Righteous Faith

As we read the Bible and encounter the saints who walk on its pages, there is none who compares to the man of Genesis known as Abraham.  He is not regarded as a spiritual giant because of his knowledge of theological matters, or his wisdom in making decisions which affected those around him, or the fact that his actions always reflected carefully thought out obedience to God.  It had nothing to do with keeping the Jewish law since it was not in existence at the time he did his living.  Neither did it have anything to do with what he wore, or any markings on his body.    

When Paul wrote to the Roman Christians, many of whom were Jewish by birth, he spoke of what made Abraham the spiritual giant of their heritage as he wrote, "What does the scripture say?  'Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.' "  (Romans 4:3, Genesis 15:6).  We sometimes overlook this simple fact about this great man of God.  What enabled him to walk in a right relationship with God was his trust, his faith, his dependence on God to do what He said He would do.     

What we know from living our own life and walking our own walk of faith is that this business of faith is no easy thing.  It would be easier for some of us if we could just have our righteousness determined by the number of times we have attended church, or the cross we wear around our neck.  Righteous faith is about depending on God when there is no rational reason to depend on Him.  Being a very old man and living with a promise of many descendants is an example of depending on God to do what is not rational to believe is possible.  It is easier to talk about depending on God while planning our own way out just in case God does not do as He has promised to do.  

Spiritual Ancestors

Abraham is one of those Biblical characters who stands like a giant on the pages of the Holy Word as well as in the stories of the people who walk in his shadow.  When Paul wrote his letter to the Roman Christians, he acknowledges the primary role he has for the Jewish people.  In the very first verse of chapter four which is largely devoted to this ancient man of faith, he wrote, "...Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh."  And, of course, he would go on to declare that Abraham is the spiritual ancestor of all who claim righteousness by faith in Christ.      

Paul declared that all who walk the righteous way are spiritual descendants of Abraham.  What we also realize is that we have many who are remembered as our spiritual ancestors.  At the top of the list for many of us are our mothers and fathers, our grandparents, or some other family member who modeled faith in Christ in such a way as to impact our living to this day.  For them we are deeply grateful.  But, there are also many others whose DNA we do not bear, yet, who touched our life at a key moment when our faith was ready to be birthed, or perhaps, in a critical moment of growth.     

As we remember our spiritual ancestors with much gratitude, it is important to remember that the life we live in the present moment is impacting the generations which follow us.  It is not just the generation we can see, but also the unseen generation waiting in the invisible realm to be conceived and born into this life by our Creator God.  Even as we count those in our past as our spiritual ancestors, so should we look ahead into the unseen realm and know that one day we will be counted as the spiritual ancestor of one on the journey of faith.

Lord of Laughter

 Wild unrestrained

      deep laughter,

      washing over

         everything

         everyone

in the crowded room.

After Babel sounds,

      an unknown language,

      overloading ears

        of broken hearts,

        scarred souls

in the noisy room.

The unlaughing soul

      longs to laugh,

      to roar again

        in every part,

        in any moment,

wondering if and when.

Lord of Laughter,

     Creator of bliss,

     touch once more

        the troubled 

        and overwhelmed

with belly deep joy.

The Messy Way

One of the problems we have in understanding theological words lies in the fact that they seem to belong solely to our religious heritage.  Atonement is an example of a word used in church, at least in some churches, but not in the everyday language of the secular culture.  Atonement is messy.  It takes us into an arena filled with questions not answerable.  Atonement is about blood, death, and sacrifice.  We have no desire to talk about such things.  We would rather talk about such things as love, mercy, and heaven.    

In Romans 3:25 the Apostle Paul wrote about redemption through Christ Jesus, "whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by His blood."  In numerous places in the Old Testament we find references to the blood of sacrificed animals being offered as an atonement for the sins of the people.  And when John the Baptist saw Jesus out by the Jordan River he used sacrificial anticipating language as he said, "Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."  (John 1:29)  As he spoke he was pointing toward that moment when Jesus would offer Himself as a final act of atonement for the sins of the world.  John 3:16 maybe a favorite verse of many, but it is about a dying Christ whose death made life possible for all of us.    

Atonement does not just speak of a sacrifice, but one that has spiritual ramifications for those in whose behalf it is offered.  Christ did not die on the cross because we have it all together, but because we are broken.  We chose to disregard the will of the Creator, and thus, set in motion the process of our destruction.  When Jesus died on the cross as an act of atonement for us, He took upon Himself the weight and the consequences of our sin.  Personal spiritual disaster is avoided and the abundant life is made possible through the unique gift of Jesus on the cross.  He made it possible for us to be at one again with the Father which is something impossible to accomplish through human effort or religious promises.

I've Been Redeemed!

