Advent Archive: Romans 3:9-20

“There is none righteous, no, not one:” is a sentiment that is not felt by everyone in our modern, secular, humanistic culture. This unpopular view of mankind is seen by many as abrasive and unloving. But the fact of the matter is, there truly is no more loving view point. You see, this is a key ingredient of the gospel. Namely, man is desperate and without any hope. He must fully rely on the saving work of another, because there is nothing that he can do about his lost position. This lack of righteousness leaves us in an eternally dangerous position under the wrath and judgment of Holy God.
“But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law.”-Gal. 4 “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” – Rom. 5 You see, the work of Jesus is completely of no effect if we don’t need His help. If we are all “pretty good,” then we would never need Jesus to die for us. But the prophet Isaiah corrects us our self-righteous misconception by indicating that even many of the good things that we accomplish are “as filthy rags.” We are not inherently good enough, and the majority of the best things that we can possibly come up with are like dirty old puss-filled rags. That is a pretty desperate situation. Of course we need Jesus.

Food for Thought: Read Romans 3:9-20. Pick one of the phrases that describe man’s depravity and explain it in your own words.

Advent Archive: Romans 3:1-8

In chapter 2, Paul spent a lot of time explaining to Roman believers that man is in a serious predicament when it comes to his being judged by the one true and holy God. Chapter 2 goes on to explain that God is righteous and therefore judges righteously, and that the Law condemns man… Every man will be judged according to his works whether he is a Jew or a Gentile (2:6, 11). Chapter 3 takes that thought even further by telling us that not one man is righteous and that ALL have fallen short of the holiness we need.
In chapter 3, Paul seems to know that he is going to receive some opposition for what he is saying so he answers a few “supposed” questions from the audience. In verse 1 he asks, “If there is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile, then what advantage did the Jew have as one of God’s chosen people?” Paul then answers this question in verse 2 by saying that the Jews had the advantage of having God’s Word. What an advantage it is to have the Word of God that we might know Him and what He has revealed about Himself! In verses 3 through 8, Paul again asks and answers several questions concerning God’s faithfulness in relation to our sinning.
Verse 3 addresses the promises God made to the nation of Israel and asks, “If some Jews are not faithful to God and don’t believe Him, what happens when God judges them? Is God not being faithful to His promise if He judges Jews to whom He has promised He would be faithful?” In verse 4, Paul resounds with “God forbid!”
In this, Paul brings to light a massive truth: In a question of who is true, God or man, God will ALWAYS be true.
In other words, God will always be just and fair and right in His judgments because He’s God! If He were not just and fair and right in His judgments, He would cease to be God.
Verse 5 asks another interesting question: Does God receive glory from our sin? Our initial response would be “No way, our sin is against Him.” But Paul goes on to tell us that God will judge our sin and it is always righteous for God to judge sin. Therefore, God is glorified even in His righteousness judgment of sin.
So here’s the question of verse 8: If God gets glory out of our serving Him, and He will get glory out of judging our sin, should we just sin so that He will get glory? No. Here’s the summary of the passage. Do you remember verse 2 when Paul mentioned the “oracles of God,” meaning the Scriptures? Paul was bringing our attention to the fact that what God says He will do, He will be faithful to do… always. When God promises a blessing, He will bless. When God promises judgment, He will judge. God always keeps His Word. So what happens when someone takes the Word of God and twists it to get away with sin? That person will be judged and his “damnation (condemnation) is just (right).”
Be thankful for your God who is always true and just!

Food for Thought: Read Romans 3:1-8. What do we find about the character and nature of God from these eight verses?

Alan Obrien
Assistant Pastor | www.libcky.comAlan and his wife, Amy, have been serving the church family of Landmark Baptist Church since 2008. They have a daughter, Allison.

