Blown Away By the Kindness of God.

Romans 2:1-16

Don't you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? – Romans 1:4 NLT

God is angry with the sin of mankind. Paul made that painfully clear in the opening section of this letter. God has clearly revealed His existence through the natural revelation of His creation, so mankind is without excuse. From the beginning men have been able to see the handiwork and evidence of God's existence through all that He has made. The very fact that humanity has always been predisposed to acknowledge the existence of some sort of supreme being gives credence to Paul's assertion that He is knowable and accessible. And while mankind has had ample evidence of the existence of God, they have consistently refused to worship Him as God or show Him the gratitude He deserves. Instead, they worshiped the creation rather than the Creator. They turned to man-made idols and lifeless substitutes for the living God. They traded the truth about God for a lie. And so God turned them over to pursue their own selfish, sinful desires. The result has been a litany of destructive habits and unrighteous behaviors that demand God's judgment. All men are guilty of rebelling against God. All men deserve the wrath of God.

But there are always those who arrogantly view themselves as above reproach and somehow excluded from guilt. They don't see themselves as included in the list Paul gives in verses 26-31. In fact, they are the ones who point their fingers at everyone else, condemning their behavior, while smugly justifying their own. But Paul says, "When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things" (Romans 2:1b NLT). Paul is addressing that self-righteous, self-made individual who somehow believes he is worthy of God's love, mercy and grace. This tends to be the religious person who thinks that he has a special relationship with God and views everyone else as lost and condemned because of their ignorance and unbelief. But Paul reminds them, "Don't you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?" (Romans 2:4 NLT). Rather than recognize the incredible tolerance of God, they arrogantly continue to believe that they somehow deserve God's love and mercy. Instead of acknowledging their sin and confessing it before God, they stubbornly continue to live in a fantasy world where they are somehow better than everyone else and more deserving of God's favor.

So Paul attempts to break the bad news that judgment is coming. There will be a day when God holds every man and woman accountable for the way they have lived their life. Both Jews and Gentiles will have to answer to God for the outcome of their lives. "He will judge everyone according to what they have done" (Romans 2:6 NLT). "There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil – for the Jew first and also for the Gentile" (Romans 2:9 NLT). No one will escape. Unless of course you are able to "do good," and keep God's law perfectly and completely. But no one does good, not a single one. Paul will go on to stress this important point in chapter three. "No one is righteous – not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one" (Romans 3:10-12 NLT). It doesn't matter whether you're a Jew or a Gentile. It doesn't matter if you think you're a sinner or view yourself as a saint. The same outcome awaits everyone who sins, and according to Scripture, "everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard" (Romans 3:23 NLT). But over the centuries, God has continued to show His kindness and tolerance toward mankind. He has withheld His judgment and continued to extend His mercy, offering all men the free gift of eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ. According to Paul, it is the kindness of God that is intended to turn us from our sin. His tolerance and patience, in spite of our sin, should drive us to Him. We're all guilty and we can't save ourselves. We're all condemned and can't escape the verdict for our crimes against God. Unless we can keep His law perfectly and completely, we can't be made right with God. And we must recognize the reality that, apart from the saving work of Jesus Christ, every single human being will one day stand before God in judgment. And the sooner men come to grips with that reality, the sooner they will seek and savor the kindness of God made available through the substitionary death of Jesus Christ on the cross. "This is real love – not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins" (1 John 4:10 NLT).

Father, Your kindness is amazing. Your patience with mankind is unbelievable. You have every right to destroy that which You made. Sin and rebellion against You leave every man and woman guilty and deserving of Your just and righteous wrath. Yet you continue to show them love, mercy, and kindness. You continue to extend the offer of Your Son. Never let me lose sight of just how kind and patient You have been to me. I am no more deserving of Your love and grace than any other person who has ever lived. So thank You! Amen.

God Substitutes.

Romans 1:18-32

They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. – Romans 1:25 NLT

While Paul relished the the Good News that man could be made right with God through a relationship with Jesus Christ, he was also painfully aware of the bad news surrounding the state of mankind. The next section of his letter paints a very bleak picture of just how bad things had become in the world. God was angry with men, and justifiably so. They had long ago abandoned any idea of acknowledging His presence or obeying His commands. Ever since Adam and Eve had sinned in the Garden of Eden, rejecting God's authority over their lives, man's moral descent had been a rapid one. While the very nature and attributes of God could be seen all around them, most explicitly through His creation, they refused to acknowledge Him as God. Instead, relying on their limited intellects and sin-infected reasoning capacities, they began to develop their own concept of God. Rather than worship the One who created all that they could see, they began to worship those things He had created. They missed the point. They lost their focus. They became distracted by the temporal, rather than see the eternal. Over time, their minds became darkened and confused. Their sinful pride and arrogance led them to believe they were wise, while in reality, they were nothing but misguided fools.

"So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired" (Romans 1:24 NLT). He handed them over. He took His hand off the wheel, so to speak, and allowed them to do what they wanted to do. This is one of the saddest statements in Scripture. It is also one of the scariest. Man, left to his own, evil devices, is a disaster waiting to happen. Without God's restraining hand in place, man will self-destruct, which is exactly what happened. Devoid of God's moral boundaries in place, mankind quickly steered off course. Their behavior degraded quickly, as they exchanged the truth about God for a lie. They worshiped the creation rather than the Creator. They saw more value in themselves than in the One who had made them. With no moral compass to guide them, their sins became increasingly more bold and base, while their behavior became increasingly more man-centered rather than God-centered. "Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done" (Romans 1:28 NLT).

Things had gotten bad. "Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip" (Romans 1:29 NLT). The state of affairs could not have been any worse. But this bleak and foreboding picture is exactly what Paul wants his readers to wrestle with. He wants them to understand just how bad things had become and just how dire the circumstances were when God determined to step back in and fix the problem. When God had turned mankind over to seek their own selfish, sinful desires, He had not done so permanently. He had not abandoned them forever. He had a plan in place and was only waiting for just the right moment to introduce His solution to man's problem. While God had every right to mete out punishment on mankind for their sin and open rebellion against Him, He chose to show mercy and grace. Mankind stood as guilty and without excuse for their rejection of God, and He would have been just and right to punish them for their actions. The world had become God-less and unrighteous. Yet God would solve their unrighteousness by introducing a righteousness of His own. He would reinsert Himself into the scenario once again – this time in the form of the Son of God in human flesh. Righteousness would invade unrighteousness. The true God would reveal Himself in the midst of rampant godlessness. That is the Good News that Paul will talk about throughout the rest of this letter. "This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, 'It is through faith that a righteous person has life'" (Romans 1:17 NLT). In the midst of man's hopelessness, helplessness, sinfulness, and godlessness, God intervened and provided a gracious, merciful solution that should leave everyone of us blown away and eternally grateful.

