This morning I was reading one of my favorite books of the New Testament: Romans. I probably read it a couple times a month. It's a beautiful book about God's grace. In Romans Paul reflects on the deep way sin has broken us and calls us to give up on religious rituals to trust in God's grace. Maybe one of the Bible's most refreshing statements comes in Romans 5:
Romans 5:8 NET
But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Back in the first chapter of Romans Paul describes why we have no excuse. He writes that we have all seen the glory of God in creation but have chosen to worship the creation we can see rather than the Creator we cannot see. He ends the passage with the statement:
Romans 1:29-31 NET
They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless.
Here Paul is describing what sin has done to humanity. Because we have rebelled against God, he has turned us over to our evil desires, and we have become all these things--every one of us. As a matter of fact, Paul goes on in the next chapter to write that we are without excuse when we judge people. To judge someone else is to condemn ourselves because we act the very same way everyone else does. Paul has not yet gotten to the Good News. The Good News is that even though every one of us rebels against God, all who will trust in Jesus are forgiven. Jesus came to earth, lived over 30 years without every rebelling against God and died on a cross to accept God's wrath in our place. Since God's wrath has been satisfied in Jesus, anyone who chooses to trust in Jesus as their only way to pleasing God is completely forgiven.
My heart is saddened every time I hear someone say how they have been judged by a Christian. In those times I wonder if we Christians really are hypocrites. Have we forgotten that we have not done one single thing to make ourselves worthy of God's grace? Have we lost sight of the cross by thinking that we have done something to deserve God's favor? Or are we misunderstood? Do our friends and neighbors see our attempts to help them live better by encouraging them to avoid certain sins come across like judgment?
I think it's too easy to forget the reality of the Gospel. It's too easy for us to begin believing that we are somebody--that we have gotten something right. The reality is that there is only One who got something right, and not one of us is him. May we never give our friends who do not yet believe in Jesus a reason for misunderstanding. May we admit our flaws so the grace of God may be magnified in the eyes of those around us.
Romans 5:8 NET
But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Back in the first chapter of Romans Paul describes why we have no excuse. He writes that we have all seen the glory of God in creation but have chosen to worship the creation we can see rather than the Creator we cannot see. He ends the passage with the statement:
Romans 1:29-31 NET
They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless.
Here Paul is describing what sin has done to humanity. Because we have rebelled against God, he has turned us over to our evil desires, and we have become all these things--every one of us. As a matter of fact, Paul goes on in the next chapter to write that we are without excuse when we judge people. To judge someone else is to condemn ourselves because we act the very same way everyone else does. Paul has not yet gotten to the Good News. The Good News is that even though every one of us rebels against God, all who will trust in Jesus are forgiven. Jesus came to earth, lived over 30 years without every rebelling against God and died on a cross to accept God's wrath in our place. Since God's wrath has been satisfied in Jesus, anyone who chooses to trust in Jesus as their only way to pleasing God is completely forgiven.
My heart is saddened every time I hear someone say how they have been judged by a Christian. In those times I wonder if we Christians really are hypocrites. Have we forgotten that we have not done one single thing to make ourselves worthy of God's grace? Have we lost sight of the cross by thinking that we have done something to deserve God's favor? Or are we misunderstood? Do our friends and neighbors see our attempts to help them live better by encouraging them to avoid certain sins come across like judgment?
I think it's too easy to forget the reality of the Gospel. It's too easy for us to begin believing that we are somebody--that we have gotten something right. The reality is that there is only One who got something right, and not one of us is him. May we never give our friends who do not yet believe in Jesus a reason for misunderstanding. May we admit our flaws so the grace of God may be magnified in the eyes of those around us.
1 comment:
Jonathan, My Christian walk is fairly new. When I opened my heart to God's promises, my eyes also opened to to the many sins I have made and the sins that I see around me. I try very hard not to be critical or judgemental, but I cant help but be disappointed when it is my fellow Christians being sinful. I dont get discouraged in my walk, because I know that without God in my life: I Would Be Dead. I pray for my fellow Christians that God's truth will manifest in their lives.
Thank you for this web site
God Bless you!
Donna
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