The Word Unleashed - Radio

At the very heart of the Christian faith lies a truth that shapes every believer’s daily life: justification. In Romans 3, the apostle Paul teaches that while our justification is a free gift of grace, it came at an immeasurable cost—the life and death of Jesus Christ our Lord.

In the heart of Paul’s letter to the Romans, we come to one of the most powerful truths of the Christian faith: how guilty sinners can be declared righteous by a just God. Like a rescue of the spiritually dead rather than merely the struggling, salvation is wholly God’s work from beginning to end.

Pastor Tom helps us understand one of the most well-known and sobering verses in all of Scripture—Romans 3:23—where the apostle Paul delivers God’s universal verdict on humanity: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

After proving that every person stands guilty before God, the apostle Paul introduces a stunning reality: that righteousness from God is not earned by human effort or merit but given as a gift through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.

Pastor Tom addresses the great question of the Gospel: Justification. We'll see how God can remain perfectly just while declaring guilty sinners righteous—a mystery solved only at the cross. What about you, friend? Does it humble you to realize that God’s justice was satisfied, not by your penance, but by the work of Christ in your place?

Today, we discover from Scripture that salvation by faith alone has always been God’s plan, as witnessed throughout the Old and New Testaments. With one voice, the Bible declares that salvation was accomplished not by our works but solely by the person and work of Jesus Christ. It’s that truth of the gospel message that helps us understand that we cannot produce a righteousness of our own but must solely rely on Christ's.

Today, we look at the means by which this righteousness is received. We'll see that faith is not a "work" we perform but the empty hand that reaches out to receive the gift that God has provided in Jesus. Friend, when you look to your own heart, do you see a reason for God’s favor, or do you see only the need for a righteousness that must come from outside of yourself?

Understanding that our righteousness is entirely Christ's and not our own is essential because it determines whether we have a true and lasting standing before God at all. Paul makes clear in Romans 3 that by our own law-keeping and moral effort, "no flesh will be justified in His sight.

Now that we understand what the Bible teaches about depravity, how do we as Christians practically respond? And how do we continue to guard against our own patterns of sin and leading others into temptation to sin? Today, Pastor Tom Pennington explains these realities and more and helps us see clearly our desperate need for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Tom discusses the danger of ""moralism""—the attempt to fix our external behavior while leaving internal corruption untouched. We'll see why a ""good life"" without a new heart is still a life under condemnation. Are you trusting in moral improvements to save you, or have you come to the end of yourself and cast your hope entirely on Jesus Christ?