Wonderful Jesus!

His Credit is Good!

Romans 4:3- “For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” NKJV

Paul concludes chapter 3, as we would reference this part of the letter, with these words:

“Since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.
Romans 3:30-31 NKJV

Have you ever been in a conversation with yourself? You are preparing an “argument” that you are thinking you may have and you try and think of all the things that person will say to you and how you can respond? This is what is happening in this letter thus far. Paul is raising questions that he believes he would be asked by these believers and even non-believers, if they had a chance to speak with him. He has explained the truth that righteousness is given to us by the Father as a free gift and that we can not earn it. As he makes the point that all are justified by faith, he realizes that some might think that this means that he thinks faith nullifies the law. Paul, anticipating this thought, tells them that faith establishes the law!

However, he also knows that any good Jewish young man would know that God declared Abraham righteous long before Jesus was born or had died. Therefore, he now makes the point that Abraham was made righteous by faith! But it was on credit!

Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
Genesis 15:6-NIV

Paul asks the question:

What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
Romans 4:1-2 NKJV

Jewish rabbis, when teaching on the righteousness of Abraham, attributes it to his keeping the law. In spite of the fact that the Law had not been given yet, they argued that Abraham kept it by intuition or anticipation. Therefore, when God said that righteousness was credited to Abraham, it was because he had perfectly performed the Law without knowing what the Law was. And because Paul was such a great student of the Law, he argues the point before it can be made. If Abraham was justified by his works, then he truly has something to boast about, because that’s not how we obtain righteousness. It is by faith, and it has always been by faith, even in Abraham’s case!

When something is purchased on credit, you get to enjoy the object before it has been paid for. For example: When we purchased our home, we took out a thirty year loan, meaning we bought it on credit. We call it our home! We say that we bought a house! We declare ourselves the homeowners. And because it was credited to us, it is so! Abraham’s righteousness was accounted to him, by God, as done. It was done because of Abraham’s faith!

How did Abraham believe God and obtain righteousness on credit?

Now the Lord had said to Abram:
“Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
Genesis 12: 1-4 NKJV

Abraham was told by God to leave all that was familiar to him: his multitude of gods, his family and friends, and his country when he was 75 years old. And Abraham did what God told him, demonstrating that he believed what God said. God would make him a great nation! God would bless him! God would make his name great! God would cause him to be a blessing! It all sounded good to Abraham, and he believed that God would do it!

And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
Genesis 15:4-6 NKJV

God and Abram were having a discussion. God told Abram that He was his shield and his exceedingly great reward! Abram responds by basically saying, “That’s great Lord, but I don’t have anyone to leave all of these blessings to except my faithful servant, so….” Then God promises Abram that he will have a son of his own to leave his blessings to and Abram believes God! At this point, God accounts righteousness to Abram!

We all know that Abram got ahead of God and had Ishmael! How many Ismael’s have been produced because we got ahead of Him? Any confessors? Exactly! But God had already “credited” Abraham with righteousness, or as they say in the Greek, “calculated” him righteous, and therefore, it was so!

After Abraham received this word from God, he didn’t stop believing God. He continued to believe God. Remember when Abraham and Isaac took a trip to Mt Moriah to sacrifice to God?

And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together. Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
Genesis 22:8-10 NKJV

For me, this is the greatest example of Abraham’s absolute trust in God. Let’s recap a few details I didn’t copy and paste into my post:

Abraham finally had his son of promise-Isaac!
God tells Abraham to take Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice
Abraham obeys
When he gets close to his destination, he tells his servants to wait for him and Isaac to go and make the sacrifice, telling them that he and Isaac would return
Isaac notices that they don’t have a burnt offering
Abraham says that God will provide for Himself a lamb

This is a powerful picture of faith. Abraham intended to obey God by sacrificing his son, if he needed to. But in carrying out God’s command, Abraham believed in his heart that if Isaac died, God was obviously planning on resurrecting him because he had a nation to build through Isaac. He also had such confidence in God that he instilled that same confidence in Isaac because Isaac didn’t fight to keep from being restrained and laid on the altar. What a wonderful faith Abraham taught his son!

But somewhere throughout the multitude of centuries and obeying God and disobeying God, Abraham’s people lost their ability to completely trust God. Now Paul, in Romans is trying to ignite the faith of their father Abraham into their hearts! Believe God, become righteous! Disbelieve God, remain unrighteous!

The same cry of God’s heart that Paul proclaimed in Romans remains His cry today! Believe God, be made righteous! Disbelieve God, remain unrighteous! I close with this very special verse in another of Paul’s letters:

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV

Here’s what I believe happened: When Jesus died on the cross and became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him, Abraham was made righteous! It was no longer credited to his account, he was righteous! Abraham discovered that God’s credit was just as good as he believed it would be! His credit was good enough for Abraham who didn’t have a Bible, a church, a cloud of witnesses, nor the Blood of Jesus as a constant reminder of all that God had done for him. It’s even better for us! Righteousness isn’t accounted to us, we become righteous when we believe! Hallelujah!! Wonderful, wonderful Jesus!

Freely!

Romans 3:24- “[All] are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is [provided] in Christ Jesus,” AMP

The Bible has been compared to a love letter. Some say it is a love letter from God to His followers. I must admit that there are parts of the Bible that feel very much like words of love that strengthen my heart and causes me to long for my Savior. (And so then I have to stop what I am doing and spend time in worship or prayer, or both!) As such, then it is equally okay to compare the cross of Calvary to the price of that love. So great was the love of God for me and for you, the whole world over, that He placed Jesus on that cross and turned His back on Him.

In the twenty first verse, of chapter three, Paul brings home a point that he has been trying to make with many of his previous statements. Righteousness cannot be earned, inherited, purchased, or worked at; it is given to us by He Who is Righteous. This righteousness, he continues to point out, is apart from the law, but is testified about in the Law and the Prophets. As a matter of truth, the only requirement, and it is non-negotiable, is found in the next verse of this chapter:

“Namely, the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Jesus Christ (the Messiah). [And it is meant] for all who believe. For there is no distinction”
Romans 3:22 AMP

God loves the whole world! Paul says, God’s righteousness is available to all who believe on Jesus the Christ, or Jesus, the Anointed One. That’s the only distinction! We can lay hold to whatever biases we want to, and cling to every tradition, but God has chosen to release His righteousness to those who believe in His Son!