Father, even as bad as things had become, You never truly abandoned us. You allowed us to follow our own sinful inclination and proved to us just how desperately we need You. Without You, we are doomed to destruction. We will self-destruct. We will destroy ourselves and all that You have made. And yet, You had a solution and You introduced that solution at the peak of our sinfulness – in spite of our sinfulness. While we were yet sinners, You sent Your Son to die for us. That is amazing. It is mind-boggling. And it is truly Good News! Amen.

Right With God.

Romans 1:1-17

This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." – Romans 1:17 NLT

It's not hard to tell what Paul has on his mind as he launches his letter to the believers in Rome. Seven times in seventeen verses he brings up the topic of the Good News of Jesus Christ. This was a favorite topic of Paul's and he never grew tired of writing and talking about it. But his interest was far more than academic. The Good News truly was great news to Paul because it had transformed his life in a real and radical way. At one time he had been a paid persecutor of the church of Jesus Christ, arresting Christians and throwing them in prison. He was determined to destroy Christianity and everyone who confessed to follow the teachings of Jesus. He was on his way to the city of Damascus to continue his personal vendetta against "The Way," when he had a personal encounter with the resurrected Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His recounting of the story is recorded in Acts 26, where he is on trial before King Agrippa. "One day I was on such a mission to Damascus, armed with the authority and commission of the leading priests. About noon, Your Majesty, as I was on the road, a light from heaven brighter than the son shone down on me and my companions. We all fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is useless for you to fight against my will.'

"'Who are you, lord? I asked.

"And the Lord replied, 'I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. You are to tell the world what you have seen and what I will show you in the future. And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God's people, who are set apart by faith in me.'" (Acts 26:12-18 NLT).

At that moment, Paul's life was radically changed and he would never be the same man again. He became one of the greatest witnesses for the transforming power of Christ and spread the message of the Good News found through faith in Christ throughout the known world of his day. Paul knew the power of the Good News. He had experienced it first hand. He had been called and commissioned by Jesus Himself to tell of this Good News to each and every person he met, and he did so unashamedly and unapologetically. The essence of the Good News and what makes its message great is that it contains the key to men being made right with God. Paul knew that apart from the Good News, there was nothing but bad news in store for all men and women. Throughout this letter, Paul would remind his readers over and over that there was only one way for them to be made right with God. And it was through faith in Jesus Christ. No amount of good works, religious efforts, or behaviorial change would fix what was wrong between them and God. They were all sinners and all faced the same dire prognosis. "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard" (Romans 3:23 NLT). They all faced the same fate. "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23a NLT).

But Paul had Good News. "…but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23b NLT). The Good News was that God had provided a way for men to be restored to a right relationship with Him. He had provided a solution to the problem of sin and the penalty of death. He had sent His own Son to die in the place of men, sacrificing His own sinless life in order to pay the penalty for their sins and satisfy the just demands of a holy, righteous God. And all anyone had to do was accept the reality of that fact and believe it to be true for them – by faith. Paul will spend the rest of his time in this letter, painting the very real picture of the bad news and proclaiming the unbelievable reality of the Good News. This letter will be deeply personal, incredibly theological and highly practical. It will reveal the incredible mind of the apostle Paul and his passionate desire to see all believers grow in their knowledge of Christ and experience the full scope of the life-changing nature of the Good News. Read it slowly, thoughtfully and deliberately. Ask God to give you a deeper love and appreciation for the Good News than you have ever had before.

Father, make the Good News truly great in our lives. Don't let us become complacent about this greatest of all gifts. Drive into our minds the reality of the bad news so that we might better appreciate the unbelievable beauty of the Good News. We have been made right with You and we played no part in it whatsoever. Don't let us take that for granted. Amen.

Smart Enough To Know Better.

Romans 16

I want you to see clearly what is right and to stay innocent of any wrong. – Romans 16:19 NLT

We live in a world where right and wrong are often confused. There seems to be no consistent moral standard that governs behavior and it all seems eerily reminiscent of the period of the Judges when "each man did what he considered to be right." Everybody is doing what they think is right, and even as Christians it can all become confusing. So Paul winds up his letter to the Romans by telling them, "I want you to see clearly what is right and to stay innocent of any wrong." He wants them to be wise and skilled in righteousness, to be experts in what is good and right. He also wants them to be "pure of the mind, without a mixture of evil, free from guile, innocent, simple." That's the meaning of the Greek word akeraios that he uses in this verse. We are to be smart about doing good and innocent when it comes to doing wrong. Paul is simply echoing the words of Jesus when He said, "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves" (Matthew 10:16 NASB). And this is not a new theme for Paul. He said virtually the same thing in back in chapter 12: "Hate what is evil; cling to what is good" (Romans 12:9 NIV). Paul also shared this same thought with the believers in Philippi: "Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise" (Philippians 4:8 NLT).

This isn't about coming up with a list of dos and don'ts for us to follow. It's not about the need to establish rules and regulations that everyone must adhere to. It is to be wise of knowledgeable about what is right, worthy, beneficial, honorable, and good. It is to think about these things and to make them a priority in your life. But it is also to "stay innocent of any wrong." And we do that by concentrating on what is right. Too many of us rationalize our love affair with the world by claiming that we are just trying to be relevant and contextual. But we are called to be in the world, but not of it. We are NOT called to be ignorant of evil or to avoid it altogether, because we can't hate what is evil if we don't know what it is. But the best way to learn to hate evil is to learn to love what is good. The more familiar I become with the things of God, the more repulsed I will be by the things of this world. I won't want to watch the same TV shows I used to watch. I won't find the same movies as entertaining as I once did. I won't feel comfortable with the habits that once marked my life.

The reason so many of us still struggle with the same old sins is that we are not renewing our minds, and our ignorance regarding what is good and right ends up showing through. Rather than being wise in what is good and able to clearly see what is right, we find ourselves confused and lacking focus. We become easy targets for false teachers whose "smooth talk and flattery" lead us away from the truth. Paul's desire is that we be smart enough to know better. But that requires that we be in God's Word. Itmeans we need to fill our minds with the things of God, not the things of this world. Or as Paul put it in Philippians: "filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious – the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse" (Philippians 4:8 MSG).

Father, I want to be wise in what is good and innocent of what is evil. I desire for my life to be characterized by an obsession with those things that are true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, and gracious. I know that will only happen as I fill my heart and mind with Your truth. Continue to motivate me and drive me to Your Word. Surround me with brothers and sisters in Christ who desire the same thing. Amen

Please Please Me.

