Not Giving In

Posted on by korgrocker

“Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.”
Romans 6:12-14 NLT

Paul gets down to the nitty-gritties of living a life of faith. He starts to get personal. But how can he, a sinful man as well, tell others how they should and shouldn’t live? What right does he have, perhaps you ask? But what he writes is correct. As Christians, we cannot, must not even, allow sin to be the dominant force in our lives.

Paul starts with our minds. “Sinful desires” start in that space between our ears. We look at something and we lust after it. That cream cake. A new car. Men in particular can have a problem with beautiful women. And before we know it we are in the danger zone, sorely tempted to give into a “sinful desire”. And in case we find ourselves in a safe place, our enemy, the devil, will creep up on us and plant a sinful seed into our minds. A rationalising process can take place, much as it did with Eve in the Garden. Just one more chocolate biscuit won’t hurt. Another glance at that web page won’t really matter. “Did God really say …”. But we must stand firm, always alert for an attack on our minds, on our thoughts. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, “We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.” Someone once said that we can’t stop birds flying over our heads, but we can stop them nesting in our hair. 

Paul then moves onto our bodies. Our physical beings. Those bits of us controlled by our minds. Perhaps he is saying that it is bad enough to think sinful thoughts but to then use our bodies to apply the sin compounds the felony. By so doing they become an “instrument of evil”. Jesus emphatically made this point – we can read His words in Matthew 5:29-30, “So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your hand—even your stronger hand—causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” Of course, theologians try and rationalise what Jesus said. Perhaps I do as well. But Jesus was deadly serious. If our bodies become an “instrument of evil” then there is only one place where they will end up, probably with the rest of us following close behind.

But now to the positives. Paul wrote, “for you were dead, but now you have new life”. Of course we do. We are a new creation, in transition to becoming the persons God designed us to be. Work in progress, journeying through life. Through Jesus we have an opportunity, breathtaking in its simplicity, profound in its concept, and eternal in its outcome. An opportunity that just cannot be overlooked and missed. Living a life of holiness, because that is what separation from sin is all about, may, in worldly eyes, be dull and boring, but the resulting life to come will be filled with so much incredible joy and excitement that we will never regret it.

Dear Father God. We thank You for these Spirit-inspired words of wisdom from Your servant Paul. Please help us to take note of them and apply them to our lives, day by day. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Freedom!

Posted on by korgrocker

“For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.”
Romans 6:7-11 NLT

Paul made an extraordinary statement when he wrote “when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin”. The last thing that a person in a Western society will feel is that they are under the power of anything. In some perhaps misguided way, we all assume that we are free. And that is certainly true to a certain extent, because, for example, we are not locked up in a jail, or under house arrest, or have our freedom restricted in any way. So here in the UK we are “free” to go where we please, and live where we want to, unrestricted by government or anyone else. But in an absolute sense, we are not totally free because we could be restricted in some way by money, or health. By a relationship or education. There are many factors at play that could enslave us.

But Paul was referring to something far more profound and important – our standing before God. You see, an unbeliever cannot enter God’s presence because of their sin. The “power of sin” in their lives will constrain them to a life of enslaved rebellion against God, and an eternity to be spent in a place where they don’t want to go. Slaves locked up in hell.

The Pharisees remonstrated with Jesus about freedom. We read in John 8:31-36, “Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free”. 

Jesus set us free from slavery to sin through His death, if, of course, we put our faith in Him. He said quite clearly that all those who “remain faithful to [His] teachings”  will be set free from sin. And in some way, through our faith, we die with Him. We choose to align ourselves with God and openly declare that we will sin no more. The consequence is that, as Jesus rose from the dead, we too will be resurrected to spend eternity with Him in Heaven. How amazing is that? Too profound a truth to keep to ourselves?

Dear Father. Thank You for setting us free from the sin that we are so familiar with. Amen.