For all did sin, and are come short of the glory of God —
Romans 3:23 YLT

In the Young’s Literal translation, it refers to the fact that all of us did sin. None of us, can make any claims to righteousness outside of Jesus, because we all sinned, and were sinners before coming to Him! As a result of being sinners, we all come short of the glory of God. I like the way the Passion Bible states it:

“For we all have sinned and are in need of the glory of God!
Romans 3:23 TPT

I can understand what is being said, when it reads that we are in need of the glory! However you choose to understand this verse, the bottom line is that as sinners, we can’t experience the glory of God! Every effort falls short! Every righteous act of our own, falls short! Every resolution, just keep falling short! And it doesn’t matter who you are, there is no distinction! Sinners just keep falling short!

But God, in His great love for us, made a way for us to tap into His glory and become righteous as He is, and that is through faith in Jesus!

This is the part of the chapter that is most important about salvation:

“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed”
Romans 3:24-25 NKJV

Paul has introduced several key aspects of salvation in these two verses: freely, justification, redemption, and propitiation.

Let’s look first at freely. Freely comes from the Greek word, “dorean” and is translated “as a gift, or without a cause”. Paul was letting us know that God freely justifies us! We didn’t do anything to give Him a “cause” or a reason to justify us, it is His own gift to us! Just as grace is freely given to us! (Check out some of my blogs on grace!)

Justification! Declared not guilty! God is a just God, and as such, He has to address the problem of sin. The righteous requirement of sin is death. Remember that God told Adam and Eve that when they ate from the forbidden tree, they would die! Death is still the payment for sin. Yet, His love caused Him to defer judgment of sin until His Son Jesus would come and die for us all! That’s deep! Once Jesus died, God declared all those who believe in Jesus, not guilty of the charges against them! Alvin Slaughter sang a song many years ago, “Mercy Refused”! Today, it is still a song I love to hear that reminds me of how powerful God’s love really is towards us!

Redemption! This word denotes that the release is effected by the payment of a required price. Think of a slave auction! I don’t know a lot about sex trafficking, but there are times it is interwoven into a book I am reading. Sometimes, the hero just snatches the woman out of the hands of the trafficker, and other times, someone has to pay the ransom being asked, to have her returned. God, redeemed us off of the slave auction block of sin, and paid the ransom required to get us back, with the Blood of Jesus!

Propitiation! A substitute sacrifice. That was Jesus on the cross! He didn’t sin, and therefore had no price of His own to pay! This plan was initiated by the Father, in heaven, before the foundation of the world. Jesus didn’t appease God, He pleased God, when He agreed to be the One who would die for our sins! No one else could do it, for God required the sacrifice to be holy, and none of us could fit that requirement.

Each of these components, according to Paul, was absolutely necessary for us to be declared righteous before God. He could not overlook our sin, so He declared us free of sin, because of the Blood! The price for our freedom, for our redemption, was death! So He paid for it in the most precious way that He could, the Blood of Jesus! It was absolutely necessary for Jesus to die on that cross for our sins, in our place. He willing became our substitute. Without such, we could not experience the righteousness of God!

I started out by mentioning that the word is a love letter from God to us! But it is so much more than a love letter! It is a covenant of love, written in the Blood of our Savior, and backed by the God of the Universe, our Father! If this isn’t a picture of the greatest love ever, I can’t imagine what is! Freely we have been justified, made completely free, by the Righteous Judge! Freely we have been redeemed! Freely He died in our place, a substitute, for us! Such amazing love! Wonderful Jesus!

The Revelation of Sin!

Romans 3: 20- “Now do you see it? No one can ever be made right in God’s sight by doing what the law commands. For the more we know of God’s laws, the clearer it becomes that we aren’t obeying them; his laws serve only to make us see that we are sinners.” TLB

Adam and Eve had a beautiful life! It was perfect and without sin. They fellowshipped with God in the evenings and had the benefit of having actual conversations where they were able to hear His voice and express themselves. Living in the Garden of Eden came with one stipulation, however:

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Genesis 2:16-17 NKJV

We all know the account of what happened. Satan convinced Eve to eat the fruit of the tree that was forbidden to them, she passed the fruit to Adam, who also ate, and the rest, is history! A whole lot of stuff happened in the Garden that day, but what I want to bring out is that sin entered the world. Long before the law was ever written on tablets of stone, or papyrus rolls, sin took up residence in the nature of man.

No one told Adam and Eve that they had sinned, but immediately they knew what sin was, for they knew that they were naked, that they were in trouble with God, and that they couldn’t be in His presence, so they hid! Typical of sin, they got what they wanted and more than what they wanted!

Paul told the expected readers of his epistle that they could never be made right in the eyes of God by keeping the law, for works would never free them from the power of sin. Therefore, being Jewish, following the law, having an advantage over the Gentiles as God’s special people, would not result in freedom from sin!

In verse 9, we note that Paul is now including himself in the conversation, when before he spoke about “the Jews” as “them”. He again asks the question about the advantages of being Jewish, placing himself in the equation. Yet, he emphatically states what he has already shared, that when it comes to sin, God’s not impressed with or heritage or our works!

Paul gives us a list of sayings from the law that confirms our inability to be righteous before God:

There is none righteous, no not one!
There is none who understands, who seeks after God!
They have all turned aside and have become unprofitable!
There is none who does good!
Their throat is an open tomb!
With their tongues they practice deceit!

And the list continues. These are sayings from the psalmists that speaks to the unrighteousness of man before a righteous God! Paul takes this time to remind his audience that according the the Law, that many of them are banking on, they are already guilty! But the Gentiles aren’t free because they didn’t have the law!

Remember, we started this conversation with the truth that we are without excuse. Creation itself is a testament to the truth that there is a God. But included in the equation, is the conscious that God placed on the inside of all us that makes us aware of when we are wrong, or when we do wrong. The Gentiles laws, were morally based on what felt right and as such, was a law to them. Therefore, they had no excuse before God.

In our society, we make all kinds of excuses for our sins, and the sins of others. And even though none of us could live up to the laws of the Old Testament, they were there to let us know exactly what sin is.

Lying is a sin. We know it by the law. In the Ten Commandments, God revealed that we should not lie!
Adultery is a sin. It’s in the law. It is written that we are not to commit adultery with another person’s spouse!
Stealing is a sin. It’s also in the law. It is written that we are not to steal!
The Law teaches us that murder is a sin, and so is coveting!
Disrespecting our parents is a sin! It’s in the Law!

