13God promised Abraham and his descendants that he would give them the world. This promise wasn't made because Abraham had obeyed a law, but because his faith in God made him acceptable. 14If Abraham and his descendants were given this promise because they had obeyed a law, then faith would mean nothing, and the promise would be worthless.
15God becomes angry when his Law is broken. But where there isn't a law, it cannot be broken. 16Everything depends on having faith in God, so that God's promise is assured by his great kindness. This promise isn't only for Abraham's descendants who have the Law. It is for all who are Abraham's descendants because they have faith, just as he did. Abraham is the ancestor of us all. 17The Scriptures say that Abraham would become the ancestor of many nations. This promise was made to Abraham because he had faith in God, who raises the dead to life and creates new things.
18God promised Abraham a lot of descendants. And when it all seemed hopeless, Abraham still had faith in God and became the ancestor of many nations. 19Abraham's faith never became weak, not even when he was nearly a hundred years old. He knew that he was almost dead and that his wife Sarah could not have children. 20But Abraham never doubted or questioned God's promise. His faith made him strong, and he gave all the credit to God.
21Abraham was certain that God could do what he had promised. 22So God accepted him, 23just as we read in the Scriptures. But these words were not written only for Abraham. 24They were written for us, since we will also be accepted because of our faith in God, who raised our Lord Jesus to life. 25God gave Jesus to die for our sins, and he raised him to life, so that we would be made acceptable to God.
The entire, amazing, life of Abraham was based upon faith. Everything God did for him was because Abraham "believed God". Some of the highlights from Abraham's life are...
God told Abram to leave his native land and his father’s house for a land that God would show him, promising to make of him a great nation, bless him, make his name great, bless those who blessed him, and curse those who cursed him. (Genesis 12)
During the rebellion of the Jordan River cities against Elam, Lot, was taken prisoner along with his entire household. Abram immediately assembled 318 trained servants and pursued the Elamite army. In a daring night raid, they were able to free the captives and slaughter the Elamite forces along with their King Chedorlaomer. Upon Abram’s return, Melchizedek king of Jerusalem, a priest of God Most High, brought out bread and wine and blessed Abram and God.
The word of God came to Abram in a vision and repeated the promise of the land and descendants as numerous as the stars. Abram and God made a covenant ceremony, and God told of the future bondage of Israel in Egypt. God described to Abram the land that his offspring would claim: "the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”
Abraham had been sitting at the entrance of his tent and saw three men in the presence of God. Abraham offered to wash their feet and feed them..to which they assented. One of the visitors told Abraham that upon his return next year, Sarah would have a son.
Abraham was commanded by God to offer his son up as a sacrifice in the land of Moriah. Just as Abraham was about to sacrifice his son, he was prevented by an angel, and given a ram which he sacrificed in place of his son. As a reward for his obedience he received another promise of numerous descendants and abundant prosperity.
Abraham died a wealthy man and is now the father of the three most influential religions in the world. On par, we'd have to say Abraham lived an amazing, blessed life. And today...Paul tells us that God promises to do the same for us. Although I don't really want another son when I'm 100 years old. (I'm just saying...)
So...do we want to be recorded in history as having received amazing blessings from God almighty? Paul shows us the way. Believe God.
Live boldly out there today...
July 8, 2011
Romans 4:1-12, The Example of Abraham
1Well then, what can we say about our ancestor Abraham? 2If he became acceptable to God because of what he did, then he would have something to brag about. But he would never be able to brag about it to God. 3The Scriptures say, "God accepted Abraham because Abraham had faith in him."
4Money paid to workers isn't a gift. It is something they earn by working. 5But you cannot make God accept you because of something you do. God accepts sinners only because they have faith in him. 6In the Scriptures David talks about the blessings that come to people who are acceptable to God, even though they don't do anything to deserve these blessings. David says,
7"God blesses people whose sins are forgiven and whose evil deeds are forgotten. 8The Lord blesses people whose sins are erased from his book."
9Are these blessings meant for circumcised people or for those who are not circumcised? Well, the Scriptures say that God accepted Abraham because Abraham had faith in him. 10But when did this happen? Was it before or after Abraham was circumcised? Of course, it was before.
