March 31 Daily Devotional

Bible Verse

"And for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh" (Romans 8:3).

Devotional

Since sin is the great cause of condemnation, therefore aim to condemn sin if you would be numbered with those for whom there is no condemnation. It is most true that either sin must be condemned by us, or we must be condemned for sin. The honor of God's government demands that a condemnatory sentence be passed, either upon the transgression or upon the transgressor.

Do you hesitate? Is it a matter of doubt to which your preference will be given? Which is best, that sin should die, or that you should die? Will the question allow a moment's consideration?

Surely not, unless you are so enamored with sin that you calmly and deliberately choose death rather than life, hell rather than heaven. "The wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23). Unrepented of, unforgiven sin, is the certain prelude to eternal death. Everlasting destruction follows in its murky wake. There is a present hell in sin, on account of which the holy shun it. And there is a future hell in sin, on account of which all should dread it.

If you would be among "the pure in heart who shall see God" (Matt. 5:8), if you would lift up your face with joy before the Judge at the last great day, if you would be freed from the final and terrible sentence of condemnation, oh then, pursue holiness, "renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, ... to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age" (Tit. 2:12). Oh, condemn sin, so that sin may not condemn you. And draw the motive that constrains you, and the strength that empowers you, from that cross where Jesus "condemned sin in the flesh."

Stricken, smitten, and afflicted,
see him dying on the tree!
'Tis the Christ by man rejected;
yes, my soul, 'tis he, 'tis he!
'Tis the long expected Prophet,
David's Son, yet David's Lord;
proofs I see sufficient of it:
'tis the true and faithful Word.

Tell me, ye who hear him groaning,
was there ever grief like his?
Friends through fear his cause disowning,
foes insulting his distress.
Many hands were raised to wound him,
none would interpose to save;
but the deepest stroke that pierced him
was the stroke that Justice gave.

Ye who think of sin but lightly,
nor suppose the evil great,
here may view its nature rightly,
here its guilt may estimate.
Mark the Sacrifice appointed!
See who bears the awful load!
'Tis the Word, the Lord's Anointed,
Son of Man, and Son of God.

Here we have a firm foundation,
here the refuge of the lost.
Christ the Rock of our salvation,
Christ the Name of which we boast.
Lamb of God for sinners wounded!
Sacrifice to cancel guilt!
None shall ever be confounded
who on him their hope have built.

(Thomas Kelly, 1804)

Be sure to read the Preface by Octavius Winslow and A Note from the Editor by Larry E. Wilson.

Larry Wilson is an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. In addition to having served as the General Secretary of the Committee on Christian Education of the OPC (2000–2004) and having written a number of articles and booklets (such as God's Words for Worship and Why Does the OPC Baptize Infants) for New Horizons and elsewhere, he has pastored OPC churches in Minnesota, Indiana, and Ohio. We are grateful to him for his editing of Morning Thoughts, the OPC Daily Devotional for 2025.