Sin and Grace

Posted on by korgrocker

“Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?”
Romans 6:1-2 NLT

We left Romans chapter 5 with the thought, “… But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant” (Romans 5:21b). And Paul continues this theme at the start of chapter 6. Of course we want to see more and more of God’s grace – without it we are a doomed people – but do we need to expose it by blatantly and deliberately sinning? A good question, Paul! He used some strong language here, presumably designed to shock his readers out of a position of complacency. Language not just for his day, I might add. 

When we put our faith in Jesus, we made a decision to not only follow Him, but to also turn our backs on sin. But, as we know, this is easier said than done. We strut away from the Cross, full of our new-found relationship with God, and very soon find that leaving sin behind is easier said than done. We suddenly find that unwholesome thoughts pop into our minds. Thoughts similar to those heard by Eve in the Garden – “Did God really say you must not …?” And before we know it we find that sin has knocked at the door of our hearts and entered, uninvited perhaps, but resident nonetheless. Oh Lord! And on our knees we once again we find forgiveness, covered by God’s “wonderful grace”. 

Divesting ourselves of sin takes a lifetime. And God’s “wonderful grace” follows us as the Holy Spirit helps us day by day, hour by hour. A new born baby soon learns what sin is all about, and the early formative years shape a personality that finds sin attractive and enjoyable. So in later years, to leave that behind is difficult. When Paul asked the question about a sinful life – ”how can we continue to live in it?” – he knew that it wouldn’t be easy. He knew that it could even prove impossible. But he also knew that we have access to some amazing resources that will help us. And we will read more about them in the next chapters in Romans.

Paul used the expression “since we have died to sin” as though this was a given fact. It is of course. When we believed in Jesus at the Cross, we related to His death, nailing our sins to the Cross in an act of repentance. One of my favourite passages of Scripture is in Ephesians 4:21-24, “Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy”. It is to me a constant reminder of an old life, hopefully increasingly put behind me into history, and a new life, becoming more like Jesus. The NLT translation from Ephesians 4:22 refers to “old sinful nature”, but the KJV uses the expression the “old man”. The old and new imagery clearly highlights the dichotomy between the two states.

We pilgrims really have died to sin, and with God’s help, every time our “old man” tries to emerge alive again from the coffin we receive the help we need to put the lid back on. And we find assurance in Hebrews 4:16, “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most”. God’s resources are always greater than our need. Always.

Father God. Once again we marvel about Your amazing grace. So unmerited but so welcome. We welcome this gift of grace with open arms, drawing it into the very core of our beings. Amen.

Everyone Died

Posted on by korgrocker

“Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.”
Romans 5:14-15 NLT

The Jewish Law was delivered to the Israelites by Moses. We read in Exodus 19:1, “Then Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. The Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “Give these instructions to the family of Jacob; announce it to the descendants of Israel”. But what about the time before the Law was given? Between the time when Adam and Eve were evicted from Eden and the time of Moses? Paul said to the Roman Christians that people still died in this period. Until Moses, there were no laws to break. So, strictly speaking, there was no opportunity for sin. Surely, to be a sinner, we need to be a lawbreaker.

But death was then, and still is a reality today. It was, of course, God’s intention that His human creation would live forever. To make this happen, there was a tree in Eden that produced fruit. This was a special tree that somehow had an ingredient that kept people alive. This tree was called the Tree of Life. We read about it in Genesis 3:22, “Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!”” We read that God “banished” Adam and Eve from Eden and then blocked any access to the Tree of Life. Genesis 3:24, “After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life”. But, that tree never disappeared from God’s plans. It re-emerges in Revelation 22:14, “Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life.” God’s plans will never be thwarted. We are living in an age between the two trees of life.

There are two types of death – physical death and spiritual death. We mostly think of the former, but it is the latter that perhaps is more important, because our spirits will live forever. Both Testaments in the Bible contain references to eternal life. In Psalm 23:6, David wrote, “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever”. Jesus said in Matthew 25:46, “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life”. Paul clarified the difference between physical and spiritual death when he wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:8, “Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord”. The Tree of Life kept Adam and Eve’s bodies alive, but there is only one way to keep our spirits alive and that is through Jesus. 

