Today we will look at Romans 2:17-29. Yesterday, Paul was speaking against those who we would consider "Moralists," meaning they lived as "good" people, doing what was moral, but never giving their lives over to God as Christ Followers. In today's passage, Paul was speaking against the Jewish believer who thought that their "Jewishness" (not a real theological term) made them "better" than the Gentile believers (those like you and I who are not of Jewish descent, though very welcome into a relationship with God through Jesus). Paul tells them that they are nothing more than a hypocrite!
Let me share with you that the excuse I hear more often than any other for why people are not ready to become Christ Followers (a Christian) is because they view all professing Christians as hypocrites. Because someone who either was a Christian or even claimed to be one treated them terribly, folks are ready to write off what a true Christian is forever. Man does that really get me fired up! If I were to develop this same attitude (I pray I NEVER do!), then I would need to just stop showing up to the church building every morning...especially on Sundays, because I "feel" let down all the time by people. If you are basing your perception of what a Christian should or should not be on anything other than God's Word and the example given us through Jesus' earthly living, YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED! Maybe not right away, maybe not next month, but eventually, humans will be humans, we will sin, and you will be let down. If you're foolish enough to believe that the born again believer never sins, you will quickly learn otherwise...not because I say so, but because it's what God's Word tells us, too.
One of Paul's lessons through this passage, I believe, is that it's not about saying the right thing, but then doing whatever else you want to do. It's not about doing the right thing, while, at the same time, saying what ever you choose about or judging others. Being a true Christian means living for Christ inwardly, walking the walk outwardly, and seeking praise not from men, but instead from God. If you need to be reminded about some of what we shouldn't be involved in, check Monday's passage, especially 1:28-32.
Are you walking with Christ today? Are you plugged in to a Bible believing, Bible teaching local church? If not, why...I can tell you it is absolutely God's desire that you be plugged in, learning more about Him, sharing life together with those who share the same love of God. If you need help finding a strong church, drop me a note and let me know, I'd be glad to do some research for you and your family.
Meet you here tomorrow!
In Christ,
PJ
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The "Moral" Life...
Today we're looking at Romans 2:1-16, and again, it's a hard-hitting lesson from Paul. He continues with another "therefore," picking up from the end of chapter 1 (remember, when Paul wrote this, it was a letter without chapter and verse breaks), and nailing us with the fact that we have no excuse to pass judgement on one another. Paul is saying that there are certainly those people who are blatantly living in obvious sin and openly defying God's Word and not caring at all. But there are also people who like to pass judgement on others when we are in need of dealing with other types of sin in our own lives. Luke 6:41 comes to mind: "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"
Now, is Paul, or am I, suggesting that whatever anyone wants to do is their prerogative? That the sin in another person's life is none of my business? Well, yes and no. It's not my job as a Pastor, or yours as a Christ follower, to be the "Sin Police," but at the same time, it is my job to share with as many as possible what God's Word says about sin. The job of a physician is to diagnose illness, to offer cures/treatment, and to also share with their patients how to stay healthy to begin with. As Christians, we have the same spiritual responsibilities. Paul is sharing in this passage that there are many "illnesses" that we are all struggling with, and he is also sharing the cure, that is to follow Jesus and His Word.
There are many folks that I come in contact with during the week, even many in the church on Sunday morning, who are very "moral" people. We are not called by God, however, to simply live a moral life. We are called to live a holy life, meaning we are to strive to live the life that Christ demonstrated for us. Does this mean that after we give control of our life to Christ that we will stop sinning? NO! But it does mean that as we allow Him to control our life, He will direct us away from many things that may currently be in our lives. He will re-direct our paths, He will show us many areas of life in a new light...His light. This is not a fun, comfortable position to put yourself in, as the world sees it. But, when we allow Him to control our life, and we truly seek His ways over our own, what the world sees as uncomfortable and puzzling is instead realized by the Christian to be complete comfort and security.
What part are you playing today? Jury...Judge...or are you a Witness? Have you ever given control of your life over to Jesus Christ, allowing Him to be Lord of your life? Is there a "missing link" in your life? Talk to God today...acknowledge that you are a sinner, that you desire to turn away from those sins, and that you are trusting Jesus today with your life. Give Jesus control of your heart and trust in His death as payment for your sins. Anyone reading this who ever wants to talk more, please contact me anytime!
Until tomorrow, have a blessed day!
