Jesus, I’ve Sinned
About this series
Obviously we are always focussed on Jesus, but in our first series - Just Jesus - we’re going to look, over 13 weeks, at some of the high points in the New Testament that show us who Jesus is, why he’s so wonderful, what he’s done for us and what it means to live in the light of all that.
Sinclair Ferguson wrote, ‘We need to expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing and extolling Jesus Christ’ - that is precisely our aim in the Just Jesus series. The more we see of Jesus, the more we’ll have to be delighted in and the greater will be our motivation to live for him in our everyday lives.
So, come with great expectation that the Holy Spirit will be powerfully at work leading us to know and love our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
About this talk
Scripture: Romans 3:21-26
Paul’s argument to this point has been, “There is no one righteous, not even one” (3:10). Whether Jew or Gentile, “All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one” (3:12). The conclusion is that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23) and therefore stand condemned before him with no means of rectifying this dire situation. Into this darkness Paul shines the light of one of the New Testament’s “But”s (3:21). But God has done something about our predicament, righteously made a way for the unrighteous to be made righteous. And in a break from theOld Testament, though to which it testifies, he has done so “apart from the law.” A righteous status is conferred upon those who put their “faith in Jesus Christ” (3:22). All (universally) have fallen short and all who put their trust in him “are justified freely by his grace.” The terms used here are rich and very important: righteousness, justified, grace, redemption, atonement. This is truly the gospel unpacked succinctly in six profound verses. And in case anyone should question whether God can be just in justifying the guilty (vs 25-26), there is no question that sin has truly been paid for in Christ’s atoning death and that God does indeed remain “just [in being] the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” What a glorious, remarkable, undeserved turnaround God works by grace through faith in Christ!
We look further into:
The gospel is such amazingly good news because the bad news from which it rescues us is so exceedingly bad.
How should followers of Jesus handle their experience of present sin? By going back to grace through faith in Christ. See also 1 John 1:8-2:1 and Psalm 51.
How does this truth help us defeat the lies of accusation and condemnation?
If you have any questions about this talk, want to find out more about Citygate Church, or want to know more about what it means to be a Christian, please fill in our online Connect form at citygate.church/connect.
Got questions? Alpha is a series of evening sessions exploring the Christian faith. Sign up for Alpha here.
Watch it here
Audio only
Questions for Life Groups
Read Romans: 1 1-7 (either together when you gather or ask your group to read before you meet)
Have you ever started a new year with the thought, I wonder what I will find out about Jesus this year, what new things will I discover? Discuss.
After Tim's first preach in our series "Just Jesus" are you provoked to learn more about Jesus this year? If so, have you made a commitment to read or reread one of the gospels or maybe a book about Jesus? Is there something that is hindering you from doing this? Talk about this in your group to see if you can find some solutions together. (As a group could you commit to reading a gospel together maybe? You could pick one and plan to read a set number of verses a day or chapters per week - work out what might work for you as a group to discover more about Jesus.)
What have you discovered about Jesus recently (it doesn't have to be new to others, it's important because it's new for you) - share and discuss each others discoveries.
Read Romans 3: 21-26 (either together when you gather or ask your group to read before you meet)
In the 2nd preach Andy spoke about our inability to add to the righteousness of Jesus or to add to how we receive our salvation. Even though our 'right standing' before God is only achieved through the righteousness of Christ, are there things you still try to do (maybe subconsciously) to 'earn' God's love or favour?
When we mess up and sin, does this shake the confidence in our salvation? Talk together about how you respond when you know you have sinned: have you got some healthy habits for dealing with your sin quickly? Can you learn from others in your group - do they have some helpful ways of dealing with their own mistakes and sin that might work for you?
Reflect and Pray together.
Reflect on the statement from week 1, "The posture most natural to Jesus is not a pointed finger but open arms". In what areas of your life do you need to be reminded of this? Share this and pray for one another.
Have you forgotten that Jesus is GOOD NEWS? Do you need fresh revelation of this Good News, of how amazing and extraordinary Jesus is? Together, ask Holy Spirit for this revelation.
Maybe you have been 'adding to' your salvation, even inadvertently: take a few moments to repent of this and acknowledge that Jesus has already done everything that is needed to justify and redeem you and remove all your sins from you forever (atonement).
Who else do you know who needs to know that Jesus' arms are open wide to them? Pray for them together with your group, ask for opportunity & boldness to share this message and Jesus love with them, ask the Holy Spirit to open their eyes to the Good News.
Pray together - Lord this year, teach me more about you. Holy Spirit, reveal to me more of Jesus in 2022, help me grasp deeply that my relationship with Father is not earned but is a free gift because of Jesus righteousness and his victory over sin and death.
In Revelation 1, John sees a magnificent vision of Jesus. This chapter presents us with the magnificence of Jesus Christ - the Lion, the Lamb, the one of whom all in heaven and earth forever cry “Worthy.”