The Redemptive Revolution

5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. 9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him. – Ephesians 6:5-9 ESV

As Paul continues to discuss the application of what it means to walk as children of light, in love and in submission to one another, he brings up a relationship that is particularly difficult for contemporary believers to understand. He has already addressed the relationships between husbands and wives and between children and their parents. Now he takes on the relationship between slaves and their masters.

There are those who have labeled Paul as a proponent of the institution of slavery because he does not speak out against it. But Paul, like Christ, was not out to revolutionize civil institutions or bring about social upheaval. He was interested in redeeming the lives of those who comprised the existing society. So, while it is true that Paul does not speak out against or condemn the socially accepted practice of slavery in his day, this does not mean he was a supporter of it. In fact, in the letter he wrote to Philemon, Paul appeals to his brother in Christ regarding one of his slaves, a man called Onesimus. Evidently, Onesimus had run away from Philemon, somehow met Paul, and became a believer. This runaway slave ended up ministering to Paul while he was a prisoner in Rome. Paul had encouraged Onesimus to do the right thing and return to his master, Philemon. Slavery was legal in Paul’s day, and Onesimus was obligated to return to Philemon or face severe punishment.

But Paul wrote his letter to Philemon to explain the change that had taken place in Onesimus's life and to ask Philemon to view his former slave as a brother in Christ.

For perhaps he was for this reason separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. – Philemon 1:15-16 NLT

This is exactly the kind of context Paul has been addressing in his letter to the Ephesians. Slavery was a socially accepted and legally sanctioned part of the culture of the day. Yet Paul was calling slaves and masters who came to faith in Christ to radically change their perspective regarding this institution. It has been estimated that in the 1st century AD, roughly 10 to 20 percent of the entire Roman Empire's population were slaves. In Rome, the estimate jumps to as high as 33 percent. Anyone could become a slave. It was common for prisoners of war to be sold as slaves, yet Roman citizens could also become enslaved if they were unable to pay back a debt. 

It was into this complex cultural milieu that the gospel began to spread. As a result, slaves, who were viewed as property and considered sub-human in many ways, were coming to faith in Christ. Not only that, they were becoming members of local congregations. It was not uncommon for a 1st-century church to include slaves and their masters among its members, and within the church there was a unity and equality unheard of elsewhere in the culture of that day. Which is why Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia: “For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26-28 NLT).

In the context of the body of Christ, everyone was considered equal and to be treated with dignity and honor. But while coming to faith in Christ freed someone like Onesimus from sin, it did not free him from slavery. In fact, Paul wrote to the Corinthians and told them, “Yes, each of you should remain as you were when God called you. Are you a slave? Don’t let that worry you—but if you get a chance to be free, take it. And remember, if you were a slave when the Lord called you, you are now free in the Lord. And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a slave of Christ” (1 Corinthians 7:20-22 NLT).

Paul was primarily concerned with seeing a change in believers' behavior, not in their social status. He was focused on their walk, the daily living out of their faith within the context of their existing social relationships. He wrote to the church in Ephesus, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ” (Ephesians 6:5 NLT). Once again, Paul insists that their motivation be Christ-centered, as if they were serving Christ. Jesus had become a slave, a servant on their behalf, even dying in their place so that they might be freed from slavery to sin. Now, Paul was calling them to serve their earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Rather than forced subservience, Paul was calling them to willing submission. He even gives them very specific instructions on how their faith should manifest in their relationship with their masters.

Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. – Ephesians 6:6-7 NLT

Notice that Paul encourages them to do God's will with all their heart. What would God's will be in their particular situation? To walk as children of light. To walk in love. To walk in a manner worthy of their calling. Yes, even within their context as slaves because, in reality, they were slaves of Christ. Their earthly situation was temporary. So they could work with enthusiasm, performing their earthly responsibilities as if they were doing it for the Lord, knowing that “the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free” (Ephesians 6:8 NLT).

But Paul is not done. He also addresses those individuals in the Ephesian church who were masters. He tells them, “Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites” (Ephesians 6:9 NLT). Paul does not castigate them for their role as masters or demand the immediate emancipation of their slaves; he calls them to apply their newfound faith to their cultural context. Their faith in Christ was to have a relationship-altering impact on their lives. Masters were to view their slaves as brothers, not property. And, in their role as masters, they were to do everything as unto the Lord. This was a game-changing, life-altering moment for these individuals. Can you imagine what kinds of renewal of the mind and shifts in their paradigm were taking place as they wrestled with the newfound faith in Christ and the reality of the social construct in which they found themselves? This particular relationship between slaves and masters would put the daily application of faith in Christ to the test like no other. 