Romans 15

Please Please Me is the first album recorded by The Beatles, rush-released on 22 March 1963 in the United Kingdom to capitalize on the success of singles "Please Please Me" (#1) and "Love Me Do" (#17). The hit single for which the album was named proved wildly popular on both sides of The Pond – in England and the States. But I doubt the title would have sat well with the apostle Paul. At least not according to what he had to say in Romans 15:

But we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not just please ourselves. – Vs 1 NET

This Paul, not the co-author of the tune, would probably have taken exception to the lyrics "Please Please Me." Instead, he would say that, "we should please others. If we do what helps them, we will build them up in the Lord" (NIV). I know the song has to do with a boy's frustration with his girlfriend and her seeming lack of reciprocal love, but even so, Paul the apostle would probably suggest that whatever kind of love this young man is expecting in return, he has missed the whole point. For Paul, Jesus was the greatest example of someone not pleasing themselves. "For even Christ did not please Himself," Paul reminds us. If He had, He would not have gone to the cross – the greatest expression of love there is or will ever be. But listen to the mournful words of the fictitious lover in the song:

You don't need me to show the way, love.

Why do i always have to say "love," C'mon...

Please please me, whoa yeah, like i please you.

I don't wanna sound complainin',

But you know there's always rain in my heart (in my heart).

I do all the pleasin' with you,

it's so hard to reason With you,

whoah yeah, why do you make me blue.

Last night i said these words to my girl,

I know you never even try, girl, C'mon...

Please please me, whoa yeah, like i please you.

– Lennon & McCartney

This poor guy can't seem to get no satisfaction, to borrow a phrase from another popular British 60s pop group. He was doing all the pleasin'. But all it left him was blue. What if he had taken Paul's advice? What if he had lived by the maxim "we should please others. If we do what helps them, we will build them up in the Lord?" It might not have improved his love life, but it would have given him a new perspective on what true love really is in the first place. Jesus Himself said, "For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28 NLT). He came to serve and to love. To give away Himself on behalf of others. Jesus wasn't concerned about his own pleasure. Paul says, "He didn't make it easy for himself by avoiding people's troubles, but waded right in and helped out. 'I took on the troubles of the troubled,' is the way Scripture puts it" (Vs 3 MSG). Jesus took on the troubles of the troubled and pleased His neighbors by providing a way to reconcile their lives with God. And according to Paul, that same ministry is our today. "All this newness of life is from God, who brought us back to himself through what Christ did. And God has given us the task of reconciling people to him" (2 Corinthians 5:18 NLT).

Life isn't about pleasing me, it's about pleasing God and helping others find the pleasure of having their lives restored to a right relationship to a holy God. That's not always going to be a pleasurable assignment. But it will be a fulfilling one.

Father, I want my life to please please You, not me. I want to live my life to please my neighbors instead of myself. I want to learn to give myself away just as Your Son did. So that my life might be a pleasing aroma to You. Amen

Differences That Divide.

Romans 14

Now receive the one who is weak in the faith, and do not have disputes over differing opinions.. – Vs 1 NET

"How can he be a believer? Just look at that tatoo!"

"How in the world can anyone worship to that kind of music!"

"I saw him drinking beer in a restaurant. How can he call himself a Christian?"

"I can't believe all these guys who wear suits to church – like it makes them more spiritual or something."

"He won't come over and watch the Cowboys play on Sunday because he says, 'It's the Lord's day.' What a religious fanatic!"

Differences of opinion and issues over personal preference. They're inevitable – even in the church. And they can be highly destructive. Paul knew that to be true, which is why he addresses the problem in chapter 14 of his letter to the Roman believers. Throughout his other letters, Paul dealt with the problem of sin in the church. But here he deals with something just as potentially dangerous to the church's health and unity: the attitudes and behaviors that can destroy fellowship and fruitfulness in a local body of believers.. In a church you will always have mature believers and immature believers. You will have those who have been following Christ since they were children and who were raised in the church. Alongside them you will have those who are new to church life and have no experience with the traditions and doctrinal issues associated with the church. They bring with them their past experiences, habits, hang-ups, and yes, preferences. This blend of personalities, opinions, and personal preferences can be a potentially toxic blend if we're not careful. And Paul knew this.

So he addressed those in the church who were more mature to "receive the one who is weak in the faith." Rather than judge him for the things he does that you disapprove of, receive him. That word in the Greek means "to take to one's self, to take or receive into one's home, with the collateral idea of kindness." And this is not a suggestion, it's a command. Paul is telling the more mature believers to love and accept the newer believer. Stop judging and start loving. How easy it is to sit back and pass judgment on someone who doesn't dress like me, act like me, or worship like me. Without even knowing them, I can pass judgment on them and categorize them as less-than-serious about their faith. But they may be simply immature. Or they may just have different personal preferences than I do. They may be mature in their faith, but perfectly fine with having a beer with their pizza. They may love the Lord just as much as I do and have no problem with sporting a tattoo. Rather than judge them based on the externals, Paul says I am to receive them. I may be shocked to find that the one I thought was weak in the faith is actually quite strong. But doesn't share my personal tastes in clothes, music, or worship styles.

This whole chapter is about unity and love. I am to die to my rights and personal preferences in order to show love to another brother or sister in Christ. I am to be concerned about their walk with Christ. I should care about how my actions might influence them. Paul is talking about those grey areas of life that are not explicitly condemned as sin in the Scriptures. If I happen to be the one who sees nothing wrong with having a glass of wine with my meal, I am free to do so, as long as my conscience doesn't condemn me. But if I take advantage of that right while having another brother in my home who just might struggle with the issue of alcohol in his life, and I cause him to stumble, then I have sinned. I have let my rights become a stumbling block to another believer. This isn't about letting someone else's personal tastes dictate how I live my life. It is about being sensitive to the spiritual well-being of those around me. Paul says, "For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Vs 17 N:T). We worry way too much about issues regarding tastes, style, preference, and opinions. Paul says we should put all that on the back burner and worry more about living lives of goodness, peace, and joy. In other words, living lives of righteousness.

Father, You have called us to live in love. You have called us to put others first. You have called us to die to self. That is hard to do. Especially when others don't share my opinions and personal tastes. I find it easy to find fault with others because they differ from me. But their differences have little to do with anything other than my own personal preferences. Help me to put those aside and receive them as one of Your own. To love them and care for them. Forgive me for passing judgment so often on those whom I know nothing about. May we be a fellowship where love wins out over differences of opinion. Amen

What's Love Got To Do With It?