Paul said in Romans 5:14 that Adam is “a representation of Christ”. How can that be? Paul gives us the answer in Romans 5:15, “But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.” There is a stark and extreme comparison between Adam, representing mankind, and Jesus, God’s Son, and His representative for a few short years here on Planet Earth. And the two extremes were reconciled at Calvary, where we pilgrims kneel in worship before the saving Christ, Jesus Himself. 

Father God. Even though our ancestry can be traced back to Adam, we thank You that we are now adopted into Your family. What a difference. What a Saviour. Amen.

Adam’s Sin

Posted on by korgrocker

“When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break.”
Romans 5:12-13 NLT

The word “sin” is not one that is used very much in today’s societies. It is mostly associated with religion, being defined as an immoral act, or when a law is broken. It is one of those words that make people feel uncomfortable, so they attempt to reduce or eliminate the potential pain by calling it something else, or projecting its reality into a treatable illness rather than calling it what it really is. This particularly applies to words defining sin in the Bible. So “adultery” becomes “an affair”. And, perhaps controversially, taking drugs, or stealing, or drinking alcohol to excess, are illnesses. And so on.

A typical dictionary definition of the word “sin” is “an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law”. So without even mentioned God, the definition connects morality with law, and particularly in a way that involves a higher being. So is breaking a secular law a “sin”? Technically yes, but perhaps not in a way that complies with the dictionary definition of the word. It is rare, even unheard of, to hear the word “sin” associated with a traffic offence, for example.

In Genesis 1:27 we read, “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them”. God doesn’t sin. He never has done. So His original intention for mankind, having made them in His own image, just like Him, was that they would be sinless as well. We must therefore consider what it was that violated God’s creation, and why.

In parallel with the Eden story, a battle raged in Heaven, with an angel called Lucifer trying to take over from God, a sort of Heavenly coup. We read what happened to him in Isaiah 14:12, quoting from the King James Version. “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” Lucifer ended up in the only place available to him – Planet Earth. And it is here that he introduced his rebellious and wicked spirit, here he introduced “sin”. In the guise of a serpent, he caused Eve and then Adam to break the only law that they had been given by God. We read in Genesis 2:16-17, “But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die””. And we all know what happened next – the sad story is recorded in Genesis 3. Sin started with a rebellious angel in Heaven and in due course infected Planet Earth.

Sin happens when we break laws. And in particular God’s laws. The one overriding law that underpins all others was told by Jesus to a local Jewish religious expert. We read in Matthew 22:36-40, ““Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”” So the root of sin is disobedience to God. These simple laws power all other laws, and those who don’t want to sin must start here. And in so doing, they must bring everything they do under God’s scrutiny to see if they line up with these laws.

Perhaps we wonder what would have happened if Adam and Eve had confessed their sin, and were made right again in God’s presence. Their relationship with Him restored. Their sin wiped away and forgotten. But sadly it didn’t happen, and the disease of sin has been with us ever since. A pandemic of all pandemics.

Paul, in today’s verse from Romans 5, states that Adam’s sin became human sin. All have sinned, he said. And it is very true. I don’t know of anyone who has not broken any laws, let alone God’s laws. And all those who sin will ultimately die. That is, unless, they find forgiveness and redemption in God’s presence. Through Jesus we can discover that sins can really be washed away. Forever.

Father God. Only You, the Sinless One, has the power to forgive sins. On our knees today we worship You, deeply thankful for Your amazing grace. Amen.

The Law

Posted on by korgrocker

“Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.”
Romans 3:19-20 NLT

Paul’s references to the Law in these two verses seems to be in error, if taken on their own. The Law included far more than Paul would seem to indicate. But in the context of this chapter in Romans, a different picture emerges. The Law was given by God to the Israelite nation, and it had several purposes, ranging from how they should worship God through to rules for daily living. And in the process, it provided the Israelites with a “yardstick”. Something which they could use to determine their spiritual states, and, worse, show them how far short they were of keeping the Law in the way God intended. 