Jesus did not come to revolutionize the structures of society; He came to transform the lives of the people who make up that society. He did not come to radically alter institutions, but to redeem individuals. Political change and legal sanctions do nothing to remedy the condition of the heart. Overthrowing a society's evil social structures through rebellion or civil disobedience may bring about external change, but it will never fix the problem of sin. Believers, living as children of light in the midst of darkness, loving unconditionally, submitting to one another willingly, and obeying Christ joyfully, are the true change-agents in the world.

Father, we like to fix things. We are wired to right all wrongs and set the record straight on all injustices and inquities. But we live in a fallen world where man’s inhumanity to man is on constant display and unrighteousness seems to be the factory default setting. When Your Son entered the world, He did so at the zenith of Rome’s power. Yet He didn’t rail against the injustices of Roman rule or demand the overthrow of the emperor. He didn’t lead an insurrection or call for a grassroots uprising against the status quo. No, Your Son preached repentance and the need for salvation from sin. He called for heart change, not regime change. And Paul continued to preach Jesus’ message of freedom from slavery to sin and death because he knew that was the key to impacting society. Only changed hearts and lives will produce lasting change in a society. The gospel alone can turn masters into brothers, slaves into servants of Christ, oppressors into encouragers, and persecutors into proponents of the gospel. Jesus’ disciples had hoped He was the Messiah who had come to overthrow the Roman government, but He had come to conquer sin and death. Help me to understand that changing the culture is an inside job that begins within the hearts of people. The gospel is the key to changing the culture, one individual at a time. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Her Holiness Trumps Your Happiness

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. – Ephesians 5:25-33 ESV

In the previous two verses, Paul stated that wives are to submit to their husbands. That’s not exactly a popular topic among most women today. It sounds so archaic and comes across as demeaning and dismissive of women. But we must remember that this entire section of Paul’s letter is calling all believers to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. His reference to wives and husbands was simply a practical application of what mutual submission looks like in real life.

But the one thing that gets overlooked in this whole discussion of submission is the interrelatedness that God intends. In His divine plan, submission was not intended to be a one-way affair. Yes, wives were expected to submit to their husbands, but notice that Paul calls husbands to love their wives. And here is the important distinction: Believing husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church. There is an inferred expectation of sacrifice and selflessness involved in the kind of love Paul is describing. It is an other-oriented love that suppresses its own rights and desires for the well-being of another.

However, Paul goes on to describe this kind of love as a form of self-love, because “husbands should love their wives as their own bodies” (Ephesians 5:28 ESV). For the husband, there is no me-versus-her agenda. In God’s eyes, his very existence is permanently linked to that of his wife. That is why Jesus taught that it was God’s will that a husband and wife become “one flesh.”

But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,  and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” – Mark 10:6-9 ESV

The husband is to value his wife’s life as much as his own. It is as if she has become a part of him. He is to love her as he loves his own body, nourishing and cherishing her in the same way that Christ does the church. Christ not only sacrificed His life for the church, but He also constantly intercedes on Her behalf. Even now, His full attention is focused on the church. Paul tells us, “Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us” (Romans 8:34 NLT). Paul then goes on to ask, “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love?” (Romans 8:35 NLT). This rhetorical question is meant to be answered with a resounding “No!”

In the same way, there is nothing that should separate the love of a husband for his wife. Nothing she says or does should cause him to fall out of love with her. Now that is a tall order and a high expectation, but Paul doesn’t stop there. He adds that the husband is to make it his life's goal to sanctify his wife, sometimes despite her and without her full cooperation. Even when she refuses to submit to him, he is to sanctify her.

But what does Paul mean when he calls husbands to sanctify their wives? Isn't that the job of the Spirit of God? Paul is using Christ’s love for the church as an illustration of the kind of love men are to have for their wives. Christ gave Himself up for the church, sacrificing His life so that the church might be sanctified. The Greek word Paul used is hagiazō, which means “to set apart, consecrate, or make holy.” Earlier in his letter, Paul wrote that God “blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Ephesians 1:3-4 ESV).

God’s desire is for His people to be holy or set apart, living in a way that reflects their status as His children. But sinfulness prevented us from living set-apart lives. Our unrighteousness kept us from living up to God’s holy standard.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. – Romans 3:23 NLT

Jesus made our holiness possible by His sacrificial death on the cross.

Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. – Romans 3:24-25 NLT

Jesus sacrificed His life so that we could be made holy in God’s eyes. He took on our sin and imputed His righteousness to us. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. And, in the same way, a believing husband should make his wife’s holiness his highest priority. Her holiness should take precedence over his own happiness. God has appointed husbands to steward their wives’ sanctification. While a godly husband cannot make his wife holy, he should always treat her as such. She is a gift from God, and He has charged the husband with caring for her spiritual well-being at all costs.  

Paul says that Christ cleansed the church by the washing of water with the word. This appears to refer to the gospel, the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Every believer who hears the gospel message and places their faith in Christ is cleansed from their sins. Water baptism is a statement of that reality as the believer is lowered into the water and symbolically “cleansed” from their sins. The emphasis in verse 26 is sanctification. It is not a command for men to read the Word over their wives in some kind of ritualistic purification rite.

