Category: Romans

Take a moment to read Romans 3:21-31 before reading the devotional below.

Paul is asking and answering some key questions in this letter to the Romans, not least of which is, “How can a person become right with God?” The Jews thought the answer was in keeping the law. Yet they continually could not do it. The Gentiles didn’t know God or his law, but they did have a conscience. They knew on a basic level that they couldn’t always do what they set out to do. So no matter which group you are part of, you will fail. Where is the hope? Is God just continually disappointed with us, waiting for us to get it right finally?

Trying harder won’t get us into right relationship with God. But faith in Jesus will. How does that work? When sin entered the world in the Garden of Eden, death entered the world. God had warned Adam and Eve of this tragic reality when he told them not to eat from one tree in their garden. Just that one, if you eat from that one you will surely die. (You can read the whole story in Genesis 3.) Later on, God brought further order to the earth when he established a rule of law (which we could also call a justice system). Any justice system has to have consequences or it is inherently unjust — those who harm must be punished. Death through animal sacrifice was the legal requirement for sin, a symbol of the ultimate death and permanent separation from God that every sinner faced. Until God offered a way out.

Here’s your freedom for today: Jesus paid for you. Your sin created a debt — a death was required payment. As we have established, everyone sins. Therefore, everyone dies because that is what God’s law requires. But God decided to enter humanity through Jesus, and as an inside man fulfill the payment required by the law. Showed up at the court house and paid your fines. Sealed your record. Wiped the slate completely clean. Now faith in Jesus is all you need. Just a simple yes. I want to be part of that package deal. Jesus has the authority to forgive your sins, get you off death row, and lead your life in the kingdom you were made to live in. And this isn’t just for a ticket to heaven later. The kingdom of God is strengthening right now.

Take a moment to read Romans 4:1-12 before reading the devotional below.

If you have never read the book of Genesis (the first book in the Bible), you may want to take time to read chapters 11-25 to understand the story of Abraham. Paul’s theological argument depends on the knowledge of that story which was (and still is) foundational for the Jewish people. Abraham had a faith in God that was pretty rare, and God chose to make a promise to him. God told him his descendants would outnumber the stars and that through his family the entire world would be blessed. Jesus fulfilled that promise, so faith in him is a continuation of the ongoing faith of the Jewish people throughout history.

Paul is making a key point in today’s passage that one should never confuse symbolism with earning favor with God. He refers back to circumcision, which God had commanded Abraham and all his descendants to do as a sign of their special relationship with God. Performing that ritual did not earn them a spot with God. Rather, the symbolic act of obedience was a reflection of the special relationship that already existed because of God’s blessing. We are in the same situation today: our faith and obedience to God is a reflection of his desire to love and save us, but our actions are not doing the saving.

Here’s your freedom for today: your spiritual life does not depend on you. Don’t give yourself so much power — God has decided that he wants relationship with you. There is nothing you can do to mess that up. He has offered salvation through Jesus, and your faith in him does not earn you a spot. Your feelings, your hard work, your church involvement — none of that is a good indicator of spiritual standing with God. The only way we are made right with God is through faith in Jesus. Having faith in Jesus means that you bank your whole life on him saving you because you realize you have no hope of saving yourself. In the end, you have to decide whether or not to believe that is a safe bet.

Take a moment to read Romans 4:13-25 before reading the devotional below.

Most 99-year-olds probably figure that their child-bearing days are done. If God told you that you were going to have a whole lot of descendants and you would be the “father of many nations,” yet you were aging out of that possibility, you’d probably figure you heard wrong. But God doesn’t consider earthly possibility a limitation. He does what he says he will do. Period. It doesn’t have to make sense, seem likely, or be humanly possible.

Abraham followed God, but he wasn’t perfect. If you read his story in Genesis, you’ll see that he even tried to take God’s promise into his own hands by sleeping with his wife’s maid. He had faith even though in that decision it led him into a poor decision. He believed. He waited. He never gave up hoping. That’s what relationship with God is all about. Jesus made it possible for all of us to enter into relationship with God through faith.

Here’s your freedom for today: you can keep on hoping. When you have faith, you keep your eyes on eternity. Life on earth has its ups and downs, and I often ask myself, “Does this daily trial or trouble matter in the spectrum of eternity?” If I keep saying yes to God and doing what he says (things like love God, love others, forgive everyone in the same way I hope God forgives me), then I’m living my life as a life of faith. Any obedience on my part is because of my love for God and my desire to serve him, not an effort to earn a spot in his kingdom. When we stop trying to earn God’s favor, we begin to demonstrate hope and faith. Everything becomes about his kingdom, not our own striving.

Take a moment to read Romans 5:1-11 before reading the devotional below.

If you went to a restaurant and at the end of your meal the waiter told you someone had already paid your bill, you would probably feel surprised and confused. Who did this? Is it really okay for us to just leave? You’d probably leave an extra big tip, feeling a little insecure about getting a free meal. But if you considered it a blessing from God, you would probably celebrate and thank him for the unexpected gift. That is a little bit like our salvation through Jesus. He’s paid? Really? I don’t have to settle up with God myself? Maybe I can do a few good things to make sure I’m really all set…

If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, you know that acceptance of salvation is only the beginning. Jesus never promises us a stress-free life after that. In fact, the spiritual journey is one of continual growth and patient endurance. But all the hardship and suffering will be worth your while in the end. God is storing up blessings for you for all of eternity.

Here’s your freedom for today: God wants to bless you even when you are messing up. Sometimes we imagine that God is up there silently disapproving and disappointed when we sin or go astray. When we do the right thing, we imagine that he is happy and will “reward” us for good behavior. All of these ideas are a result of behaviorism and reward-based parenting styles. When you read the Bible, you find that God just really likes to bless you and he’s not waiting for you to get it right. These verses tells us that anybody would be willing to die for a good person, but only God is so loving that he died for us while we were his enemies. Now, because of Jesus, we can be friends of God. Just pause on that today. Friends. God considers you a friend because he makes impossible things possible.

Take a moment to read Romans 5:12-21 before reading the devotional below.

My children often express anger at Adam and Eve for sinning. Apparently they believe they could do better when faced with temptation — a test they fail nearly daily when playing with toothpaste and mouthwash in the bathroom… But they are right, it isn’t fair that we all have to live under a curse just because of their decision to sin in the Garden of Eden. They invited sin into the world and handed their authority over to an evil serpent. Now we are stuck with the consequences of that and there is nothing we can do to fix it.

The good news is that God is unfair in the other direction. Jesus removed the consequences for our sin in one fell swoop. It’s not fair, but it works in our favor. You didn’t ask Adam to sin, and you didn’t ask Jesus to undo it. But you experience the pain of the former and the freedom of the latter.

Here’s your freedom for today: grace is too good to be true. God established his law to illustrate the pain and consequences of sin. These are very real consequences (as we all know from experiencing the fallout of our own poor choices), and they are the operating system of this evil world. God’s kingdom is different, and his law is completely unnecessary in his kingdom because sin is not present. Once you are forgiven and accept this forgiveness from Jesus, you get to participate in a life in which sin no longer controls your destiny. You have a greater power to say “no” here on earth and you have an eternal home that is sin-free. If all of this sounds too good to be true, it is. For this world. But in God’s kingdom what is true is defined by what he says and does. In his kingdom, he says you are free.