Romans 3:1-8 – “Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision?  Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.  What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?  By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.”

But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.)  By no means! For then how could God judge the world?  But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.”

I’ve been going back and forth on this message for a week.  I have so much to share here, so much joy-bringing Truth that I want all to see.  It feels as though words are not sufficient, but my prayer is that God would use His Word to magnify his name and encourage and edify each of you.  Last time, we saw that the giving of the law to Israel was meant to point them to two things 1) their inability to uphold the righteousness the law required and 2) the righteousness of God.  Now a humble man would see their sinfulness exposed in the law, and fall down pleading the mercy of God.  A self-righteous man would work with all his might to become as outwardly righteous as possible, while inwardly remaining unchanged from the heart.  How dreadful news it must have been for those self-righteous people in Jesus’ time to hear the words – Matthew 5:20-22, 27-28 – “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

If the most outwardly righteous persons among them did not have the righteousness required of God, what hope was there for everyone else?  These people were brought up believing that they should strive to follow the law as much as possible, and where they fell short they should sacrifice animals to God in line with the law.  What was missing was true brokenness over their sin; that they had sinned against God whom they love.  That heart was far from the Pharisees and self-righteous.  Those who held up God’s Word should have looked closer at their King David’s response to God after His sin in Psalm 51:16-17 – “For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

Each day I pray about how God would have me wield His Word for edification and encouragement.  What timely message would He have me deliver, to lift up Christ, as glorious and mighty to save?  What all-satisfying picture of His majesty can I give to push back the darkness, to thwart the schemes of the enemy that seeks to devour every one of us?  I believe that is possible to do from every text of the Bible, and that is my goal.  With that in mind, this text above from Romans is continuing to build Paul’s case that no one is righteous, only Christ is righteous.  Moreover, we are being shown that even our unrighteousness serves to magnify the righteousness of God, when he condemns us for it.  Can you accept that?  Can you take it in that God has a purpose even in unrighteousness in that is serves to display His own righteousness, and that He is good for it?  Most people never move beyond their self-centered view of God.  Let me ask a question, and ask that you answer honestly.  Do you still believe God owes you something?  What if despite your pleas, God condemned you?  Would that not be the most just thing for Him to do?  How can you make accusations against the justice and character of God when you deny him in 1,000 ways every day through sinful thoughts and actions?

How often you have neglected time with God for other trivial things like going out with friends, TV, or Facebook.  You take a moment to tell the world your plans on Facebook, but you haven’t prayed to see what God’s plans for you are.  You harbor anger in your heart against others; you speak unkind words, gossiping about others’ business and life affairs.  You neglect the orphan who will cry themselves to sleep tonight, hungry and alone.  You neglect the widow who has no one to care for her.  You sleep in comfort while the world crumbles around you, and you want to make judgments on God?

Jesus tells a parable in Luke 18 of a Pharisee (righteous man) and a Tax Collector (sinful traitor):  Luke 18:9-14 – “He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:  “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’  But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Those of you who rest in some past “decision” for Christ, and you have “moved on” from feeling the weight of the glory of God over your sin daily – YOU ARE THE PHARISEE.  I’ve said it before, but let me say it again; there is only hope for the hopeless.  If you are struggling with sin, if you hate it, if you long for peace with God, Jesus Christ is very good news for you.  Run to Him; His blood has covered your sin; continue to fight the fight of faith knowing that in Christ the victory has already been accomplished.  If you make the assumption that you are right with God because of some decision you made at a point in time in the past, but have no struggle with sin, rather you are comfortable with it… you’re still way better than most people, after all you you go to church, you belong to a small group Bible study, you pray, you tithe, you do all the things a “good Christian” is supposed to do, but there is no fear of God in you, you should be very afraid.