But there are sins that have nothing to do with each other. These are sins against God, and we know of them because it is written:

We are to have no other gods before Him, for He is the Lord!
We are not to make graven images of Him.
We are to honor Him and keep the Sabbath!
We are not to use His name in vain!

I know there are some hardened sinners who appear to not be affected by their sins. They justify them and live as if they are guilt free. But there is a burden to sin, and its a load to bear! Many who refuse to confess their sin end up broken by their sin. Some live years with no apparent repercussions to sin! But make not mistake, there’s a price for sin! It’s in His word!

That’s the purpose of the Law, Paul wrote! To help us to see that we are sinners. No matter how good we are, we are not good enough! No matter how much we do, we can’t do enough! No matter how much we give, we can’t give enough! Because if we sin in any point of the law, we are guilty of the whole Law! That’s the point!

There are over 1,000 verses in the Bible regarding sin! God wanted us to know His displeasure for sin, for He had it addressed repeatedly in the Law. But it is also addressed in the New Testament. Jesus’ blood didn’t give us a clean slate from sin’s consequences. He didn’t give us blanket grace that we might sin until we have had our full! No! God was righteous in the Old Testament, and He was righteous in the New Testament, and He remains righteous today!

God has revealed sin to us and its penalty. As we continue in this study, we will discuss the penalty of sin! I know all of my followers are probably people who love God, or they wouldn’t be reading my blogs. However, as believers, it is good to understand what the word tells us about what we believe! Thank you for your faithfulness in reading my blogs! Wonderful Jesus!

God’s Integrity!

Romans 3:3-4- “What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” NIV

God is God!

We have already discussed that God is righteous in all that He does. In this post, we will continue to follow Paul’s thoughts as he addresses the integrity of God in the midst of unbelief!

Paul begins by asking a couple of questions. These questions are rhetorical in nature; asked to create a dramatic effect or to make a point. Paul asks:

“What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness?
Romans 3:3 NIV

What point is Paul making with these questions? He has already informed us that pedigree and morality doesn’t cut it with the righteous God. He made a point of letting us know that Jews are at an advantage with God, one the Gentiles do not share. And now he asks us these questions.

As I was teaching my Social Studies lesson today, we happened to be discussing the philosophers of Ancient Greece. When Rome conquered Greece, much of the Grecian culture was adapted into the Roman culture. Grecians were big on thinking, on asking questions. As I read Paul’s letter, I can’t help but realize that he writes as if he is having a discourse of theology with an individual. The Socratic method of teaching was about asking questions. The only difference in Paul’s epistle, to the Socratic methodology of questioning, is that he answers his own questions. So, what if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness?

In my post, “The Advantage of Being a Jew,” I addressed the faithfulness of the Jews of preserving God’s word. Yet, all was not faithful to God’s word, and Paul asks does their unfaithfulness cause God to be unfaithful? He answers, “not at all!” Or in the KJV, he replies to himself, “God forbid!”

God forbid is actually in the dictionary. Simply put, it is a phrase used to fervently wish that something should not happen! The Greek rendering is similar. It expresses absolute denial!

How many times have we been unfaithful to God and He was faithful to us? Probably more times than we care to admit. Remember Peter? He denied Jesus three times in Jesus’ hearing, and Jesus restored and embraced him. The one who was faithless received grace from the faithful! And how about you and I? At one time in our life we were faithless, but He was faithful towards us! Glory be to God! His faithfulness absolutely denies lack of faith to cause Him to be unfaithful! Even if none of us ever believe a thing God says, He will still be faithful! It cannot be denied! We may not experience Him like He wants to be experienced, but our faith or lack of faith has nothing to do with His faithfulness! Isn’t God good?

Paul continued his discourse by saying, “Let God be true and every human being a liar!” That’s deep! Some of us human beings really think that we have arrived to a place where our words are so true, they are without question. Paul would have had a field day with those individuals! Let God be true and every human being a liar when our words are contrary to His word!

Charles Spurgeon had these words to say about this verse:

“It is a strange, strong expression; but it is none too strong. If God says one thing, and every man in the world says another, God is true, and all men are false. God speaks the truth, and cannot lie. God cannot change; His word, like Himself, is immutable. We are to believe God’s truth if nobody else believes it. The general consensus of opinion is nothing to a Christian. He believes God’s word, and he thinks more of that than of the universal opinion of men.”
https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/

What does Scripture tell us about God’s integrity?

He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He.
Deuteronomy 32:4 KJV

He is a God of truth and without sin. He is just and right! That’s our God!

For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.
Psalm 100:5 KJV

Not only is He good, but His truth…not ours…is forever! It doesn’t change with time, trends, people, or circumstances. His truth endures everything through all generations. It can’t be rewritten, for when it is rewritten, it’s man’s truth and not His! It can’t be stomped out because no one stomps that well! It can’t be burned, for just when you think every copy has been burned, there will be many more that have not been touched! It has enduring ability!

Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.
Psalm 119:160 KJV

In the beginning, GOD! That’s the essence of truth! In the beginning before you or I, before Adam and Eve, before the sun, moon and stars, GOD! And every single decision, judgment, or thing He does is right! Always and forever!

He is truth and He cannot lie! I have to add this one last verse:

“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
Numbers 23:19 NKJV

My absolute favorite verse on the integrity of God. He isn’t man! He is God! Has He said? Then He will do! Has He spoken? He will make it good!

What about those promises He hasn’t fulfilled? He cannot lie! He is truth! What about those unanswered prayers? He is truth! He is the embodiment of integrity, of truth! When we line up with this truth, that He cannot lie, all the others will fall in place!

Then the final part of Paul’s answer:

As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.”
Romans 3:4

I had to find where this was written in scripture. It is found in Psalm 51, and that explains a lot of what Paul was saying.

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
Psalm 51:4 NKJV

David was certainly, at this time in his life, faithless. He sinned and tried to cover it up. But when he was confronted by God through His prophet, David admitted, confessed, agreed with the truth of God. God was right, His verdict was right and justified; therefore, His judgment was received. David stopped making excuses at this point and accepted (not that God gave Him much choice) God’s judgment as true, and himself as a liar! The king of Israel, a liar! There’s that “every man a liar” proof! If the greatest king of Israel, outside of Jesus, can be a liar, and admit it, then the rest of us need to quit!