Even though the word "redemption" appears often in the Scripture, it is not a word commonly used by most of us.  In fact it is used so infrequently that the meaning may be lost on many of us.  The last time I remember using the word with any regularity was back in the days of my childhood when my mother would save and redeem S & H Green Stamps with grocery purchases.  However, in the Biblical story it is a powerful word that touches and transforms the life of all of us who walk the road of faith in Christ.    

When we read the writings of Paul, we hear the Word saying, "they are justified by His grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."  (Romans 3:24)   When we encounter the word redemption it immediately brings to mind the 43rd chapter of Isaiah where God speaks  through the prophet saying, "Do not fear, I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are Mine...I give Egypt as your ransom...Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you."  (Isaiah 43:1, 3)  To read these words and the rest of this particular Old Testament chapter is to be lifted to a place of knowing how securely we belong to God.  And as surely as He made a way to redeem the people of Israel from their exile so has he made a way to deliver us from the dominion of darkness ( Colossians 1:13) and bring us home once again.    

Isaiah speaks of the redemption payment being nations; the gospel speaks of the redemption payment being the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  Ephesians 1:7 says, "In Him (Christ) we have redemption through His blood."   This theological concept of a blood sacrifice for our sins may offend the easily offended sensibilities of some who want to sanitize the cross, but it remains God's work of redemption  for each and every one of us.  And, of course, not all are offended for some see the act of redemption and go on down the road singing with great joy, "I've been redeemed by grace divine, glory, glory, Christ is mine.  All to Him I now resign, I have been redeemed!"

Grace

 At conception

     grace created.

At birth

      grace breathed.

In living

      grace abounded.

In dying,

      grace prevailed.

In rising, 

      grace upholds.

In eternity

      grace has no end.

Something for Everyone

Over the years of ministry I became a collector of Biblical commentaries.  Any book allowance provided by the church put more volumes on the shelves.  One not so serious commentary which came my way was a paperback which had its title something like "Everything You Want to Know About Romans."  While it did not give the appearance of being a noteworthy scholarly work, it offered a definition of "justification" which stuck in my mind.  The simple definition said, "To be justified means that God looks at you just as if you had never sinned."    

Obviously, the definition has gotten hung up in my gray matter.  The Apostle Paul was familiar with this powerful word and used it often as he wrote to the churches.  One place is found in the middle of the 3rd chapter of Romans where he wrote, "...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by His (God's) grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."  (Romans 3:23-24)  As we begin to reflect on what the Word is saying in these verses, it becomes apparent that justification is something God does through Christ for the sinner.  This means that is is a gift for all of us since we all bear the name of sinner.  Sin can be defined in many ways, but one thing common to any definition is that it separates us from God who is Holy and without sin.     

What is hard for many in this do-it-yourself age to realize is that once we sin there is nothing we can do to erase its presence and its residual power in our life.  It leaves us separated from God and the guilt which hangs over us is like a dark cloud.  Fortunately, God has made a way for the effects of sin to be canceled.  Through the gift of His sacrificed Son on the cross and our faith response to it, God looks at us as if we have never sinned and calls us son or daughter instead of sinner.  Justification is what God does for us; we receive it through faith in Christ.   

An Impossible Sounding Message

When Paul used the phrase, "the righteousness of God"  (Romans 3:21-22), it seems clear that he is talking about the righteousness which speaks of the nature and the essence of God as well as the righteousness which comes to the believer as a result of faith responding to the grace of God.  It is easy enough to comprehend how the words fit inside the nature of God, but when it comes to having them fit inside the human heart for such a radical transformation, it is hard to imagine such can be possible.  The good news is that the impossible sounding is possible.    

In the 22nd verse of this 3rd chapter of Romans Paul writes, "the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe."  There are other places in the Word where we hear the same impossible sounding message.  Philippians 3:9 reads, "...not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness of God based on faith."  And in the last verse of the fifth chapter of II Corinthians comes another affirming Word, "For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."     

Faith is indeed a powerful spiritual power unleashed through the plan of God which enables us to appropriate for daily living the very nature and essence of God Himself.  It is not that this righteousness of God imparted to us through faith turns us into some kind of spiritual superman, but that it enables us to live rightly with and before our Creator God.  Not only does this imparted righteousness reveal itself as we are enabled to live rightly with God, but it is also the very thing given to us by God which enables us to live rightly with one another.  

Two Linchpin Words

Probably the most used and most worn out word in our spiritual vocabulary is the word "faith."  It shows up throughout the Scripture and more specifically it shows up in a section of Romans filled with big powerful words.  Faith may not seem to be a big word if we are counting the number of letters, but if we consider its value and importance to any believer, no word is more powerful.  In Romans 3:22 the Word says, "the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ..."     

