“WE EXIST TO PROCLAIM THE REIGN OF JESUS CHRIST OVER ALL THINGS; GLORIFYING AND ENJOYING GOD, NOW AND FOREVER!”

19 – “Gifts of Grace to Be Used Graciously”

Romans: “The Gospel of Jesus Christ: Hear It! Believe It! Live It!”

“What makes one human life important?” The answer should be an easy one, but those who do not know God and who have not believed what He says in His Word cannot answer this question!! When they attempt to answer it, they arrive either at a manmade standard of measurement for “success,” or they leave it up to each person to determine for themselves what makes “life” worthwhile. In His Word God reveals HIS purpose for human life! What makes life valuable is the fact that every human being is created in the image of God, as a spiritual being, created for the purpose of knowing God, loving God and serving God, all for His glory. The failure to believe this truth, to understand its importance and to express it by living a life of obedience to God, leaves the great majority of people in bondage to sin and its consequences … “having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). The Gospel of Jesus Christ is good news because it offers the hope of redemption, of new life … the “abundant life” Jesus promised to those who believe in Him. But “belief” is more than just “head knowledge.” True faith in Jesus Christ, produced by the power of the Holy Spirit, produces the love for God necessary to serve Him, and the Spirit then gives gifts to each true believe to use in the context of Christ’s Body, the Church. The “sanctity of human life” begins at conception, but it is lived out in a life committed to Christ and His Body. All who believe are “sanctified,” are “set apart for a holy purpose!” Knowing God’s purpose for your life and living it out with your brothers and sisters in Christ is a beautiful thing in God’s sight, and each of us must make it our goal to make it a beautiful thing for all whom God gathers. Only then can we truly honor “the sanctity of human life!”