In Christ,
PJ
Now, is Paul, or am I, suggesting that whatever anyone wants to do is their prerogative? That the sin in another person's life is none of my business? Well, yes and no. It's not my job as a Pastor, or yours as a Christ follower, to be the "Sin Police," but at the same time, it is my job to share with as many as possible what God's Word says about sin. The job of a physician is to diagnose illness, to offer cures/treatment, and to also share with their patients how to stay healthy to begin with. As Christians, we have the same spiritual responsibilities. Paul is sharing in this passage that there are many "illnesses" that we are all struggling with, and he is also sharing the cure, that is to follow Jesus and His Word.
There are many folks that I come in contact with during the week, even many in the church on Sunday morning, who are very "moral" people. We are not called by God, however, to simply live a moral life. We are called to live a holy life, meaning we are to strive to live the life that Christ demonstrated for us. Does this mean that after we give control of our life to Christ that we will stop sinning? NO! But it does mean that as we allow Him to control our life, He will direct us away from many things that may currently be in our lives. He will re-direct our paths, He will show us many areas of life in a new light...His light. This is not a fun, comfortable position to put yourself in, as the world sees it. But, when we allow Him to control our life, and we truly seek His ways over our own, what the world sees as uncomfortable and puzzling is instead realized by the Christian to be complete comfort and security.
What part are you playing today? Jury...Judge...or are you a Witness? Have you ever given control of your life over to Jesus Christ, allowing Him to be Lord of your life? Is there a "missing link" in your life? Talk to God today...acknowledge that you are a sinner, that you desire to turn away from those sins, and that you are trusting Jesus today with your life. Give Jesus control of your heart and trust in His death as payment for your sins. Anyone reading this who ever wants to talk more, please contact me anytime!
Until tomorrow, have a blessed day!
In Christ,
PJ
Monday, October 27, 2008
Back on Track...
WOW...finally, I think I'm getting back on track after being out of town for several days (had a GREAT time at my 20th H.S. Reunion!) and coming back for a crazy (in a good way) week in the office. So, today we will look at Romans 1:24-32.
This passage begins with a "therefore," which means we need to look back and see, within the context, what it is "there for." Paul has just finished explaining how people know that there is a God down deep inside. He can be seen in creation by "His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, [which] have been clearly seen..." But, he continues, "they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, ...and their foolish heart was darkened." Then, "therefore," He said "fine, if you really want to live to just please yourself, that is, your flesh, then I will allow you to choose to do so." This choice led (and still leads to today) to men and women treating their bodies, physically and emotionally, in ways that God did not intend for them to be treated.
As a parent, it's very hard to allow your child to do something that you know is not the right thing to do...to let them follow through with a decision that you already know the outcome of, one which is certain to cause them pain. But, there comes a point when we have to let them "learn the hard way." A self-professing "hard head," I have been party to many of these decisions myself, and it's only by God's grace that I am still around today to even be sharing this with you. But, I know many of you who are reading this, also, and that you have made a few of these decisions as well, and are still around today for a reason. As difficult as it is for me as a parent, I can only imagine how this felt to a Holy, loving God, who allowed Himself to step back and let His creation utilize their free will.
Read through verses 28-31, and pray about which of those specific sins may be in your life and need to be dealt with. This passage is most often quoted in regards of what God has said about homosexuality in verses 26-27, but the entire passage should be a sobering wake-up call to all of us to deal with sin, no matter what it is, in our own lives.
Have a blessed week, and I'll meet you here tomorrow!
PJ
This passage begins with a "therefore," which means we need to look back and see, within the context, what it is "there for." Paul has just finished explaining how people know that there is a God down deep inside. He can be seen in creation by "His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, [which] have been clearly seen..." But, he continues, "they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, ...and their foolish heart was darkened." Then, "therefore," He said "fine, if you really want to live to just please yourself, that is, your flesh, then I will allow you to choose to do so." This choice led (and still leads to today) to men and women treating their bodies, physically and emotionally, in ways that God did not intend for them to be treated.
As a parent, it's very hard to allow your child to do something that you know is not the right thing to do...to let them follow through with a decision that you already know the outcome of, one which is certain to cause them pain. But, there comes a point when we have to let them "learn the hard way." A self-professing "hard head," I have been party to many of these decisions myself, and it's only by God's grace that I am still around today to even be sharing this with you. But, I know many of you who are reading this, also, and that you have made a few of these decisions as well, and are still around today for a reason. As difficult as it is for me as a parent, I can only imagine how this felt to a Holy, loving God, who allowed Himself to step back and let His creation utilize their free will.
