Session 3

Is One Sin Worse Than Another?

From Romans: A 16-Day Devotional

The most nerve wracking time for any elementary school kid is when it’s time to pick teams for dodgeball or football. Captains size up their options for the best players, and everyone prays not to be the last one picked.

Thankfully, God is not like us. God sees us all the same. He doesn’t evaluate our actions to see who He wants on His team. God loves and wants a relationship with each one of us. What puts us on His team is not our skill or abilities, but whether we’ve asked Jesus into our lives.

Acknowledging our sinfulness allows us to grasp the depth of God’s grace.

In Romans 3:23, the apostle Paul reminds us that, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We were all born sinful. No matter how good we think we are, we’ve all done things that are less than perfect in God’s eyes. And that sin — no matter what it is — separates us from God.

It doesn’t matter how many to-do lists we check off or how hard we strive to be perfect, “a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law” (Romans 3:28). We cannot restore our relationship with God ourselves.

We are all on an equal playing field when it comes to our need for a savior, and it cost God equally to have a relationship with us. Whether we grew up in church or far from God, His Son, Jesus, still had to die to pay the penalty for our sin.

Acknowledging our sinfulness allows us to grasp the depth of God’s grace. We didn’t deserve a relationship with God, but He still put us on His team.

Reflect:

• Do you ever struggle with the idea of feeling good enough for God?
• How does understanding God’s grace free you from the need to strive or the fear of being unwanted?
• What’s one thing learned today that changes the way you see God?