11Abraham let himself be circumcised to show that he had been accepted because of his faith even before he was circumcised. This makes Abraham the father of all who are acceptable to God because of their faith, even though they are not circumcised. 12This also makes Abraham the father of everyone who is circumcised and has faith in God, as Abraham did before he was circumcised.
If we are drowning...do we look for a life buoy? or...insist on swimming? Then again, it's possible to be in mortal danger and not even realize it.
We're dead either way...
And it's an avoidable tragedy. The water is sin. The Life Buoy is faith. It's the only escape from drowning...whether we know we're drowning or not. It's always been faith? Did I say that? No, actually...God said it way back when. The Scriptures say, "God accepted Abraham because Abraham had faith in him."
So Paul uses Abraham as an example to tell us God accepts sinners only because they have faith in him. There is no other avenue of salvation. We'd like to say it's our good works, or our good looks, or...
I wonder why this exquisite gift is such a roadblock to so many people. It's as though they believe...given enough time and opportunity...they can save themselves. The only alternative is that they refuse to believe they need saving.
The first sign of addiction is denial...we can say we aren't drowning. It doesn't make it so.
I also know an addict cannot be convinced of anything. An addict will come to realize the truth only when his/her life has become so obviously destructive and unmanageable they can't ignore it. At that point...they give up.
Step 1 - We admitted we were powerless over our addiction - that our lives had become unmanageable
Step 2 - Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity
Step 3 - Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God
How do we know these things? Because God gave us the great gift of His Law. This law is the only measure given that will lead us to acknowledge step one. Ignoring God's law, or attempting to satisfy it, are the only two things that can kill us.
We all have friends who are sin addicts. The very best way to love them into the kingdom is to quit enabling them...quit letting them skip step 1, 2 and 3 and hold them accountable.
Personally, by the grace of God, I'm a "recovering" sin addict. David says "The Lord blesses people whose sins are erased from his book." It's a blessed promise, but there is no shortcut.
Live boldly out there today...
July 7, 2011
Romans 3:21-31, God's Way of Accepting People
21Now we see how God does make us acceptable to him. The Law and the Prophets tell how we become acceptable, and it isn't by obeying the Law of Moses. 22God treats everyone alike. He accepts people only because they have faith in Jesus Christ. 23All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. 24But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins. 25-26God sent Christ to be our sacrifice. Christ offered his life's blood, so that by faith in him we could come to God. And God did this to show that in the past he was right to be patient and forgive sinners. This also shows that God is right when he accepts people who have faith in Jesus. 27What is left for us to brag about? Not a thing! Is it because we obeyed some law? No! It is because of faith. 28We see that people are acceptable to God because they have faith, and not because they obey the Law. 29Does God belong only to the Jews? Isn't he also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, he is! 30There is only one God, and he accepts Gentiles as well as Jews, simply because of their faith. 31Do we destroy the Law by our faith? Not at all! We make it even more powerful.
There we have it...it was all a great misunderstanding.
Somehow, folks got the idea that obeying God's law gave them standing in God's eyes...when God never intended that. God's law was intended to show us our innate wickedness and our need for grace. Of course, we never like to be told about our flaws so we manipulate things until they serve our purposes instead of God's.
It was always faith...from the very beginning. The great irony is that faith does something mystical in our spirits and we become lovers of the law rather than slaves to the law. The nuance often escapes the sceptics. They think we are as encumbered by rules as the old religious leaders ever were.
The question is simple. Do we love God's law because because the gift of faith has opened our eyes? Do we welcome this opportunity to offer our obedience as a gift back to God? Or is God's law a constant burden and barrier to our freedom. The answer will tell you faith dwells in your heart.
Even at that...if we got it perfect...it's still faith. It's always been faith.
Live boldly out there today...
There we have it...it was all a great misunderstanding.
Somehow, folks got the idea that obeying God's law gave them standing in God's eyes...when God never intended that. God's law was intended to show us our innate wickedness and our need for grace. Of course, we never like to be told about our flaws so we manipulate things until they serve our purposes instead of God's.