Advent Archive: Romans 2:17-29

There are two views that you can bring to obeying God’s law: “letter of the law” thinking, and “spirit of the law” thinking.
“Letter of the Law” thinking
When you follow the letter of the law, you wake up every morning and in fear operate under the exact phrasing of the law. You see a law like “Thou shalt not steal,” and all day, every day live with this weight of fear that “I will not steal.” When you go to the store, the temptation to pocket the candy bar at the check-out aisle is easily thwarted with this self-aware “I will not steal!” You go to Foot Locker and see the latest pair of Jordan’s in the window. As you walk by the window, the temptation to grab and run rises in your wicked heart, but the powerful “letter of the law” thinking pulls out the abstinence pistol and shoots that temptation in the head. As you walk out of the store, the victory is yours. Like Rocky at the top of the stairs in Philly you raise your arms and jog in circles of victory because today, you nailed the law. You are a letter of the law master. You have followed all four words of the law and you don’t have a “hot” candy bar or pair of sneakers. When you get home, it is just in time for lunch. Mom sets out the sandwiches and snack cakes for you and your little brother. As you sit down, you notice that his sandwich has more jelly on it….so, you trade…without him knowing. You didn’t necessarily steal…you traded. You are still earning God’s favor because you followed the exact wording of His law: Thou shalt not steal. Whew! Good thing it wasn’t worded: Thou shalt not trade.
“Spirit of the Law” thinking
This one is simple. A person who lives a spirit of the law lifestyle sees in every law of God conjoining attributes of God. The call of “Thou shalt not steal,” does not end at “I will not steal,” but instead sees God’s Providence as the defining call of the law. It says “God has given me the things that I have need of, and I will trust Him to provide all that I need. I do not need to take for myself out of greed or any selfish desires, but rather trust Him only for all things.” This new view will make stealing unnecessary. Why would I take the candy bar or the sneakers? Why would I even “trade” what I have for something else? You see, the spirit of the law lifestyle takes the focus off of “Look what I can do in my own power,” and turns it to where it should be “Look at Who God is and what He has done, I will trust Him for all things.”
It is for this reason that in Romans 2:29, Paul says that we should be living “in the spirit, and not in the letter.” He finishes the verse with the view that living in the spirit of the law is what pleases God. Now, which one defines how you obey God?

Food for Thought: What are the two ways of thinking in Romans 2:17-29? Explain them in your own words. Which does God desire of us?

Advent Archive: Romans 2:11-16

I once watched an episode of "what would you do?" that tested how people would react if someone were obviously stealing something. The show placed a locked bike in a park and had three different people try to steal it at different times. It then showed the reactions of others in the park when they saw each particular thief trying to lift the bike.
I could not believe the results of the test. The first fake thief was a thug-looking African-American teenage boy. When park-goers saw him cutting the lock on the bike, they yelled at him and called the cops. The second thief was a skater-looking Caucasian boy. This time, passers-by stared for awhile and asked him what he was doing, but walked away after the boy lied a bit. A few reported the suspicious behavior, but most just walked by. The last thief was a pretty, blonde lady, and this time, not only did they not report the theft, they helped her cut the lock! In one case she told a man she was stealing it, and he helped her do it.
There really should be no difference in the situations, right? They all were committing the same crime; they all were stealing the same bike. The only change was in race and gender. Paul talks about something very similar in this section of chapter 2 when he says that God is no respecter of persons. Jews, Gentiles, and Christians are all the same in His eyes. We all commit the same crimes and violate the same laws. Even if the Gentiles weren't breaking the Jewish law, God says they knew what was right and wrong because of their conscience.
This thought should spur our thinking toward two things. One, in following God's example, we are commanded to not respect others based on their outward appearance only, but rather on their inward character. The quiet nerd may make a better friend than the pretty, popular one. Secondly, when you stand before God, you will not be judged by how many rules you followed, but by your heart attitude while you served. (It's not only about obeying the authorities in our lives, but also about having the right heart while you do.) Thanks to Paul for keeping us in check on these two important thoughts!

Food for Thought: What two things can we learn from the passage, “God is no respecter of persons?” Would you say that your attitude has been right towards others?

