Romans 6:1-14

 Romans 6:1-14

Paul has stated grace has completely overcome sin. By grace, those of us in Christ have been made righteous. We are sort of God’s trophies of His victory. In God‘s trophy case, there are multitudes of sinners who came out of deep sin and into life in Christ and thus prove the greatness of grace. Because of this remarkable grace some people were saying “go on sinning so that there will be more grace, which is a good thing”. Paul reacts with the most powerful negative the Greek language has. Let’s consider why.

Some years ago a friend of mine suffered the horrors of his wife having an affair. The depth of pain he experienced is beyond words. But with counseling and love and care, the marriage was restored and actually made better. His mercy and kindness was a beautiful thing. Only the filthiest person would say, “The restoration of their relationship was so beautiful she should have more affairs so it can be repeated.” To think I’ll sin because God will forgive is the most unloving thing a person can imagine.

But Paul makes an even stronger point. While we were in sin, we were dead but grotesquely alive. One of the phases that the entertainment industry has gone through is the zombie phase. Zombies are monsters with superhuman cruelty and malevolence and subhuman intelligence and beauty. Zombies are an excellent picture or metaphor for the non-Christian life. The person who is a sinner is sort of an anti-man or an un-man, a monster opposite of what God meant man to be. At baptism the unman is buried alive and killed, and the wholesome or fully man is born. When we come up out of the waters of baptism, it is a kind of new beginning. We are born again. Can you imagine the horrors of taking a beautiful, healthy, new baby and trying to turn it into a monstrous zombie? That is what we do when, as Christians, we sin. We are perverting the pure and innocent into a monster.

Finally, Paul argues for an idea that has been made into the cliché, “If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.”. In verses 12 through 14, Paul describes us as instruments. That word literally means weapons. That means that every act is an act of war. If our behavior and actions are holy, righteous, and pure, then we are agents fighting for God’s cause. But when we sin, we are using our bodies as weapons fighting against God. When we do that it is if a man betrayed his country, or his wife, is forgiven and then in the next moment turns to attack them. We can see how and why Paul recoiled at the idea of using Grace as an excuse to sin.

“Lord, help me to never return, or even want to return, to being a spiritual zombie. AMEN”

Romans 5:12-21

 Romans 5:12-21

What could be worse than having a life-ending, misery-causing, nasty disease? To have such a disease and not know it. To have all the symptoms of a grave illness and not know you are sick, and therefore not work for a cure is the condition of all mankind regarding sin. From Adam to Moses, there was a certainty that something was wrong, but what it was and how bad it was remained a terrible mystery. Then the law of Moses brought the diagnosis. The diagnosis revealed that the problem, the illness, was sin. The diagnosis revealed it was a more pervasive, more advanced, and more ruinous disease than we expected. At this point the good news was we knew what was wrong. The bad news is the diagnosis is not the same thing as a cure. We should never discount the value of an accurate diagnosis, nor can we discount the value of the law that condemns us for our sin. But to this point we are still a dying patient.

The cure is linked to the diagnosis, but it’s something altogether different. Law is the means of diagnosis. Grace is the means of the cure. That is why we can never be made right by keeping a set of rules or laws. A patient is never cured by consistently repeating the diagnostic test. By trying to keep a set of rules, we are reminded that we have, at some point, failed. The repeated diagnosis may cause us to do something differently so that the disease may be spreading more slowly at one time or another. But it is still there, and we remain uncured. Until Grace is applied, the law or rule-keeping can only tell us how fast we are dying.

The cure is greater than the illness in more than one way. First, the cure is greater than the illness, in that it completely removes the disease. The illness is removed from the body, and there are not any infections or diseased cells left. But there is more. Many times with a biological illness, the cure is devastating. The patient, while disease-free, is so damaged by the cure that they are scared and remain broken. This brings us to the second aspect of the cure of grace.  Not only does the cure remove the illness, it restores the damage done by the disease. Imagine an illness that causes the body to rot and parts of the body to fall off. In this mangled, rotting body, the cure removes the disease and perfectly restores those parts that had rotted away. That is what sin, law, and grace do in us. They are the disease, the diagnosis, and the cure. All we have lost to sin is healed and restored to us in the grace of Christ.

“Lord, thank You for the cure that you so graciously give.  AMEN”

Romans 5:1-11

Romans 5:1-11

In this beautiful passage, Paul begins to talk about what it means that we are set right by faith, rather than trying to be right by our own works. Paul uses a word translated “introduction” in verse two, which has a special nuanced meaning. The word was used to describe a face-to-face or intimate introduction. But it was also used to describe a ship coming to a safe harbor. The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was sailing toward the safety of Whitefish Bay when she sank about 15 miles from the “introduction” of the place of safety. Paul says by faith we are “introduced” to the safety of God’s grace.

