus’ day were not automatically saved because they had the sacred texts or practiced certain rituals; likewise, in our day, we are not saved just because we go to church or read the Bible or practice any rituals. While these things are all valuable, they only have value if they are external reflections of our hearts. But if we do these things without genuinely putting faith in Christ, they are of no use.

The Bible is an incredible gift – God has chosen to reveal Himself to us through the Scriptures. But Pastor Cody reminds us today that these Scriptures are not an end in-and-of themselves. Instead, they serve to inform us of who God is and what He’s done, and how we can respond to His goodness. If we study the texts without trying to use them to get to know God, then we are missing the point, and it has just become empty religion. Instead, we are to utilize Scripture to worship God.

Every person on earth has sinned. Whether you grew up going to church every Sunday or you only went on Christmas and Easter, you have sinned and fallen short. Sin doesn't show partiality toward demographics or family history or economic status: it enters into every life. Today, Pastor Cody teaches us that everyone is in need of a savior. The number of verses you memorize or the amount of money you give can't erase the fact that you have sinned. Only Jesus can. Will you ask him to save you today?

Have you ever seen a parent and their child playing on a see-saw? Their weights are so unbalanced that the child could never tip their side down, no matter what they try. They just don't weigh enough. When you look at your spiritual life, the weight of your sin and the weight of your good deeds are vastly unbalanced. You can heap up your good deeds, but as Pastor Cody teaches today, they will never outweigh the sin. The only way to balance the see-saw is to accept the salvation that Jesus offers.