Romans 3

I have been reading Romans as part of my daily devotional for some time now.

I do a sort of take off of an idea I read in a book by John MacArthur. He recommends reading the same book of the Bible in it entirety (except where it is HUGE, as in Luke: where you read 1/3 of the book at a time) for a month. The idea is that you sort of memorise the book and are able to identify and know roughly where to find a quote taken from the book when you read it in books, hear it in sermons or songs.

But, as I said, I am only doing a take off. Instead of the entire book, I read one chapter. In my hectic life I find that one chapter is a realistic goal. And, on the bright side, I may finish the ENTIRE book before I am 30! Something to look forward to : )

At the moment, I am reading chapter 3, and I thought I might share with you some thoughts that I had while reading it tonight.

God's faithfulness is confirmed with zeal early on:

"For what if some of them [those who had the 'oracles' of God committed to them] did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? God forbid! Let God be true but everyman a liar. As it is written: That you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge."

It has just struck me that I often take this portion of scripture for granted. I have read it many times and it is one of those foundation stones of theology, but I tend tread disregard it. But is IS foundational to theology. Even to putting one's faith in God. How could we have faith if we were not first assured of the faithfulness of the One we must trust?

The thing that most often strikes me though, in reading this chapter, is that we must not be comfortable in our position of being God's children. I do not mean to say that we might lose our faith, but that others may never gain theirs. The lost are condemned as sinners, but we are no better......" For all have sinned an fall short of the glory of God." We have been "justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came through Christ Jesus." Many have not. Many never will be.

One part of the passage jumps out at me. The words are: "God presented him [Christ Jesus] as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished...." Now I am not implying God's injustice through his never calling the sins of the wicked to account. What I want to get at is this......God was forbearing toward those who sinned for a time. Earlier in the book of Romans (2:4) Paul says that God's kindness lead us to repentance. How would it be if we were kind and forbearing? What miracles could be wrought in the human race?

A Casting Crowns song: Does anybody hear her? demonstrates this point well I think. It speaks about someone "searching for the hope that is tucked away in you and me." And I have to ask why is that we do tuck our faith away?

I must confirm here though that I am a firm believer in witnessing through a life lived for God; as opposed to Bible bashing every person you meet on the side of the road or in shopping malls. But that brings me to another point. Do we live like Christians or like those of the world? Can we be confident that we are witnesses for Christ?

We ought to be kind and forbearing, as he is kind and forbearing. Give the unrighteous an example, time to change, love and compassion. Sometimes that is all it takes. Sometimes when we do not do those things we are driving away the lost.

Great is God's faithfulness