However, we mustn’t think that this will mean smooth sailing. The life of faith doesn’t mean an absence of trouble, but rather safety and victory because of those troubles. We “exult,” Paul says, in the pressures of the life of faith. The word he uses here is from the root word for “neck,” and it means to hold your head up high. No one likes the hardship and struggles that we live through, but they produce wonderful things in us. Things such as perseverance, character, and hope. The most certain way to keep our children from maturing well is to protect them from struggles and hardship. It is true for us as well. God allows the hammer blows of life to come to us that will shape us. The most certain way to always be immature in our faith is to avoid hardships. Take on the giant challenge and embrace the difficulty, and if we are seeking God‘s will in it, we will be better for it.

Finally, verses 6-12 are one of the greatest passages of grace in the Bible. When everything was just right, Christ died for us. We have a hard time imagining a person dying a torturous death to rescue someone who was just a “nice guy.” It might happen for someone with admiration, respect, and love. But Jesus died a horrible death for the lives of the most egregious and disgusting persons. Imagine for a moment the vilest person you can. Perhaps it is a corrupt public servant, a pimp who sells little boys and girls; maybe it’s a serial seducer who ruins homes; perhaps it is the parent that molests their own flesh and blood; or even the occultist that cannibalizes their victims, or maybe it is you. Whoever that most loathsome creature is, Christ died for them. That means two things: first, God loves sinners; no one is beyond His love. Second, it means that reconciliation is a potential for all men. No one is lost because the sacrifice was insufficient; rather, they are lost because the sacrifice was rejected.

“Lord, thank You for your great sacrifice for me. AMEN”

Romans 4:1-25

 Romans 4:1-25

There are two approaches to life and faith regardless of our perspective or position. Either it is by faith or by works. Both of these words are so widely used, or misused, that we must be careful not to mislead ourselves as we attempt to say the right thing. Weaknesses aside, there are only two approaches for every religion, faith system, or person. The most common approach is works or earning our standing. This is the idea behind all religions or worldviews that say you must “do good” to be “right.”. Whether it is expressed in karma, the five pillars of Islam, secular materialism, or some other worldview, in this approach there is the idea of trusting in what you have done to make you right. The other possibility is faith, trusting in God. Rather than confidence in our deeds making us good, we place our trust in God, making us good.

In the Jewish mind, the greatest man to ever live was Abraham. So Paul uses Abraham to be the ultimate example. He shows that Abraham was right before God because of his faith and not because of what he had done to earn that place. Paul refers to the moment in which something happened with Abraham. It wasn’t when Abraham left Ur. It wasn’t when he was prepared to kill Isaac as a sacrifice. It wasn’t when he accepted circumcision. It was in many ways a quiet moment of heart change that outwardly was unremarkable. Abraham had just won a military victory and was apparently living a quiet life. God comes to Abram and promises him a great reward. Abram points out that without an heir, any reward would be pointless. Then God took Abram outside and pointed to the stars as an example of how many heirs he would have. At this point, Abram believed that God‘s promise was the truth. Paul makes the point that as Abram believed God, then God counted that belief as righteousness. Abram entered into a special and unique relationship with God. It was a new and different way of relating.

That is not to say Abrams suddenly stopped being obedient to God. In fact, the greatest challenges of Abraham‘s life were still ahead. But these acts of obedience were the result of, or were growing out of, the new relationship with God. These actions were not the source of the new relationship. If there were ever someone who might make a claim of righteousness based on works, it would have been Abraham. But even the great Abraham had nothing to boast about in regard to works. He was right because of his trust in God and not his deeds.

“Lord, help me to spend my life trusting You. AMEN”

Romans 3:19-31

Romans 3:19-31

Paul has shown that both Jews and Gentiles are guilty before God. The universality of human guilt is undeniable. Romans 3:23 is often quoted as a summation of our guilt. But in the next two verses, there is a sort of summation of God’s grace and our redemption. Paul expresses it using three words that are deeply meaningful and which we have sometimes hurried over.

The first word is “justified”; it means to be declared or treated as innocent. If a person is charged with the crime and in the trial it is proven beyond any doubt that they are innocent, they are acquitted and treated as innocent. But in our case we are undoubtedly guilty, having broken numerous laws. Nevertheless, God treats us as innocent. The trial is held, the evidence is presented, and in the face of a mountain of proof of our guilt, God says, “Not guilty,” and we walk away with all the rights and privileges associated with being innocent.

How is this possible? That brings us to the next powerful word that Paul uses, “redemption”. We might better understand this if we use the word “ransom.”. Today the word ransom is not well respected, being used almost exclusively in situations of kidnapping. But in the past, the word was a little more respectable. It was used to describe the cost of bringing POWs back from war. It was the price that was paid to bring a loved one home. In the view of the value of the suffering husband, son, or friend, it was well worth it to pay the price. If the POW wasn’t worth the ransom price, the government would not pay, and the POW would either be executed or become a slave. But God loves man so deeply that He considered the ransom price worth it.

So what was this ransom price? That brings us to the next word Paul uses, “propitiation”. This is a word never used in our world today. In short, it means a sacrifice that deflects or turns away wrath. When, in ancient times, a man sinned, he would sacrifice an animal. The punishment that should fall upon the man would be directed to the animal. It was a case of the innocent victim taking the punishment of the guilty. Ultimately that sacrifice is Jesus.

