Blessed in Jesus

Paul appeals to two giants of the Jewish faith to drive home his point that one cannot be saved by works.

Abraham was the patriarch of Israel.

Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.Exodus 3:6

David was the gold standard of a righteous king.

Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father:2 Chronicles 28:1

And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.2 Chronicles 29:2

And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left.2 Chronicles 34:2

David also tells us that we are saved by grace, not our works.

A Psalm of David, Maschil. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.Psalm 32:1-2

David understood the grace of God.

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.Psalm 51:1-4

Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.

Being blessed can be joyful, happy or celebratory emotions.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.John 13:16-17

Being blessed can also be the conscious awareness of the grace of God despite our emotions.

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.Matthew 5:11-12

Impute: to credit to a person or a cause; the ascription of the guilt or righteousness of one individual to another.

Imputation of Sin: the transfer of the sin and guilt of Adam to the rest of humankind

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:Romans 5:12

Imputation of Righteousness: the righteousness of Christ being transferred to those who believe on him for salvation.

Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.Romans 5:18-19

The greatest blessing in all of life is the grace of God extended through Jesus in the forgiveness of sins.

We have eternal life.

He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.1 John 5:12-13

We are adopted into the family of God.

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.John 1:12-13

We are placed into the body of Christ.

So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.Romans 12:5

We are raised to walk in newness of life.

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.Romans 6:4-7

When we offer solutions devoid of the Gospel, we are putting a bandage on a gaping wound.

We should take time to count our blessings.

God has forgiven your sin. Be grateful for grace and move on. Sin has already been defeated. Don’t let it defeat you.