Tag: Judgment

Digging in Deeper: Romans 5:15-17

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“But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man’s trespass the many died, how much more have the grace of God and the gift which comes through the grace of the one man Jesus Christ overflowed to the many. And the gift is not like the one man’s sin, because from one sin came the judgment, resulting in condemnation, but from many trespasses came the gift, resulting in justification. If by the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

While he was alive, Steve Jobs was Apple. It really wasn’t possible to think of one without the other. Today, Tesla or SpaceX are Elon Musk. When you think of either of those companies, his is the first name that comes to mind. There’s a reason, after all, that Tesla dealerships and vehicles have been the recipients of violent protests recently as Musk has risen to the status of public enemy number one for the political and cultural left. There are some people who serve as representative heads of an organization. Sometimes that’s on purpose on their part. Other times it’s just how things happen to fall out. In this next part of Paul’s letter to the Roman believers, he’s talking about two people who became representative heads of something much bigger than a single organization. Let’s unpack what he’s saying together.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 3:21-24

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“But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Everything has been building to this. For six weeks now, we have been working through Paul’s indictment of sin and sinners. It’s been eye-opening and bruising. Paul doesn’t let anyone escape the conclusion that everybody’s guilty. He even reemphasizes it here. But into this mess of guilt and sin, God offers us a way out. This is the good news. We may all be lawbreakers in one form or another (but not degree; we are all lawbreakers of the same degree because there’s only one degree), but God has provided a way out that doesn’t involve our keeping the law. Let’s start talking about this very good news.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 3:9-18

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“What then? Are we any better off? Not at all! For we have already charged that both Jews  and Greeks are all under sin, as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues. Vipers’ venom is under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and wretchedness are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

The Gospel is good news. But before it’s good news, it’s hard news. In our journey through Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, we are almost to where the great apostle starts to unpack the good news. For the last few weeks, though, it’s pretty much been all hard news. We’ve got two last stops to make on Paul’s journey through the hard news. The next one is a kind of summary that offers a final setup to the good news. This one, though, is where Paul finally lands with both feet on the hard news and doesn’t hold back. Brace yourself. This one is tough.

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Morning Musing: Romans 3:5-6

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“But if our unrighteousness highlights God’s righteousness, what are we to say? I am using a human argument: Is God unrighteous to inflict wrath? Absolutely not! Otherwise, how will God judge the world?” (CSB – Read the chapter)

The picture of God as judge is not a popular one nowadays. This wasn’t always the case. The pre-modern world didn’t have much of a problem with it at all. Our being repulsed by the idea is a consequence of modern and postmodern philosophical movements over the last roughly 200 years changing the way we think about ourselves and right and wrong and God more generally. As we work through Paul’s concluding argument in his grand presentation of the hard news of the Gospel in order to set up the good news (which we’ll finally get to next week), he starts things off by highlighting some potential reactions to the argument he has been making. We dealt with the first of these last week. Let’s take on the second today: Is God right to issue judgment against sin?

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 1:28-32

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***An extra post today. I was doing some cleaning up on the back end of the blog, and accidentally deleted this post from a few weeks ago. My meticulousness wouldn’t let me leave out this one passage from the series. Good thing I saved it in another place as well. Happy Monday.***

“And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a corrupt mind so that they do what is not right. They are filled with all unrighteousness, evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarrels, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful. Although they know God’s just sentence — that those who practice such things deserve to die  — they not only do them, but even applaud others who practice them.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Worldview is everything. Belief dictates behavior. Worldview determines belief. Therefore, worldview lies at the heart of every single decision we make, every action we take, every word we speak, even every thought we think. Because of this, having the right worldview is a really big deal. All worldviews, you see, are not created equal. Now, some borrow ideas from other worldviews because their own worldview produces ideas that address not very good. But idea borrowing like this can be an indication of a flawed worldview. Choosing a worldview known to be flawed is a moral decision. It is a moral decision that will be judged appropriately. As Paul wraps up his opening condemnation of sin in light of the Gospel, these ideas are present in his thinking. Let’s explore them.

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