It was always faith...from the very beginning. The great irony is that faith does something mystical in our spirits and we become lovers of the law rather than slaves to the law. The nuance often escapes the sceptics. They think we are as encumbered by rules as the old religious leaders ever were.
The question is simple. Do we love God's law because because the gift of faith has opened our eyes? Do we welcome this opportunity to offer our obedience as a gift back to God? Or is God's law a constant burden and barrier to our freedom. The answer will tell you faith dwells in your heart.
Even at that...if we got it perfect...it's still faith. It's always been faith.
Live boldly out there today...
July 6, 2011
Romans 3:9-20, No One is Good
9What does all this mean? Does it mean that we Jews are better off than the Gentiles? No, it doesn't! Jews, as well as Gentiles, are ruled by sin, just as I have said. 10The Scriptures tell us, "No one is acceptable to God!
11Not one of them understands or even searches for God. 12They have all turned away and are worthless. There isn't one person who does right. 13Their words are like an open pit, and their tongues are good only for telling lies. Each word is as deadly as the fangs of a snake, 14and they say nothing but bitter curses. 15These people quickly become violent. 16Wherever they go, they leave ruin and destruction. 17They don't know how to live in peace. 18They don't even fear God."
19We know that everything in the Law was written for those who are under its power. The Law says these things to stop anyone from making excuses and to let God show that the whole world is guilty. 20God doesn't accept people simply because they obey the Law. No, indeed! All the Law does is to point out our sin.
Here is the twelve step program...
Step 1 - We admitted we were powerless over our addiction - that our lives had become unmanageable
Step 2 - Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity
Step 3 - Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God
Step 4 - Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves
Step 5 - Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs
Step 6 - Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character
Step 7 - Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings
Step 8 - Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all
Step 9 - Made amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others
Step 10 - Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it
Step 11 - Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out
Step 12 - Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs
The operative application of this program is that we don't get to move to step two until we have satisfied step one...and so on. This is because the addictive personality is filled with rationalization and self-justification.
Rene Descartes says "Cogito ergo sum" (I think, therefore...I am).
The Apostle Paul says Είμαι, επομένως καταδικάζομαι (I am, therefore...I am condemned)
Probably why the average man prefers Descartes over Paul.
But, Paul lays it out for us...clearly.
We are not acceptable to God!
We do not understand or even search for God.
We do not do right.
Our tongues are good only for telling lies.
We leave ruin and destruction wherever we go.
We don't even fear God."
Why is Paul so bold? To stop anyone from making excuses. If we can get over the need to justify ourselves we can give Jesus the chance to do that for us. Sound at all like Paul is talking to addicts? Paul implies that the root of sin is "not honoring God as God". If this is true, than we are all addicted to sin.
Then again, we addicts can take a chance on the possibility that Paul has it wrong...and skip this step. Keep in mind, the stakes are pretty high considering all we're doing is talking about swallowing our pride. As for me? Please pass the salt.
Live boldly out there today...
11Not one of them understands or even searches for God. 12They have all turned away and are worthless. There isn't one person who does right. 13Their words are like an open pit, and their tongues are good only for telling lies. Each word is as deadly as the fangs of a snake, 14and they say nothing but bitter curses. 15These people quickly become violent. 16Wherever they go, they leave ruin and destruction. 17They don't know how to live in peace. 18They don't even fear God."
19We know that everything in the Law was written for those who are under its power. The Law says these things to stop anyone from making excuses and to let God show that the whole world is guilty. 20God doesn't accept people simply because they obey the Law. No, indeed! All the Law does is to point out our sin.
Here is the twelve step program...
Step 1 - We admitted we were powerless over our addiction - that our lives had become unmanageable
Step 2 - Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity
Step 3 - Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God
Step 4 - Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves
Step 5 - Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs
Step 6 - Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character
Step 7 - Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings
Step 8 - Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all
Step 9 - Made amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others
Step 10 - Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it
Step 11 - Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out
Step 12 - Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs
The operative application of this program is that we don't get to move to step two until we have satisfied step one...and so on. This is because the addictive personality is filled with rationalization and self-justification.
Rene Descartes says "Cogito ergo sum" (I think, therefore...I am).