It was Jesus’ death on the cross that provided their cleansing from sin. The point Paul seems to be making is that Jesus gave Himself up “so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27 ESV). In the same way, the husband is to give himself up for his wife's spiritual edification; her holiness is to be his highest priority. His chief desire is for her to experience the fullness of life Jesus died for her to have (John 10:10). But that will require sacrifice, selflessness, and submission to the will of God. When a godly husband makes his wife’s holiness his highest priority, his own happiness will have to take a backseat.

Submission is difficult; our natural inclination is to refuse any thought of submitting to someone else. Loving as Christ loved is also a formidable task and runs counter to our natural disposition toward self-centeredness and self-preservation. But we have to remember that Paul is calling us to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:1 ESV). He is challenging us to undertake some serious remodeling.

…put off your old self…and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. – Ephesians 4:22,24 ESV

He commands us to “walk in love, as Christ loved us” (Ephesians 5:2 ESV), as children of light (Ephesians 5:8).

Marriage is one of the primary venues God has chosen for us to model Christlikeness. He intended the marriage union to be a constant illustration of Christ and His love relationship with the church. It is to be a picture of Christ’s sacrificial love and the church’s obedient submission working in unison to accomplish God’s will. So Paul writes, “let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband” (Ephesians 5:22 ESV). When we do, it is for the good of our marriage and the glory of God, and serves as a living testimony of our calling as His children.

Father, these are difficult verses and seem almost impossible to carry out in real life. Loving my wife with the same intensity and all-out commitment that Christ displayed for the church seems like a tall order that is beyond my capacity to pull off. But I know You never ask me to do anything in my own strength. As Jesus told His disciples, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26 ESV). I can love my wife as Christ loved the church because You have placed Your Spirit within me and equipped me with all the power I need to do the impossible. By Your divine power, You have given me everything I need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), including loving my wife selflessly and sacrificially. But, even then, I can still gravitate back to pursuing my happiness. I can easily place my desire for self-preservation and personal pleasure ahead of Your call to love my wife. I can even make my spiritual growth a higher priority than hers. But Jesus said, “It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (Matthew 20:26 BSB). And Jesus practiced what He preached, all the way to the cross, You are not asking that I die for my wife, but You are expecting me to die to myself. You are commanding me to love my wife selflessly and sacrificially, just as Your Son loved the church. Yes, it’s a tall order, but with You, all things are possible.  Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The God-Ordained Mission of Submission

22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. – Ephesians 5:22-24 ESV

In verse 21, Paul called the Ephesians to “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21 NLT). This admonition was stated in the context of doing God's will and living in a way that pleases Him. But to many contemporary Christians, submission is a four-letter word that conjures up images of slave-like subjugation and subservience. Verses 23-24 strike fear into the hearts of many pastors and cause them to avoid them like the plague. If they preach these verses at all, they present them as a culturally driven anomaly with little or no application for modern-day believers.

Many view this passage as old-fashioned, a throwback to some cultural context that has no bearing on our more sophisticated modern milieu. They conclude that Paul was writing to a people trapped in an antiquated social structure that no longer applies. Either that, or he was just misogynistic and trying to keep women in their “proper” place.

But what most of us fail to realize is that submission is a non-negotiable requirement of every believer in Christ. These two verses, like so many others in Scripture, are typically lifted from their context and treated in isolation. But Paul has been talking about how believers are to live their lives, calling them to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:1 ESV). He repeats that thought in Chapter 5.

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. – Ephesians 5:15-16 ESV

The New Living Translation translates verse 15 as “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.” Paul was calling the Ephesian believers to live differently from their unsaved neighbors. Their behavior was to set them apart as children of God. They were to walk in love, as children of light, exhibiting the wisdom of God, not the foolishness of the world.

The verses that often get overlooked when dealing with this passage are located right before it. In them, Paul gives an admonition to every believer, male or female.

…be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. – Ephesians 5:18-21 ESV

Submission is expected of every follower of Christ. A lifestyle of submission is one of humility and honor, not subservience and servitude. When done properly, it reveres Christ by modeling the very lifestyle He lived. Jesus Himself described His mission in terms of submission and a servant-like attitude.

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Matthew 20:28 NLT

The apostle Paul told the believers in Corinth to imitate Christ’s example.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. – Philippians 2:5-7 NLT

This has nothing to do with Jesus’ rights. As the Son of God, He was divine and all-powerful. He created the world and all those who lived in it. Yet He was willing to submit to His Father’s will and set aside His divine privileges and prerogatives in order to serve mankind by sacrificing His life.