Romans 13

Love does no wrong to anyone, so love satisfies all of God’s requirements. – Vs 10 NLT

Love has everything to do with it. Love it the key to life within the body of Christ AND within the world in general. As Christ-followers we are called to a life characterized by love. We have been shown love and we are to show love. We are to be loved in the same way in which we have been loved – selflessly, expecting nothing in return. Paul stressed the quality of love in chapter 12 and he expands on it in chapter 13. Listen to what he said in chapter 12:

Don’t just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. – Romans 12:9-10 NLT

Now in chapter 13, in the middle of talking about how we should relate to those in authority over us, Paul once again brings up the topic of love. He's talking about paying taxes to the government when he says, "Pay all your debts, except the debt of love for others. You can never finish paying that! If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill all the requirements of God’s law" (Vs 8 NLT). I don't know about you, but the words taxes, debt, and love just don't seem to go together. I don't know that I have ever paid my taxes with any degree of love as part of the process. I just don't LOVE to pay my taxes. I don't LOVE to pay back debt. So what is Paul saying? I think his point is that we have a greater responsibility than just being good citizens who pay their taxes on time and their debts in full. We are to be living lives that are characterized by love. How many times have you heard a pastor or speaker use Paul's statement, "owe nothing to anyone" as a proof text against borrowing money or going in debt? But is that really Paul's point? I don't think so. His real message is about love. His point is that "love is the fulfillment of the law" (Vs 10). When we love, we are keeping the law of God in its entirety. You can't love and commit adultery. You can't love and murder. You can't love and steal from someone else. You can't love and covet what someone else has. You can't love and refuse to pay your taxes. You can't love and neglect to pay back money you have borrowed. You can't love and not honor the government, whether you agree with it or not. And that includes the guy who occupies that oval office whose political agenda you just might not agree with.

All this talk about love makes me think of the great "Love Chapter" in 1 Corinthians where Paul eloquently elaborates on the topic of love.

If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love. Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always "me first," Doesn't fly off the handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, Doesn't revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end. Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit." – 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 MSG

Then Paul sums it all up with the words, "There are three things that will endure––faith, hope, and love––and the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT). When it is all said and done and we find ourselves standing before God in heaven, we will realize that only one thing remains a constant: Love. We will no longer need faith or hope. Our faith will be realized and our hope fulfilled. But we will continue to love and be loved for all eternity. So if that is the case, what should be our greatest priority now? Love. We are to love, knowing…

…how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for the coming of our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So don’t live in darkness. Get rid of your evil deeds. Shed them like dirty clothes. Clothe yourselves with the armor of right living, as those who live in the light. We should be decent and true in everything we do, so that everyone can approve of our behavior. Don’t participate in wild parties and getting drunk, or in adultery and immoral living, or in fighting and jealousy. But let the Lord Jesus Christ take control of you, and don’t think of ways to indulge your evil desires" (Romans 13:11-14 NLT).

What's love got to do with it? Everything.

Father, You have called us to be a people who love. But I have to confess that I find that hard to do sometimes. I want to hold back my love. I want to love selectively. I want to love those who love me back. I want to love conditionally. I want my love to always be accompanied by warm, fuzzy feelings or emotions. But You have called us to love one another and to love our enemies. You have said that the primary way the world will know we are Your disciples is because of how we love one another. Love is the key. Help me to love more. Help me to realize that nothing I do has any value if it is done without love. Love really is the key to it all. The same kind of love Your Son showed for me on the cross. Amen

TRANSFORMERS.

Romans 12

Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. – Vs 2 MSG

This is one of those verses that just about everyone knows or at least has heard on more than a handful of occasions. We're highly familiar with it, but that doesn't mean we necessarily live it on in real life. It is a call to be different. It is a command to live a life that is set apart and unique. Paul has just urged us to present our bodies "a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship" (Vs 1). The Message paraphrases his thoughts this way: "Take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life--and place it before God as an offering." What strikes me is that Paul is talking to a group of believers, not just individuals. He is speaking of the body of Christ. Together, we are to live in such a way that our everyday existence is a holy sacrifice to the Lord. That's why Paul spends the rest of the chapter talking about using our gifts in the context of the body of Christ. But each of us is to be going through a process of transformation. Instead of conforming, we should be transforming – going through the process of change from the inside out. In other words, to "let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think" (NLT). In many of the translations of this passage, you will see the phrase, "renewing of your mind." That word "renewing" can be translated "renovation." God is out to renovate the way we think, the way we view the world. He is giving us a new perspective on life and how to live in it. We begin seeing things differently. We can suddenly see trials and difficulties as opportunities for God's power to be revealed and our faith strengthened. We find ourselves "rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation" (Vs 12). The command to "abhor what is evil, cling to what is good" (Vs 9) becomes increasingly more a part of who we are. We stop paying back evil for evil, hating our enemies, and taking revenge. We stop thinking so highly of ourselves and negatively about others. We prefer serving rather than being served. We give more than we receive. We open up our homes and our wallets – willingly and gladly. We find out what our spiritual gifts are and use them to minister to the rest of the body of Christ.

We can do all this because we are being transformed – changed from the inside out – in our hearts, our minds, our attitudes, and ultimately, in our behavior. Our daily lives are a test or living proof of the reality of the life change going on within us. When we do all the things listed above, we give evidence or proof of the transformation that is taking place within us. We are living out in daily life the will of God, "that which is good and acceptable and perfect" (Vs 2). God is bringing out the best in us. We are walking testimonials to the amazing grace and power of God as He develops well-formed maturity in each of us. And we prove it all in the context of the body as we live our lives together.

Father, thank You for Your transforming power going on in my life. Thank You that You are changing the way I think. You are using Your Word to alter my mindset and how I view life and the world. You have given me the ability to think and live differently. I pray that you would continue to renovate my thinking to such a degree that the characteristics Paul lists in this chapter would becoming increasingly a normal part of the way I live my life and the way we as Christians live our lives together. All for Your glory.  Amen

What A God!

Romans 11

Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods! For who can know what the Lord is thinking? Who knows enough to be his counselor? – Vs 33-34 NLT

Chapter 11 is one of those chapters you read, then re-read and then scratch your head and wonder what Paul is really saying. It is deep and difficult to completely understand what he means. There are as many opinions as there are commentaries. But even Paul seems to reach a point where he simply has to put down his pen and kneel before the throne of God. The closing verses of this chapter seem to be Paul's acknowledgment that His God is greater than his capacity to understand Him or figure Him out. He says, "How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods!" We can sit and debate and argue over all that Paul has said regarding the future of the Jewish people, and there's nothing particularly wrong with that, or we can acknowledge that there is so much we don't know and may never know until the Lord returns. And there is so much of God and His ways that we will never be able to understand and figure out with our finite minds. Isaiah said it this way: "No one can measure the depths of his understanding" (Isaiah 40:28). His decisions are unsearchable. His methods of doing things are undiscoverable and mysterious. We so desperately want to box Him in and figure Him out, but He is the infinite God of the universe.

In the book of Job we read these words: "Can you solve the mysteries of God? Can you discover everything there is to know about the Almighty? Such knowledge is higher than the heavens––but who are you? It is deeper than the underworld ––what can you know in comparison to him? It is broader than the earth and wider than the sea" (Job 11:7-9). Our God is a great and awesome God. He is beyond our ability to understand. Anything we know of Him, He must reveal to us. The Bible is His revelation of Himself to us. In it we can discover His character, His will, and get a glimpse of His ways. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God within us. Without Him we would be unable to understand anything about God or His ways. But even with all that, we will still never be able to figure God out. Like the universe He created, He is without end and seemingly limitless. So what should our response be to the greatness of our God? Paul sums it up in the last verse of this chapter. Listen to how The Message paraphrases it:

Everything comes from him; Everything happens through him; Everything ends up in him. Always glory! Always praise! Yes. Yes. Yes.

