Category: Daily Devotionals

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.

*************

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?” →

MOVED BY A WORD

..Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.  Romans 3:25

            “Propitiation” is a word we usually pass over quickly when reading through Romans.  Someone once said that it means “substitute”.  Knowing that, I pass over it quickly, thinking that I understand and don’t need to linger on it.  What a mistake.

            Worshippers in the ancient world knew the word well.  They would bring their sacrifices; animals, even new-born babies, and kill them at the altar, all for the purpose of appeasing angry gods.  While they faith was misplaced, their conscience was right in knowing that a ‘god’ who bore wrath needed to be appeased.  The one, true God sent Jesus to be the sacrifice.  He bore our wrath so we could appear guiltless before Him. Continue reading “Moved By A Word” →

MEASURING THE ATONEMENT

For there is no distinction: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace as a gift.  Romans 3:22b-24a

            People who consider themselves ‘good’ believe on some level that they don’t need as much grace to be saved.  Do they need the cross?  Yes, but not as much of it as the most degenerate of society.  It’s as if they measure out the blood of the atonement and believe that they only need five percent or twenty percent to be forgiven. 

            As Christians, it’s easy to still practice a horizontal kind of comparison with others.  We can look at someone else’s sin and say to God, “But I didn’t do that!”  The pride of not seeing ourselves as sinners continues.  Continue reading “Measuring The Atonement” →