My pastor recently called the book of Romans the Magna Carta of Christianity, because it states what makes our faith unique and includes the details of our faith that are non-negotiable.
A perusal of Romans reveals the following non-negotiables:
The righteous will live by faith (Romans 1:17)
No one can be declared righteous in God’s sight by works of the law (Romans 3:20)
This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe (Romans 3:22)
Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:11)
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39)
Such non-negotiables come into play when we encounter those who believe that they can get into heaven with their good works. These non-negotiables keep us grounded when people say that Jesus was just a prophet, and not the Messiah. These non-negotiables keep us confident when people say that God does not love us or care for us anymore.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
The reality is that God’s non-negotiable is that he will never abandon us or forsake us.
We are bound to him forever, not by a piece of parchment, but by the blood of Christ shed for us on the cross.