In the upper room, on the night that Jesus was to be betrayed and arrested, He washed His disciples’ feet. Setting aside His robe, He wrapped Himself in a towel and did what none of the others would have dared to do. As He knelt before them, performing the role of a lowly servant, Jesus told His disciples, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand” (John 13:7 ESV).

When He finished, Jesus said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them” (John 13:12-17 ESV).

Jesus’ act of submission was meant to be a living lesson for the disciples about what their lives would be like in the days to come. He was calling them to a life of service and sacrifice, where their wills would take a back seat to God’s. He expected them to submit to one another out of reverence for God and love for one another. Titles were not to stand in the way. Rights were to be set aside. Status was to be ignored. Submission was to become a key characteristic of their lives. And what the disciples did not yet understand was that Jesus’ demonstration of foot-washing was simply a foreshadowing of His ultimate act of service on the cross.

When James and John, two of Jesus’ disciples, came to Him and arrogantly asked for positions of prominence in His coming Kingdom, the rest of the disciples became angry and jealous. Jesus denied their request by presenting them with a radically different expectation for their futures.

“You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:42-45 ESV

Among you, it will be different. In His Kingdom, sovereignty would be marked by slavery, and honor would be achieved through humility.

So what does all this have to do with wives submitting to their husbands? In this chapter, Paul will use a number of earthly relationships to illustrate Christian submission. He will talk about husbands and wives, children and parents, and slaves and masters. As believers, we do not operate in a vacuum. We are not independent agents, acting on our own and focused solely on our individual walk with God. We live in a communal context. Wives have husbands, and it is in that context that they are to practice submission.

Notice that Paul says, “Wives, submit to your own husbands;” he does NOT say that all women are to submit to ALL men. Paul’s discussion of submission has nothing to do with the value or significance of women in general; it has everything to do with the context of marriage. What more difficult place to practice submission than in a marriage?

Just as the disciples would never have lowered themselves to wash the feet of one another, wives will find it difficult to submit to their husbands, especially if their husbands fail to love as Paul commands. Yet submission is non-optional and is a willing coming under the other, recognizing them as more important than yourself. This is what Paul told the believers in Philippi.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. – Philippians 2:3-4 ESV

A wife’s submission is NOT an admission of her husband’s superiority, but a recognition of God’s divine order. He has made the husband the head of the household, not because He is smarter, more spiritual, or even better equipped to lead, but so that there might be order in the home. God holds the husband responsible, just as He held Adam to a higher standard than Eve when it came to their mutual sin against Him.

Submission is essential to every relationship in which we find ourselves as Christians, and it is one of the hardest things for us to do. We long to be first and tend to view ourselves as better than others. We long to be in control, but when we submit to others, we are really submitting to God. We are coming under His divine authority and recognizing His righteous order for His creation.

At the end of the day, submission is about trusting God. It involves the realization that He is in control and has authority over the husband. A believing wife must submit to her husband “as to the Lord,” trusting God to lead him and protect her. But the temptation will be to step in and take over, especially when the husband fails to lead and love well. But when the wife attempts to take over, she is actually stepping outside God’s ordained plan. Submission will not always make sense and will not always appear to work. It may even be uncomfortable at times. But even Jesus humbled Himself to the point of death, offering Himself as a ransom for many. Submission is not a dirty word; it is the God-ordained way of life for every believer.

Father, subnission is difficult for all of us. We inherently want to be in charge and dislike playing second fiddle to anyone. We even find it hard to submit to those we love and respect. But, ultimately, we are not submitting to another person, we are submitting to You. That is why Paul makes it clear that wives are to submit “as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22 ESV). Our submission is to be focused on Your will, trusting that You know what is best for us. As Paul told the Colossians, we are to work willingly at whatever we do, as though we are working for the Lord rather than for people (Colossians 3:23) Submission is countercultural and, oftentimes, counterintuitive. As the Son of God and Creator of the universe, Your Son had every right to demand the submission and subjugation of humanity. But “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8 ESV). And You have called us to follow His example and live out that same sacrificial, selfless lifestyle in all our relationships. With the Spirit’s help, we can do it, and when we do it, we imitate Christ and glorify You. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Walk the Talk

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. – Ephesians 5:15-21 ESV

Once again, Paul brings up the issue of the believer’s walk or how they conduct their life. He has already told his readers “to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:1 ESV). He has warned them, “You must longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds” (Ephesians 4:17 ESV). In verse one of this chapter, he wrote, “walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us” (Ephesians 5:1 ESV). And then he gave his readers yet one more admonition: “Walk as children of the light (for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true)” (Ephesians 5:8-9 ESV).

Now, in verse 15, he provides yet one more word about the daily conduct of believers.

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time. – Ephesians 5:15 ESV

Paul had a strong conviction that a believer’s belief and behavior were to be inseparable. Faith in Christ was to have a direct impact on every area of life, including the believer’s attitudes and actions. A Christian’s walk and words were to reflect his new nature. But it is interesting to note that the verses above are all imperatives.