God is true! And every psychologist, doctor, pastor, politician, teacher, and individual who speaks contrary to what He says about anything, is a liar! It’s just that simple! Wonderful Jesus!

The Advantage of Being a Jew!

Romans 3:1-2 “What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God.” NKJV

Last summer, I had the pleasure of visiting the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. I was fascinated with the museum. There are exhibits that “bring to life” some of the scenes in the Bible. There are also many versions and translations of the Bible, and there are historical references to the importance of the Bible in our society, especially in America. Due to the pandemic, it was pretty empty, giving us the time to truly enjoy the entire museum. If you have not had the pleasure of visiting it, and you make it to D.C., it should be on your list of museums to visit.

I introduced to some, and reminded others of the phrase, “Judeo-Christian,” which was a term that signified the unity of the faith of the Jews and the Christians. Although the term is no longer “kosher” it is very true that Jews and Christians have a shared faith in many ways.

Paul asks the question, “Then what advantage has the Jew? What is the value of being circumcised?^”If you read, or listened to my previous post, you will recall that Paul ends chapter 2 by describing what he considered to be a real Jew. In that description he mentioned that the circumcision of the flesh wasn’t the criteria for being a real Jew, but the circumcision of the heart.

Now he asks the question,

“So what difference does it make who’s a Jew and who isn’t, who has been trained in God’s ways and who hasn’t? As it turns out, it makes a lot of difference—”.
Romans 3:1 MSG

I like how this verse reads in the Message Bible because people need to understand what Paul was saying wasn’t anti-Judaism. I remember growing up and hearing negative comments about the Jewish people. I thought they were all pretty lame, but the comment I remember the most is that they, the Jews, were the ones who murdered Jesus. We’ll talk about that a little later.

Paul was Jewish. His comments in chapter 2 wasn’t Jew bashing! His comments were to make a point that being a Jewish individual wasn’t enough to put you in right standing with God. But just in case some got confused and thought he was against the Jews, or that there was therefore no difference between the Jews and the Gentiles at all; Paul now tells us the importance of being Jewish. But first let’s look at what Paul said about his heritage as a Jew:

“though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Philippians 3:4-6 NKJV

Paul was definitely Jewish and had a strong pedigree of Jewish heritage. Jesus gave him the responsibility of getting the gospel out to the Gentiles. Luke mentioned in Acts that Paul was a Roman citizen and I am sure that gave him access to the Gentiles that the other Jews did not have. (God uses everything in our lives that we allow Him to use!!) As such, it seems that many forget that he was very much Jewish. He wasn’t ashamed of being Jewish, nor did he bash his heritage, he just understood the mystery of Christ and that heritage wasn’t the same as faith. But after his statement in chapter 2, Paul felt a need to help others see that being Jewish had some advantages over being a Gentile. What is that advantage? Paul states it like this:

Much in every way! In the first place, the Jews were entrusted with the very words of God!
Romans 3:3 CJB

First of all, Paul says the advantage is much in every way. Some of those advantages: They were called by God to be His own special people. He granted them many victories, many special favors, much wealth, great knowledge, miracles upon miracles, and He gave them His love. So Paul understood that they had a special relationship with God. But not only that! God gave them His word. Some commentaries refer to the Ten Commandments as the oracles of God, but we know that the entire Old Testament is the word of God and it was first a treasured possession of the Hebrews, or the Jewish nation.

Paul noted this honor for the honor that it was. They were given the revelation of the will and purpose of God and it carried with it a great responsibility. For centuries they made sure the Torah was protected and cared for. They made sure they passed down the words of God to their children and conveyed the urgency of protecting those words; and so did their children’s children. Their lives may have not always honored the word of God, but they were entrusted with it, and there was always someone who preserved it. It reminds me of when Ezra read the Law to the people who had returned to Israel from having been exiled to Babylon.

Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law…And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. Then all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
Nehemiah 8:3-8 NKJV

It is apparent that all of the people didn’t understand the Law, but they knew it was God’s words to them, and they honored it. Ezra read from morning to noon from the Law, and as He read the people said, “Amen” and bowed before God!

When Jesus, Peter, James, or Paul referred to the Scriptures, they were always referring to the Old Testament. And after the resurrection of Jesus, and the formation of the Early Church, the writings of the disciples became the New Testament and part of the word of God. Paul had this to say about Scripture:

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17

So that is how we as Christians are linked to the Jews, through His word, and why Judeo-Christian heritage is a true description of our relationship. We differ however in a key point! Most Jews still disbelieve that Jesus is the Messiah and they have no connection to the New Testament. The fact that it was written by Jewish authors, with the possible exception of Luke, who authored the gospel of Luke and Acts, is also a link to Judaism. Messianic Jews, consider the New Testament to be a Jewish writing and not Gentile; and it gives proof of our Judeo-Christian connection yet again. So it’s pure foolishness for Protestants to try and distance themselves from the Jewishness of the Bible. The whole book has Jewish origins!

Now here’s a second reason they are special, which Paul did not mention here. Jesus was born into the Jewish community to a Jewish mother, with a Jewish heritage of royalty. God thought them special enough to have our Savior be one of them. Jesus was not a Gentile, or a Christian; but He was very much Jewish in His earthly tabernacle. Therefore, they have another advantage that makes them special!

Now I want to return to the comment that was out saying that the Jews killed Jesus. Hear the words of Jesus:

“Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”
John 10:17-18

Again! Hear the words of our Savior: no one took His life. He laid it down and He had the power to pick it up again. And He did! He’s not dead! He’s alive! And if we truly believe that He yet lives, then there is no sense in allowing the devil to lie to us about why we should be against Jews. As a matter of fact, I am truly hoping that most of you are shocked that anyone can even begin to think this way, and that this was a newsflash for you!

I had my DNA tested a while ago. It came back with me having enough Jewish DNA to move to Israel. However, that will not be happening since I am thoroughly happy to live in the USA and to be a devout believer in the Lord Jesus Christ! So I will pass! What advantage is there to being a Jew? Much in every way! Wonderful Jesus!

The Real Jew!

