Category: Devotions

Ever heard that?

The assumption is if you’re bad you’ll go to hell.

What will happen when Putin stands before God?

Or what about the incredible sacrifice of the Ukrainian solder who yesterday in blowing up the bridge to stop Russian tanks rolling over had to lay down his life for his nation? What happened when he stood before God?

Works are certainly part of our thinking at times when it comes to the judgment of God.

In this next section Paul is speaking about every human being, Jew or Gentile:

“God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honour and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favouritism.” (Romans 2 v 6-11)

According to what you have done, no favouritism, whoever you are, you will be judged according to how you have lived your life. That’s what Paul seems to be saying.

Here is the standard by which God judges everybody: what you do on earth, good or evil.

Judged by works.

So how do I know I have done enough good works? There comes the Muslim problem!

Is Paul really saying it is about works? If you do evil you will be condemned and if you do good you will have eternal life?

If the letter stopped here then yes I think it does look like that. But Paul is building his case. Soon we will be reading in 3 v 20 that no amount of good works will save you.

No one is good enough to get to heaven.

But this is the gospel that Paul is writing about. We are justified by faith. He makes us good! See you in heaven!

Whether you are a Russian leader thinking you can do anything you want or any other person like him in history; whether you are a Jew who because of being the chosen people can sin like the Gentiles; whether you passionately live out your religion appeasing many gods as you daily worship them; or even perhaps you are a ‘saved’ Christian who knows it is God’s job to forgive you as you live your blasé sinful life; no one is untouchable.

Why doesn’t God take out Putin?

Maybe He will, He can of course. But if that was the way of God then where would He stop? How sure are we that He wouldn’t stop with us?! I don’t think I would be writing this if God dealt with me in justice and with the way my sin deserved.

“So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.” (Romans 2 v 3-5)

Kindness, Forbearance and Patience! That’s His approach. Not dragging us by the ear to repentance but leading us. The Message says, “God is kind, but he’s not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change.” Isn’t that amazing? And our response?

Stubbornness and Unrepentant: refusing to take His hand, being self-righteous, self-justifying stance about how I live my life. “I do this because of this”.

Paul says to the Jew that they cannot do this anymore. They are storing up wrath against themselves. Even as a chosen people they will be judged.

So this points to the wonderful gospel of a Saviour Jesus who came and touched the world with grace and mercy and who every day reaches out His hand to you and me to walk away from the ways of the world and into the ways of God.

After speaking of ‘they’ and ‘them’ Paul is definitely turning his attention to ‘you’. The ‘you’ is definitely the Jew, in verse 17 we will read, “Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God …”

Some of what Paul says can be applied to the religious superiority of certain ‘Christians’ who look out of their church windows at a sinful lost world and carry on singing their hymns of worship thankful that they’re not like them. Paul says you are.

But not everything Paul says can be applied to know-it-all ‘Christians’ and we have to remember the fact that he was speaking to the ‘Jews’.

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. ² Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. ³ So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? (Romans 2 v 1-3)

To those who have the law of God, the Torah, the moralists, the covenant people of God, Paul has you in mind. Paul will give 3 chapters specifically to the Jew later in this letter (9-11).

He says you people do the same things as the horrible list that he has ended with in chapter 1. But it must be hidden because Paul is convinced they are doing the same thing. I wonder, what are the same sins that God’s people have committed behind their doors as the world has done in the open? Whilst that is not unsurprising, the fact that those same people pass judgment on the world is. Hypocrisy is the sin. The religious superior are experts at accusing what they are weak in because they can easily spot the sin. It takes one to know one. Everyone thinks they are right and have the truth. But only one has it and He is truth. He is the true truth.

Judgment is coming to those who judge from a place of hypocrisy.

We all need the gospel for we are all sinners in some way whether we are a Jew or a Gentile. That is what Paul seems to be saying through his letter to the Christians in Rome. I have been reading these next verses where Paul continues to denounce the Gentile sinful lifestyle of which the Jewish reader would be shouting ‘Amen’ no doubt. But he does so because he is leading very soon to reveal that no one ever finds themselves in the place of superiority to another.

It is a longer passage to read than usual but we do need the context of what Paul is saying. I have also left in the verse numbers.

“They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵ They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷ In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. ²⁸ Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹ they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. ³² Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” (Romans 1 v 23-32)

As you can see Paul uses repeated phrases:

They exchanged the glory of God, v23. They exchanged the truth of God, v25. They exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones, v26-27.

Therefore God gave them over, v24. God gave them over, v26. He gave them over, v28. Meaning God permitted them to experience the consequences for their decisions.