Jesus pointed out the problems associated with trying to obey the Law. In His “Sermon on the Mount”, Jesus said He didn’t come to abolish the Law. Matthew 5:17, “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose“. And then in Matthew 5:19-20, He said, “So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven“. And that’s the issue. To achieve the standard of righteousness required of God can never be attained. Regarding following the letter of the Law, the Pharisees – don’t forget Paul himself was one of them – were faultless. But they failed to follow the Law in the way that God intended. Jesus provided some illustrations in the remaining verses in Matthew 5. For example, His teaching about adultery, “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28). Jesus pointed out that behind the letter of the Law was a whole raft of heart attitudes, together forming the spirit of the Law.

Paul suggested to his readers that just going through a box-ticking exercise will not make them right with God. Christians can also fall into the same trap, even though they don’t follow the Jewish Law. Imagine trying to list all the things that we think we must do, to conform to a modern equivalent of the Law. Things such as following the laws of the land in which we live. Going to church on a Sunday, and the prayer meeting on a Wednesday. Having a daily “Quiet Time” with prayer and Bible reading. Taking our turns on the toilet-cleaning rota. Paying our tithe each month. And so on. Before we know it, we have developed our own version of a Law, which we think will stand us in good stead before God. None of these things are wrong in themselves. But they become pointless if they replace the relationship and respect we should have with, and for, our Heavenly Father.

So, pilgrims, what is your approach to the Christian life? In asking myself that question, I am conscious of a need to reach out to my Heavenly Father, because only He is my Source. Only He has the love and grace I need to live this life in the way He requires. and I will never achieve that my ticking a few boxes.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your presence in my life, and the lives of my brothers and sisters who are journeying their way through the Scriptures with me. I pray a blessing on them all, Lord, and a transforming touch of Your presence, to make a difference in their daily lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

A Conclusion?

Posted on by korgrocker

“Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin. As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one.”
Romans 3:9-10 NLT

Paul is finally reaching a conclusion to his rant about his fellow Jews. We don’t know how it was received in the Roman church, but hopefully there were positive outcomes. He asked the question if Jews were better than Gentiles, and then quite emphatically stated that they weren’t, because all people “are under the power of sin”, regardless of their heritage. And, to support his conclusion, he quotes verses from Psalms 14 and 53.

Psalm 14, a Davidic psalm, starts with a rather depressing theme about those who turn their backs on God, as being foolish. Verses 2 and 3 read, “The Lord looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God. But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one”! If David had just stopped there then there would have been no hope for anyone, let alone God’s people. The only logical outcome would have been another flood to enable God to start again, in the hope that the next race of people would behave better. Thankfully, of course, God made a covenant that He would never wipe out sinful humanity again. And David went on in Psalm 14 to record three things about God’s people. David wrote, “… for God is with those who obey him … the Lord will protect his people … the Lord restores his people” (Psalm 14:5-7).

But Paul, in his letter to the Romans, was laying the foundations for what he was about to say in the chapters and verses to come. It all started with sin, he said. The powerful hold that sin has over mankind. If it was just left there then there would be no hope, regardless of who their ancestors were, whether Jew or Gentile. But we pilgrims today have the benefit of a handbook of examples and instructions, to enable us to live a life free of the power of sin. Over it all, and through the sacrifice of Jesus at Calvary, we can respond to Paul and say that we stand righteous before God, because Jesus took on board mankind’s sin and unrighteousness. He knew that when he wrote this letter, and in the days and weeks to come we too will follow his very clear and detailed thinking.

