Romans 5:6-8 (NIV)

                                                   

                                   

 ⁶You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Without Jesus, we were all destined for the wrath of God. Most people do not realize the desperate condition man is in when he is without Jesus. "The soul that sins shall die" not just a physical death, but a second-death of judgment also. Rebellion of the creature against his holy and perfect Creator demands nothing less than eternal punishment. That was the justice waiting for us, and there was nothing we could do about it. Only one person could help, and He did.

Why should He have died for us? He is the Creator and we are the rebellious creation. If He was anything like us, He wouldn't even have considered it. We might consider sacrificing our lives for a very good man. It's not likely, but we might. But for a derelict that constantly rebuffed our kindness, mocked our concern, and doubted our intentions after abundant generosity on our part, we'd probably be glad to see him get his just deserts. Isn't that what makes a great movie conclusion, when the bad guy gets what is coming to him? Thank God, Jesus isn't like us.

God made a public demonstration of His love for us with the cross. When man was at his worst, torturing and murdering the very One that gave them life, He was showing the extent of His love for them. The contrast so extreme! The hatred and selfishness we each have was manifested in those people, and yet He willingly laid down His life for them, for us. That is love that goes beyond what we can imagine possible in the very best man, and yet it was seen in the man Christ Jesus. That love was demonstrated for us to have life. It was demonstrated so that we would know we can never be too bad for Jesus. It was demonstrated to assure our hearts of the depths of the love and grace that God has for us.

Consider: How will you respond to such love?

Romans 4:19-21 (NIV)

                                                       

¹⁹Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead–since he was about a hundred years old–and that Sarah's womb was also dead.²⁰Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, ²¹being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

The Apostle Paul makes the case that Abraham is the father of all believers, both Jew and Gentile. Since he trusted in the promise of God and was counted as righteous before he received the covenant of circumcision, he is father of those who have not entered into Jewish ritual but still trust in God. His example clearly shows us that it is not by works that we are made right with God, but by believing and trusting in God.

His faith is an example to us all. Even when his body and that of his wife's were incapable of producing a child, he believed God's promise that they would have a boy. If God told you that a 100-year-old man and a 90-year-old woman would have a child, would you believe it? Faith believes what cannot be seen or reasoned with the natural mind. Faith pleases God.

What has God promised to you? He has promised all believers that He will transform them into the likeness of His Son. You may look at your thoughts and actions today and think it is impossible, but God has promised. Won't you be like Abraham who looked beyond the natural and was fully persuaded that God had the power to do what He promised? Once you are fully persuaded, begin to act by faith on the promise.

Consider: Live in the confidence that what He has begun, He will bring to completion. It will keep you from wallowing in your failures.

Romans 3:22-24 (NIV)

                                                           

²²This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, ²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

There is only one way to be made right with God. It is not in being perfect or doing good. His standard is His own perfection. His glorious attributes of goodness, patience, love, peace, and holiness are the standard. Anything short of that is not righteous. The Law of God only taught man that they could not measure up to His standard by keeping it, for no one can keep it perfectly.

But there is a righteousness that comes from God through faith in Jesus Christ. He lived a life that was up to that standard. If you hide yourself in Him, He will be your righteousness. He paid the sin debt you owed, and in place of it credits you with His righteousness. There has never been a more unbalanced exchange. There will never be a more redeeming exchange.

Why would He do such a thing? Included in that glory that we "fall short of" is a most lovely characteristic, grace. He chose to set His love on us. He sees what He can make of us and gives us what we could never deserve from our own effort. We could never attain to the glory of God, so He made a way for us. What does He see that would cause Him to pay such a price as the cross? He sees His love transforming you into the likeness of His Son. He sees the day when you are living in the glory of God. This is true of every one who comes to God, Jew or Gentile, before or after Jesus' death. It was true of Abraham when he believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. It was true of the prostitute who washed Jesus' feet with her hair, and it is true of you and me today.

Meditation: There has never been a more beautiful word to the human ear than 'grace'.

Romans 2:28-29 (NIV)

                                                           

²⁸A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. ²⁹No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.

Paul asks the reader if keeping the rituals has any meaning if you are disobedient to God? What if a person doesn't keep the rituals but is obedient to God? Isn't obedience more important than ritual? The Jews had so many rituals and rules that they forgot what they were all about. While looking down on their Gentile neighbors, they were no more obedient to God than those they despised. In fact, some of the Gentiles were more obedient, for they obeyed the law of conscience in their heart.

What makes a man a Jew? Is it merely lineage? Is it the covenant ritual of circumcision? Circumcision was merely a picture of a heart made tender toward God. The one whose heart is made tender by the Holy Spirit is a true child of God. His actions come from the heart, not just intellectual obedience to a set of rules or a formula prayer.

The person with a tender heart toward God does not act for the purpose of men approving his actions as those of a spiritual man. He acts from the heart to please God. Men may despise him, but God is pleased with him. Man may not understand his actions and misinterpret his motives, but God will know. Whether he understands it or not, the cross has made access to God and a new heart possible.

What is the motivating factor for your actions? Do you try to do what is respected so that man will think highly of you, or do you act from a heart that has been made tender toward God?

Prayer: Ask the Spirit to circumcise your heart that you might be sensitive to His leading.

Psalms 2:6-8 (NIV)

"I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill." ⁷I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father. ⁸Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.

