Mar 5, 2020
Spend time in prayer and silence with God, asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
What shall we conclude then? Are we better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, and no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips.” Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
– Romans 3:9-18
Devotion
Paul has been painting a picture of the human condition. Now he culminates his description using a string of Old Testament quotations to pronounce God’s guilty verdict. These quotes fall like thunderous blows upon the human heart. We may think there is enough good in the human heart to get by, but there is not. Paul is talking about everyone here, himself included. There are no exceptions. Something is broken in our world, and it is all of us. The first three chapters of Romans provide the fullest explanation anywhere of the biblical doctrine of sin. Sin is a condition of alienation from God. Sin is a heart condition that every human being has, and a condition that must be changed before a human being can begin moving in the right direction.
The Big Question
Why do you think Paul focuses on the dire state of the human heart in this passage? Was is the difference between self-righteousness and God’s righteousness? Whose standard of righteousness do you adhere to? How does this passage impact how you view lost humanity? Lost friends? Lost family members? Lost neighbors?
Conclude your time in prayer and silence, reflecting on what God revealed to you today.
Mar 4, 2020
Spend time in prayer and silence with God, asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God. What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true and every man a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing His wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases His glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?” Why not say—as we are being slanderously reported as saying and some claim that we say— “Let us do evil that good may result”? There condemnation is deserved.
– Romans 3:1-8
Devotion
Paul was hard on his Jewish countrymen in chapter two. He told them they were as sinful as everyone else in the world. So, his Jewish readers are left with a question: What good is it, then, to be part of God’s chosen nation? The Jewish nation was given some great benefits. Most of all, they were given the Word of God through Moses. The problem was that they were not good at obeying God’s Word. That leads to another question: If the Jews were unfaithful, does that mean God will also respond unfaithfully? Not a chance! God remains faithful even when we are not. God’s character is not dependent on our character. Some were also saying that Paul’s teaching actually encouraged sin. How? Paul emphasized the grace of God so much, some concluded the greater the sin, the greater the display of God’s grace. Paul does not bother to defend himself against slander.
The Big Question
How does it make you feel to know that God is faithful even when we are not? God’s character does not change even when the cultural standards are changing all around us. How does it make you feel to know that we can count on God’s character even when the world questions His existence?
Conclude your time in prayer and silence, reflecting on what God revealed to you today.
Mar 3, 2020
Spend time in prayer and silence with God, asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; if you know His will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised.
– Romans 2:17-25
Devotion
Much of this chapter is aimed directly at Paul’s fellow Jews. They prided themselves on being the “children of Abraham,” and thought that this physical heritage guaranteed their right standing with God. They also believed that certain rituals such as circumcision guaranteed their right standing with God. Religious affiliation and rituals don’t mean much with God. What really matters is the inner life that goes along with those things. The Jewish people had a horrible reputation in the Gentile world because of their hypocritical behavior. Paul makes the point that these things are meaningless unless it is matched by a spiritual, inward transformation. When God looks at our hearts, He sees a sin problem. He’s hoping that we see it also. We need Jesus!
The Big Question
How does this passage impact the way you think about your own life? Where do you sense areas of hypocrisy? How is God’s reputation viewed in light of how you live out your faith? Have you declared your faith in Jesus through believer’s baptism? Are you relying on the rite of infant baptism to guarantee your standing with God? What is your major takeaway from this passage?
Conclude your time in prayer and silence, reflecting on what God revealed to you today.
Mar 2, 2020
Spend time in prayer and silence with God, asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, 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, tolerance and patience, nor realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward 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. God will give to each person according to what He has done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor 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, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism.
– Romans 2:1-11
Devotion
In chapter one, Paul declares that God will sit in judgment over those who outright reject His power and authority. In chapter two, Paul is showing that God will also judge self-righteous and religious people. The logical conclusion to this argument is found in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” In this chapter, Paul sets down certain principles by which God is going to judge “good” people. Chapter one reveals the unrighteousness of man, and chapter two reveals the self-righteousness of man. Neither of these address the real issue of God’s righteousness and His response to an unrighteous creation. A key phrase in the above text is “who reject the truth.” Jesus referred to Himself as “the Truth.” When self-righteous and religious people turn to their own righteousness to obtain salvation, they have rejected the Truth. The Gospel that Paul preached and taught was radically Christ-centered. When our religion or morality blinds us to the reality of the sin problem within us, we are in a very bad place. Brokenness always proceeds salvation!
The Big Question
In your heart/mind are you unwilling to admit what is really going on inside of you? Are you stubborn to ignore the sinful tendencies in your own heart? Are you spiritually proud or spiritually humble?
Conclude your time in prayer and silence, reflecting on what God revealed to you today.
Feb 28, 2020
Spend time in prayer and silence with God, asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 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, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 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 1:28-32
Devotion
Paul closes out this chapter showing the natural progression of rejecting God’s Truth. Even though God’s Truth is available to everyone, not everyone will embrace it. Those who reject the Truth of God eventually will become cheerleaders for the other side. Man has a revelation from God, but he flagrantly flaunts it by defying the judgment of God against such sins. He continues to practice them and applauds and approves those who do the same. Paul has now laid a foundation for the need and reason for Biblical Christianity. He will summarize this in chapter three when he writes, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
The Big Question
What did Paul mean when he wrote, “He (God) gave them over to a depraved mind?” As you look at the list of sins that follow man’s rebellion against God, is there anything that stands out in your own life?
Conclude your time in prayer and silence, reflecting on what God revealed to you today.
Feb 27, 2020
Spend time in prayer and silence with God, asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
Therefore, God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshipped 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 relations for unnatural ones. In the same way, the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
– Romans 1:24-27
Devotion
Now we see the result of man’s rebellion against God. Man’s degeneration is measured by his perversion of sex. Notice the repeated phrase in this chapter, “God gave them over…” I once had a seminary professor comment on this text. He said, “The most tragic moment in human history is when a holy God takes His hands off of sinful man and says, ‘Thy will be done…Have it your way!’” There comes a point in time when God “hands us over” to those things we so strongly desire. But notice that when this happens, there are consequences for man’s rebellion against God. One must wonder how much longer will God tolerate it and be patient with us? This type of rebellion is vindictive of persons whose “thinking became futile” and whose “foolish hearts were darkened.” James writes, “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” When we accept the lies of Satan, we set ourselves up against the truth of God. God’s truth will always win out in the end!
The Big Question
What lies of Satan have you believed? What does it mean to be a “double-minded” man? In what ways do you worship and serve created things rather than God?
Conclude your time in prayer and silence, reflecting on what God revealed to you today.