When it comes to the dynamics of our life with Christ, it is one of two words which might be considered linchpin words.  The first word with linchpin qualities is grace.  Grace is the beginning point of any relationship with Christ.  A relationship of spiritual intimacy with God is possible only because God has acted to initiate such a relationship.  It is not something we can do.  All we can do is respond to His act of grace.  

And so, we come to the second of the two linchpin words which is faith.  Faith speaks of our response to what God has done for us.  It is not our faith that is essential for the relationship.  What is essential is grace.  But, still faith is the means by which God has designed for us to enter into life with Him through Christ.  It is as Paul wrote in another place, "For by grace you have been saved through faith."  (Ephesians 2:8)  It is no wonder that this five letter words is such a big powerful word.   

Righteousness Disclosed

While taking hold of "the righteousness of God"  (Romans 3:21) may be a stretch for our minds, the Word written through the Apostle Paul by the Holy Spirit does go on to tell us that it "has been disclosed and is attested to by the law and the prophets..."   At this point in the reading, we might ask ourselves how can this be?  The answer, of course, is found in Jesus Christ, the Holy One of God who was proclaimed in the what we know as the Old Testament and who came into the world through Bethlehem.  The gospel writer and Apostle John spoke of the righteousness of God being revealed and made visible as he wrote, "the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen His glory..."  (John 1:14)   

Anyone's search for an understanding of the righteousness of God must begin by acknowledging that it is something too great to completely understand.  There will always be something about God's righteousness that we cannot know.  And, even as this is acknowledged, it is also true that we can catch a glimpse of the integrity, character, and nature of the righteousness of God by looking at Jesus who is revealed to us through the pages of the gospel and spoken of in the early apostolic letters written to the churches.     

In an intimate conversation with the disciples, Jesus said to Philip, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father."  (John 14:9)  In Christ the righteousness of God is disclosed for all to see. As we see the manner in which Jesus related to the Father as well as those regarded as the least and the lost of his day, we see the right way to live our lives as those who desire to live a life that "honors God."  (Romans 1:21)  Our hope for righteousness is not found in the externals of religious systems, but in the indwelling presence of this righteous One having control of our heart.   

The Righteousness of God

With the sacred words unfolding now in such a powerful and precise way, it is hard not to run to a commentary to find out what the research of scholars tells us about these big powerful words which stand boldly now in print.   If the goal is teaching correctness, the commentaries would be a requirement.  However, if we are reading the Word through the eyes of our heart seeking to grasp something which cannot be grasped, hoping that for the briefest of moments the invisible will become visible, then maybe we can be excused for not opening the books that tell us about the Book.   

"The righteousness of God has been disclosed..." wrote the Apostle Paul in Romans 3:21.  As we read these words, we are first of all reminded of the source of any righteousness which might be known by any of us.  Paul wrote in such a way as to remind the Jewish people so dependent on the law and the prophets that neither was the source of any righteousness experienced in this life.  The law might point people toward righteousness, but it could not impart it for only God alone is righteous which means that He alone can impart it.   

As we seek to find some handle for this powerful word about our Creator, we know in our inner part that it surely speaks of his integrity and character.  There is none like Him.  His plans are unshakeable.  His ways are eternal.  He can be trusted.  Absolutely trusted.  Out of His holiness, he relates to us in a way that gives assurance that we are never alone, never forgotten, and never betrayed.  

Big Powerful Words

Big words are scary for a lot of us.  Big words that have theological definitions can be even more frightening.  Of course, it is also true that the big theological words which are often launched from the pulpit are more likely heard and accepted as conveying some kind of truth without ever really understanding the truth.  When the Apostle Paul reached what we call the middle of the third chapter of his letter to the Romans, his pen must have surely gotten heavy for such are the words.    

The words which fill the page are big powerful words.  While some are no longer than five letters long, even these are big powerful words which often send our minds reeling in confusion.  The big powerful words of this section are "...righteousness...faith...justified...grace...redemption...atonement..."  (Romans 3:21-26)  A little digging may uncover a few more that are ready for discovery in those verses.  We have grown so accustomed to words like these big powerful words that we hear them without really thinking too much about what they mean.    

We do this because we figure we know what they mean because we have heard them used so much.  What is also true is that our understanding is usually based on what we have heard from others and not what we have come to understand and know for ourselves. Accepting at face value what others say is not nearly as good as taking the time to dig around with our own spade, figure out other possibilities, and allow our own unique relationship with the Holy Spirit to guide us into a knowing that speaks to the person we were created to be.  

Theology of Oneness

Over the years of ministry, there were many whom I came to know as unforgettable.  I think often of a guy in the St. John Church in Columbus who started coming simply because his wife decided it was time to go back to church.  He called himself an agnostic.  I remember how Jesus finally rubbed off enough on him that he accepted Christ, was baptized, and then led his mother to Christ.  As he made the journey from where he was to where God led him, he often said, "I still have my unanswered questions, but I have put them on the back burner.  I get them off sometimes and figure for awhile, but they no longer require answers."    