The Apostle Paul says Είμαι, επομένως καταδικάζομαι (I am, therefore...I am condemned)
Probably why the average man prefers Descartes over Paul.
But, Paul lays it out for us...clearly.
We are not acceptable to God!
We do not understand or even search for God.
We do not do right.
Our tongues are good only for telling lies.
We leave ruin and destruction wherever we go.
We don't even fear God."
Why is Paul so bold? To stop anyone from making excuses. If we can get over the need to justify ourselves we can give Jesus the chance to do that for us. Sound at all like Paul is talking to addicts? Paul implies that the root of sin is "not honoring God as God". If this is true, than we are all addicted to sin.
Then again, we addicts can take a chance on the possibility that Paul has it wrong...and skip this step. Keep in mind, the stakes are pretty high considering all we're doing is talking about swallowing our pride. As for me? Please pass the salt.
Live boldly out there today...
July 5, 2011
Romans 2:17-3:8, The Jews and the Law
17Some of you call yourselves Jews. You trust in the Law and take pride in God. 18By reading the Scriptures you learn how God wants you to behave, and you discover what is right. 19You are sure that you are a guide for the blind and a light for all who are in the dark. 20And since there is knowledge and truth in God's Law, you think you can instruct fools and teach young people.
21But how can you teach others when you refuse to learn? You preach that it is wrong to steal. But do you steal? 22You say people should be faithful in marriage. But are you faithful? You hate idols, yet you rob their temples. 23You take pride in the Law, but you disobey the Law and bring shame to God. 24It is just as the Scriptures tell us, "You have made foreigners say insulting things about God."
25Being circumcised is worthwhile, if you obey the Law. But if you don't obey the Law, you are no better off than people who are not circumcised. 26In fact, if they obey the Law, they are as good as anyone who is circumcised. 27So everyone who obeys the Law, but has never been circumcised, will condemn you. Even though you are circumcised and have the Law, you still don't obey its teachings.
28Just because you live like a Jew and are circumcised doesn't make you a real Jew. 29To be a real Jew you must obey the Law. True circumcision is something that happens deep in your heart, not something done to your body. And besides, you should want praise from God and not from humans.
1What good is it to be a Jew? What good is it to be circumcised? 2It is good in a lot of ways! First of all, God's messages were spoken to the Jews. 3It is true that some of them did not believe the message. But does this mean that God cannot be trusted, just because they did not have faith? 4No, indeed! God tells the truth, even if everyone else is a liar. The Scriptures say about God,
"Your words will be proven true, and in court you will win your case."
5If our evil deeds show how right God is, then what can we say? Is it wrong for God to become angry and punish us? What a foolish thing to ask. 6But the answer is, "No." Otherwise, how could God judge the world? 7Since your lies bring great honor to God by showing how truthful he is, you may ask why God still says you are a sinner. 8You might as well say, "Let's do something evil, so that something good will come of it!" Some people even claim that we are saying this. But God is fair and will judge them as well.
We say "obey", Paul says πράσσω. It means...
1) to exercise, practise, to be busy with, carry on
2) to accomplish, perform to commit, perpetrate
I'd say our responsibility to the law is a bit more than "obey". We actually have to "accomplish" it.
My sister is a concert pianist. She is "accomplished". That doesn't mean she "plays" the piano. It means she "owns" the piano. She doesn't simply play Mozart. She has "mastered" Mozart. But, that's what Julliard demands of it's graduates.
Then there's me...
And, that's the difference. The Jews "dabbled" with the law like I "dabble" with the piano. Yet, none of those Jews, if they heard me play, would call me a pianist. I wonder why those "dabblers" wanted to take credit for "accomplishing" the law when they didn't? Probably because they'd tried mastering it and it was just too difficult. So, they lowered the bar...thinking God wouldn't notice?
The problem is, God is even tougher than Julliard. If we haven't accomplished the law...if we don't "own" it, we fail. No partial credit. This is pass/fail. Plus...πράσσω is a "present active" verb, which means it never ends. In other words, even if we accomplished the entire law, we'd have to turn around and do it again...and again...forever.
