Tag: Romans

Morning Musing: Romans 3:1-4

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“So what advantage does the Jew have? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? Considerable in every way. First, they were entrusted with the very words of God. What then? If some were unfaithful, will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? Absolutely not! Let God be true, even though everyone is a liar, as it is written: ‘That you may be justified in your words and triumph when you judge.’” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the things that new and still-learning followers of Jesus sometimes struggle with is whether they’ve done something to mess up God’s plans. It’s an easy thought to understand. If God planned for me to go left, but I go right instead, have I somehow set Him back or even derailed things He had previously set in motion? As Paul keeps up his condemnation of sin here in Romans, he starts this next section by dealing with some hypothetical questions that may be coming up in the minds of his audience. Let’s wrestle with him through the first one here.

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Morning Musing: Romans 2:25-29

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“Circumcision benefits you if you observe the law, but if you are a lawbreaker, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. So if an uncircumcised man keeps the law’s requirements, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? A man who is physically uncircumcised, but who keeps the law, will judge you who are a lawbreaker in spite of having the letter of the law and circumcision. For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, and true circumcision is not something visible in the flesh. On the contrary, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart — by the Spirit, not the letter. That person’s praise is not from people but from God.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

What is it that makes you who you are? Most people have some sort of identity that they count as defining of them. This identity is often at least somewhat connected to the tribe they consider themselves to be a part of. Actually, our tribal association very often plays a huge role in defining who we are. Although some people break from the tribe they were born into in order to intentionally join another one, most people stay at least mentally connected with the tribe they were born into throughout their life. We literally cannot understand ourselves apart from the framework our tribe provides…even if we don’t properly understand what that framework (i.e., worldview) is. If someone were to come along and tell you that everything you thought you knew about your tribe was wrong, to say this revelation would be disorienting (assuming you even gave them the time of day) is likely a rather dramatic understatement. Well, that’s what Paul does here. Let’s talk about it and what it means for us.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 2:17-24

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“Now if you call yourself a Jew, and rely on the law, and boast in God, and know his will, and approve the things that are superior, being instructed from the law, and if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light to those in darkness, an instructor of the ignorant, a teacher of the immature, having the embodiment of knowledge and truth in the law —  you then, who teach another, don’t you teach yourself? You who preach, “You must not steal” — do you steal? You who say, “You must not commit adultery” — do you commit adultery? You who detest idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? For, as it is written: The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

When I lived in Denver, there was a pastor of a large church in a nearby city who had to resign after a very public moral failing. He spent years calling his congregation to live with the righteousness of Christ, but then it was discovered that he had a quiet meth habit and had been hooking up with male prostitutes. The church recovered eventually, but it was a pretty tough season for them for a while. We live in a culture that hates religious hypocrisy, and loves to shine light on religious hypocrites. Paul is inclined to agree with this. Let’s take a look at what he says here in the next part of Romans.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 2:13-16

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“For the hearers of the law are not righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be justified. So, when Gentiles, who do not by nature have the law, do what the law demands, they are a law to themselves even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts. Their consciences confirm this. Their competing thoughts either accuse or even excuse them on the day when God judges what people have kept secret, according to my gospel through Christ Jesus.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

It doesn’t happen very often, but every now and then you hear about a judge getting arrested for violating the law in some way. Those always feel like rather scandalous stories because judges are supposed to be the ones who know the law best as well as what the consequences for violating the law are. They are the ones who set the consequences for violating the law. They should know better than anyone else not only what not to do, but why not to do it from at least the consequences side of things. And yet knowing the law and doing the law are two different things. One does not necessarily or naturally lead to the other. As Paul continues to challenge the Jewish background believers in his audience, this is what he seeks to help them understand next. Let’s unpack this with him.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 2:9-12

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“There will be affliction and distress for every human being who does evil, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does what is good, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. For there is no favoritism with God. For all who sin without the law will also perish without the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

We love the concept of judgment for sin. If that sounds funny to say, allow me to clarify. We love the idea that people who have done what we recognize to be wrong will face the just consequences for their misdeeds. It doesn’t sound quite so bad when you put it that way, does it? In fact, if you recoiled a bit at the first statement, you may have found yourself nodding along in agreement with the second. That’s because, deep down, we love the concept of judgment for sin. There’s a reason for that: we were created in the image of a God who does too. Let’s talk about why judgment is a good thing, and the way God approaches it is best.

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