Through Jesus Alone  – Greg Laurie Devotion – February 26, 2026

Biblical Context

The Book of Romans is one of the most important letters in the New Testament, written by the apostle Paul to the church in Rome. Paul, formerly known as Saul, was a Jewish Pharisee who initially persecuted Christians before having a dramatic encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. After his conversion, he became one of Christianity’s most influential missionaries and theologians.

Paul wrote Romans likely from Corinth around A.D. 57, with the main goal of preparing the Roman believers for his upcoming visit and clarifying core Christian doctrines, especially justification by faith. He wanted to unite Jewish and Gentile believers in Rome by showing that both groups are saved through the same means: God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Romans 5, where our verse comes from, begins to explain the incredible benefits that come from being made right with God, including peace with Him and access to His grace.

Key Word Study

Let’s look at the word “helpless” from Romans 5:6. In the original Greek, this word is asthenōn (ἀσθενῶν). It means to be weak, feeble, or without strength. It doesn’t just mean a slight inconvenience; it points to a condition where one is genuinely incapable of helping themselves or doing what’s needed.

When Paul says we were “utterly helpless,” he’s painting a picture of humanity’s true condition before Christ. We weren’t just struggling a bit; we were completely unable to save ourselves, to make ourselves right with God, or to escape the consequences of our sin. We were powerless to change our spiritual state, like someone desperately sick who can’t get out of bed to find medicine. This word really helps us see how big God’s grace is, because He stepped in precisely when we couldn’t do a thing for ourselves.

No Hope on Our Own: The D. L. Moody Story

You know, there’s this great story from the 1800s in London about a little boy who really wanted to hear the famous American evangelist D. L. Moody preach. This little street urchin, with no food and no proper shoes, risked everything to make his way across the whole city. After a long journey, he finally got to the big church where Moody was speaking.

As he walked up to the door, an old usher looked at him with a scowl and asked, “What are you doing, young man?” The boy said, “I’m going to go hear the great evangelist D. L. Moody.” The usher snapped back, “Not looking like that! You are filthy. Go away!”

The little boy was heartbroken. He just sat on the steps, crying. Then a black carriage pulled up in front of the church, and a large man stepped out. He saw the sad little boy and asked, “Young man, what is wrong?” The boy answered, “I came here to hear the great preacher D. L. Moody, but they won’t let me in the church.”

“Is that so?” the big man said. “You just put your hand in my hand, and I will see what I can do to help you.” The little boy put his dirty little hand into the man’s big, clean hand. The man led him right down the middle aisle, past the usher who wouldn’t let him in, all the way to the front row. The big guy sat him in a front-row seat. Then the man stepped up to the pulpit. That man was, of course, D. L. Moody. That young boy couldn’t get in on his own, but when he held Moody’s hand, he walked right through the front door.

Our Filth, Our Forgiveness

It’s just like that with us, because of Jesus. We’re filthy in sin. We can’t clean ourselves up to get into God’s presence. We can’t earn our way in. King David put it plainly in Psalm 51:5, when he wrote, “For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me” (nlt). It’s not something we do; it’s something we’re born with, a condition we inherit.

Isaiah 53:6 makes it even clearer: “All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all” (nlt). We’ve all gone our own way, made our own choices that lead us away from God. And the apostle Paul confirms this, saying, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23 nlt). There isn’t a single person who measures up on their own.

Because of our sinfulness, you see, we have no hope of entering Heaven on our own. We’re like that little boy, standing outside the church door, rejected because of our condition. Our own efforts, our own goodness, our own attempts to clean ourselves up just won’t cut it. We’re utterly helpless.

Jesus: Our Only Hope and Front-Row Seat

Our only hope is Jesus. He’s the one who takes our dirty hand in His clean one and leads us to a front-row seat in God’s presence. He doesn’t wait for us to clean up first; He comes to us exactly as we are, in our helplessness. He sees past our filth and offers His hand.

Paul really brings this home in the next two verses of Romans 3: “Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood” (verses 24–25 nlt). It’s all because of His grace, a gift we don’t deserve but receive anyway, through Jesus.

The frustrating reality for many people trying to establish themselves today is also the glorious reality of salvation: It all depends on who you know. You might struggle to get ahead in life if you don’t know the right people, but when it comes to God, knowing Jesus changes everything. He’s the one who gets you in, not your connections, not your accomplishments, but Him alone. He’s our D. L. Moody, taking our hand and leading us to where we could never go on our own.

So, here’s a thought for you: How can you lead someone into Jesus’ presence? Think about who around you might feel helpless or unworthy. You know the way in; you have the Hand that leads. Will you offer it?