But...the great irony is that when we fail, we prove God is right when He say nobody is righteous. Small solace, but it does give us some insight into where we should turn if we want to fix this dilemma.
Got Jesus?
Live boldly out there today...
21But how can you teach others when you refuse to learn? You preach that it is wrong to steal. But do you steal? 22You say people should be faithful in marriage. But are you faithful? You hate idols, yet you rob their temples. 23You take pride in the Law, but you disobey the Law and bring shame to God. 24It is just as the Scriptures tell us, "You have made foreigners say insulting things about God."
25Being circumcised is worthwhile, if you obey the Law. But if you don't obey the Law, you are no better off than people who are not circumcised. 26In fact, if they obey the Law, they are as good as anyone who is circumcised. 27So everyone who obeys the Law, but has never been circumcised, will condemn you. Even though you are circumcised and have the Law, you still don't obey its teachings.
28Just because you live like a Jew and are circumcised doesn't make you a real Jew. 29To be a real Jew you must obey the Law. True circumcision is something that happens deep in your heart, not something done to your body. And besides, you should want praise from God and not from humans.
1What good is it to be a Jew? What good is it to be circumcised? 2It is good in a lot of ways! First of all, God's messages were spoken to the Jews. 3It is true that some of them did not believe the message. But does this mean that God cannot be trusted, just because they did not have faith? 4No, indeed! God tells the truth, even if everyone else is a liar. The Scriptures say about God,
"Your words will be proven true, and in court you will win your case."
5If our evil deeds show how right God is, then what can we say? Is it wrong for God to become angry and punish us? What a foolish thing to ask. 6But the answer is, "No." Otherwise, how could God judge the world? 7Since your lies bring great honor to God by showing how truthful he is, you may ask why God still says you are a sinner. 8You might as well say, "Let's do something evil, so that something good will come of it!" Some people even claim that we are saying this. But God is fair and will judge them as well.
We say "obey", Paul says πράσσω. It means...
1) to exercise, practise, to be busy with, carry on
2) to accomplish, perform to commit, perpetrate
I'd say our responsibility to the law is a bit more than "obey". We actually have to "accomplish" it.
My sister is a concert pianist. She is "accomplished". That doesn't mean she "plays" the piano. It means she "owns" the piano. She doesn't simply play Mozart. She has "mastered" Mozart. But, that's what Julliard demands of it's graduates.
Then there's me...
And, that's the difference. The Jews "dabbled" with the law like I "dabble" with the piano. Yet, none of those Jews, if they heard me play, would call me a pianist. I wonder why those "dabblers" wanted to take credit for "accomplishing" the law when they didn't? Probably because they'd tried mastering it and it was just too difficult. So, they lowered the bar...thinking God wouldn't notice?
The problem is, God is even tougher than Julliard. If we haven't accomplished the law...if we don't "own" it, we fail. No partial credit. This is pass/fail. Plus...πράσσω is a "present active" verb, which means it never ends. In other words, even if we accomplished the entire law, we'd have to turn around and do it again...and again...forever.
But...the great irony is that when we fail, we prove God is right when He say nobody is righteous. Small solace, but it does give us some insight into where we should turn if we want to fix this dilemma.
Got Jesus?
Live boldly out there today...
July 4, 2011
Romans 2:1-16, God's Judgment Is Fair
1Some of you accuse others of doing wrong. But there is no excuse for what you do. When you judge others, you condemn yourselves, because you are guilty of doing the very same things. 2We know that God is right to judge everyone who behaves in this way. 3Do you really think God won't punish you, when you behave exactly like the people you accuse? 4You surely don't think much of God's wonderful goodness or of his patience and willingness to put up with you. Don't you know that the reason God is good to you is because he wants you to turn to him?
5But you are stubborn and refuse to turn to God. So you are making things even worse for yourselves on that day when he will show how angry he is and will judge the world with fairness. 6God will reward each of us for what we have done. 7He will give eternal life to everyone who has patiently done what is good in the hope of receiving glory, honor, and life that lasts forever. 8But he will show how angry and furious he can be with every selfish person who rejects the truth and wants to do evil. 9All who are wicked will be punished with trouble and suffering. It doesn't matter if they are Jews or Gentiles. 10But all who do right will be rewarded with glory, honor, and peace, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. 11God doesn't have any favorites!