Walk in a manner worthy of the calling.

Walk not as the Gentiles do.

Walk in love.

Walk as children of the light.

Walk not as the unwise.

These are commands, not suggestions, and they require forethought and proper consideration. If you want them to be part of your life, you must think about them and plan for them. Like all the commands in Scripture, they are non-optional, yet not always obeyed. We can choose to ignore each of these commands. That is why Paul was so emphatic. He begged his readers not to act thoughtlessly, and he put it in very blunt terms: “Do not be foolish” (Ephesians 5:17 ESV).

To “be foolish” was to act without reason or reflection; to act rashly, without forethought or proper consideration. Living the Christian life requires a bit of brainpower and intellectual capacity. We have to think about what we are doing, and that requires planning and deliberation. In verse 10, Paul wrote, “Carefully determine what pleases the Lord” (Ephesians 5:10 NLT). That requires thought and consideration. You must stop and consider the deed before you commit to doing it. In his letter to the believers in Rome, Paul provided them with a key to making this happen.

Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. – Romans 12:2 NLT

God wants to redeem our thought lives so that we think as He does. But that requires knowing His will or what He would have us do. Which is why Paul said, “Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do” (Ephesians 5:17 NLT). And just in case his readers couldn’t follow his train of thought, Paul gave them a real-life example.

Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. – Ephesians 5:18a NLT

Think about it; what good ever comes from getting drunk? Who has ever been proud of their behavior after a night of heavy drinking? Paul suggests that it would be wiser and more beneficial to “be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18b NLT). It should be obvious that when Paul compares being drunk with wine with being filled with the Spirit, he is talking about control. When one is inebriated, they are under the control of alcohol because it determines their behavior. It causes them to do and say things that are out of character.

To be filled with the Spirit is to choose to let Him dictate and determine your behavior. There is a big difference between being indwelt by the Spirit and filled by the Spirit. Every believer receives the Holy Spirit at the point of salvation. But while we have all of the Spirit all of the time, we are not always “filled” or controlled by the Spirit. We can choose to ignore Him. We can determine to disobey Him. But when we are filled with the Holy Spirit and under His control, our behavior will give evidence. Paul provides a glimpse of what that should look like.

Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. – Ephesians 5:18-20 NLT

Earlier, Paul warned, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (Ephesians 4:30 ESV). We grieve the Spirit when we choose to live our lives apart from His power and without His guidance. When we do so, we rob Him of His primary role in our lives. He exists to assist us as we navigate this fallen world, but when we refuse to live under His control, we deny Him the joy of producing His fruit through us. We end up quenching His fruit-bearing power and produce “bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander” instead (Ephesians 4:31 ESV). The Spirit longs to make us kind, tenderhearted, forgiving, thankful, and submissive to one another, but He will not force His will on us. It is a choice we must make. That is why Paul says, “Be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18 NLT).

It is God’s will that we be filled. That is the whole reason He provided the Holy Spirit in the first place. In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul wrote, “For this is God's will: that you become holy” (1 Thessalonians 4:4 NET). But holiness is unachievable without the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Forgiveness of sins is great, but even an absence of sin does not make someone righteous or holy. God’s intention is to transform us from unrighteous to righteous, from unholy to holy. His ultimate goal is our glorification, when we will be set free from all sin and made perfectly righteous.

It is essential that we stop and consider what God is doing in our lives. We must constantly question why we would choose to do anything that is contrary to His will for our lives. He desires for us to be holy, so why would we do anything that prevents that from happening? That is why Paul tells us, “Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do” (Ephesians 5:17 NLT). We must think before we act.

Father, sometimes I fail to think about what You are doing in my life. It is so easy to take my salvation for granted and rest on the promise of my forgiveness and the hope of eternal life. But You are in the transformation business and Your Spirit is constantly working on my life so that my Christlikeness increases with each passing day. But this is a process I must willfully choose to participate in. That means I must think about it and actively pursue those things that please You, instead of me. You have said that we are to be holy as You are holy. That is a call for us to live set-apart lives that reflect Your character and differentiate us from the rest of the world. But again, that is not something that comes naturally, even after salvation. Without the Spirit’s help, I will always gravitate to my old sinful habits. I will do what pleases me and model my life after this world. But thank You for providing the Holy Spirit who never leaves me and never gives up on me. Without Him, my pursuit of holiness would be hopeless. But with His help, I am becoming more like Christ. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Live Like God, Love Like Christ

1Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. – Ephesians 5:1-2 ESV

These two verses contain two of the most stunning and intimidating admonitions to be found in the entire Scriptures. Paul begins this chapter with the word “Therefore.” It is as if he is saying, “With all that in mind…” He is referring back to his earlier call to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:1 ESV). He is also taking into account all that he has said about putting off the old self and putting on the new self, which is “created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24 ESV).