Romans 2: 28-29- “For the real Jew is not merely Jewish outwardly: true circumcision is not only external and physical. On the contrary, the real Jew is one inwardly; and true circumcision is of the heart, spiritual not literal; so that his praise comes not from other people but from God.” CJB

During the Second World War, the phrase, “Judeo-Christian Tradition” was coined by Protestants and Catholics who wanted to express their solidarity with the threatened Jewish population of Europe. As Hitler was bent on annihilating the Jews in Europe, Christians took a stand declaring that they could not overlook what was happening to the Jews. By the 1950s, Catholics were in denial that the Christian faith had any connection to Judaism, and was more closely connected to the Hellenic culture. By the 1970s, writers were attacking the Judeo-Christian concept stating that the only thing the Jews had in common with the Christians was that they were enemies, and that the Christians laid the ground work for anti-Semitism. During the Reagan presidency, Judeo-Christian ethics once again saw the light as a platform for religious and social conservatism, resulting in a stand against abortion and homosexuality. And today, the Christian Coalition, a by product of the Judeo-Christian concept, is in alliance with Israel as the land of God’s people. Now that we have heard of it’s secular history, let’s see what the Bible has to say about all of this!

Paul states that the real Jew is not merely Jewish outwardly.

And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
Genesis 17:9-11 NKJV

God established circumcision with Abraham as part of the Abrahamic covenant. This was their outward sign that they were Jews. However, the sons of Jacob proved that there was more to being Jewish than the circumcision when they convinced Shechem and Hamor to be circumcised that they might be one people, after Shechem raped Dinah. Then as soon as they were all circumcised, the brothers went in and murdered every male in the city as revenge for their sister. So it was pretty obvious that the outward circumcision wasn’t the only thing making them Jewish. Paul points out that the cutting away of the flesh of their foreskin was definitely a part, but it wasn’t the only part.

Paul continues by telling his readers that the real Jew is the one who is a Jew inwardly. This individual, Paul states, has had a circumcision of the heart and not the foreskin. In modern medicine, most boys are circumcised at birth without being Jewish. But the covenant of God regarding circumcision did not change, only the method. Instead of a circumcision in the flesh, there is one being required in the heart. Not a physical circumcision, but a spiritual circumcision.

Paul reminds them that breaking the law, in essence, nullifies the circumcision:

“For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.”
Romans 2:25 NKJV

Spiritual circumcision is as a result of making Jesus Christ the Lord of your life:

“For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh”
Philippians 3:3 NKJV

And in his letter to the Colossians, Paul wrote:

“In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”
Colossians 2:11-15 NKJV

And to the Galatians Paul wrote:

“For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.”
Galatians 6:11-15 NKJV

Basically, Paul sums it up in this verse in Galatians. Circumcision of the flesh, or not being circumcised of the flesh is irrelevant in the face of the cross. The most important thing is becoming a new creation, a spiritual Jew, circumcised in the heart by the Blood! Therefore, according to scripture, if you are born again, you are the real Jew, the spiritual Jew!!

Now back to Judeo-Christian tradition. It’s interesting to me to note when the term Christian appears in scriptures:

“Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”
Acts 11:25-26 NKJV

Today we are getting a history lesson. The term Christian was not adopted by the early church or the apostles. I will summarize what is stated in the Vine’s for brevity sake. When the Jewish believers were called Christians in Antioch, it was implied with scorn, much as the same way Agrippa used it when telling Paul he was almost persuaded to become a Christian. Peter also mentioned that if they were being persecuted for being “Christians” consider it an honor. Therefore, the title became one of honor and not of ridicule and was adopted as such after the second century.

Christians, being linked with the faith of Judaism, is therefore no surprise. None of the apostles or people we honor in the word ever considered themselves to be Christians. Paul said that he was a Jew. We know how proud Peter was of his Jewish heritage! And Jesus was also a Jew, and He is our Messiah! It is easy to understand how the two were connected, although we may not be proud of the way the phrase has been used in the past. But now that you see the history of how we came to be called Christians, you can easily see that titles can start out with a negative connotation, and end up being one of honor.

Last history lesson for today! Constantine the Great was the first Roman king to become a Christian. As a result of his conversion, Rome became Christianized. He built St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. He also held the First Council of Nicaea where many of the tenements of the Christian faith, now practiced, were decided, like worship on Sunday.

In my next blog, I will revisit Judaism, as Paul asks the question in chapter 3, “To what advantage is there in being Jewish”! I can’t wait! Wonderful Jesus!

Fake News!

Romans 2:24 – ‘For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written.’

Paul handles so many topics in his introduction to the Romans. In just two chapters we have already discussed judgment, the righteousness of God, being judgmental, sin, not being good enough, and being without excuse, to name a few. Now Paul, seemingly is on another topic, as if he is just sharing what comes to mind as he dictates this letter to Tertius.

I believe this topic is a most important topic and trust I can share it without being judgmental myself. When I read the end of the verse, “as it is written”, I wanted to know where else in the Bible it is written that we can cause the Gentiles, or in our case, the world, to blaspheme God. I chose the most notable ones.

So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.”
2 Samuel 12:13-14 NKJV

How did David cause the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme against Him? Well, if you remember what happened, it’s easy to see. First of all, David looked upon the wife of Uriah and lusted after her. He took this a step further and had her brought to him so that he could have sex with her. She became pregnant and David tried to cover it, but when that didn’t work, he had her husband killed in battle. This thing that David did, he thought was a secret, but it wasn’t. Others knew about it and began talking about David. People are still talking about David. Christians and non-Christians, with disdain. God was so disappointed with David because his actions brought reproach on the name of God. You know how we do, “He’s suppose to be a Christian!” “If that’s how Christians act, I don’t want any part of that!” David thought that he could rewrite the narrative of the conception of Bathsheba’s baby by manipulating the situation, but God wasn’t pleased! The Name that David had once honored in all that he did, he is now accused, by God, as causing the Gentiles to blaspheme it!

Paul wrote in our key text that there are some things that we can do to cause the Gentiles, or the world, to blaspheme His name. Let me share this passage from the New Living Bible:

Well then, if you teach others, why don’t you teach yourself? You tell others not to steal, but do you steal? You say it is wrong to commit adultery, but do you commit adultery? You condemn idolatry, but do you use items stolen from pagan temples? You are so proud of knowing the law, but you dishonor God by breaking it. No wonder the Scriptures say, “The Gentiles blaspheme the name of God because of you.
Romans 2:21-24

Remember, Paul is addressing the Jews in Rome, but he could just as easily be talking to the church folk of today! He wants to know that since they are teachers and are teaching others, why aren’t they teaching themselves? Do we really do? Teach people about God and then ignore those teachings? All too often it is done! Then he brings up adultery, asking them, if they say it’s wrong to commit adultery, do they commit adultery? It’s so easy to point the finger, but when we do, there are four more pointing right back at us! But for those of us who say we are Christians, we know that the world is waiting to call us hypocrites and to criticize our Jesus! We are so proud, Paul declares, that we know the Law, or the Bible, but in our breaking of the Law, or not living according to God’s word, we dishonor God. And Paul takes it a step further by saying this type of half baked Christianity causes the world to blaspheme the name of God because of our shabby living!

