Author: Christine Wyrtzen

MY SPIRITUAL FATHER

The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. Romans 4:11-12

            If our father were a distinguished man, well-known and well-loved, we would tell everyone about him.  Like the kid in grade school who brags to his friends, “My daddy is stronger than your daddy,” we would probably brag about who we were related to. 

            I don’t know how you feel about your family tree.  Perhaps your line of descendants is the cause of much embarrassment.  Continue reading “My Spiritual Father” →

SACRAMENTS AND SALVATION

He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.  Romans 4:11

            Have you ever noticed that pride is insidious?  Take someone who is insecure.  What looks like weakness of character is really pride in disguise.  Someone declares themselves to be unacceptable and outside of God’s declaration of love.  Take someone who can’t forgive themselves for something they’ve done.  Even that can be rooted in pride.  God says that His blood washes away all sin yet, with veiled arrogance, they believe they are the exception and refuse His grace. Continue reading “Sacraments And Salvation” →

LET THEM TALK!

A lineup of O.T. characters speak up.

Many of you wrote yesterday about Abraham.  Like me, you were astounded that God had preached about Jesus to Abraham, and that even Jesus admitted that Abraham knew Him.  Is he the only Old Testament character who knew of Jesus?  James Boice, a down to earth scholar, pieces together scriptures and uses some poetic license to help us understand their testimonies regarding a Savior they’d never seen, but One who justified them by faith.  I hope you are as moved as I am by this piece and the history of our salvation.

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Abraham is the focus of Paul’s attention in this section of Romans. But it is worth saying that the same point can be made about any of the other Old Testament believers. They would all have explained the hope of their salvation in the same terms.

Let’s ask a number of them what they “discovered in this matter” (cf. Rom. 4:1).

Here is Adam. Let’s start with him. “Adam, you were the first man, and we should assume from this that what you believed in regard to salvation is of value for us. What did you believe in this matter? Did you believe that you could be saved by your works? Or did you have an anticipation of the coming of Jesus Christ and ground your faith in him?” Continue reading “Let Them Talk!” →

ABRAHAM AND JESUS

What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh?  For if Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God.  For what does the scripture say?  “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”  Romans 4:1-3

            Paul’s teaching rubbed against the grain of religious Jews so he spent three chapters in the beginning of Romans showing that justification is only through faith in Christ, not of works.  As the Jews heard Paul speak, they probably thought of Abraham and raised one of the same questions we hear today.  “How could Abraham be justified (through Christ) if the death of Christ had not happened yet?”  Continue reading “Abraham and Jesus” →

TOLERANT OR RIGID?

Is God the God of Jews only?  Is God not the God of Gentiles also?  Yes – since God is one who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.  Romans 3:29-30

            The Jews believed that God was only their God.  That made them moral elitists, believing themselves to be better than anyone outside their race. 

            The Gentiles believed that there were many gods.  That made them tolerant, encouraging indulgences in all kinds of depravity.   Their many gods permitted wickedness and Greece was a cesspool.   Continue reading “Tolerant Or Rigid?” →

BOASTING

Then what becomes of our boasting?  It is excluded.  Romans 3:27

            If Jesus took all the wrath that I deserved upon Himself, then what is there for me to boast about?  Only that “I am a sinner and Christ is a great Savior.”  (John Newton)  I have nothing in myself to make God happy enough with me to earn a place in heaven.  Lest I’m inclined to wallow in worthlessness, God turns around and offers love and redemption in the form of Jesus.  My horrible condition is eclipsed by undeserved favor.  I’m invited to live in joy rather than self-loathing.  The One who has every reason to despise me doesn’t.  This is the good news of the Gospel.

            Yet in spite of this, pride still nips at my heels.  It is the most dangerous of all vices.  C.S. Lewis described it this way.  Continue reading “Boasting” →

­­PERMISSIVE MIS-PERCEPTIONS

‘Propitiation’ was to show God’s righteousness, because in his forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time.  Romans 3:25-26

            I’ve been pretty worked up emotionally since writing yesterday.  I realized that I didn’t really grasp, nor convey, the weight of this verse.  So, I’m writing again on the same thing. 

            I think I’ve treated my sin, and God’s holiness, casually.  It’s as if I was adopted into a family with an overly permissive father.  As a new member of the family, I was told that, while he’d rather his children obey, when we sin, he’ll always forgive us.  Forgiveness was cheap.  Sinning was easy.  The holiness of the father was immaterial and not to be taken too seriously.  He was really a pushover and his longsuffering nature gave the illusion that forgiveness didn’t cost him all that much.  With a wave of his hand he cleared sin’s debt.    Continue reading “Permissive Misperception” →

GOD – SOFT ON SIN?

‘Propitiation’ was to show God’s righteousness, because in his forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time.  Romans 3:25-26

            When Nathan confronted David over his relationship with Bathsheba, and David acknowledged the gravity of his sin, Nathan said something that is related to these words from Paul.  He said, “The Lord has put away your sin.”  Or, passed over.  The world is outraged when any judge just passes over sin.  Doesn’t that diminish His glory and put His righteous standing at stake?  Is God forever regarded as someone soft on sin, not to be taken seriously?  If He passes over sin, doesn’t that encourage us to pass over it too? Continue reading “God ~ Soft On Sin?” →