Paul has called his readers to live transformed lives, made possible by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Their attitudes and actions were to be radically different, and their interactions with one another were to be marked by gentleness, kindness, patience, selflessness, and love. He concluded chapter four by saying, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32 ESV).

Now he gives them two simple steps to help them see whether their behavior matches what they say they believe. First, they were to model their lives after God. Secondly, they were to love like Christ. Paul writes these words in such a casual manner that it is easy to miss the significance of his words. But if one stops to consider what Paul is saying, the impossibility of it all begins to sink in. He is asking the Ephesians to imitate the God of the universe and practice the same selfless, sacrificial love that Christ modeled. In other words, he was asking the impossible, and he knew it.

Paul was aware that his words would confound his audience, but he also knew that they were up to the challenge. Because of their relationship with Christ and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, they were no longer ordinary men and women; they were children of God who had been called, filled with the Spirit, equipped with supernatural gifts, and given new natures. They were free to do what they had never been able to do before: live godly lives that please and honor God. As children of God who were filled with the Spirit of God, it would only be natural for them to imitate their heavenly Father. They would see what He does and do likewise.

God is gracious, merciful, loving, and patient, so they should be as well. They should also share God’s hatred for sin and live lives that reflect His holiness. The apostle Peter wrote, “But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy” (1 Peter 1:15 NLT). But Peter wasn’t the first to say this; he had heard similar words from Jesus Himself.

“But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” – Matthew 5:48 NLT

And Jesus was quoting from Leviticus 19:2, where God said to the people of Israel, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” Neither God, Jesus, nor Peter was asking for sinless perfection; they were encouraging a life of set-apartness or distinctiveness, a life that emulated the character and heart of God rather than this world. 

When God calls us, He sets us apart as His own. We become His possession, are adopted into His family, and become His children. As such, we are to live according to His terms and in obedience to His will for our lives. Paul told the believers in Corinth, “do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV).

We glorify God when we live our lives in obedience to His will and in imitation of His character. When we extend mercy and grace to those who don’t deserve it, we are imitating God. When we show kindness to those in need, we are imitating God. When we love the unlovely and unlovable, we are imitating God. When we despise sin so much that we refuse to participate in it, we are imitating God.

Not long before His crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples about the coming day of judgment for all those who come to faith during the great tribulation. They will stand before the Lord and hear the following pronouncement:

Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

Then these righteous ones will reply, “Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?”

And the King will say, “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” – Matthew 25:34-40 NLT

These men and women, who will come to faith in Christ during the most horrific period in human history, will do the unthinkable and improbable. They will risk their lives to show the love and mercy of God to those who are suffering alongside them during the tribulation. Their selfless, sacrificial actions will emulate God and express love for His Son.

Which leads to the second part of Paul’s admonition: Love like Christ. Actually, Paul says, “Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ” (Ephesians 5:2 NLT). Our lives are to be characterized by the love of Christ. His love was selfless and led Him to sacrifice His life for the well-being of others. Jesus said there was no greater expression of love than for someone to lay down their life for another (John 15:13). He also said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:10-11 ESV).

The apostle John took this thought one step further when he wrote, “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1 John 3:16 NLT). The amazing thing about this is that God does not require us to physically die; He simply asks us to die to self by giving up our rights. Paul put it this way to the believers in Philippi: “Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3 NLT). According to Paul, God expects us to “Outdo one another in showing honor” (Romans 12:10 ESV). He desires for us to exhibit “tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience” (Colossians 3:12 NLT).

Imitate God. Love like Christ. These commands sound impossible, but they're not. Peter reminds us, “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3 NLT). Paul knew his words would be met with incredulity and skepticism. The Ephesians were having difficulty staying faithful; now he was asking them to do the impossible. But he believed in the power of the indwelling Spirit. He was so confident that he wrote, “God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6 NLT). In a sense, Paul was asking the Ephesians to do the impossible, but he knew that, with God, all things are possible because He is the God of the impossible. 

One day Jesus made the following statement to His disciples: “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:24-25 NLT). Astounded by His words, the disciples asked,  “Then who in the world can be saved?” (Mark 10:26 NLT). Then Jesus quietly and confidently responded, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God” (Mark 10:27 NLT)

Paul believed in the power of God, and that is why he could confidently command the believers in Philippi, “Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people” (Philippians 2:15 NLT).

As improbable as it may sound, we can live like God and love like Christ because with God, all things are possible. 

