BETTER THAN

But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God… Romans 1:17

            Up until this point in Romans, Paul has been talking about all people.  All have ignored the revelation of God in nature.  All have rejected Him and are in bondage to their sin.  All have embarked on a journey of moral and spiritual decline.  Now however, he is talking to the Jews.  He knows that they believe they are not like everyone else.  They are the kind who stand in the synagogue and thank God that they are not ‘lost’ like the rest of the world.  They shake their heads over the desperate situation outside the church; not owning the truth that they are part of sin’s problem.

            Paul is about to talk straight to t Continue reading “Better Than” →

I CAN RISK RISK BEING KNOWN

On that day when, according to the Gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.  Romans 2:16

            Have you ever felt studied?  Perhaps you know the anxiety of feeling inadequate and being in the company of one extremely perceptive.  The fear of exposure can be crippling. 

            I have often played an internal game with myself.  What if, for one day, my thoughts were an open book to the people around me?  They would see not only what I do, but what I think.  How frightening.  Yet, that is what it is like to be in relationship with God.  He sees what I do, how I feel, and what I think.  My thoughts are an open book. Continue reading “I Can Risk Being Known” →

FAKE RIGHTEOUSNESS

For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.  Romans 2:13

            Paul needs to make it clear to the Jews that they can not be secure about eternity just because they are, by birthright, God’s chosen people.  He was once like them; reciting pedigree, education, and his impressive generational line.  He thought himself a notch above Gentiles.  He belonged to the people who were given the Mosaic Law and he, like most Jews, spent vast amounts of time in the temple reading it, studying it, and memorizing it.  This boosted pride and a false sense of security.  It all came crashing down on the road to Damascus when Jesus revealed that Paul was actually persecuting Him, amidst such holy performances in the company of Pharisees. Continue reading “Fake Righteousness” →

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BREAK?

There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.  Romans 1:9-10

I can’t communicate the impact of these verses in a way that matches the fire in my spirit.  I am watching the truth of these concepts play out in people’s lives and these realities are staggering when viewed off the written page and in the everyday lives of human beings.

Paul wants to make sure that we get the message that no one is exempt from the truth of these principles.  His “Jew and Greek” references teach that these verses target everyone.  God is no respecter of persons.  If I spurn God’s ways, there will be tribulation and distress.  If I live by the Spirit, I will know glory, honor, and peace.  The contrast between both ends of these spectrums is stark and should serve to be a wake-up call to any who live in the distress of disobedience.  Yet, most seem to persist and fight God. Continue reading “What Does It Take To Break?” →

Yesterday, I wrote about God’s wrath, one that has been accumulating over time, and was poured out on His Son so that you and I could have a Savior who bore our punishment.

I can’t leave that subject and go on.  Ever since writing this message yesterday, I can’t stop thinking about it.  I’d never thought of God’s wrath like a dam about to burst, how Jesus took on the fury of it, the accumulation of it, and how vast an amount that would be upon a man.  I don’t know how He withstood it.  And mostly, I can’t comprehend the love that was willing to even consider doing it.

I am so convicted.  I am a teacher of the Gospel.  Women make decisions to receive Christ in our conferences.  Sometimes, as many as a hundred at a time.  But am I presenting the Gospel in a way that is reflective of God’s love and His wrath?  Continue reading “Forgive Me” →

WHERE DO I STAND ON THE WRATH ISSUE?

But because of your heart and impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself for the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.  Romans 2:5

            Wrath is not a palatable subject.  No one likes to think of someone being angry with them.  Children who have angry parents do everything in their power to over- perform in order to fix the relationship.  When we hear that the One who is storing up wrath against us is God, that is enough to undo us.  If we ignore the issue, it is to our peril. Continue reading “Where Do I Stand On The Wrath Issue?” →

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF KINDNESS

Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?  Romans 2:4

I’m not sure I’ve ever thought about kindness being a stumbling block in relationships before.  How could someone’s patient spirit trip me up?  Yet, it obviously does because Paul asks his readers whether or not they presume upon God’s kindness by their deeds of unrighteousness.  Instead of their hearts growing more tender when they consider God’s longsuffering nature toward them, they use His love as an excuse to keep sinning.  Mankind will try to get away with as much as he can if there are no negative consequences.  Repentance is usually the last thing on our minds. Continue reading “Taking Advantage Of Kindness” →

JUDGING

Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges.  For in passing judgment on another, you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.  Romans 2:1

            Passing judgment and being discerning are two different things.  Paul is addressing the first here.  He is talking to the audience he wrote to in chapter one; those who see another person exchange the value of God’s beauty for the sins they want to commit.  God has given them over to deception and the consequences of their choices.  In so doing, it would be easy for those who know the truth to feel morally superior to them, and then judge them.  Continue reading “Judging” →

“I DON’T WANT YOU, GOD!”

Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.  Romans 1:32

            There are many reasons a person can reject God.  I know some who have proclaimed themselves an atheist because they suffered a personal tragedy and couldn’t reconcile that with the presence of a loving God.  Most push God away though because His Spirit convicts them of sin.  Wanting their own way, they are too uncomfortable in God’s presence.  He gets pushed out. Continue reading ““I Don’t Want You, God!”” →

HOW POWERFUL IS THE CROSS FOR ME?

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.  Romans 1:28

Paul writes to the Christians in Rome who were in no way naïve and sheltered from their culture.  They were first century Romans.  Life was barbaric, sexually deviant, and politically cut throat.  One could see about anything in broad daylight, even in the so-called temples of the day.  The blood of people and animals ran down walls like water. Continue reading “How Powerful Is The Cross For Me?” →