While most of us may not have had the agnostic experience, we have all run into things about the Word and the ways of God that leave us with more questions than answers.  Anyone who needs to understand every written word need not begin reading Paul's letter to the Roman Christians.  As we move into the headwaters of chapter 3 and wade into the ever deepening waters of chapter 4, we find ourselves going back to read again hoping for clarity, or grabbing a commentary to see what someone else is saying, or in some cases, quitting completely and going on to something easier to read and understand.    

To read those words, "There is no one who is righteous, not even one..." (Romans 3:10)  causes us to remember the Scripture's theology of oneness.  It is a theology which lifts up characters like Noah, Lot, and the remnant people of Israel.  It seems as if there has always been one, or some who were seen by God as righteous even though the Word in Romans says a different thing. 

Not Even One

Though our original human nature is one deeply imprinted by the holy hand of the Creator, it is from the beginning attacked by the power of sin ever present in the world.  Like water pushing against earth, it is an influence that has a pervasive wearing down power that distorts the unblemished original nature until it seems that there is nothing within us but sinful inclinations.  Of course, it is untrue.  Sin may obscure the original human nature within us, but it cannot eradicate it.    

Sin is such a powerful influence that it often seems we are  powerless to stand against it.  This is also true.  The influence of the power of sin can never be managed and handled through mere human strength or will.  Neither is there any law or rule designed by religious systems which can protect us, or deliver us once this destructive power begins to take root in our life.  The Apostle recognized this reality as he wrote,  "...both Jews and Greeks are under the power of sin; as it is written:  'There is no one who is righteous, not even one...' "  (Romans 3:9-10)  

As we yield in that first moment of temptation, the purity of the original human nature is marred in such a way that there is always something wrong between us and our Creator.  The sense of being in a right relationship with God is thus broken by the power of sin so that our hope of being right again with God is forever broken apart from some act of God which forgives, cleanses, and restores us to the condition of our beginning.  The act of God which brings about this miracle of grace is the Son among us who came for both the cross and the empty tomb.  

Contrasting Powers

Sometimes I wonder if the things we see but seem to have seen as we are reading Scripture speak to our reading only what we want to read, our hurried reading, or the different experience lens through which we see the Word.  In the early part of the third chapter of Romans there comes this reference from the Old Testament which begins with "There is no one who is righteous, not even one..."  (Romans 3:10), but in the most recent reading what really stood out as if it was in bold black print was the phrase in verse 9 which read, "...under the power of sin..."      

Here is a word which describes the human condition of the Jews, Greeks, and all the rest of us.  To read back over the earlier verses is to realize that this is the first time this phrase appears in Romans.  And interestingly enough, its wording takes us back to the 16th verse of the first chapter where its antithesis is lifted up in the words, "...the power of God..."  Though separated by hundreds of words and head scratching ideas, these two phrases speak to the great struggle which was taking place in Paul's world and continues to take place in our own.    

We seek to live under the influence of the power of God, and indeed, to some degree we do, but we also find ourselves being compliant to the dictates of the power of evil ever present in our world.  It is not an easy thing to comprehend, nor is it as easy struggle to engage.  In another letter Paul spells it out as he wrote, "...Our struggle is not against enemies of flesh and blood..."  (Ephesians 6:12)   Anyone who denies the power of evil and any believer who diminishes its influence is a fool.  Both are present.  One brings death and the other brings life.  The choice remains in our hands. 

Just a Letter

When we are reading the book of Romans, we sometimes forget Paul was writing a letter.  He was not trying to put together a theological work for publication, or for the ages which would follow.  He was simply writing a letter.  Letter writing is a lost art.  Emails and text messages are a poor substitute.  I used to write letters, but it has been a long time.  Letter writing ends up being more thoughtful and reflective than a hurried modern day message.  It comes from a pen seeking to fill up a page and from a heart that is seeking to empty itself.  Letters require effort.    

What the Apostle Paul wrote to the Roman Christians is at its core a letter.  Though he had never been to Rome, he knew some of the believers in Rome (Romans 16) and, he of course, recognized that the people in the church were a diverse group of Jews, Greeks, Romans, and others who had found within it a home.  He wrote to share something of his heart with them, to encourage them in their faith, and to let them know he was coming on his way to Spain.  

He also wrote as one of them.  He might have been viewed as a spiritual leader, but he wrote as one who shared their human predicament and their hope for glory.  While he was direct about the way people sin against God, he also often used the pronoun "us" to speak of those to whom the truth of God was being directed  (Romans 3:5-8).   Paul wrote with the authority of a prophet who spoke for God, but he also spoke as a man who knew the power of sin is his own personal life and the way that Christ had come to bring a deliverance the law could never offer.   It is no wonder that his words still resonate as holy treasure even in our own day.     