12Those people who don't know about God's Law will still be punished for what they do wrong. And the Law will be used to judge everyone who knows what it says. 13God accepts those who obey his Law, but not those who simply hear it.
14Some people naturally obey the Law's commands, even though they don't have the Law. 15This proves that the conscience is like a law written in the human heart. And it will show whether we are forgiven or condemned, 16when God appoints Jesus Christ to judge everyone's secret thoughts, just as my message says.
We are the ones who make comparative judgments about righteousness...not God. We say "I'm not as bad as that person!" while God says When you judge others, you condemn yourselves, because you are guilty of doing the very same things.
In fact, God doesn't have any favorites! Wait! Me...and Osama Bin Laden? Surely God can pick a favorite here!
Nope...
This doesn't mean Osama isn't all that bad...it means I am.
The logical extension of making these comparisons is simple. God accepts those who obey his Law, but not those who simply hear it. Our problem is simple...God only accepts those who obey His law...and we don't qualify. I know it by heart. I've heard it since I was a child. Unfortunately, that's not the standard.
There are occasions when I'm obedient. Yet, rather than serving to redeem me, those occasions only serve to demonstrate that I have fallen far short. But in the end, Paul tells us it is Jesus who will judge, not any of us.
Or...do we have a Pharisee in the audience?
Live boldly out there today...
5But you are stubborn and refuse to turn to God. So you are making things even worse for yourselves on that day when he will show how angry he is and will judge the world with fairness. 6God will reward each of us for what we have done. 7He will give eternal life to everyone who has patiently done what is good in the hope of receiving glory, honor, and life that lasts forever. 8But he will show how angry and furious he can be with every selfish person who rejects the truth and wants to do evil. 9All who are wicked will be punished with trouble and suffering. It doesn't matter if they are Jews or Gentiles. 10But all who do right will be rewarded with glory, honor, and peace, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. 11God doesn't have any favorites!
12Those people who don't know about God's Law will still be punished for what they do wrong. And the Law will be used to judge everyone who knows what it says. 13God accepts those who obey his Law, but not those who simply hear it.
14Some people naturally obey the Law's commands, even though they don't have the Law. 15This proves that the conscience is like a law written in the human heart. And it will show whether we are forgiven or condemned, 16when God appoints Jesus Christ to judge everyone's secret thoughts, just as my message says.
We are the ones who make comparative judgments about righteousness...not God. We say "I'm not as bad as that person!" while God says When you judge others, you condemn yourselves, because you are guilty of doing the very same things.
In fact, God doesn't have any favorites! Wait! Me...and Osama Bin Laden? Surely God can pick a favorite here!
Nope...
This doesn't mean Osama isn't all that bad...it means I am.
The logical extension of making these comparisons is simple. God accepts those who obey his Law, but not those who simply hear it. Our problem is simple...God only accepts those who obey His law...and we don't qualify. I know it by heart. I've heard it since I was a child. Unfortunately, that's not the standard.
There are occasions when I'm obedient. Yet, rather than serving to redeem me, those occasions only serve to demonstrate that I have fallen far short. But in the end, Paul tells us it is Jesus who will judge, not any of us.
Or...do we have a Pharisee in the audience?
Live boldly out there today...
July 3, 2011
Romans 1:18-32, Everyone is Guilty
18From heaven God shows how angry he is with all the wicked and evil things that sinful people do to crush the truth. 19They know everything that can be known about God, because God has shown it all to them. 20God's eternal power and character cannot be seen. But from the beginning of creation, God has shown what these are like by all he has made. That's why those people don't have any excuse. 21They know about God, but they don't honor him or even thank him. Their thoughts are useless, and their stupid minds are in the dark. 22They claim to be wise, but they are fools. 23They don't worship the glorious and eternal God. Instead, they worship idols that are made to look like humans who cannot live forever, and like birds, animals, and reptiles.
24So God let these people go their own way. They did what they wanted to do, and their filthy thoughts made them do shameful things with their bodies. 25They gave up the truth about God for a lie, and they worshiped God's creation instead of God, who will be praised forever. Amen.