Always glory! Always praise! Yes. Yes. Yes.

Father, I praise You this morning for your greatness. You are beyond my ability to understand. Yet You have chosen to reveal Yourself to me. I can't even begin to understand Your ways and yet You have shown me Your truth time and time again through Your Word. Forgive me when I think I have all the answers or have You figured out. How arrogant. Who am I to try and solve the mysteries of God or to try and discover all there is to know about You and Your ways. Let me rest in the simple knowledge that You are exceedingly great and incredibly good. Amen

I Did It My Way!

Romans 10

For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Instead, they are clinging to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. They won’t go along with God’s way."– Vs 3 NLT

This chapter is a continuation of Paul's thoughts in chapter 9. He expresses his sincere desire that his Jewish brothers and sisters would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ: "…my heart’s desire and prayer to God on behalf of my fellow Israelites is for their salvation" (Vs 1 NET). He says, "I readily admit that the Jews are impressively energetic regarding God – but they are doing everything exactly backwards" (Vs 2 MSG). They were attempting to achieve righteousness on their own efforts by striving to keep the Law. They had good intentions, but were headed down the wrong path. They had the right objective: pleasing God, but they would never reach their end desire. Back in chapter 8 Paul reminds us that "those who are in the flesh cannot please God" (Romans 8:8 NASB). In Hebrews 11:6 we read, "Now without faith it is impossible to please him" (NET). Paul makes it clear in verse 4: "For Christ has accomplished the whole purpose of the law. All who believe in him are made right with God" (Romans 10:4 NLT).

But isn't it amazing how many today are still trying to get right with God through their own futile efforts? And that number includes many of us as believers. We have been saved by faith, but for some reason we keep trying to please God with our enthusiasm and self-effort. Like the Jews, we are "impressively energetic regarding God." We are busy serving Him, giving to Him, going to Bible studies to learn more about Him, attempting to pray to Him, even telling others about Him. But all our "zeal is not based on knowledge" (Vs 2). It's not in line with the truth. All the things we are doing are good, but we are doing them for the wrong reason. We think that our efforts are somehow going to make God happier with us. The reverse is also true. We think that if we DON'T do them, God will be displeased with us. But what does the writer of Hebrews say? "Without faith it is impossible to please him." Faith that Jesus has done all that needs to be done to secure our righteous standing before God. We can't add anything else to the equation. We can't please God any more than He already is. When we do those kinds of acts in our own strength, we are reminded by the prophet Isaiah: "We are all infected and impure with sin. When we proudly display our righteous deeds, we find they are but filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6 NLT). But when we do them out of faith, knowing that they add nothing to our standing before God, then they become an extension of our faith. We do them because we love Him, not in some misguided effort to earn brownie points with Him.

God made the formula for righteousness pretty simple: "For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Vs 9 NLT). That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. No added works. No need for any good deeds on our part. Just believe. You can't replace it with good intentions, hard work, holy sweat equity, or anything else. It is all based on belief in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. We can only do it God's way.

Father, thank You that you gave me another way other than my way. It would never have worked. But because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross, I sit here this morning as righteous and holy in Your sight. I am Your Son. I am a fellow heir with Christ. I have an inheritance in heaven that no one can take away from me and that I can't blow on the stock market. My standing is secure. And all it took was simple belief. How amazing is that? You are a great God and worthy of anything I can do for you in an attempt to show my gratitude for all You have done for me. Thank You! Amen

No Love Lost For The Lost.

Romans 9

…for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed – cut off from Christ! – if that would save them. – Vs 29 NLT

While most of this chapter is about the good news that God made the gift of salvation available to all men who would accept it, the thing that grabbed my attention more than anything else was the opening statement by Paul. He expresses His sorrow and unceasing grief over the fact that His Jewish brothers and sisters had rejected the very One for whom they had been waiting for generations: Jesus Christ. He was there long-awaited Messiah, yet they had refused to accept Him. Instead they arrested Him, and demanded His execution.

But Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, loved His own people so much that he said, "If there were any way I could be cursed by the Messiah so they could be blessed by him, I'd do it in a minute. They're my family" (Vs 3 MSG). Do you hear what he is saying? He says he would prefer to be accursed. That Greek word is anathema and it means, "a thing devoted to God without hope of being redeemed, and if an animal, to be slain; therefore a person or thing doomed to destruction." For something or someone to be deemed anathema entailed them being cut off or forever separated. Paul is willing to be cut off from Christ and God the Father if only His fellow Israelites could experience the blessings of salvation. Now you can see why on every missionary journey Paul went on, the first place he went when he arrived in a town was the synagogue. He may have been the apostle to the Gentiles, but he was not going to overlook the Jews. And practically every time he went to the synagogues, it ended up in him being stoned, threatened, beaten, or chased out of town. But he kept going back.

Paul had a love for the lost sheep of Israel. But what about us? More often than not, we find the lost a roadblock to the cause of Christ. We view them as stubborn and deserving of what they get. We walk past them every day and don't even think about their eternal state, let alone have the thought cross our minds that we would be wiling to give up our eternal security for theirs. How could Paul think that way? Well, it pretty much sums up the way Jesus Himself thought. He was willing to give up His eternal security to come to earth, take on human flesh, die a sinner's death, and be separated from God the Father, just so we could be saved. Paul is thinking like Christ. Which is what he calls us all to in his letter to the Philippians:

…do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. – Philippians 2:4-8

Have this attitude. Think like this. Let this be your outlook. And that's exactly what Paul did. he practiced what he preached. He loved the lost. He gave his life to see that they wouldn't remain lost. Paul gave them every opportunity to accept the free gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ. He suffered so that they might not have to. And he was wiling to suffer for eternity if it meant that the Jews could be blessed. That's amazing and humbling.

Father, give me a love for the lost like Paul. Don't allow me to walk by, drive by, sit by, and even live by those who are lost without sharing the same sorrow and grief that Paul did for the Jews. Forgive me for seeing lost humanity as a road block to righteousness rather than an opportunity for Your glory to be revealed. Help me see them as You do and as Paul did. Help me to have the same attitude that Jesus did. Amen

Like Christ.

Romans 8

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son… – Vs 29 NIV

There was a movie out not too many years ago called "Like Mike." It's about a young inner-city kid named Calvin who lives in an orphanage. One day he finds an old pair of basketball shoes with the faded letters MJ handing on a power line. One stormy night, as he attempts to remove the shoes, Calvin and the shoes are struck by lightning. When he later puts the shoes on, he discovers that he has the basketball skills of Michael Jordan. Of course, in true Hollywood fashion, he ends up getting signed to an NBA team and wows the world with his amazing feats of athletic prowess. Sure, it's pure fantasy and every little boy's dream, but it's also a great picture of what this verse seems to be saying.

