Devotionals

Daily readings to encourage your heart and mind in the pursuit of God and his glory.

  • Constituting Us Righteous

    Romans 5:18–19

    The parallels between the imputation of sin and righteousness demonstrate that it is erroneous to believe righteousness is a metaphysical reality that is infused into the believer. John Calvin writes, “The gift of righteousness is not a quality with which ...Read More

  • Love Finds a Way

    Romans 5:9

    Currently, we enjoy many blessings that come from being found righteous in Christ, but on the last day we will experience them to their fullest. There is a salvation to come—we will pass through God’s judgment unscathed on the final ...Read More

  • Access by Faith

    Romans 5:2

    The biblical doctrine of perseverance gives us confidence without presumption. We know that nothing can snatch us out the hand of our omnipotent Savior if we are in Him, but we do not presume to be in Him unless we ...Read More

  • Raised for Our Justification

    Romans 4:24b–25

    In his lectures on Romans, Martin Luther comments on the death and resurrection of our Savior, showing that it demonstrates that Christ’s “death not only signifies but actually effects the remission of sin as a most sufficient satisfaction.” We can ...Read More

  • Declaration Versus Transformation

    Romans 4:22–24a

    Our justification is no “legal fiction.” When God considers the evidence upon which He justifies us, the evidence He considers is what Christ has done, not what we have done. This is our only hope, because if our lives are ...Read More

  • A Double Transfer

    Romans 4:9–10

    Martin Luther comments: “Righteousness is given through imputation without works, and … this takes place through the nonimputation of unrighteousness. It is the same thing, whether we say, ‘to whom God imputes righteousness’ or, ‘to whom the Lord does not ...Read More

  • The Non-Imputation of Sin

    Romans 4:6–8

    As we will see in due time, the counting or imputation we enjoy in justification is not merely a negative imputation but also a positive one. Dr. Sproul also writes, “The only righteousness we possess is the righteousness of Christ, ...Read More

  • Not by Works

    Romans 4:1–3

    We’ll consider the nature of justification and faith in more detail over the next few days. Today we note the significance of the opposition of doing and believing with regard to justification. Faith is something we exercise, but Paul does ...Read More

  • Upholding the Law by Faith

    Romans 3:29–31

    Calvin also writes that after justification “there is sanctification, by which our hearts are prepared to keep the law; it is indeed imperfectly done, but there is an aiming at the work.” Sanctification follows justification, so justification upholds the law ...Read More

  • No Room for Boasting

    Romans 3:27–28

    In his commentary on Romans, Douglas J. Moo writes, “God’s wrath is the inevitable and necessary reaction of absolute holiness to sin.” The Lord must judge sinners, and we cannot endure this judgment, but Christ bears it in our place ...Read More

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