Father, it is so easy to read these verses and gloss over their significance. Paul’s words have become so familiar that they no longer hold any weight. I can read them and no longer understand the staggering implications of what he is saying. He is asking me to do the impossible. But this was Your idea, not his. You have made me Your son and You expect me to model my behavior after Yours. You have given me Your nature and You desire that I reflect my new identity to the world around me. You have placed Your Spirit within me and equipped me with power beyond my wildest imagination. With Paul, I can say, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 ESV). I am a new creation, a son of God, and a joint-heir with Christ. I have everything I need for life and godliness and that means I can imitate You and love like Jesus. Thank You for making the impossible achievable. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Evidence of a Transformed Life

25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. – Ephesians 4:25-32 ESV

What does it look like to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:1 ESV)? And what would it mean to “no longer walk as the Gentiles do” (Ephesians 4:17 ESV)? Paul doesn’t leave anything up to our imaginations.

Before coming to know Christ, we had futile minds and a darkened understanding, but all that has changed. We used to be alienated from God and were ignorant of godly things because we had hardened hearts. We were callous, sensual by nature, and greedy for more impurity. That was our old self, but when we came to know Christ, we were given a new nature, a new self, with the capacity to renew and redeem our entire way of thinking. And the way we think has a tremendous impact on the way we live. That is why Paul encouraged his readers to “put on the new self, created in the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24 ESV). Then he described what that should look like in real life.

One of the first characteristics of our new life should be truthfulness. Everything about our life prior to coming to Christ was marked by falsehood and based on lies. Our view of God, if we had one, was false. Our perspective on sin and any need for salvation was flawed and influenced by the lies of Satan. Our perspective of reality was wrong, and our perception of ourselves was faulty, causing us to believe we were good rather than bad. Our view of our own sinfulness was relative, allowing us to see ourselves as somewhat better than others.

But when we came to know Christ, we were suddenly exposed to the truth regarding our sin and the condemnation we deserved. We realized, for the first time, that any hope we had of being restored to a right relationship with God was only possible through Christ. We became aware that we were sinners in need of a Savior and came to grips with the reality of God’s unapproachable holiness and our own unrighteousness. The magnitude of God’s incredible love as revealed through the death of His Son on the cross dawned on our darkened minds and opened our blind eyes to the truth of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

As believers, we are to put away falsehood and deceit. We have to constantly eliminate the false ideas and faulty precepts on which we formerly based our lives. Instead, each of us is to “speak the truth with his neighbor” (Ephesians 4:25 ESV). While lying was a natural part of our former lives, it is uncharacteristic of our new status as members of God’s family. We are to exhibit holiness and righteousness. For us, honesty isn’t just the best policy; it is the only one.

While anger was a normal part of our pre-conversion nature, now we should view it as dangerous and destructive. We can’t completely eliminate anger in this life, but with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can learn to control it. Which is why Paul quoted a Psalm of David.

Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. – Psalm 4:4 ESV

And Paul added a reminder that unresolved anger is how the enemy gets a foothold in our lives. 

…and give no opportunity to the devil. – Ephesians 4;27 ESV

Our old nature will try to justify our anger and defend it by labeling it as “righteous indignation.” But anger simply provides an entry point for the enemy. As believers, love is to be the primary characteristic of our lives. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave His audience a primer on love, hate, and anger.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” – Matthew 5:44-48 ESV

Salvation is not just about having our sins forgiven and our eternity secured. It is about life change. It includes our ongoing transformation through God’s divine process of sanctification. God doesn’t just free us from the penalty of sin; He liberates us from its power over our lives, allowing us to live radically different lives in the here and now, not just the hereafter. As a result, the thief who comes to faith in Christ is to stop stealing and work for a living. Rather than taking from others, he is to share what he earns with those in need. His whole mindset about life is to change.

As believers, our speech should reflect our new nature. Paul writes, “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them” (Ephesians 4:29 NLT). Again, notice the change in perspective. It is other-oriented, rather than self-obsessed. Our words are to build up, not tear down; they should comfort and encourage as we speak the truth in love. 

As believers, our conduct can grieve the Holy Spirit. When we live as we used to, according to our old nature, we reject the Holy Spirit’s direction for our lives, and this brings Him great sorrow. When bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander mark our lives, it is evidence that we are not living in the power of the Holy Spirit. These are what Paul calls “the works of the flesh” (Galatians 5:19 ESV). They are the fruit of our old nature.

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. – Galatians 5:19-21 NLT

But when we exhibit kindness, tenderness, and forgiveness to one another, it proves that the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives, producing His fruit through us. It gives evidence that we are walking in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called. We are living in unity. We are being renewed and putting on our new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness, for the good of the body of Christ and the glory of God. 

Father, You are all about life change, from the inside out. Your Son didn’t sacrifice His life just so we could have a sin-free eternity. He also didn’t shed His blood so we could have our best life now, free sorrow, sin, and suffering. In fact, He told us, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NLT). Eternal life is a wonderful thing and I am looking forward to it, but Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10 ESV). That abundant life is not just a promise of eternal life; it is the guarantee of a radically different life even as we live in this fallen world. That seems to be what Paul is talking about in these verses. But, too often, we allow our old way of living to take precedence, causing us to respond with lies, anger, harsh words, and other “works of the flesh.” But Your Son’s offer of abundant life began the moment I placed my faith in Him. He placed His Spirit within me and equipped me with everything I need for living a godly life, right here, right now. I am Your child and my actions should prove it. I have been saved, but I am also being sanctified and my life should be living proof, I am a work in process and I am certain that You, who began the good work within me, will continue Your work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns (Philippians 1:6). Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore it says,

“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
    and he gave gifts to men.”