Read through verses 28-31, and pray about which of those specific sins may be in your life and need to be dealt with. This passage is most often quoted in regards of what God has said about homosexuality in verses 26-27, but the entire passage should be a sobering wake-up call to all of us to deal with sin, no matter what it is, in our own lives.
Have a blessed week, and I'll meet you here tomorrow!
PJ
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Non-Warm & Fuzzy Day 2...
Today's passage is Romans 1:20-23.
In my 38 years of "life experience," I have had many opportunities to experience getting busted. Thankfully, the bulk of these experiences are well in the past, but the memories and lessons learned live on even today. I can remember sooo many times, getting caught in a lie or situation that I knew was not acceptable to my parents, where I tried to plead ignorance (or stupidity) as my defense. So many of us are walking through life, living in whatever way we "feel" to be right, doing things on our own, and then we get "busted." Something goes wrong, a situation comes up that we (knowing that we shouldn't have been involved) put ourselves in some bad way. Maybe we've made poor choices with jobs, finances, relationships...whatever your situation is. And now, we get to the end of the rope. We find ourselves at that place of feeling out of options. What worked before, doing everything in our own power, just continues to make things worse. Here we are, before God, and we find ourselves trying to plead ignorance or stupidity before Him.
Paul picks up from yesterday's discussion and continues on that we are "without excuse" when it comes to not acknowledging God for who He is. Believe it or not, just about every painful situation you have ever found yourself in, or are finding yourself in right now, can be directly linked back to not acknowledging God for who He is and seeking His righteousness instead of our own desires. I know, this is a very bold, "churchy" feeling response, but God's Word says that it's true!
I love verse 22, as Paul shares that the recipients of his letter (and of those of us reading it today), found themselves "professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures." The "Pastor Joey" paraphrase also adds that "they traded for an image in the form of a large house (nicer than their neighbor's), a new car (more expensive than they can afford), and bigger toys (that their kids don't even play with) than all the other kids on the block!
Here is today's challenge: We know that we are without excuse in acknowledging God's power and nature today, so have you done it? Are you through trying to do things on your own? Are you ready to live in a truly wise manner by following the incorruptible God? Are there "corruptible" things or desires that you need to give up today?
Have a blessed day!
PJ
In my 38 years of "life experience," I have had many opportunities to experience getting busted. Thankfully, the bulk of these experiences are well in the past, but the memories and lessons learned live on even today. I can remember sooo many times, getting caught in a lie or situation that I knew was not acceptable to my parents, where I tried to plead ignorance (or stupidity) as my defense. So many of us are walking through life, living in whatever way we "feel" to be right, doing things on our own, and then we get "busted." Something goes wrong, a situation comes up that we (knowing that we shouldn't have been involved) put ourselves in some bad way. Maybe we've made poor choices with jobs, finances, relationships...whatever your situation is. And now, we get to the end of the rope. We find ourselves at that place of feeling out of options. What worked before, doing everything in our own power, just continues to make things worse. Here we are, before God, and we find ourselves trying to plead ignorance or stupidity before Him.
Paul picks up from yesterday's discussion and continues on that we are "without excuse" when it comes to not acknowledging God for who He is. Believe it or not, just about every painful situation you have ever found yourself in, or are finding yourself in right now, can be directly linked back to not acknowledging God for who He is and seeking His righteousness instead of our own desires. I know, this is a very bold, "churchy" feeling response, but God's Word says that it's true!
I love verse 22, as Paul shares that the recipients of his letter (and of those of us reading it today), found themselves "professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures." The "Pastor Joey" paraphrase also adds that "they traded for an image in the form of a large house (nicer than their neighbor's), a new car (more expensive than they can afford), and bigger toys (that their kids don't even play with) than all the other kids on the block!
Here is today's challenge: We know that we are without excuse in acknowledging God's power and nature today, so have you done it? Are you through trying to do things on your own? Are you ready to live in a truly wise manner by following the incorruptible God? Are there "corruptible" things or desires that you need to give up today?
Have a blessed day!
PJ
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Dad's Wrath...