- Amber Allen
My Wife and Best Friend

Advent Archive: Romans 2:1-10

In Matthew 6, Jesus says,
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
When He said these words, He had just finished a message about how the birds and the lilies never have to worry about food and clothes because God takes care of it for them. The springboard-point He then makes is that we don’t have to live our lives for clothes and food and temporal, non-lasting things, a Providential God will provide the things for us that we need. Rather, we should live for eternal things, things that build the kingdom of God. The old hymn
“Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,” tells how that when we finally turn our gaze toward the things of Jesus the things of this world “grow strangely dim.” I agree with the old preacher, Leonard Ravenhill, in his assessment of this song that if we truly turn our eyes on the Holy and Righteous God, the things of this earth will not just grow strangely dim, but will ultimately “look strangely grim.”
Paul segues this thought in Romans 2:6-7, when he says
“God will render to every man according to his deeds: to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life:”
Often we can get side-tracked and think that the end of the Christian experience is “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” Yes, believe and you will be saved. But God’s design for your life doesn’t end that day, otherwise He would have just taken you to heaven. He has left you here, but not so that you can be biblical dead weight. He left you here so that, as Paul said, you can live “by patient continuance in well-doing…” Now, live that way. It is a call to godly living, not a life of blatant indifference. Live for Him.

Food for Thought: According to Christ and to Paul what should we be seeking? According to Romans 2:6-7, how can we live a life that seeks this?

Advent Archive: Romans 1:24-32

In Romans 1:24-32, Paul lists a myriad of things that are in direct opposition to the design of God for human living. I find it very revealing of His nature that in the middle of a list including “fornication, murder, and deceit” Paul lists, “disobedient to parents.” What an indictment against our common way of thinking. Now you have to see this how God sees it. In God’s eyes there are those who obey Him and those who don’t. There is no middle ground. No doubt, if I were to mention murderous henchmen like Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin, anyone would admit that these men are desperately evil, and possibly even devilish men. But if I talk about your not obeying your Dad or Mom, “well, that is just not even the same thing,” is the natural retort. But in God’s eyes there is no gradient of sin. There is no “Top Ten Sins” in God’s eyes. All sin is a distrusting of His nature and character and shows a lack of faith and an utter rebellion to His perfect design. The disgust that you would have for the actions of Hitler and Stalin’s butchering of innocent people should be the same disgust that you have for any rebellion in your own life against the God-given authority and direction in your life. Maybe it is time to repent of this wickedness before the merciful, forgiving, Gospel-originating God.

Food for Thought: When is the last time that you disobeyed your parents? Why? What does God think about disobeying parents? What should you do about it now?

Advent Archive: Romans 1:18-23

In Romans 1:18-23, Paul has a two-fold perspective that he wants to introduce. He starts this perspective with “God reveals his wrath to all of those who are ungodly and unrighteous, who have the truth but live in unrighteousness.” He then moves into v.19 and 20 with “God has shown Himself to them, so that they will worship Him for His greatness and power. But they don’t.” He goes on to say in verse 21-23 rather, “Instead of worshipping God, they find transient, fleeting things to worship. As a matter of fact, they get rocks and carve little idols out of them and then worship the idols that they made with their own hands.”
Do you see the two-fold perspective? They know to worship God because He unmistakably reveals Himself to them, but they don’t. Instead they worship everything and anything but Him. They find little things in their lives to worship instead of God. When they should be “WOW!-ed” by the magnificent all-powerful, star-making, ocean-pouring, mountain-forming God, they instead sit and oogle over, and worship self-made little rocks in their own hands. The two-fold perspective is this: 1) they have the truth, 2) but they don’t act on it.
What an indictment against those Paul was talking about here in Romans 1:18-23. However, we are lying to ourselves if we try to say that we don’t do the exact same thing that these ungodly and unrighteous people did. When we should be searching after God and worshipping Him, we find anything else to worship instead. When His Spirit calls us to prayer or to meditate in scripture, we find any other thing to occupy our time. When we could worship the great God of the universe who made everything by just talking, instead we devote our time and energy to Facebook and X-box. Oh, that God would save us from the indictment of Paul and the pointless worship of menial things.

Food for Thought: What are the two steps to disobeying God like these people did in Romans 1:18-23? In what ways have you disobeyed God like this?