Entrusted by God

As the years begin to add up, it is not uncommon for our view of things not seen to begin to shift.  In the beginning days and years of ministry, I saw myself as a  pastor and preacher who was appointed to a certain church for a certain amount of time.  As I found myself deeper in those years of ministry there came a growing awareness that there was more involved than just being assigned by a Bishop, but that I was entrusted by the God who called me to ministry with the spiritual care of the people entrusted to me.   

Being retired for almost a decade now means that sometimes memories return only as the result of some spiritual jolting of the Spirit.  Such happened recently as I read into the third chapter of Romans and found the words, "For in the first place the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God."  To be entrusted with anything by God is not to be regarded lightly.  And, the truth is that all of us have been entrusted with certain things by God.  It is not just the Roman Jewish Christians, or the preachers of today.    

If we were to make a list it might include things such as being entrusted to live faithfully in a relationship with God who loves us unconditionally, or being entrusted with the spiritual care and well being of family members and those who share the marketplace with us, or being entrusted to treat the strangers in our midst with kindness and to regard them as being created in the essence of God.  The list is endless.  Each of us can reflect for a few moments about the uniqueness of the walk we have with God and finish filling up the blank page.  

A Needed Approval

Those of us who are preachers sometimes forget who is out there listening.  There is always One whose approval is more important than the approval of a hundred congregations.  The same thing can be said about any choir, or any person gifted with music skills.  What preachers and musicians offer in the context of worship either meets the approval of God, or it is just a lot of useless noise.  Since all of us have egos which need stroking and ears that enjoy being tickled by flattering words, it is an easy truth to forget.    

As the Apostle Paul writes in Romans to the Jewish members of the church, he addresses himself to the way they sometimes are too focused on the externals which are mostly seen by others.  These external things not only made the Jewish members of the church feel spiritually superior at times, but they also were a reminder to others of their being set apart.  To those who understood the dangers of such and who sought to live mindful of God's intentions, he wrote, "Such a person receives praise not from others but from God."  (Romans 2:29)      

It is word which remains relevant in our own day.  What we do for God, we do for God even if no one else sees.  The temptation is to do what we do for God with the expectation that someone will see and express appreciation, commend us for our faithfulness, or stroke our needy ego.  When we do something for God, it does not matter if anyone else sees.  Whatever we do for God, He sees and knows.  Nothing else really matters.    

Heart Marking

What others see as they look at our faith journey is not always the most important thing.  Certainly, what is outwardly seen is no big deal for God since He is not One who is caught up with outward appearances.  While most readers of the Old Testament understand that the physical act of circumcision was of singular importance to the Jewish people, it was not according to the Apostle Paul the defining mark of the chosen people of God.  Instead, something invisible to the human eye was the distinguishing marking.    

In verse 29 of the second chapter of Romans, the Word of God speaks to us through Paul saying, "...a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and a real circumcision is a matter of the heart--it is spiritual and not literal."  It brings to mind something found in the writing of the Old Testament prophet, Jeremiah,  "...says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." (Jeremiah 31:33)  Paul recognized how easy it is to make something visible a sign of righteousness when the real sign is seen first by God in the heart.     

Only as the heart is marked does the righteousness of God begin to stream forth into the lives of those around us.  We often forget this fundamental truth about the spiritual life.  It is more than the things which can be seen.  It is about more than the things about which we might boast.  It is something as simple as a heart focused on God.  As the inner invisible part of life becomes focused on God, what He is doing in us becomes obvious, not because we desire it to be so, but because it is the spontaneous fruit He  produces in us.  

Unique Individuals

When the Apostle Paul addresses himself specifically to the Jewish members of the Roman church, we need to remember that Paul thought of himself as one of them.  Even more than thinking he was one of them, he was one of them.  In other places we hear words of testimony from Paul.  "All the Jews know my way of life from my youth, a life spent from the beginning among my own people in Jerusalem...I have belonged to the strictest sect of our religion and lived as a Pharisee...(Acts 26:4-5).   "I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous of the traditions of my ancestors....(Galatians 1:4)  While Paul testified to being a Christian, no one could doubt that Paul had first been a card carrying Jew.      

With this in mind, it makes what the Apostle wrote to these Jewish members of the church more credible.   He knew them because he knew his own heart.  He knew what could be festering in them as those who saw themselves as God's chosen because he knew what festered in him before the Damascus Road had caused him to do terrible things against others and God Himself.  Parts of his letter seem harsh and direct to these members of the Roman church, but surely it is out of a heart filled with both compassion and understanding.  (Romans 2:17 ff.)    