Instead of being made "like Mike," I have been made like Christ. God determined in advance that I would be made into the image of His Son, even before I became a Christ-follower. That was part of His divine plan. In order for that to happen, He placed His Spirit within me. I'm not the same-old-me anymore. I have new powers and abilities that allow me to live a life I never could have lived before. I can do amazing feats I was never able to do before. I can say, "No!" to sin when before I always had to give in. God has placed me on His divine team. He has made me His heir. Like Calvin in the movie, I find myself no longer an orphan living in poverty, but a son of God who has resources and abilities I never had before, and I did nothing to earn them. They were given to me.

God is in the process of making a significant change in me. He has already called Me. He has justified me. He is sanctifying me. He is progressively conforming me more and more into the very likeness of Christ Himself. That is where the analogy of the movie breaks down. Calvin got all of Michael Jordan's skills immediately. I have the capability, but must learn to live out that capability over time. I must discover the power within me as I do battle over which will control me – my sinful flesh or the Spirit. I must realize that I have the ability to live a new life. I can be and am being conformed into the image of Christ. Each and every day.

Father, Thank You for reminding me that You are conforming me into the likeness of Your Son every day. It is a fact, not just a promise. I have the power to become just what you determined I would be. You cause all things to work together for good – my conformity to Christ. You use everything that happens in my life to accomplish Your objective – my conformity to Christ. Let me never forget that. Amen

The Question Of The Ages.

Romans 7

Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? – Vs 24 NLT

This is Paul speaking! Not some dirt-bag loser living a life of unrepentant sin in a flea-bag motel on the wrong side of the tracks. How can the great apostle Paul make a statement like this? He's just finished writing about being released from the Law, having died to sin, and being able to live a new life in the power of the Spirit. Now he's describing himself as someone needing to freed from a life that is sin-dominated and misery-filled. Why? Because that's the reality of life on this planet – even as redeemed followers of Christ. It's especially true for us as believers because we have two natures doing battle within us. We have a sin nature and a new nature. Our new nature did not eradicate our old sin nature. It released us from the Law (Vs 6). We don't have to try and keep the Law in order to produce a righteousness of our own. But we still have a sin nature. Sin has always been the problem, not the Law. Paul makes that clear in verses 7-12. Twice he says, "sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment" produced in me all kinds of wrong desires and deceived me and through it killed me. My sin nature literally used the Law as a base of operations to produce in my life actions and attitudes that would end up violating the Law of God and lead to my own condemnation and death sentence. Even as believers we have active sin natures that cause in us the same conflict that Paul had: "I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate" (Vs 15 NLT).

We have within us a sin nature or disposition that strives to control our lives, producing fruit for death (Vs 5). And as long as I try to keep the Law, as long as I try to please God by adhering to some religious rules or standards of men, the result will always be fruit for death. But while Paul reminds us that we are free from having to keep the Law in an attempt to produce righteousness, there's still the problem of our sin nature. He speaks for all of us when he says:

I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can’t make myself do right. I want to, but I can’t. When I want to do good, I don’t. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. But if I am doing what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it. It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. – Vs 18-21 NLT

If we're honest, this is me and this is you. This is how we feel just about every day of our lives. And if we're not careful, it can produce in us an attitude of defeat. But listen to what Paul says. He says that he is rotten through and through so far as his old sinful nature is concerned. He can't make himself do what is right. He says it is the sin within him (his sin nature) doing it. Which is what leads him to exclaim, "What a miserable person I am!" But then he calls out, "Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin?" (Vs 24 NLT). His answer? God did, through Jesus Christ. Because of what Jesus did on the cross, Paul had a new capacity to bear fruit for God, keeping the Law out of a sense of devotion, not obligation. His life could now bear fruit for God instead of fruit for death. He no longer had to live controlled by that inner sin nature. It was still there. It was still alive and active, but he had a new nature empowered by the Holy Spirit that allowed him to live a new life. He could live in increasing victory instead of defeat. And the same is true for us. We can serve in newness of the Spirit (Vs 6). We can serve in a new way, by the Spirit. We have been set free from this body of death.

Father, Thank You that the answer to the question, "Who will set me free?" is your Son. He has set me free from having to live bound to the sin nature within me. I can live differently. I can live victoriously. Sin has not be eliminated, but it has been defeated in my life. It is no longer in control. Show me how to allow my new nature to become the dominant nature in my life as I allow your Spirit to guide and direct my life. Amen

New. Not New-and-Improved.

Romans 6

New lives. Is that what most of us are experiencing? Or have we settled for a slightly improved version of our old life? This chapter really reminds me that I have been given the power and the expectation to live a brand new life free from the enslavement of sin. I can live differently. I can live victoriously. I am no longer a slave to sin because my old self died with Christ on the cross. I should consider myself "dead to sin and able to live for the glory of God through Christ Jesus" (Vs 11 NLT). I am dead to sin, but I am alive to God. Like Jesus, my new life is to bring glory to God. Every time I choose NOT to sin, it brings God glory because the power to do so comes from Him. Every time I choose to obey the Spirit within me, I give God glory. But any time I let any part of my body "become a tool of wickedness, to be used for sinning" (Vs 13 NLT), I rob God of glory. I am letting sin master me, when in reality God is my new Master. I am to be a slave to righteousness, not sin.

Paul says that every time I choose to let God control me and righteousness master me, I am becoming holy. When sin was my master, I was unable to pursue holiness. In essence, I was free from its control. Now everything has been reversed. I can now free to pursue holiness and to reject sinfulness. That is what Paul means when he says we can live new lives. We can live differently. We can live holy. But do we? Many of us as Christians don't experience this newness of life, but live as if sin is still our master. We read a chapter like this and long to experience it as a reality in our daily lives, but we've resigned ourselves to a life of spiritual mediocrity. Part of the problem is that we've stopped believing. Our belief stopped at salvation. We believe Jesus died for our sins and has promised us eternal life in the future. But we fail to believe that we can have new life NOW. We don't really believe we are dead to sin. We don't really believe we are new creations. We don't really believe our lives can bring glory to God here and now. So we settle for the status quo. We're getting by by just getting by. But Jesus promised life and life more abundantly. New life. Life with power. Life that leads to holiness. Not in the sweet by and by, but in the here and now. Do you believe it's possible? Paul did. He lived it. And so should we.

Father, I want to live a new life. Not some new-and-improved version of my old life. I want to live with You as my master and not sin. Every day You give me a glimpse of what this can look like, but it is so easy to fall back into old habits, to give in to the old way of thinking. I listen to the lie of the enemy that says I haven't changed. He wants me to reject the truth that I am a new creation. But I am dead to sin and alive to God. My life can bring glory to You each and every day. I can present myself as a slave to righteousness and experience increasing holiness – each and every day. All because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross. Thank You for that reminder. Amen

Amazing Grace!

