Beyond the Gospels: Romans 6

To read the Scripture for today's devotional, click here: Romans 6 

There used to be a chant sometimes said at college basketball games:

“Foul, foul, if you should

But if you foul ‘em, foul ‘em good!”

The logical-although-misguided reasoning behind this chant was the penalty for a foul was going to be the same if it was a “little” foul or a “big” foul. So if one is going to get a foul called on them, it might as well be a big one, one that has dramatic results!

It is unfortunate when that kind of thinking is applied to being a Christian and sin. For some, the thought might be that if God forgives our sins when we ask for forgiveness, then we might as well go ahead and sin, having a good time in doing so, and then ask God for forgiveness later.

Paul, the author of Romans, argues strongly against this view. Here is The Message translation of Romans 6:1-2, “So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there?”

For Christians, baptism symbolizes the death of our old selves and the new birth of our new lives, lives that transcend the power of death. “…and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20)

Paul wants to make it clear to the church in Rome that actions do matter. The old axiom “Actions speak louder than words” rings true. If we proclaim we are Christians, but then our actions indicate otherwise, our hypocrisy harms the Kingdom of God.

Instead of “Foul ‘em, foul ‘em, if you should,” we should live by:

“Love ‘em, love ‘em, yes we should.

When we love like Christ, we love them good.”

Dear God, please help us to overcome temptations to sin and to lead righteous lives. Let everything we say and all of our actions reflect your love and grace. Amen.

Beyond the Gospels: Romans 5

To read the Scripture for this devotional, click here: Romans 5

Every person in the world will go through suffering at some point in his/her life. It could be the physical suffering of illness or disease, emotional suffering of broken relationships or mental illness, or even spiritual suffering. Regardless of social status or the amount of money a person has, everyone will suffer at some point.

Even Jesus tells his followers, “In this world you will have trouble.” (John 16:33a NIV)

We all will have tough times, but it is our attitude about those tough times that can set Christians apart from others. Suffering isn’t an end to itself, but can be the beginning of hope.

Paul writes in Romans 5:3b-5, “…suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”

In chemistry specific elements combine to make a substance that the elements cannot make on their own. Sodium, for example, is poisonous if consumed by humans. Chlorine likewise is poisonous to humans. But when the two combine they produce salt, which the human body cannot live without.

If a person suffers, such suffering produces something else: endurance. And then endurance produces character. The process continues with character producing hope. And hope is the assurance that the suffering won’t last forever, that things will be better in the future.

Even in John, when Jesus says “In this world, you will have trouble,” he follows it with “But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NIV)

When bad times seem to drag down our emotions, when suffering visits our lives, let us find comfort in knowing that through our faith in Jesus we will have hope.

Heavenly Father, none of us want to suffer. But when we do suffer let us look to Jesus Christ with confidence, knowing that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and that character produces hope. Help us to always have that hope. Amen.

Beyond the Gospels: Romans

To read the scriptures for today's devotional from Romans, click here: Romans 4:13-25

In this passage Paul tells about how Abraham believed God that he (Abraham) would be the “father of many nations” and “So numerous shall your descendants be.” (Romans 4:18) Abraham’s faith, his belief that God would do as he promised, was “reckoned to him as righteousness.”

Abraham had good reason to have his doubts. He and his wife, Sarah, had not been able to have children for years and years. And now, as they grew older, beyond the age at which couples had children, Abraham (and Sarah, as well) could have given in to doubt and despair.

But he didn’t. He didn’t know how God was going to do it. He didn’t have a detailed, step-by-step timeline on how God was going to make these miraculous things happen. Yet, he had faith that God would do it. And God did.

Paul points out that we can have the same kind of faith that Abraham did. Like Abraham, we may not know the details, but we can be assured that God’s word is true.

We can have that same kind of faith today. As disciples of Jesus Christ we may not know the exact specifics of how God will work through our lives, but we can through faith in Jesus Christ be assured that God can and will do mighty things through us. By ourselves we are limited, but with Christ we can change the world.

Dear God, help us to have the faith of Abraham. Help us to trust you and to live our lives fully in Christ, even when we may not know the specific details. Let us trust in you. Amen.

Beyond the Gospels: Romans

For the scriptures for today's devotional from Romans, click here: Romans 4:1-12

What is more important in our spiritual journey, faith or works?

Faith are those things which we believe even if we don’t know all of the details. As it is written in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Works, in contrast, are the external actions and deeds that we do for God and others.

So which comes first? Which is most important?

Many people believe that the way to get to heaven is through works, as if God sits in heaven like an accountant with a balance sheet, making marks by our name in the “good” column when we do something good, and making marks in the “bad” column when we fall short and sin. Then, when we die, God adds it all up. If we have more “good” than “bad” marks, then we get into heaven. If we don’t, we go to hell.

But Paul points out in today’s reading in Romans something completely different. He writes that it is through faith that we are made righteous. We cannot earn our way to heaven through good works. It is simply impossible.

But through our faith in Jesus Christ we accept the grace that God offers us freely, given out of his love for us. And it is in our response to this awesome, overwhelming grace that we do works, seeking to keep the Great Commandment to love God and love others.

Holy God we thank you that you offer us righteousness through your son Jesus Christ. May we increase our faith, and in doing so do works that bring you honor and glory. Amen.

Beyond the Gospels: Romans

For the scriptures for today's devotional from Romans, click here: Romans 3:9-31

One of the most widely quoted verses of the Bible we find in today’s reading: “…since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:23) While that is certainly true, it can be misleading if only that part of the scripture is read instead of including it in the larger narrative that Paul writes.

The quote should be something like this: “…since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith." (Romans 3:23-25)

The first part of the quote, the one most mentioned, tells us that everyone messes up. But the rest of the sentence gives us hope. It tells us that through our faith in Jesus Christ we are saved (justified). It also tells us that this justification comes not by anything that we do to earn it, but from God as an example of his grace. It is a gift, freely given, paid for by Jesus Christ.

It’s easy to get drug down by all the negative news in our world. The news programs and newspapers are filled with bad things that are happening all over the world and right here at home. It seems things are bad and getting worse.

As Christians, though, we have hope. Thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ we can be a beacon of light in a darkened world. We can claim the words of Jeremiah 29:11, “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”

Precious Lord, we thank you for your sacrifice on the cross, for it is through our belief in you that we have hope. Each of us do sin and fall short of the glory of God, but through our faith and the gift of God’s grace we are reconciled to our Heavenly Father and made new every day. Let us be a bright and shining light in this earthy world, reflecting the love of Jesus Christ to others so that they too may come to know peace that passes understanding. Amen.