The Spirit's choice of Paul as an Apostle, leader of the church, and author of what would come to be known as Holy Word was not whimsical, but purposeful.  The Spirit knows us.  He knows our heart.  He knows our mind.  He knows the environment which has shaped us.  He chooses people like Paul and, you and me, because He sees each of us as one who can be useful to moving the purposes of God a little further along the way.  Paul was a unique individual in the hands of the Spirit as are each one of us.  

The Foremost Sinner

As the Apostle Paul addresses himself to the issue of some Jews being boastful of their relationship to God (Romans 2:17), it would be an easy thing to throw them all into one washtub and declare that every Jew was like some Jews.  Such would have been a mistake then even as it would now.  What many of us do is to allow stereotyping to serve us as a window for understanding the issues Paul was seeking to address in this section of the letter.     

There have been times when I have encountered well meaning Christian folks who saw themselves as being spiritually head and shoulders above the rest of us who called ourselves Christians.  Quite often the personal sense of spiritual superiority came from exposure to some preacher, participation in some retreat, or an experience which regular Christians lack in their spiritual resume.  This is not to say that all Christians can be so characterized, but, of course, it is true of some.  Whether these folks be Christian or Jew they can make it hard for the believers who are still trying to figure out the way forward in their faith.  

One of the things for which Paul had no tolerance or patience was an attitude of superiority which gets in the way of ordinary folks who are seeking to follow Christ.  Paul understood the kind of superiority present in some because he learned about it when it was present in his own heart.  Before the encounter on the Damascus Road, he saw himself as one of the entitled who had a place of special favor in the eyes of God.  Afterwards, he knew himself as one who was the foremost of sinners.    

Hearing and Doing

What we have learned over the years of walking with Christ is that there is a big difference in talking and walking.  Most of us can talk a better game than we can walk.  Like the Apostle Paul we often know the right thing, but do not always get around to doing it.  "I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do."  (Romans 7:19)   Hearing and doing are often at opposite ends of the spectrum of our spiritual life.  And, while it is important to hear the Word God speaks, it is imperative to act on it, or what we have heard has no value.    

Early in Paul's letter to the Romans, he writes from God's perspective as he says, "For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous in God's sight, but the doers of the law who will be justified."  (Romans 2:13)  It is not a strange word for anyone who has read the Scripture.  James wrote, "But be doers of the Word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves...faith without works is also dead."  (James 1:22, 2:26)   And, then in Matthew's gospel, we hear Jesus weighing in as He tells the parable of the two sons.  (Matthew 21:28-32)  The parable tells us it is better to say "no' and then go than it is to say "yes" and never get around to the doing.     

The life of faith to which we are called is not one which gives us the option of living in a bubble that makes life all about me.  We can know the Scripture from cover to cover, we can understand difficult theological truths, and we can have our name on the baptized list at church, but without a love that sends us out to give of ourselves in obedience to the call of Christ on our life, it amount to noise never heard.

No Partiality

Not all of the Scripture is easy reading.  Some of it confuses us.  Some of it leaves us with questions for which we have no answers.  Some of it brings surprises.  Some of it is so peaceful we fall asleep while reading and some is so hard it jolts us to the core of our being.  These words we find in the second chapter of Romans are not exactly words which cause us to slip peacefully into our sleep.  They are hard words.  They are words about judgment, words about reaping what is sown, and words that remind us ever so clearly that "...God shows no partiality."  (Romans 2:11)     

The Jews who read Paul's letter would have been tempted to think that God was partial to them since they were historically God's chosen people.  In much the same manner those of us who are the faithful church folks who never miss going in an open church door often subconsciously think we are entitled to preferential care.  It is something we do not say aloud and certainly not in the presence of others, but when we listen to our prayer conversations we often hear ourselves making our case for help on the basis of how we have loved Him or how we want to continue to bring glory to His name.     

Paul throws out this unwanted word that is hard and unbending, "...God shows no partiality."  Within His plan for each of us is the reality of receiving eternal life as a result of our honoring Him and the possibility of divine wrath in response to our love affair with what is evil and opposing His will.  We can choose how we live.  We can choose the consequences.  And while grace and mercy is always operative in the mix of our human predicament, it is our heart which takes us into the place where our soul is endangered or safely home. 

The Desk

By the time I got to high school I had heard it at least a thousand times.  It was not written in the rule section of the student handbook.  It was one of those universal unwritten rules proclaimed only in a moment of infraction.  "Do not sit on the desk top," was the unwritten rule ignored by most students.  None of us could ever remember seeing one broke because someone chose to sit on top of the desk instead of the seat.  It was for all  practical purposes a rule ignored.     