26God let them follow their own evil desires. Women no longer wanted to have sex in a natural way, and they did things with each other that were not natural. 27Men behaved in the same way. They stopped wanting to have sex with women and had strong desires for sex with other men. They did shameful things with each other, and what has happened to them is punishment for their foolish deeds.
28Since these people refused even to think about God, he let their useless minds rule over them. That's why they do all sorts of indecent things. 29They are evil, wicked, and greedy, as well as mean in every possible way. They want what others have, and they murder, argue, cheat, and are hard to get along with. They gossip, 30say cruel things about others, and hate God. They are proud, conceited, and boastful, always thinking up new ways to do evil.
These people don't respect their parents. 31They are stupid, unreliable, and don't have any love or pity for others. 32They know God has said that anyone who acts this way deserves to die. But they keep on doing evil things, and they even encourage others to do them.
Do you know what it looks like when God finally gets so frustrated He says "Fine...do whatever you wish!"? Well, look around. It's America.
Homosexuality
Greed
Murder
Cheating
Gossip
Conceit
Boastfulness
It's difficult to believe it could come to this when God took the time to reveal all the truths about Himself to us. Yet...we just weren't interested. We chose to go our own way...so God said "OK". We completely disregarded God and worshiped the creation rather than the God who made it.
All in all, we made a royal mess out of things and God decided we didn't even have enough sense left in us to get it right. So...He sent His son.
It turns out to be a very good thing that God placed all the power of salvation in the Gospel, instead of in us...because we all need redemption. Every last one of us. And, I have a feeling that if it were left up to our own power we couldn't get there from here.
But, we were some of the lucky ones. We were given a chance to hear the story. Next time we feel blessed that we have put those ugly days behind us we need to get on our knees and thank God that he provided a redemption that was irresistible. When we heard the story we were hooked. I can't imagine a greater gift than grace...except possible a grace that cannot be ignored.
Live boldly out there today...
24So God let these people go their own way. They did what they wanted to do, and their filthy thoughts made them do shameful things with their bodies. 25They gave up the truth about God for a lie, and they worshiped God's creation instead of God, who will be praised forever. Amen.
26God let them follow their own evil desires. Women no longer wanted to have sex in a natural way, and they did things with each other that were not natural. 27Men behaved in the same way. They stopped wanting to have sex with women and had strong desires for sex with other men. They did shameful things with each other, and what has happened to them is punishment for their foolish deeds.
28Since these people refused even to think about God, he let their useless minds rule over them. That's why they do all sorts of indecent things. 29They are evil, wicked, and greedy, as well as mean in every possible way. They want what others have, and they murder, argue, cheat, and are hard to get along with. They gossip, 30say cruel things about others, and hate God. They are proud, conceited, and boastful, always thinking up new ways to do evil.
These people don't respect their parents. 31They are stupid, unreliable, and don't have any love or pity for others. 32They know God has said that anyone who acts this way deserves to die. But they keep on doing evil things, and they even encourage others to do them.
Do you know what it looks like when God finally gets so frustrated He says "Fine...do whatever you wish!"? Well, look around. It's America.
Homosexuality
Greed
Murder
Cheating
Gossip
Conceit
Boastfulness
It's difficult to believe it could come to this when God took the time to reveal all the truths about Himself to us. Yet...we just weren't interested. We chose to go our own way...so God said "OK". We completely disregarded God and worshiped the creation rather than the God who made it.
All in all, we made a royal mess out of things and God decided we didn't even have enough sense left in us to get it right. So...He sent His son.
It turns out to be a very good thing that God placed all the power of salvation in the Gospel, instead of in us...because we all need redemption. Every last one of us. And, I have a feeling that if it were left up to our own power we couldn't get there from here.
But, we were some of the lucky ones. We were given a chance to hear the story. Next time we feel blessed that we have put those ugly days behind us we need to get on our knees and thank God that he provided a redemption that was irresistible. When we heard the story we were hooked. I can't imagine a greater gift than grace...except possible a grace that cannot be ignored.
Live boldly out there today...
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