It’s interesting to note that Paul was impressed with this church and wanted to visit them. However, the more I think about this letter to the Romans, the more I take a closer look at it, the more I feel Paul may have been impressed with their origins, and even their perseverance in the midst of tremendous persecution; but not the way they were living their lives for Jesus!

Peter takes this same theme up in his second letter.

But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.
2 Peter 2:1-2

It’s really distressing to hear the news casters blaspheme Christianity and our leaders. Many of them are criticized even though they live godly lives, but just as many are criticized for their destructive ways causing the way of truth to be blasphemed. Are you going to get mad at me and stop following me if I call a spade a spade? Maybe! But I will do it anyway and trust God with the results.

Most news casters wouldn’t know a godly person if they met one. They judge godliness by their standards and not the standards of God. They want all Christian leaders to be like Mother Theresa and Billy Graham, and everybody else is not like Christ. In dealing with these worldly people, I understand this and agree it is fake news. The Church truly needs no validation from the world!

But some of this stuff isn’t fake news! It’s real news, and we call it fake news because we refuse to see the truth that is before us! Peter said that there would be false prophets and false teachers among us, and yet we have difficulty identifying these false individuals. One way we can identify them, Peter wrote, is that they will cause the way of God, Christianity, to be blasphemed among the world.

I have written on the prophets and how very much I respect them. I believe in modern prophets and I believe God can speak to His people through them. However, I have an issue with some of them today. It’s not that I necessarily think they are false, (don’t want to be judgmental), but I do believe they are causing the way of Christ to be blasphemed. Their refusal to acknowledge that they could be wrong about their prophesies, their political stance, or alliances, causes the world to blaspheme the gift of the prophet and abhor the prophetic word. I spend a lot of time praying about where we are as a Church and those in ministry.

This is a topic that burdens me, and I hope I have demonstrated some wisdom and love. I have had a burden of prayer for ministers, church leaders, and the Body of Christ for as long as I can remember. I am not writing this to be another negative Nancy in the crowd, and unlike the world, I have a vested interest in the Body Christ, and a great love! As Christians we have to deal with the difficult things in the word just as surely as we deal with the easy to swallow things. I trust God with the results! Wonderful Jesus!

Righteous Judgment

Romans 2:5-6- “But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds”

Americans wait with abated breath as the jurors in the Derek Chauvin trial go into deliberation. The prosecutors have rested, the defense have rested, and now the jurors go to work. Cities around the country increase security in preparation for crowds of protests or crowds of victory; either way they suspect there will be crowds. Prosecutors are hoping that the justice served is where the jurors pronounce Chauvin guilty in the murder of George Floyd; while the defense is hoping for a not guilty verdict. No matter the decision, the whole nation, maybe even many around the world are waiting for the jurors decision: guilty or not guilty!

I want to address the image I chose for just a moment. When thinking of an image for this post on justice, I immediately thought of the balance scales. It is said that the balance scales are representative of the impartiality and the obligation of the law to weigh the evidence presented in the courtroom. Each side is given an opportunity to “present its case” and the law is to look objectively at that evidence, weighing the evidence presented, and come to a conclusion that makes sure that justice is served!

Justice in our world can often times seem to fail us. We see guilty people go free, and innocent people get locked up; causing us to lose faith in our justice system. The poor, the underserved, the people of color. often believe that the scales have been tipped in favor against them before they even enter the courtroom. But there is a justice system that is fail proof, and that is the justice of God. His judgment is righteous, meaning He makes no mistakes in meting out justice. Sometimes, because of His mercy, we may think His judgments are unfair, but when His mercy is directed at us or our loved ones, we have a different attitude about it. Paul introduces to us, with our key text, how we will all find ourselves before God for judgment and what the criteria for our victory will look like.

Paul begins this verse by addressing our unrepentant and hard hearts. Few people can truly see themselves as unrepentant or hard hearted, yet Paul starts here. Basically, he is still addressing the Jewish people living in Rome, but his message was applicable to all to whom it applied to in that day and it still applies today! Divorces happen because of hard hearts or unrepentant hearts, Jesus said so! Families are torn apart, lives are damaged, countries go to war, business ventures dissolve because of hard and unrepentant hearts. You know that person who can never say they are sorry? Unrepentant! Or that individual that always has to have their own way no matter the cost? Hard hearted! Self-righteous, arrogant, judgmental, critical, greedy individuals who think they are alright when they are wrong, yet they think they are right? Yep! Definitely hard and unrepentant hearts! People who constantly make excuses for their actions, constantly blaming others for why they do what they do, never able to own up to their wrongs. I believe you get the point! These people, even if it includes us, are the people who are being addressed at this time as storing up wrath for themselves in the day of wrath! Let’s not forget that these words are aimed at those whose moral life places them in a position to think that they are better than others, namely the Jews towards the Gentiles.

On the day of wrath, there will basically be two groups of people standing before the judgment seat of God: those who obeyed Him, and those who rejected Him. Each group will be judged according to what they did. Some become a little confused at this point thinking that we can work our way to a favorable decision before God to obtain salvation, but I believe that it’s more about what we did as far as obedience to His word. Paul mentions both of these groups:

Those who obeyed Him or are born again will:

*receive eternal life
*glory, honor, immortality, peace
*and rewards!

Those who do not obey Him, but obey unrighteousness, or are not born again will receive:

*indignation and wrath
*tribulation and anguish
*eternal damnation

This judgment, Paul states, will be rendered to the Jew first, and then to the Gentile. There will be no partiality based on favoritism or nationalism, judgment will be administered according to the judgment of the Righteous Judge, based on our actions before we got there!