This is not meant to be fear mongering.  This is God’s Truth.  Unfortunately, the world is full of false teachers and bad theology, and many people who believe that they are saved, are not, and will hear terrifying words of judgment from God when they die (Matt 7:20-22).  My goal is twofold – for the self-righteous person whose hope is in a past decision, I want to press on them, and impose a healthy fear of the righteousness and impartiality of God; for the struggling sinner who is broken in their sin and does not know where to turn, I want to deal with you very gently and lift up Christ, our great Redeemer, who has made an end to all sin for those who hope in Him.

If perhaps I fall harder on those in the first camp, it’s because I was that person; and I am prone to slip back into that mindset if I am not vigilant to kill every ounce of pride and self-righteousness in me.  It is so easy for me to fall back into that same sense of confidence in works.  It is very easy to lose sight of the majesty of the righteousness of Christ and the grace by which I know life daily.  That is why the first three chapters of Romans are so helpful – we see that there is nothing in us worthy of salvation.  Further, the hardest person to convince they are in need of Jesus are those who already believe they have him.  Know that I love both these people; the sinner who knows he/she is a sinner, and the self-righteous person who does not.  My goal isn’t that all of you would run around scared that you’re not saved all the time, rather my goal is for you to see how great a salvation we have in Jesus Christ, and to truly know, taste, feel, and delight in his grace and mercy DAILY.  You cannot live life as a Christian apart from understanding that you rest in the grace of God, daily, not because of a past decision, but because you are God’s – He holds you secure, and is working out your salvation every day.  (Phil 2:12-13)  That can only truly happen, however, when we rightly understand who God is and we are apart from Him.  So that’s what I’m working towards, in the same way Paul was.  That is why the first three chapters of Romans are so helpful – we see that there is nothing in us worthy of salvation.  Before we can delight in the grace and salvation described in Romans 4-8, we must first see how great our own depravity and need is.

Let’s press on that some here and begin with a simple statement that most secular humanists will cringe at.  God is ultimate, and you are not.  He is our Creator and as such is infinitely more valuable than we are.  His glory is infinitely more valuable than whatever circumstance or struggles we find ourselves in to accomplish this end.  God does not need man to be complete and God does not owe man anything.  Acts 17:25 – “He is not served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”   Again He says in Psalm 50:12 – “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.”  Further, he says in Isaiah 45:7 – “I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things.”  It is tempting for a self-centered person who does not know God here to want to judge God, and say “If that’s who God is, then I’m not going to worship Him!”  You might also say, if God causes cancer, I’m not going to worship Him!  Ok, that’s your choice, but know that you’ve made an idol out of health, over the glory of God.  But for me, my life was purchased by the blood of Christ.  If it is His will for His glory to be magnified through my weakness in cancer, praise God, give me cancer.  It is not for me to understand how everything works, including evil, sickness, calamity, etc. for the glory of God, and in truth I do not care.  Romans 8:18 – “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”  If my treasure for eternity is the glory of God, I want to make much of His glory, whatever the cost; it is infinitely more valuable than physical comfort or anything else.  My hope is that same heart would be in each of you.

We hold this treasure in jars of clay, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  My goal isn’t to convince you today that even your faith to believe is a gift of God (it is, ref Eph 2:8-9), but to change what the terms “salvation” and “living under grace” mean to you.  The fight of faith isn’t to work your way to God in obedience, it is to be overwhelmed by the unmerited favor of God shown to you through Jesus Christ; to believe that Christ’s blood has made payment for your sin; that His perfect righteousness is yours, and all of this is a gift.  You follow after Jesus because you love Him and you want more of Him in your life.  If you’re heart’s not there, if you want to believe that you’ve got Jesus because of something you’ve done; look back to the gospel and pray for God to incline your heart to Him.  You are not righteous, you never were, and you won’t be tomorrow.  No matter how hard you try, we all fall short… daily.  The point of all of the laws of God was to point you to Him.  Rest in Him.  Find your Peace in His finished work.  Delight yourself in Him, and all that He is for you – Savior, Lord, Healer, Treasure, Friend, Loving Father, and ever Faithful.  In love, manifest and share Him with those God has placed around you.  Christ is all, in Him we find all that we need.

Grace and Peace,

Adam