And in these three words, we see the expression of God as our Judge declaring us innocent, our King paying our ransom, and our Priest making the sacrifice for us.

“Lord, thank You for the mercy You gave me. AMEN”

Romans 3:1-18

 Romans 3:1-18

We have all heard the stories, or perhaps the myths, of the children of the very rich who have squandered their lives and much of the families’ wealth. While perhaps more rare than depicted it is the tragic story of opportunity wasted, of talented individuals and resources that ultimately came to nothing.  That is not unlike what Paul says about the Jewish people. The Jewish people were granted a divinely privileged position; they held a deeply advantageous position over all other peoples in the world. But instead of holding that position as a responsibility, they held it as a matter of self-serving pride. Rather than see themselves as evangelists of God’s grace and goodness, they saw themselves as people with inexhaustible privilege, and rather than live holy, they went deep into sin. God used their rebellion to good purpose, but that did not excuse them nor protect them from His just punishments. Is there an advantage to being a Jew? Yes, but only if you do not waste it. But in disobedience, all men, regardless of race or ethnic heritage, are condemned.

In verses 10-18, Paul strings together a collection of passages that show that the Old Testament condemns all men for a variety of sins. These are not direct quotes but rather a paraphrase and summation of Scripture. In verse 12, Paul says, “They have all turned aside.”. The word Paul uses here was used to describe milk that had turned. The word literally means rendered useless. If you have ever tasted really bad spoiled milk, you understand this word. That is our condition. Paul outlines three ways we all go bad: 1) Our character is best described as ignorant, useless, and wasted; 2) our speech is toxic, deceptive, and destructive; 3) our behavior is destructive, misery-causing, and rebellious.

That is a description of all people, not Jews only or Gentiles alone, but the whole human family. What is more is that this is sometimes the description of people who have been spiritually privileged. As disciples, we can tend to take the advantages and grace we have been given as a license to pride, superiority, or even overt sin. Some years ago there was a slogan making the rounds, “Christians aren’t perfect, only forgiven”. While true, that carries with it a sort of superiority or arrogance that may reveal the most dangerous sin of all: pride. All advantages and privileges we have are gifts and are meant to be used to honor and serve God. 

“Never allow me, Lord, to imagine that Your grace is my privilege.  AMEN”

Romans 2:17-29

 Romans 2:17-29

There was a lot more to being a Jew than a certain genetic heritage and circumcision. Paul points out that being right is not just knowing the right thing and performing the right rituals; it is also a matter of living out those beliefs and living up to what those rituals represent. When a person fails to live up to those high standards, they bring their whole faith system into bad repute. That is what David did, and what Paul refers to with the quote, “The name of God is blasphemed among the gentiles because of you”. David, the anointed and special blessed of God, has an affair with his friend’s wife, then to cover up the pregnancy, murders her husband, and marries his one-night stand. His reputation as a man of God and his behavior as a traitorous murderer resulted in pagans mocking God.

Paul says that the Jews were doing the same thing. Their self-aggrandizement about being God’s chosen and holy people, conflicting with their rotten behavior, resulted in the name of God being viewed with contempt. We sometimes view Jewish people with rose-colored glasses. Their historic connection with God, their suffering over the years, especially by the Nazis, and not wanting to seem anti-Semitic tend to cause us to view Jews sympathetically. However, in the world of Paul’s day, Jews had a well-deserved nasty reputation. Jewish people had received from Rome special privileges that no other group enjoyed, but rather than expressing attitudes of thanks, there was a tendency to act entitled and arrogant. Among Jewish special privileges, they were exempt from offering sacrifices to Caesar or the local gods, from conscription for military service, and from working on the Sabbath or civic duties. They were granted permission to operate their own legal and court systems. Somewhat like Muslims wanting to have Sharia Law in the US. They were allowed to transfer large sums of local money to Jerusalem, on one occasion 20 tons of gold was to be moved from Asia to Jerusalem, which would have crippled local economies.

We might expect this to cause the Jews to become good neighbors and citizens. In fact, they became noted for the opposite. They were noted for their contempt for their neighbors. Tacitus said of them: "Among themselves their honesty is inflexible, their compassion quick to move, but to all other persons they show the hatred of antagonism." Juvenal declared that if a Jew was asked the way to any place, he refused to give any information except to another Jew, and that if anyone was looking for a well from which to drink, he would not lead him to it unless he was circumcised. Their rigidity caused them to hold the pagans with contempt and to be callous toward their needs. As a result, the pagan world was, for the most part, convinced they had no need for the Jews or their God, and because of the Jews, God’s name was blasphemed.

The parallel for us is all too obvious. While we must never compromise our commitment to holy living, we must at the same time live lives marked by grace, kindness, and love. Many times the church and Christians have reputations that do more harm than good for the name and cause of Christ.

“Lord, may my life be marked by loving kindness and holiness. AMEN”