David had this to say about God’s judgment:

But the Lord shall endure forever;
He has prepared His throne for judgment.
He shall judge the world in righteousness,
And He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness
Psalm 9:7-8 NKJV

David just reiterates that God’s judgment will be righteous because He is righteous! Have you ever said or heard someone proclaim that something wasn’t fair? I hear it a lot as a teacher, and sometimes I heard it as a parent. Being fair means to stick to the rules that have already been established; but sometimes you can’t stick to the rules to do what is right; or you have to use a higher authority or rulebook. For example: In my classroom, as a special education teacher, what is good for Arthur is not good for Alice. It may appear that I am being unfair in a situation, but in all honest, I am doing what is right for them; and sometimes I don’t get to explain! But God has a rulebook, called the Bible. Every judgment He makes is right and necessary. He may not always give us all the information we desire in a given situation, but we are to simply trust Him.

However, that doesn’t mean that we don’t get to know how we are being judged, His word is still the criteria. His word is perfect for converting us, making us wise, and enlightening our eyes. But His word is also right, and His judgments are true and righteous:

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
Psalm 19:7-9

He is God! The Righteous Judge, and He always judges rightly:

Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy!
For You shall judge the people righteously,
And govern the nations on earth.
Psalm 67:3-4 NKJV

And again the psalmist wrote:

For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.
He shall judge the world with righteousness,
And the peoples with His truth.
Psalm 96:13 NKJV

I like justice just as much as the next person; especially not seeing it always served in the natural as it should be. But I always comfort myself with the truth that God is the Righteous Judge. He can’t be bought, bribed, threatened, or swayed to a man’s whims. He serves justice as rightly as it could ever be served. As we go further in the book, we will see more about this subject, and even His vengeance, but for now, I rest my case! Wonderful Jesus!

The Goodness of God

Romans 2: 4 – “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” NKJV

Photo by Abdullah Ghatasheh on Pexels.com

If you have been in church any length of time, I am sure that you have heard, “God is good all the time,” and then someone will reply, “And all the time, God is good”! Well, it’s more than just a saying, it’s the absolute truth! I like to add to that, “God is good on purpose, and He is good to me!”

Let’s look today at verses 3 and 4 of chapter 2, in the Message Bible to get continuity of thought:

You didn’t think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? 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.
Romans 2:3-4 MSG

I like the sound of that! Last time, I shared about the pointing of fingers, or the judgmental attitudes that we can sometimes adopt in life. In the Message Bible, written by Pastor Eugene Peterson, who is currently with the Lord, we see a down to earth paraphrase of what Paul was trying to get the Roman church to understand. God is not letting us off the hook because He is a good God! Sin is serious business with Him. He doesn’t ignore our sin because He loves us, but His heart of kindness towards us is that we would be drawn to Him and repent.

When I was growing up, we were constantly reminded that our sin would separate us from God. We were told that we didn’t want to get involved in sin because if we died in it, we would go to hell. We were basically told that God was waiting to get us if we sinned. While it is most definitely true that God hates sin, and sin does separate us from Him, that is only part of the equation. The other part is that He is a loving God, a good God! And when we respond correctly to Him and to sin, we get to experience the loving side of Him.

Israel Houghton wrote these lyrics in one of his songs: “You’re not mad at me, Your’e not mad at me, You’re madly in love with me!” How wonderful to hear that about God! He truly loves us! But because religion tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God, we tend to think that we can continuously sin and be alright with God! Isaiah’s words are still true today:

But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will not hear.
Isaiah 59:2

This is too important, to make light of it, or to have a casual attitude about it. Sin will keep you from all that you can have through Christ Jesus. Make no mistake, His grace is not a license to sin! But we will get into that a little more further in the letter to the Romans.

The Jews were God’s special people, and as such, they had come to believe that would always be the case. Look at what Moses wrote:

“For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.
Deuteronomy 7:6

Even today, the nation of Israel believes that they are God’s chosen people, and rightly so. But here, in this verse and chapter, Paul is letting it be known that God isn’t letting anyone off the hook, Jew or Gentile, just because He is good, or because He loves us! Jew and Gentile alike, must come to a place of repentance before the living God!

In Paul’s question, he asked if they despised the goodness, forbearance and patience of God. Let’s look at these three words:

The word “good”, in the Greek has two words it is translated from, “agathos” and “chrestos”. Agathos is the goodness of someone that may result in punishment; while “chrestos” is the goodness of Someone who is always kind. I’m sure you can figure out that “chrestos” is the one that refers to God. He is always kind and He is always good! Many try and take advantage of that kindness, and that is the idea that Paul is conveying when he asks if they despise the goodness of God.

Our word “forbearance” in the Greek is the word for truce. In the Vine’s, “anoche” means a holding back or delay of punishment. Some people feel that because they didn’t die when they ate of the forbidden fruit, that death wasn’t knocking at their door! One commentator said it like this:

Paul, in effect, is saying to the Jews: ‘You think that you are safe because God’s judgment has not yet descended upon you. But what God is giving you is not complete freedom to sin; He is giving you the opportunity to repent and to amend your ways.’
The Letter to the Romans, William Barclay, Logos

And then we have the word patience. “Makrothumia” means to have patience with people. John Chrysostom explained this word as “the characteristic of someone who has the power to avenge and deliberately does not use it”. In other words, the fact that punishment does not always immediately follow the sin is because of His patience, not His inability to deal with it, or His approval of it.

I love the way Rick Renner breaks down a verse using the Greek meanings. I’m no Rick Renner, but I want to try and consolidate these meanings for us:

Do you hold in contempt the abundance of God’s nature which is always kind towards you, or His ability to send down His wrath; yet He delays it, because He is exercising much restraint in not quickly judging your sin; and yet you think He is okay with you? Don’t you know that it is His nature of kindness that causes Him to withhold His wrath from you in hopes that you might repent of your sins and come to Him?
Romans 2:4-My paraphrase

Let me put it in everyday terms for us. God’s goodness, that is intended to draw us to repentance, is like a wife who has been caught in adultery by her husband. Although he knows that she has cheated on him, he offers her his complete forgiveness. She then has a choice to make. She can arrogantly throw it in his face and leave the marriage. She can say she’s sorry but continue in her relationship as if he will just forgive her again. Or she can see the goodness and love he has extended towards her, repent of what she has done, and live up to his trust in her.

Basically, that is how good God’s goodness is to us, only better. Some people see His goodness, as an excuse to continue in their sin; while others recognize the importance of His goodness extended towards them and respond to it with a changed heart. His goodness was never meant to give us the freedom to sin, but to demonstrate how good He is so that we may experience a radical change of life.