I remember a morning when I was sitting on the top of the desk.  The bell was ringing, Mrs. Evans entered the room from the hall, our eyes met, and there was a loud crack and the desk broke sending me to the floor in a loud heap.  It was also the morning I made an unplanned trip to the principal's office where I learned that I would be expected to pay for the desk.  The good news of the morning was that I had put back enough money from odd jobs to pay for the desk which meant my parents would not have to know about their son getting in trouble at school.   

What I did not know when I arrived home after the sound of the last bell was that my mother had already heard about her son.  In small towns back then news traveled faster than the internet which had not yet come.  She knew.  She asked benign questions like, "Anything happen at school today?"  And while I did not lie, I did not tell all the truth.  After a week or so of dancing around the truth she let me know that she knew and that I was grounded, not for breaking the desk, but for lying.  My punishment might have been delayed, but it came with the certainty of the sunrise.  "There will be anguish and distress  for everyone who does evil....glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good.  For God shows no partiality."  (Romans 2:9:11)

Kindness in Delay

Back in the day when Moms were more likely to be at home during the day than in the marketplace, a  badly behaving child might have heard Mom say, "Just wait till your Father gets home and hears about this."   Those who grew up in those days and did things which earned some measure of punishment understand that a delayed punishment can be worse than one given in the moment.  Not only is the punishment given, but it is something dreaded and feared all day long.    

Of course, something different is happening when we do those things which speak of a heart bent on our own desires instead of the desires God has for us, but the common denominator is punishment delayed.  When God delays in responding to our sins, it is not because He wants to heighten our fear, but that He wants us to have time to reflect, confess, and make a decision to live differently.  The Apostle Paul writes about the kindness implicit in delaying His wrath by asking the Roman Jewish Christians, "Do you not realize that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?"  (Romans 2:4)  

We may think that the delay is about God changing His mind, or about God changing the rules to allow for own wrong choices, or about some cosmic turning over of the law of reaping what is sown, but it is really more about giving us time to come to our senses.  In the parable of the prodigal son, the waiting father never pulled the welcome mat away from the front door.  He gave the wayward son plenty of time to realize what he was doing and Who loved him.  God is surely like this father in the parable.  He wants us to come to our senses by our own choice and to know where we are always loved.   

Divine Delay

While it is true that we often rant and rail against the way God delays in acting in our behalf, it is also true that His delay can be seen as an act of mercy.  As Paul moves into that section of his letter which speaks directly to the Jewish members of the Roman church, he cautions them about their tendency to judge others.  Why would they dare do such a thing when the words of judgment against others is often an indictment about what is in their own heart.  He asks the question, "...do you despise the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience?  (Romans 2:4)    

What these Jewish converts often failed to consider is the reality that the judgment or the wrath they deserve for their sin and disobedience is being delayed by a merciful God.  If the wrath of God fell upon us in the moment we yielded to the temptation to sin, we would indeed be in a terrible predicament.  The fact that He does not make a "knee jerk" reaction to our sin does indeed speak of undeserved mercy.    

Instead of taking His mercy for granted, instead of sinning with the thought that God will forgive, a better response would be confessing our sin and expressing gratitude to God for a kindness and patience that grants time for us to come to our senses. When God looks upon our sin, He is surely displeased, but He is also full of kindness and patience which provides the opportunity for us to come to a time of confession and repentance.  A world without that kindness would be a hard and impossible place to live, but instead, we can live with gratitude for a kindness that is not shut off to us because we have missed the mark once again.  

Roosting Chickens

 A saying often heard around this neck of the woods is, "Your chickens come home to roost."  It is another way of saying that folks usually get what they deserve, or perhaps, it is a rendering of the other phrase about reaping what you sow.  Regardless of how the words are regarded, it is a theme that the Apostle Paul often sounded in his letter to the Romans.  Of course, he did not say anything about chickens coming home to roost, but when we read what he wrote, we see the message.    

Over in verse 3 of the 2nd chapter, he asks the first of several questions to the Jewish members of the church, "Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things, and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God."  Paul knew the Jewish people well enough to know that they would be quick to point a judgmental finger at the sins of those labeled heathens and never get around to seeing the same sins in their own heart.  Of course, this is not a Jewish thing, but a human thing.    

The reason it is a human thing is that when we commit some act which we know as sin, we also believe that we are the exception to the rule.  It is easy to see how the Jews who saw themselves as God's chosen might come to this conclusion, but it was no more true for them than it is for anyone else, including each one of us.  All of us are special in the eyes of God, but none of us live as exceptions to the rule.  

Three Questions

Before we hardly knew what prayer was all about, we were learning to pray.  While our first prayers may have been learned from our mother as we got into bed, the church taught us the second prayer.  Actually, it is not the prayer of the church, but the prayer of Jesus.  One of the places we find it is in the sixth chapter of Matthew.  Within that section of Scripture known as the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Pray then in this way....lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."  (Matthew 6:9, 13)  Temptation is a powerful force in our lives.  It is the forerunner to sin.     