Romans 5

What a gift we have received! Because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross, we stand immersed in the abundance of God's amazing grace. We were sinners condemned by the Law and under the wrath of a righteous, holy God. And we couldn't do anything about it. But "when we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners" (Vs 6 NLT). "But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners" (Vs 8 NLT). God extended grace, His unmerited favor, while we were stuck in our sinfulness. Instead of giving us what we deserve, He gave us what we could never have earned: His grace in the form of His Son's death on our behalf.

What should our response be to this amazing grace? Paul says we should rejoice. Three times he uses the word kauchaomai, which means "to glory on account of a thing." We are to glory, boast, exult, or rejoice in the fact that Christ's death has reconciled us to God. We are no longer under His wrath, but under His grace. The blood of Jesus Christ, spilled on the cross, has justified us. We stand before God as saints, not sinners. We are sons, not enemies. Paul stresses that we have this right standing NOW. "So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God––all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God" (Vs 11 NLT).

This is all a picture of God's amazing grace. It is a free gift from God made available to me through the death and resurrected life of Jesus Christ. And what's the value of that gift? Paul says, "all who receive God’s wonderful, gracious gift of righteousness will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ" (Vs 17 NLT). We can live in triumph over sin here and now. We have the love of God "poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us" (Vs 5 NASB), so we have the power to live in victory over sin. But there's more. We also have the assurance of eternal life. But every man and woman will experience eternal life. Some in a state of separation from God, perpetually experiencing His wrath and judgment. But we will experience eternal life in a state of righteousness, standing in the presence of God as His children and heirs – all as a result of His grace. We didn't deserve it, but we will still receive it. Now that's amazing!

Father, Your grace really is amazing. So much so that it's hard for me to really grasp the magnitude of it all. That word, grace, has become so over-used and common to me that I fail to recognize just how incredible it is that You would GIVE me the gift of Your grace and all that it contains. I was a hopeless, helpless sinner who deserved nothing but wrath, but You showed me mercy. You paid for my sins with Your own Son's life. You demonstrated Your love for me by having Him die for me WHILE I was still in my sinful state. You didn't demand that I get my act together, because You knew I couldn't. You loved me at my most unloveliest. You saved me, justified me, and reconciled me.  All as a free gift. You are amazing! Amen

FREE CREDIT CHECK!

Romans 4

You've seen the ads. They seem like they're everywhere these days because of the downturn in the economy. Everyone is offering to check your credit for free, because bad credit can be bad news in an economy that thrives on credit. And as I read through chapter four of Romans this morning it was as if Paul was offering me a free credit check on my righteous standing before God. And the news was not only good, it was great!

Eleven times in this chapter Paul uses the Greek term logizomai which can be translated "to reckon, count, to pass to one's account, or to impute." It carries the idea that "a thing is reckoned as or to be something, i.e. as availing for or equivalent to something, as having the like force and weight" (NET Bible study notes). In Paul's illustration, Abraham's belief or faith was credited to his account as having the same value as righteousness. His belief was the equivalent of righteousness. This theme runs throughout the chapter as Paul stresses that our righteousness is not based on anything we do, any law we keep, any ritual we go through, or any works we may perform. Righteousness is credited to our account as a result of simple belief. Like Abraham, we "who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead" (Vs 24) believe in a promise. We believe that what God has promised regarding His Son is true. We believe that Jesus was the Son of God and that He lived a sinless life, yet died a sinner's death, and rose again three days later, having paid the penalty for our sins. We believe that His death satisfied the justice of God and allowed us to be restored in our relationship with God. We believe that Jesus is coming again some day and that He has prepared a place for us to live with Him for eternity. We believe all this based on the promise of God, having never seen any of it. Paul says, "In hope against hope" Abraham believed. In other words, when everything looked hopeless Abraham believed anyway. His faith didn't weaken (Vs 19), it actually grew stronger over time (Vs 20). "He was fully convinced that what God promised he was also able to do" (Vs 21 NET). And that faith was credited to him as righteousness.

God doesn't look at all my efforts. He doesn't weigh out the relative value of my works. He isn't impressed with all that I do for Him. Those things carry no value and have no credit with God. No, "faith is the key! God’s promise is given to us as a free gift" (Vs 16 NLT). We simply have to believe in the promise. We just have to keep hoping even when things look hopeless. The law showed we could never earn righteousness. It is a free gift provided to us by God and paid for by Jesus Christ on the cross. When I believe that, righteousness gets credited to my account. It is as good as mine. It's a done deal! When God looks at me, he doesn't see a deadbeat, spiritually broke and morally bankrupt. He sees me as overflowing with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Like David, I am blessed because God has credited righteousness to my account apart from any effort on my part. I stand before God as one of those "whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered" (Vs 7 NASB)."Yes, what joy for those whose sin is no longer counted against them by the Lord" (Vs 8 NLT). My credit is great!

Father, thank You for GIVING me great credit. Jesus settled all my debts when He died in my place on the cross. And because I believe in the promise of new life through Your Son, I have been credited with His righteousness. You look at my account and see it full, not empty. And I did nothing to deserve it. It was a gift. Not help me to continue to believe even when everything looks hopeless. Help me to keep believing the promise even when things look shaky. May You continue to strengthen my faith in the midst of the trials and difficulties of life.  Amen

The Faithfulness Of Jesus.

Romans 3

But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed – namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. – Vs 21-22 (NET)

The latter part of this verse is traditionally rendered, "through faith in Christ for all those who believe" (NASB). But the New English Translation has chosen to translate it, "through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ." That really caught my eye as I was reading this morning. They are in no way attempting to replace or get rid of the concept of faith in Christ as the basis for our salvation. But they are simply indicating that Paul was trying to show the worthiness of the one in whom we place our faith. He is worthy to be trusted because He is trustworthy or faithful. Without the faithfulness of Jesus, we would have nothing to have faith in. He was faithful to leave heaven and take on human flesh. He was faithful to resist the temptations of Satan and stick to the redemptive plan of His Father, even though it was going to mean His eventual death. He was faithful to fully obey all that His Father had commanded Him to do. He was faithful to keep all of the Law, perfectly and completely. He was faithful to live a sinless life so that He would be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He was faithful to put up with the disciples for over three years – even when they just couldn't seem to grasp what it was He was telling them. He was faithful to endure the agony of the cross, when He could have stopped it at any minute. He was faithful to His word when He told the disciples He would rise again. He was and is faithful.

One of the reasons I like this translation is that it reminds me of the faithfulness of Him in whom I have placed my trust. I sometimes forget about that, and I am tempted to put all the wait on MY faith. While it is true that I am saved by faith. I am saved by faith in the faithfulness of Christ. My faith is based on what He has done and is going to do for me.

But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God publicly displayed him at his death as the mercy seat accessible through faith. This was to demonstrate his righteousness, because God in his forbearance had passed over the sins previously committed. (Vs 24-25 - NET).