And what was those consequences?

They are filled with sin (Paul uses different words for sin in v29).

They are full (Paul uses terms to show that the outcome of breaking from God was they broke each other, v29)

If he had stopped there then no doubt many would be saying, “We haven’t exchanged the glory and truth of God; we haven’t committed the sin of idolatry or having unnatural sexual sins.” But in order to encapsulate us all Paul creates a random list which he does in his other letters.

“Have you ever gossiped?”

“Have you ever been arrogant?”

“Have you ever disobeyed your parents?” Who hasn’t done this one?

No one can escape!

Finally, just in case someone manages to wriggle out of being included, Paul says even those who may not have been tempted by certain sins but who have made it easier for people to stay in them or commit them are included in the group of people who have exchanged the glory of God and the truth of God for something far inferior and resulting in great damage. Whenever we move from the Creator to the created for our satisfaction we lose.

This is why we all need the gospel for we all need saving.

They knew God but they became futile.

They claimed to be wise but they became fools.

They exchanged the glory for cheap figurines.

But who are they?

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. (Romans 1: 21-23)

But who are they?

It reads like the Roman Christians are not unaware of who Paul is referring to. The Christian Church in Rome is made up of both Jewish and Gentile converts. Paul, a Jew, is doing what the Jewish writers had always done and that is condemned the Gentile for their actions. It appears that the readers had heard this all before. So why is Paul doing this? Are we not all one in Christ? (Paul believed this) Is he really stirring up trouble needlessly? Where is he going with this? The answer to that is hugely significant especially in the next few verses when he identifies sinful practices. For at the same time that the Gentiles were being condemned the Jews took the opportunity to gloat being the superior people. Paul is leading to his addressing of self-righteousness and that actually the Jew has no advantage over the Gentile at all. They don’t know that yet. But they soon will as they continue in the letter.

So even before we get to the list it is worth reminding ourselves that those people we judge and even condemn for their sinful practices are people who do live futile, foolish lives and who may even worship cheap figurines. However haven’t we? Are we any better? Before we get our placards out to demonstrate ask yourself: have you always glorified God? Do you really know it all? Do people see the glory of God shining through your life? Isn’t the whole of mankind better described as futile, fools and centred on figurines? The gospel never gives anyone at any time the superiority over anyone else. Paul believed we all have sinned …

“God’s glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.”  Psalm 19:1

Give me the evidence that there is a God and I will believe! Ever heard that?

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Romans 1 v 18-20)

The Earth is spinning 1,000 miles per hour and travels 584 million miles a year. No wonder we all feel tired!

A water molecule has three atoms: two hydrogen (H) atoms and one oxygen (O) atom. The number of water molecules in just 10 regular-sized drops of water is equal to all the stars in the known universe. Incredible!

Hummingbirds are the lightest birds in the sky. There are approximately 240 species and range between 2 and 8 inches long. They can hover, fly backward, even fly upside down. They can dive out of the sky at sixty-one miles per hour which is the equivalent to diving at 385 body-lengths per second! The human eye cannot see its wings flap they are too fast at 60 times a second

Who created all this?

That’s the point Paul is making.

Why does all this exist? For what purpose? That’s the question that needs asking.

The creation of the world will not bring salvation but it constantly speaks to people to search for the true God. Something which billions do every day. They wake seeking the Creator, the One who ordered this world. All that He has made shouts of who He is every single moment of every day and night! The gospel is of course that He can be found, in Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us.

Having opened his letter with good news here comes the bad:

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1 v 18)

This morning I think of a lady I pastored for many years and buried her in her old age who never came into the assurance of God’s love. She constantly lived under the shadow of God being angry with her. I’ve seen first-hand across the world anxious people trying to appease their angry gods, living under the shadow of wrath, fulfilling duties that have no meaning except to off-set bad karma.

But this isn’t the God of the Bible whose perfect love never changes towards us. God acts because of His unchanging love. His act is Christ Jesus who did what we could never do or deserve and that is to save ourselves from this wrath. The good news is that He has reversed the bad news. However for those who try and hide the truth of this gospel all they have left is God’s wrath which for Paul is here now but will be fulfilled at the end of time. Is God an angry God? Yes, if you don’t see the other side of the coin which is He is a God of love.

Ever thought that? Of course we all have.

The reason we have is because it is true. We never will be good enough. This is the premise for what Paul says next in showing how powerful the gospel is for the changing of lives:

“For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1 v 17)

Paul doesn’t explain what he means. Maybe he is assuming his readers know. He quotes Habakkuk 2:4 without citing his reference, they presumably know this Scripture.

