All In One Package Deal

Scripture: Romans 3:22, 25-26 "even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe... [God set Jesus] forth... to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."

Observation: Okay. So this is more (a continuation) from the last two days of SOAPs. I have to slightly change what I concluded yesterday because of what I see today.

Verse 22 clearly makes God's righteousness something that is "shown to" and "put on" believers. Then verses 25 and 26 clearly explain that the gospel does serve the purpose of highlighting both God's wrath and ever-correct attitude toward sin, and God's mercy and grace in over-looking the sin (or just delaying its condemnation) until Jesus could take the brunt of His wrath.

Application: Dale, know that Paul understand God's righteousness in a few different ways.

For me:
(1) God has declared me righteous through faith in Jesus.
(2) God has put His righteousness in me effectually (i.e. He intendeds it to be a powerful force for effecting change in me).
(3) I can look solely and deeply into the gospel to grasp the awesome and unsearchable glory of God's grace.

No wonder Paul made it his point to only preach Christ and Him crucified.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your amazing work in my life. I am your work, your handiwork and I want to give you all the love and praise that you deserve. Amen.

The Gospel Makes It Known and Clear

Scripture: Romans 3:21-22 "But now the righteousness of God part from the Law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God to all and on all who believe..."

Observation: This phrase, the "righteousness of God," is repeated here twice. It was first mention in 1:17. There Thomas R. Schreiner says that the term means both the effective change that occurs by the Holy Spirit's presence in us and also the declaration of "rightness" that God gives to us based on our faith in Jesus. Do those definitions fit here as well?

I have come to understand them simply as a characteristic of God, meaning that the gospel has revealed exactly how high God's holiness is and exactly how endless God's love, mercy and grace are. In the gospel we see that God's being is infinitely separate and excels ours. His perfection is unsearchable because we are incapable of comprehending it entirely.

But does my definition work? I have to stand by my understanding at this point because the rest of this passage (vs 3:21-28) seems to be defining in more detail the support for what exactly God's righteousness IS.

These SOAPs are getting too long in Romans!

Application: Humility. But how do I do it? And how do I go about changing?

Prayer: Father, I need, as always here also, Your help doing this. I'm drawing water from a tainted well. Please help me draw from the well of Your endless power through the life of Jesus in me. I love You. Amen.

Paul Really Didn't Get It Wrong (this is part 2)

Scripture: (continued from the 25th...) Romans 3:4 "Certainly not! Indeed let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: 'That You may be justified in Your words, and may overcome when You are judged.' "

Observation: After thinking more, the result or end of both situations (Paul's translation here and the translation of Psalm 51:4) is the same. When I am judged by the Lord concerning sinful actions I am left in the wrong each and every time. When I judge God (as in the instance of Paul's address to the Jews in Romans) I am left in the wrong each and every time. In one situation I have acted and God evaluates those actions. In the other, God acts and I evaluate. Alas, though, I find (1) that God is right, and (2) that I am then "evaluated" by God for my judging of Him and I must confess I must not judge God or presume to be God's judge.

Application: God can be my judge or my shield. The choice is mine. Either way the glory is His!

Prayer: Please reveal to me today where I am standing in judgment of You today. I know pride is ever with me. I presume too much! Renew my mind Father! Soften my heart and make me like Christ. I love You. You are good! Amen.

God Must Have Just Gotten It Wrong (this is part 1)

Scripture: Romans 3:3-4 "For what if some [Jews] did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true (also translatable as "found true") and every man a liar. As it iso written: 'That you may be justified in your words, and may over come when you are judged.' "

Observation: This transition is confusing to me, and I may not figure it out this morning....

First, what does verse 3 have to do with verses 1 and 2 and chapter 2:25-29?

Second, why does Paul "misquote" Psalm 51:4?

First, the "faithfulness" of God must be referring to the fact that God revealed the OT Scriptures even though some Jews did not believe in faith. So Paul's train of thought seems to be that (beginning at the end of Ch. 2):
1. Physical Jewish descent will never lead irrevocably to eternal life.

2. The "chief" blessing or value of being God's chosen nation was the immeasurable blessing of being the bearers of God's holy word and prophecies.

3. Therefore, because some do not continue in faith it doesn't mean that God's faithfulness was useless, but rather it must be understood that eternal life was never guaranteed to every Hebrew.

4. And verse 4 is just Paul saying that a Jew who found blame with God because God appeared to have failed to keep His promise or did not succeed in bringing the promised salvation to the Jews should readjust his or her perspective by remembering that God is always right and man will always be wrong when there exists a conflict between what we see God doing and what we think He should  be doing.

Application: A believer should remember this when dealing with a conflict between our society's current moral standards and the standard(s) laid down in God's word. Many people want to just assume that He didn't mean what His word says He meant.

Remembering this will also protect me from prejudices toward others when I misunderstand portions of God's word because I have forgotten to apply other important and pertinent commands.

Prayer: Lord, I'm glad that You are always right and I will always be found wrong when I disagree with You. I appreciate the times that You convict me of sin. I'm glad when You speak to me about things I need to stop doing... or start doing. I have no desire to be left in the dark so please keep shining Your light into my life. I love You. Amen.

"I Will Not Boast In Anything.. Nothing But The Blood"

Scripture: Romans 2:4, 17-20 "Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering, not knowing hat the goodness of God leads you to repentance?"

Observation: Verses 17-20 are a list of things that the Jews have to boast about, in the flesh anyway. He describes what makes some Jews believe there would be  partiality from God on judgment day. But the response to this way of thinking already came in verses 1-4: All are guilty because everyone sins. 

But God's goodness, forbearance, and patience are a soft floor for us to fall to our knees on. He calls us to "judge rightly" and then be humble regardless of what we may think gives us right or reason to be confident in our goodness.

Application: This chapter does nothing but call for humility! 

What are my boasts? What things do I hold pride over? Verse memorization, degree, consistent Bible study and prayer, personal spiritual growth, homeschooling, family, lifestyle. But for everyone of those things, I violate ten (or a hundred) times the laws and consistently am inconsistent in. Really, I'm broken. I am condemned without the blood of Jesus. I, like every other human, have only one hope - to live by faith in Jesus, who loves me and gave Himself for me.

Prayer: Please teach me. Forgive my pride and arrogance. Help me to love as You love. I love You. Amen.