No Longer Under the Law

          Romans 7 today was a passage I had read in the past, but in my mind always though about it running around in circles so I never really put much thought into it.  The law exposes our sins so that we are aware of them, but after accepting Christ’s Sacrifice for our lives we are no longer subject to the penalties of breaking those laws.

Romans 7:4 So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5 For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

          Once we come to a transformed life we gain a desire to serve and glorify God in all that we do and say.  Yet we are still trapped in this human body in a fallen world and sin will still tempt the flesh and sometimes win out in this battle.  The difference is that we now recognize that and hurt when we give into the sinful desires of the flesh unlike the unsaved that wallow in the sinful ways of this world like a pig wallows in the mud.  Paul in Romans 7 reminds us of this struggle:

Romans 7:21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?

25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

          Now we are not to think through this that we have an excuse to continue sinning without repercussions.  For God knows our heart and if we are truly repentant to the sinful desires of the flesh and do not delight in them even secretly He will see that in us even if others around us cannot.  This is a battle we will continue to fight here in this world, but we have God there to help us pick up the pieces once the last shot is fired in this battle and we finally come home to Him.

Hard Times for Good People

          As I read through my readings today I was able to see a common tie between Proverbs and Romans.  There is always Christ at the center of most any verse of course, but this is more how we are prepared in life.  Everyone will go through some hard times sooner or later and it is how we weather those hard times and how we come out the other side that matters.  Opening up in Romans 5 we are shown just what it is to go through these hard times.

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, wet have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And wet boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

          According to these verses hard times bring us the ability to handle more hard times to come and glorify God in doing so.  We build perseverance, character, and hope.  Without hope we have nothing, but in Christ there is always hope.

          I said that Proverbs 17 echoes this somewhat as well.  I have heard it said that God forges us in the fires to purify us and make us better as a metallurgist works with precious metals.  This verse points to that as well.

Proverbs 17:3 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,
but the Lord tests the heart.

          So the next time you find yourself facing a hard time and wondering what you have done to deserve such harsh treatment from God, try thinking of what He is preparing you for.  What is it He is making you better for and testing your heart for?

Justified by Faith

               I know this is an area I touched on yesterday, but I felt compelled to continue the thought.  In reading Romans 4 today as Paul talked about Abraham’s faith.  This is a faith in God to the point of taking his only son’s life, a life that God had promised to create nations from, yet a life that God had commanded Abraham to take.  Obviously if you know the story you know that God stopped Abraham short of committing the act, but yet Abraham was considered righteous for his faith.  These words Paul tells us we can take to heart.

Romans 4:20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." 23 The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

               This is the promise that God has given to all of us that believe.  How do we give glory to God in this on a daily basis?

Why the Law?

          Still recovering from the flu, but I wanted to keep this going so bear with me this morning.  I really enjoyed the reading out of Romans 3 this morning.  Although we may have heard this before it never hurts to hear it again. 

          Paul is talking about God’s faithfulness and man’s brokenness.  He talks about the Law and the fact that it is there not so that we can work to do right, but so that we are aware that we are not right.

Romans 3:20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

          So then if we are sinful people and unrighteous how do we change that?  Obviously we do not, but through faith in Christ Jesus we become righteous in the sight of God.

Romans 3:22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

          If this is the case then once we believe in Jesus Christ and are saved where does that put the law?  Do we just disregard it and live in Christ knowing that we are saved?  Of course not, we would be stupid to think so.  It is because of this saving grace that we desire to uphold the law and honor God. 

Romans 3:31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

Judgment

               Again today in Romans as I started my readings the first thing I came across struck a chord with me.  Something as a society we do here in the US and other countries as well.  We divide ourselves into classes and tend not to interact with those we consider below us, because they do not talk the way we talk, dress the way we dress, drive a decent car like we do, make the same income as we do.  The problem is we do this in church as well.  You see it all the time when someone comes in that might be a regular attender, but may come from the streets or close to it and are dressed shabbily and may not have taken a shower recently.  You know the ones I am talking about and then you see those that are trying to move out of their way and try to avoid this person in a way that may not appear to obvious.  When someone like this comes into the church and they are treated like this do you think they feel wanted?  Are you showing them Christ’s love for them?  Did not the Jewish leaders treat these people in the same way?  And how did Jesus react to those Jewish leaders that felt they were too good to associate with people they considered to be beneath them?  Perhaps you have even done this yourself.  I will admit it I am guilty of this from time to time.  When we do this we are judging that person because of their outward appearance.  We never take the time to get to know the inward heart of that person.  So as we judge them remember these verses.

Romans 2:1 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?  4 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?

               These are strong words and should be heeded wisely.  Of course there are many other ways to judge someone and I share one way in which I struggle.  The thing is we identify these areas we are weak in and repent.  We ask for forgiveness and strength to change when we find ourselves in these situations.  We are here to represent Christ and carry on His work here.  It is not about ourselves it is about God and all of those around us.  What have you done for someone else today?

Why Church?

          I could write about many of the things that I have read in today’s study, but I will try and keep it as brief as possible and focus on the main thing that stuck out to me the most.  The main point and the first thing I came to in my readings was in Romans 1 starting in verse 11 where Paul is finally in Rome speaking to the people there.

Romans 1:11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith.

          Paul is not there just for the people and the message that he can bring to them, but so that they may ALL grow in their faith.  This is why we are called to come together in church.  It is not just so that we can listen to the Word of God be spoke, we can do that at home.  Many people think they can be good Christians and not have to go to church.  They figure as long as they are good people and pray and read their Bible occasionally they do not have a need for a church.  They can commune with God by themselves.  Some even think that while they are out in the woods hunting and just spending quiet time they are fulfilling that obligation of being with and worshiping God there, the woods are their church.  Paul shows us this is not the case; we need each other in order to grow in God.  Maybe we should think about that next time we are in church and not just that we need others, but that others need us.

Those That Will Not Hear

          As I read today’s devotional as Acts closes out I am reminded that there are always going to be some that just do not get it.  Although it is sad and your heart just goes out for people there are going to be times where you are just wasting your time.  If you have already testified to them and they remain stubborn you have to move on to those willing to hear.  As Paul is quoting Isaiah here at the end of Acts we see that the hearts of some people will just not be opened.

Acts 28:26 "'Go to this people and say,
"You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving."

Acts 28:27 For this people's heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.'

          Now we always hold out hope for the lost especially if they are close to us, but it is in God’s hands if they ever will come to understanding.  All we can do is set an example of a Christ-like life as we live it out before them and if one day God softens their heart they will come to us.