This study is really causing me to be grateful for my salvation. It is also causing me to reflect on my life before Him, making sure I have the right attitude towards God. I don’t think a day goes by when I don’t rejoice in how good He is to me! Yet, as I am studying and blogging, I can’t help but be aware of the simple truth, “but for grace”! Wonderful Jesus!

Without Excuse!

Romans 2: 1- “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.” NKJV

This chapter begins with Paul setting a tone. He’s not telling his readers how wonderful they are anymore. As a matter of fact, just the opposite. He’s probably inciting their anger towards him because he is pointing out a truth they either don’t recognize or don’t want to recognize!

All of us know good people and people who we don’t consider to be so good. They are in our families, at our jobs, in our churches, our next door neighbors. Mr. Smith down the block has been married to the same woman for 20 years, keeps up with his lawn, and offers to cut the lawns of the older people on the block. We judge him as being good. The lady in the office with the tight clothes, stiletto heels, and too much make up who is too loud, we judge as sinful. The tither and Sunday School teacher, good! The person who is always on the prayer list for one thing or another, not so good! We’ve all done it at some point in our life, and Paul is saying, who are we to judge when we are guilty of wrong doing ourselves?

Paul addressed all of those terrible sins associated with the worldly Gentiles, and now he is addressing the Jewish population who were trained in religious protocol. We looked at the Gentiles, Paul implies, but now let’s look at you! Paul states that those who believe themselves to be morally upright are without excuse before God, for as they have judged the Gentiles, they are also guilty for practicing the same things. Paul was letting them know that having morality didn’t give them a leg up on the Gentiles or with God. Those little foxes spoil the vine every time!

Paul reminds the Jews that God judges according to truth! Not our truth, His truth!

For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.
He shall judge the world with righteousness,
And the peoples with His truth.
Psalm 96:13 NKJV

Everything that God calls unrighteous is unrighteous; and all that He declares to be holy, is holy! As the Righteous One, He can never be wrong!

For some reason, commentators of the book of Romans agree that when Paul was writing this portion of the letter he was probably thinking of some of his secular contemporaries in Rome. Each of them mention a philosopher named Seneca, so I thought I would see why. Seneca was the younger brother of Gallio. Remember Gallio in the book of Acts? In Acts 18, the Jews take Paul to the judgment seat where Gallio is presiding. They accuse Paul of persuading men to worship God contrary to the law. Before Paul can say anything, Gallio basically tells them that he doesn’t care and tells them to leave. At the time of this letter, Seneca, a Spanish born philosopher, had risen to a place of prominence in Rome. He tutored Nero, the Roman emperor when he was a young man. Prior to this, he had been expelled from Rome, but Nero’s mom had him brought back to Rome and made him a tutor. Although he was responsible for doing some good things, he also stood by, without question, as Nero murdered his own mother.

With this scenario in mind, we can well see why Paul would say that they were without excuse. Judging others as being wicked, while ignoring the wickedness of those who have honored us or placed us in a position of power is wrong! It’s equally wicked! Didn’t we hear a politician say that he could shoot someone in Central Park and his supporters wouldn’t care? Unfortunately, he’s proving that could be so true!

I mentioned before, how I received an email from a very well known Christian leader. In that email there was an urgent message to pray for the presidential election of 2016. Within the email was a statement referring to the Democrats as evil Democrats. I was shocked! Since then, there have been many many more who have made similar comments, even to the point of saying that those who didn’t vote for a particular candidate was in danger of the wrath of God, or that they were going to hell. It seems to me that Paul was speaking prophetically of the times in which we live. Voting is not theocratic, it is part of a democracy. One vote for every citizen. We have the right to vote as we please. All Republicans are not Christians, nor are they all godly, or evil. All Democrats are not evil, nor do they all agree with abortion or gay rights. And they are certainly not all evil! Paul warns us about being so judgmental, when many of the things we are judging, we are guilty of doing ourselves. So after bringing this point out, Paul asks the question:

And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?
Romans 2:3 NKJV

When I mention the judgment of God, what exactly am I referring to? In the Vine’s dictionary, the Greek word for judgment is “krima” and it conveys the thought of “the sentence pronounced, a verdict, a condemnation, specifically God’s judgment upon man”. Peter wrote in another letter these words about the judgment of God:

For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
1 Peter 4:16 NKJV

Christians have become pretty self-righteous and a little arrogant. (Aren’t those sins?) I was working in a restaurant while going to school. Every Sunday night, a group of students from a Christian college would come to the place to eat and hang out. They were pretty obnoxious, to say the least, acting as if they had come into this worldly environment to dominate and exercise their Christian rights. Things were getting out of hand. My manager felt that if I worked that shift, being a Christian, I could probably make them happier. I was a little embarrassed for my fellow Christians, as they were being rude and were developing a bad reputation before unsaved people. I ended up having to really have a talk with them. I explained to them that I was embarrassed that they called themselves Christians with their type of behavior. I mentioned that they were hurting my evangelistic efforts amongst my co-workers. And then I said something about starting the night over and acting like they were really Christians. Well, their leader apologized and had the group apologize. We never had another problem!

I see this same spirit operating in the church today! And it is sad! I understand that the world runs over us at every opportunity. I understand they have no respect for us or our Jesus! I understand policies are often not made in our favor and often place us in uncomfortable positions. But when we act like they act, (especially in the Name of Jesus), I believe we place ourselves in the position of judge and jury. It is as if we have decided that God is too weak to take care of this situation and therefore we need to do it! Or maybe we think He forgot how to deal with sinners, or He’s just too merciful and no mercy will be extended any longer! Or maybe we really think that we have become God because we have a lot of followers, a mega church, several mega churches, hundreds of books and money we no longer need to check on. Whatever we are thinking, it’s stinking thinking!

Do we really think that God needs us to burn down abortion clinics because He can’t seem to stop people from getting an abortion? Do we really think that we are better than others because we go to church and say that we are saved? Does God really need us to storm the capital and then pray in the room to show how Christian-like we are? I refuse to say Christ-like! And in the words of Paul, do we really think that we are going to escape the judgement of God when it starts in the house of God? I’m just agreeing with Paul! This is inexcusable and we need to do a reality check, or spiritual check, or Jesus check, or something! Wonderful Jesus!