In Paul's letter to the Romans he comes to a moment of calling the Jews to look at their own sin instead of the sin of their neighbors.  As he does this he list three temptations which keep them from such honesty about themselves.  "Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God?  Or do you despise the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience?  Do you not realize that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?"  (Romans 2:3-4)   

We tend to think of temptation as the presence of some external physical act which leads to some overt behavior that refers to an explicit expression of disobedience to God.  These probing questions of the Apostle takes us to a different place.  They take us into the realm of the invisible things of the heart.  They take us to the place where temptation takes root and begins to grow in our lives.  At first it is unseen, but finally, like all things that are planted and allowed to grow, fruit it produced.  

Blind Fools

It is always one thing to talk about them and another to talk about me.  Earlier in his letter to the Roman Christians, the Apostle Paul wrote about the wrath of God being directed toward the ungodly and wicked who suppress the truth, who bring dishonor to the name of God, and who are not grateful to Him for His goodness.  (Romans 1:18, 22).  It is obvious to the Jewish members of the church community that Paul does not have them in mind for they do not perceive themselves guilty of the sinful indictment with which others have been charged.   

All of this changes as the second chapter begins.  In a manner reminiscent of the early words of Amos charging the nations around Judah with their sins, the stage is set.  With the onset of this next section Paul addresses himself to the Jews who are a part of the church as he writes. "Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself..."  (Romans 2:1)  The words and spirit of Jesus is, of course, all over these verses as we remember Him saying, "Do not judge,...first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye."  (Matthew 7:1-5)   

It is a strange thing that our neighbor's sin is always more apparent than our own.  What we are quick to see in someone else, we rarely see with such clarity in our own life.  In his letter to the Romans the Apostle jumps with both feet upon the self-righteous who see themselves better than their brothers and sisters simply because of the place to which they were born.  Though born as one of God's chosen, it was not a status which made them immune to the power of sin and to live otherwise made them live as blind fools.  As it was with them, so it is with us.  

Home Again

As the Apostle Paul brings the first section of his letter to the Romans to a conclusion, it is obvious that humanity can wander a long way from its moments of beginning.  Made in the likeness of the Creator and bearing the imprint of His holy image we come into this world.  Like the Garden of Eden couple we decide we can be the master of our fate.  We know what we want.  We think we know what we need.  Too early on we find ourselves fitting the description put forth by the Apostle as he writes, "Claiming to be wise, they became fools."  (Romans 1:22)    

The product of such a choice is found in those verses which list every kind of wickedness.  (Romans 1:29-31)  If we read them as a checklist, we are likely to find ourselves checking one after another after another as an expression of wickedness we have allowed at one time or another to take root in our life.  Even though these things are listed as "things that should not be done,"  (Romans 1:28) we are too familiar with them.  It is amazing that a heart that was created filled with the goodness of God could be filled with such evil, but it is the story of each one of us.    

It is obvious that this gospel of God which is proclaimed throughout Romans is needed by each one of us.  We do need this salvation offered to us through Christ and received through faith.  While we may think we can do it alone, we cannot find our way back to place of our origin, we cannot restore a distorted human nature  so that it once again the original human nature gifted to us as a very good gift from the Creator.  The good news is that we cannot do can be done through Christ who is our salvation, or deliverer, and the One who restores us from within so that we can be at home once again.  

The Longer Plan

As the Apostle Paul opens up this brief section of Scripture about same sex sexual relationships (Romans 1:26-27), it seems that the Garden of Genesis cast its shadow over the words penned on the page.  The Garden is where it all begins.  Even if we do not regard the Garden story as one to be taken literally, it still speaks an important Word about the origin and the beginning of each one like us.  As it was then, so is it now.  As the Word speaks of Adam bearing the imprint of the Holy, so is it true of each one of us.    

When we allow the Garden story to be a part of the context of the creation of each one of us, we begin to understand that it reveals something important about our original human nature as well as the divine intention.  Instead of being riddled with sinfulness, original human nature was and is overflowing with the goodness of God.   What is also seen within the words of the story is the divine intention which accompanied the beginning.  The divine intention is found within the words, "male and female He created them,"  (Genesis 1:27) and another word which says, "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and keep it."  (Genesis 2:15)  

The original intention of the Creator for the created creatures was to care for the creation and to be involved in sustaining its life.  American religious history has within its pages the story of the Shakers, a group that believed in and practiced celibacy.  Their history was short lived.  If same sex sexual relationships were carried to their logical conclusion, the history of humanity would have only another hundred or so years.  God has a different plan, a longer plan.