Many of the psalms look forward in time to the first and second coming of Jesus. Because Jesus is referred to as 'the son of David', there are things written about Solomon that are ultimately fulfilled in Jesus.

In the second psalm, God is speaking to the nations of the world that refuse God's instruction. They rebel against His loving decrees. But God is not threatened at all. In fact, He laughs. If all the nations of the earth were to join together to fight against Him, it would not disturb His peace one bit. Then God declares where His sovereign will has placed all authority to rule, in His Son.

The Son was with God from the beginning, but there is a point in human history when he is born of a woman. The birth in Bethlehem was one of the most amazing and supernatural events to ever take place. God stepped into a human body. The Son was willing to set an example for man and redeem man through His own obedient death on the cross, so God has given Him the right to rule the kingdoms of the earth. One day He will no longer allow man to rebel. The freedom to mock God and His laws and cause the people to suffer will no longer be allowed. Those rulers who would rebel will face the rod of iron. Man keeps trying to make the perfect government. The perfect government is coming.

Meditation: The King of kings will be installed on Zion, God's holy hill, and will reign in righteousness. Are you letting Him rule in your heart today?

Romans 1:18-20 (NIV)

 ¹⁸The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰For 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 men are without excuse.

Paul said God's wrath is being revealed. It is a present but also progressive revelation. They could see the consequences of sin on the physical and emotional state of those who were given over to it. You can too, if you are discerning. Shortly after Paul died, the Temple was destroyed. That generation of Jews who had rejected the Messiah and persecuted His followers would soon be persecuted by Rome, reaping what they had sown. The wrath of God could be seen in the physical afflictions of the pagan cultures as well. STDs were rampant because of Greek temple prostitution.

Did the Gentile cultures have an excuse for not knowing right from wrong? Paul wrote that what might be known about God was made plain to them. God made it plain. God has revealed to every culture and individual what they need to know about Him. His eternal power and divine nature are clearly seen and understood through His creation. No one has an excuse. As we see that revelation and the Spirit works on our heart, we must come to a decision of whether or not to surrender to the God of creation or serve our lusts.

It has been said that God has given us three revelations, creation, the Bible, and the life of Jesus. Certainly the Bible and life of Jesus speak to us more directly, but creation has much to say also. City life today surrounds us with the man-made. Take time to see the beauty of His creation, and let it speak to you of his eternal power and divine attributes.

Consider: Use illustrations from creation to understand life. Jesus did.

Romans 1:16-17 (NIV)

                                                               

                                  

 ¹⁶I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. ¹⁷For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

The Apostle Paul lived in a world that was similar to ours. Philosophies and a variety of religious beliefs permeated the Roman world. The preaching of the cross was quite contrary to the religions man had created, but Paul was not ashamed to be different. He did not mind not fitting in, for he knew the power of God that could save anyone who would believe. We need to carry that kind of confident boldness into our world.

Since Paul would later say that God does not respect one person over another, what does this mean that the gospel is to the Jew first? Certainly it is not first in importance. Throughout Scripture we can see that it is God's order. Even Jesus' ministry went to the Jew first. Even though God knew that they, as a nation, would reject Him, He still went to them first. It is God's desire that all receive the salvation He has provided for them, and He knows the best order to make that possible.

Verse 17 is the verse that broke through to Martin Luther's conscious mind and showed him salvation was not attainable by works. To be justified with God, to be made acceptable in His eyes, can only happen through faith. No amount of good deeds, no particular ritual, simply a heart that places its hope and trust in the God that made us through the way provided by the cross. Abraham believed God. That belief was credited to him as righteousness. Everyone comes to God the same way, as Martin Luther later summed up, "By grace alone; through faith alone".

To live by faith includes more than a one-time comprehension of God's sufficiency. It is a daily reliance on His all-sufficiency. It is a daily dependence on His power, provision, and His life to be what He calls each of us to be.

Consider: Are you living by faith today? Are you trusting more in the unseen than in what you can see?

Colossians 4:2-5 (NIV)

                                                                                                                                   

 ²Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. ³And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. ⁴Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. ⁵Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.

What does it mean to devote oneself to prayer? What would you say you are devoted to? Paul encouraged the Colossians to make that kind of life commitment, watching for God's instructions, and expressing thanks for all His goodness.

In that devotion to prayer, Paul asks that his team be remembered. He asks for prayers for a door to open for the message they were proclaiming. This is an essential prayer for all those who preach. Unless God opens the doors of hearts to hear, our labor will produce few results.

He also asks for prayers that he might proclaim it clearly. Spiritual truths must be expressed in words. The preacher's ministry is to find the right words so that the message will be clear and understood. Pray that your pastors have a door opened for their message and for their ability to express it clearly. You have a part in their ministry when you pray in this way.

Paul asked the Colossians to be wise in the way they acted toward those outside the family of faith. What a need we have for this today! We lose the opportunity to share the Gospel when we needlessly offend unbelievers. We must act in wisdom, realizing that God may give us an opportunity to speak the truth to them. Every person we meet we must consider a potential child of God seeking the truth. Our actions and speech should always represent Christ.

Consider: Though our passage today has two differing topics, they are united under one great concern. They have in common God's desire to reach the lost with the good news of His Son. If we share His concern for them, our prayers, words, and actions will express that concern.