Dear God. We thank You for Your servant Paul, and his willingness to record what You were saying to the early church. Please help us too to listen to Paul’s words and act upon them. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Sinful Logic

Posted on by korgrocker

““But,” some might say, “our sinfulness serves a good purpose, for it helps people see how righteous God is. Isn’t it unfair, then, for him to punish us?” (This is merely a human point of view.) Of course not! If God were not entirely fair, how would he be qualified to judge the world? “But,” someone might still argue, “how can God condemn me as a sinner if my dishonesty highlights his truthfulness and brings him more glory?” And some people even slander us by claiming that we say, “The more we sin, the better it is!” Those who say such things deserve to be condemned.”
Romans 3:5-8 NLT

From Paul’s account, it looks as though there are some in Rome who are mocking God’s grace. They are saying that in order for God’s grace to be covering mankind, we must sin more and more. And the argument continues by pointing out that God will get more glory if His righteousness shines so much brighter than the dark nature of man’s unrighteousness. Warped logic? Perhaps an example of someone taking a truth in isolation, or out of context, and developing it into something far removed from what the original intent was. There have been many such religious examples over the years.

The logic seems to say that if we do something sinful or wicked, then God will make something positive out of it, thus demonstrating His righteousness. I wonder if Judas will try and justify himself before God by claiming that because he betrayed Jesus, salvation of mankind ultimately resulted. But Judas’s problem is that he still did something wicked. What God made of it was nothing to do with Judas but was part of His plan for mankind. If Judas hadn’t stepped into the role of betrayer, then God would have allowed someone else to act as a catalyst for His plan of salvation. Judas will still be held to account for his sin one day.

Although sinfulness may expose God’s righteousness, that is no help to the sinner. Sin will create a barrier between God and us. When we sin we cut ourselves off from the experience of God’s love, not because He loves us any less, but because we reject His love through our sin. And our sin, if not dealt with, will set us off on the slippery path that ends with God’s judgement. But we are so grateful that through God’s grace, we have a means to deal with our sin. The Gospel is clear and unambiguous. Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost included the following verse, “Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Such love. Such grace.

How can we go on sinning, and by so doing wave our fists in God’s face, rejecting His love and kindness? How can we deliberately sin when we know how much pain it causes our loving Heavenly Father? But His grace will transform us, through faith, to become righteous before Him. So, we don’t become spiritually disorientated, making up stupid arguments, and becoming distracted by a false logic. We respond to the love of our Heavenly Father with grateful hearts. Always.

Dear Heavenly Father. We thank You for Your grace and love. What else can we do, kneeling before You in worship? Amen

Judging

Posted on by korgrocker

“You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things.”
Romans‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT

How often in our lives have we called out to God, asking Him to do something about the wicked? We think, if only God would destroy these totalitarian rulers in places like China, Russia or Iran. Or closer to home, what about that drug dealer, who causes so much misery? We cry out to God, that He would help the Police catch the burglar who beat up an old lady gratuitously while robbing her home. The Bible too contains cries and pleas to God about the wicked. The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 104:35a, “Let all sinners vanish from the face of the earth; let the wicked disappear forever…”. And Psalm 139:19, “O God, if only you would destroy the wicked! Get out of my life, you murderers!”

But there’s a problem. Paul wrote a few words in Romans 3:23 that go like this, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard”. So if everyone is wicked anyway, why should God restrict His judgement and punishment for those people over there but not the ones over here? If the pass mark for an exam is 50%, and one person achieves 49% while another only gets 20%, there is no difference with the outcome – both people have failed the exam. As others have said, God has no favourites and the ground at the foot of the Cross is level ground. What is there about human beings, that faults, sins, and problems can all be seen in other people but we can’t see them in ourselves? Why should we pilgrims try and take the moral high ground when we are also under God’s judgement.

Jesus taught about judging others in His Sermon on the Mount. We read His words in Matthew 7:1-2, “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged”. Paul also pointed out to his Roman friends that Christians are particularly at fault, because they know the difference between right and wrong. An unbeliever can have the, albeit weak, excuse that they didn’t know God and His requirements. But not a Christian.