God is righteous (Psalm 145:17) and He is a righteous covenant-keeper who is faithful to His people (Isaiah 42:6) but there is more! God does righteousness. God has made us right in His eyes. How? By faith.

The gospel is this: God removes the barrier of sin between us and Him and we are declared innocent by Him and for Him (we are justified). How? It is by the impact of the historical event of the cross and resurrection of Jesus in our lives. That impact is by faith remembering how Paul has told us to hold both obedience and faith side by side, distinct, but not separate, two sides of the same coin (1:5), that is the righteousness by faith.

It is everything, from first to last. He takes us into the story of Habakkuk ahead of writing of the coming wrath of God where God announces to the old prophet that judgment is coming through the invasion of the Babylonians. God says ‘don’t panic’ the righteous will survive by keeping faith with Him.

I’m not good enough to be a Christian! Yes that’s true.

It could never have been left to us to be good enough. God did more than enough.

We now live and will continue to live by faith in what God has done for us all. Amen.

Coming off the back of saying he was so eager to get to Rome to preach the gospel Paul now says this:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. (Romans 1 v 16)

We will see in this letter how Paul defends his position of the grace-gospel and he starts that here in this long introduction by saying ‘I am more certain than ever’ and ‘I will not shy away from this truth’. Why? Because of his own testimony and that of others.

I have a friend who is now a minister and I have on file her testimony: “On 25th March 1990 my boyfriend invited me to church where he had been ‘saved’ the previous week. At the time I enjoyed a successful career travelling the world with a party lifestyle of cocaine, amphetamines, ecstasy, on a weekly basis. I heard the gospel for the first time and responded by asking Jesus into my life. I experienced an instant, radical life change, including immediately stopping drugs, alcohol and smoking! Four weeks later, we were baptised together and got married a further two weeks after that. In July of that year I said goodbye to my travel career and worked alongside the Pastor as the administrator/ finance officer and Kids church Leader.”

The powerful gospel! There are millions of stories like this. The gospel is not only good news but it is powerful, life-changing good news.

Writing into the powerful Roman Empire Paul speaks of power. Rome boasted of its power. But it couldn’t save from the coming wrath of God. Being saved by the gospel is both now and future. We often think of it of life-change now and that is truly important but for Paul we will see how being saved from God’s wrath at death and the final judgment is what he had in mind throughout. Despite all the power that is being displayed across the borders of our world no one can save themselves from the day of facing God, except God Himself, through the gospel of Jesus Christ!

And what do people have to do? It is to believe! To believe the God-story which saw the Jewish people preparing the way for the Messiah and who were the first ones to receive (and reject) Him when He came. Everyone who believes, everyone and anyone, Jews and also non-Jews.

It’s not rocket science. Pastors can feel under pressure to produce some amazing strategic plan for their church. ‘This where we are going to be in 5 years!’ Many don’t make the long haul because they realise they can no longer pull rabbits out of hats and make their church better than the one round the corner, they fail the expectations of many, being a Messiah is impossible.

Yet these next 2 verses of Paul are a reminder of what every church should simply focus on.

^“I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. (Romans 1 v 14-15)

The culture of the Roman Empire had its origins in Greece. It is reasonable to think that Paul is referring to the educated and cultured people of Rome, ‘the Greeks’ and those not so, they being the ‘non-Greeks’. Without doubt he is referring to being bound to the gospel. He is obligated to preach the gospel to all Gentiles no matter who they are. He is also longing to preach the gospel to the people he is writing to who are Christians already.

So here it is. Not everyone is called to be a Pastor of a church. Not everyone is called to be a full-time Evangelist and Church Planter travelling the world as an Apostle. But all of us are called to the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ.

Here is the big strategy for every church. I think more Pastors would stay in their positions if their focus was simply this. I also think the Churches would grow organically if we all had this as the basis of our life.

1. Wherever and whoever we are with speak the gospel. Share good news stories of Jesus. Be an attractive person. Create an atmosphere of the presence of God by talking of Jesus and what He has done for you.
2. Do the same to those who are Christians. Encourage growth. Disciple people to follow Jesus even more. Preach the good news.

That’s it. That’s our calling as the Church. Evangelism and Discipleship for every member wherever we are, daily, in our ordinariness of life. To be good news people.

No doubt this wouldn’t satisfy everyone. The miserable may still try and put pressure on you to be something you were never meant to be. Shake them off. Do the important stuff. Be bound to the good. That’s your calling.