The faithfulness of Jesus is was publicly displayed on the cross. The faithfulness of Jesus is what caused Him to shed His blood on my behalf and in my place. The faithfulness of Jesus demonstrated the righteousness of God, because He was able to act justly and punish sin, yet because the penalty of sin had been paid, He has shown mercy by passing over our sins. All because Jesus was faithful.

Father, thank You for reminding me that my faith is not baseless, but it is centered on the faithful One – Jesus Christ Your Son. Because He was faithful, I have a firm foundation on which to place my faith. He did what He came to do. He was who He claimed to be. He finished what He began. He paid the price I could never have paid. And He deserves my faith.  Amen

Comprehending His Kindness.

Romans 2

Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? – Vs 4 (NET)

In chapter one, Paul gave a list of all the sins of those whom "God gave over." He included unrighteousness, greed, evil, envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossiping, slander, insolence, hatred for God, arrogance, boasting, being disobedient to parents, lack of understanding, untrustworthiness, and lack of love and mercy. Now in chapter two he warns his Gentile readers that whether they have committed any of those sins or not, they still stand before God as guilty. Even in our passing of judgment on those who practice such sins, we reveal our own guilt. Like those professing Roman Christians, we may not have been given over by God to impurity, degrading passions, or depraved minds, but we still find many of those same sins evident in our lives. And each time we do find them showing up in our lives, and we do nothing about them, Paul warns us that we are storing up wrath (Vs 5). Paul uses the them of the coming judgment of God a lot in this book. It is a warning.

If we are truly believers and we sin, which we will, there is something that needs to happen. Paul makes it clear in verse four: "Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?" As followers of Christ, we have received God's kindness in the form of His mercy and grace. He has not given us what we deserve: death. But instead, He has given us what we don't deserve: forgiveness of sin and eternal life. He has shown us great patience. This kindness has a purpose though. It is to lead us to repentance. Repentance is to change one's mind, and it includes the idea of reformation. He kindness is intended to lead us to a different way of thinking and a changed life style. Our lives are no longer to be characterized by that list of sins from chapter one.

To live in continued sin is to live with a stubborn and unrepentant heart. It is to show contempt for the kindness God has shown. And that kind of life, according to Paul, will be judged harshly by God, because He "will render to each according to his deeds" (Vs 6). "He will give eternal life to those who persist in doing what is good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and practice evil deeds." (Vs 7-8 - NLT). Eternal life or anger and wrath. Only those who live a life of repentance, based on their understanding of and appreciation for the kindness of God, will enjoy eternal life. An unrepentant life is the sign of an unsaved life. When we are saved by Christ, our eyes are opened to the reality of our own sinfulness and the awesomeness of God's grace. That comprehension of His kindness, His giving us what we don't deserve instead of what we did deserve, it what leads us to repent – to turn from our old way of thinking about sin. We will choose to do good instead of evil. And because we have the Holy Spirit living within us, we have the power to do so.

I love how The Message paraphrases this verse:

Or did you think that because he's such a nice God, he'd let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he's not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change.

Father, thank You for your incredible kindness that You showered on me through Your grace and mercy. But never let me take that kindness lightly. I don't want to live in unrepentant sin. I don't want to stubbornly cling to my old way of life as if Your kindness means nothing. I want my life to reflect the radical life-change available to me because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross.  Amen

Righteousness and Wrath.

Romans 1

…the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith… - Vs 17 (NASB)

There's an interesting contrast in this chapter that Paul seems to give us. One is about God's righteousness. The other is about God's wrath. Paul tells us how both are revealed or made known. In other words, he is letting us know how we can recognize the righteousness or rightness of God in the world, and how we can see God's wrath or anger in the world.

In verse 17, Paul says that God's righteousness is revealed in the gospel – the Good News of Jesus Christ. Paul says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes" (Vs 16). He was, "eager to preach the gospel" to those in Rome for this very reason. The gospel and its message of salvation through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is what reveals God's righteousness. He is a righteous God. As the Greek word indicates, God's character is one of integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, and correctness. But God's righteousness wasn't just revealed in the gospel. Paul says it is made known "from faith to faith." What does that mean? Well, here is my take on it. I think Paul is saying that the real power of the gospel is revealed when men come to faith and they share that faith with others. That's what he means by the phrase "from faith to faith." Some commentators interpret it to mean "in ever-increasing degrees of faith," but that doesn't seem to fit the context. Paul has been talking about preaching the gospel. He has talked about how the faith of the Roman believers is "being proclaimed throughout the whole world" (Vs 8). I think what Paul is saying is that as the gospel is preached and proclaimed, people's lives are changed by its power. But the real power of the gospel is made known when the faith of one changed individual leads to faith in another. The gospel message has a contagious quality to it. It spreads. And every time it does spread, God's righteousness is revealed. Because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross, God is right and just to declare men righteous and restore them to a right relationship with Himself. This whole process of one man's faith leading to another man's faith reveals over and over again the righteousness of God.

But how is God's wrath or revealed? In verse 18, Paul says it comes directly from heaven. Unlike His righteousness that is revealed from faith to faith, or through the viral sharing of our faith from one to the other, God's wrath is made known directly from Him. It comes from His throne room. It comes in the form of judgment and decrees against man's sinfulness and rebellion. In describing how God reveals His wrath, Paul simply puts it that "God gave them over" (Vs 24, 27, 28). He literally hands them over to the power of another. The Greek word means "to deliver up one to custody, to be judged, condemned, punished, scourged, tormented, put to death." He turns them over "to impurity" (Vs 24), to "degrading passions" (Vs 26), and to "depraved minds" (Vs 28). We can see it all around us. God's wrath or punishment is evident in the lives of so many in the world today as they struggle with these very things. His wrath is revealed or made known by the sinful actions of men and women who have rebelled against Him and rejected the message of the gospel.

The righteousness of God. The wrath of God. We can see them both all around us. But we have the ability to make known His righteousness as we live our lives in righteousness by faith (Vs 17). When we live righteously, others see it. It becomes contagious. Our faith leads to their faith. And as they place their faith in the Good News of Jesus Christ, God's rightness and justice is revealed to men. Look at the contrast. When man is left to himself, the result is an ever-increasing degree of unrighteousness and godlessness. We see it evident all around us. But God has done the right thing, the righteous thing. He has made it possible for men to be made right with Him. He has provided a solution: A Savior. And every time someone accepts Jesus Christ as His Savior, God's righteousness is declared.

So like Paul, let us not be ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation. It is the key to revealing His righteousness on the earth – day after day. So let's be eager to preach the gospel and live lives of righteousness.

Father, I want my life to reveal Your righteousness, but I also want to see others come to faith because of my faith so that Your righteousness can be made known again and again. Every time someone steps into the kingdom, it shows that you are a just and righteous God Who is saving mankind from a fate worse than death – eternal separation from You. May I grow increasingly eager to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with everyone I meet.  Amen