However, knowing what we should do, and doing it are two different things. I was reminded the other day about a personal lapse. A friend was severely afflicted with the cold virus and I showed him little sympathy. A week later I was displaying the same symptoms and feeling quite sorry for myself. I didn’t get much sympathy either, but my wife reminded me of my attitude the week before. Perhaps, judging my friend’s response to his cold ended up with me being judged with the same criteria I used. Hmmm…

We pilgrims need to take into account seriously what Jesus said. Judging mankind is God’s prerogative, not ours. The Apostle James echoed Jesus’ words, as we read in James 2:12-13, “So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you”. Instead of judging others, we must show them mercy. In 1 Peter 4:17, Peter wrote, “For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News?” Our mercy must displace any feelings of judgement we might hold. It’s a counter-cultural response. When the world shouts judgement, we shout mercy. When the world condemns, we see a person who has lost their way. When the world lashes out, we embrace and show the love of God. When the world rejects the unlovely, we accept and invite them to join us on our journey to Eternal Life. We have the Good News that far surpasses all the Bad News the world can produce.

Dear Father God. What can we say but “thank You”. Your love prevails. Please help us to win others for You, so that they too will escape the verdict that leads to an eternal death. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

‭‭

God’s Justice

Posted on by korgrocker

“They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.”
Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭32‬ ‭NLT

Paul continues his letter with the observation that there are wicked people, those who think it foolishness to acknowledge God, who behave in a way that deserves the death sentence. But, inexplicably, they are not deterred by that. They just don’t care. And they draw in other people, encouraging them too to commit sinful acts. In Paul’s day there were a number of offences that invoked the death sentence, but Paul wasn’t talking about those sorts of offences. He was referring to wicked people committing crimes against God, with all their sins and wickedness as listed in the previous few verses.

What is there about human beings, that, when faced with a moral dilemma, they make the wrong choice? There seems to be something within our thinking that makes us prefer the sinful way over the right way. The Apostle Paul himself wasn’t immune from such behaviour. In Romans 7:21-24, he wrote, “I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” We will look at the remedy to Paul’s anguished state in a few weeks time.

There is something about sin, that attracts us and presents itself as a harmless act or state, one we rationalise away with thoughts that it doesn’t really matter, not just this once. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but the enemy, our adversary the devil, is a genius at packaging sin in a way that makes it seems palatable. Eve, back in the garden of Eden, experienced the subtle nuances introduced by the devil. We read in Genesis 3:1, “The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”” And Adam and Eve’s response to that seemingly innocent question has reverberated down the ages ever since. As another example, I suffer from type 2 diabetes, which I manage to control with diet. But I know that a cake or even a piece of fruit can often throw my carefully managed diet and result in elevated blood glucose readings. But imagine my dilemma. Toffee donut sitting on the plate. Or some scones with cream and jam, freshly and deliciously made by the lady across the road. Something within me is screaming that just this once, it won’t matter. And so I ….  A trivial example I know but it hopefully illustrates the temptations and propensity to make wrong decisions that we all experience.

There is a penalty for sin. Intuitively, we know what the penalty is, but, somehow, it doesn’t stop sinful behaviour. Even in those who do acknowledge God. Paul wrote about the consequences of sin later in the Book of Romans, but here’s a spoiler – “For the wages of sin is death, …” (Romans 6:23a).

So what do we pilgrims do? We see the activities of the wicked around us, and we may tut and wring our hands, but in the knowledge that sin is sin. There is no grading system. So those who commit genocide, and those who steal a pencil from their employer, are both guilty when they stand before God. Jesus taught about getting our own lives right before we act in judgement of others. We read in Matthew 7:3-5, ““And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye”. So we get before God in repentance, keeping short accounts with our Heavenly Dad, and pray for those who fall into the “wicked” category  around us. And we continue to pray that we will have an opportunity to share the Good News with them, praying that they will not inevitably end up dying in their sins.

Dear Father God. You know our propensity to sin, but Your remedy through Jesus is more than powerful enough to bring redemption and holiness. How grateful we are! Amen.