Today we're looking at only two verses, Romans 1:18-19, and bracing for the weeks (and months, maybe) to come. This verse, along with the ones coming up, are not what we would consider "warm fuzzy" verses, and today's verse, especially, hits us with the thought of God's wrath.
I can think back to many times in my early life when I considered the thought of a "wrath." My dad was very loving to me when I was a child, and he did a pretty good job of keeping his cool. But, I must say that I found many ways to push him to that point...you know, that point of having to face the wrath of your parent. My mom was at home with my brother, sister and I during the summers as she worked at a school, and there were times (probably daily) when we would really aggravate her and she would get mad. This was not good, but when I drove my dad to the point of him wanting to pour out his wrath on me...that was REALLY not good! Now, as a dad, my parents wishes have come true...that wish where I end up with a child just like myself. I can definitely see many of the same tendencies in Brian that I possessed as a child, and there are times when I am moved beyond being upset, past being mad, and I'm ready to allow my loving son to experience my wrath!
The Greek for "wrath" really refers to "a settled, determined indignation, not to the momentary, emotional, and often uncontrolled anger to which human beings are prone." So, as much as I didn't like it when I drove my dad to the brink, and as much as I don't like being driven to the brink, this is nothing compared to the wrath of God. What makes these times so hard is the fact that most of the time, I aggravated situations even though I knew the rules and I knew that dad was not going to be happy. In the same way, the human race has known from the very beginning what the rules were with God. He created Adam and Eve, and He spent time with them daily, sharing with them. They, just as we frequently do, chose to go against the Creator's wishes and did their own thing, thus bringing condemnation upon themselves.
Verse 19 goes on to share that they (and we) knew better because "God made it evident to them." This "General Revelation" is what gets us realize that there is a God to begin with, and then to search out more about Him.
So, not a "warm and fuzzy" day, but a day to again evaluate how we are living before Him. John MacArthur shares this: "A disease has to be recognized and identified before seeking a cure means anything. In the same way and for the same reason, Scripture reveals the bad news before the good news. God’s righteous judgment against sin is proclaimed before His gracious forgiveness of sin is offered. A person has no reason to seek salvation from sin if he does not know he is condemned by it. He has no reason to want spiritual life unless he realizes he is spiritually dead." Today, we see a sense of the "bad" news, but greater days are coming!
Be reading through Romans chapter 1.
PJ
I can think back to many times in my early life when I considered the thought of a "wrath." My dad was very loving to me when I was a child, and he did a pretty good job of keeping his cool. But, I must say that I found many ways to push him to that point...you know, that point of having to face the wrath of your parent. My mom was at home with my brother, sister and I during the summers as she worked at a school, and there were times (probably daily) when we would really aggravate her and she would get mad. This was not good, but when I drove my dad to the point of him wanting to pour out his wrath on me...that was REALLY not good! Now, as a dad, my parents wishes have come true...that wish where I end up with a child just like myself. I can definitely see many of the same tendencies in Brian that I possessed as a child, and there are times when I am moved beyond being upset, past being mad, and I'm ready to allow my loving son to experience my wrath!
The Greek for "wrath" really refers to "a settled, determined indignation, not to the momentary, emotional, and often uncontrolled anger to which human beings are prone." So, as much as I didn't like it when I drove my dad to the brink, and as much as I don't like being driven to the brink, this is nothing compared to the wrath of God. What makes these times so hard is the fact that most of the time, I aggravated situations even though I knew the rules and I knew that dad was not going to be happy. In the same way, the human race has known from the very beginning what the rules were with God. He created Adam and Eve, and He spent time with them daily, sharing with them. They, just as we frequently do, chose to go against the Creator's wishes and did their own thing, thus bringing condemnation upon themselves.
Verse 19 goes on to share that they (and we) knew better because "God made it evident to them." This "General Revelation" is what gets us realize that there is a God to begin with, and then to search out more about Him.
So, not a "warm and fuzzy" day, but a day to again evaluate how we are living before Him. John MacArthur shares this: "A disease has to be recognized and identified before seeking a cure means anything. In the same way and for the same reason, Scripture reveals the bad news before the good news. God’s righteous judgment against sin is proclaimed before His gracious forgiveness of sin is offered. A person has no reason to seek salvation from sin if he does not know he is condemned by it. He has no reason to want spiritual life unless he realizes he is spiritually dead." Today, we see a sense of the "bad" news, but greater days are coming!
Be reading through Romans chapter 1.
PJ
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