9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. – Ephesians 4:7-14 ESV

Paul has encouraged the believers in Ephesus to live together in unity, recognizing their shared faith and common bond in Christ. God had called them and placed them in the body of Christ, and together, they were to bring glory and honor to God. Paul reminded them that God had given them gifts to make their unification possible. Paraphrasing from Psalm 68:18, Paul emphasized that when Jesus ascended back to heaven, He gave gifts to men. This was fulfilled with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. – Acts 2:1-4 NLT

Jesus’ departure guaranteed the arrival of the Holy Spirit. Just before His death, He told His disciples, “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth” (John 14:15-17 NLT). He went on to prepare them for His pending death, but then assured them, “I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. Soon, the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you” (John 14:18-20 NLT).

The Holy Spirit’s arrival was a game-changer for the disciples. He empowered and equipped them for service. He provided them with the capacity to speak languages they didn’t know and perform supernatural miracles of healing. And Jesus had told them this would happen.

“I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.” – Luke 24:49 NLT

The gift of the Holy Spirit was not just for Jesus’ original disciples. He was to become a permanent fixture in the life of every believer. At the point of salvation, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in a believer, providing them with a gift, a supernatural enablement designed to build up the body of Christ. Paul described the nature of the gifts in his letter to the Corinthians.

A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages,[while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. – 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 NLT

These gifts are God-ordained, Spirit-empowered, and not man-made. They are not talents or natural capabilities, and no one is born with these gifts.

But the Spirit’s indwelling presence and the gifts He provides are not all that God has given the church. Paul reminds the Ephesians that God has also provided godly leaders for the church. These are divinely appointed individuals whom God has chosen and equipped for the task of leading His people. Just as God chose and appointed Moses to lead the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, He also chose David to transform Israel from a kingdom of former slaves to prominence as one of the greatest nations in the world. In the same way, God provided the church with leaders.

Paul describes them as apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers. An apostle was literally a “sent one” or messenger. The original 11 disciples had been commissioned and sent by Jesus to take the gospel message to the world. Paul, though not one of the original 12 disciples chosen by Jesus, regarded himself as an apostle because he had been commissioned byJesus on the road to Damascus. The primary role of an apostle was to spread the gospel and establish churches throughout the known world.

Prophets were “forth-tellers” who had the divinely enabled ability to speak the truth of God. These individuals were responsible for building up the body of Christ, especially the local churches. Paul provides insight into their role in his letter to the Corinthian believers: “The one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation” (1 Corinthians 14:3 ESV). In the early days of the church, before most of the New Testament had even been written, the role of prophets was vital. These individuals were divinely empowered to discern and disseminate the truth of God in a time when false teachers and false gospels were prevalent. 

Evangelists were “heralds of salvation.” They were Spirit-empowered to share the gospel, and their role was essential. These itinerant preachers played a significant part in leading others to Christ. Some evangelists stayed close to home, ministering to their local communities, while others traveled from city to city to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles.

When Paul refers to pastors and teachers, he is likely speaking of a single function, not two. It could be translated as “pastor-teacher,” referring to one role within the church. Regardless of whether Paul was speaking of one or two gifts, these individuals were essential in shepherding and teaching the body of Christ. The term “pastor” literally means “shepherd,” one who ministers to the needs of the flock of Jesus Christ. He was to care for, protect, guide, and feed them. As a teacher, he was responsible for instructing the people of God in everything from the teachings of Jesus to sound doctrine. This particular role was essential to the church's well-being because of the growing problem of false teaching and divisive doctrine.

Together, these gifted individuals were to minister to God’s people, equipping them for the work of the ministry. It seems quite clear that Paul did not have in mind a professional clergy who did all the work of the ministry on behalf of God’s people. These were lay leaders who were specifically gifted as equippers and trainers, ensuring that the believers under their care were able to do the work of ministry in their local congregations.

It was as individual believers were properly taught, trained, and equipped that they were able to minister to one another and build up the body of Christ. Just a few verses later in this chapter, Paul describes the outcome of a well-equipped church:

He [God] makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. – Ephesians 4:16 NLT

The goal is growth, and the objective is spiritual health and doctrinal soundness. Jesus did not leave His flock defenseless or alone. He provided us with the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit has given the church gifted individuals to lead, guide, and equip the body of Christ.

Paul has in mind not only the spiritual maturity of every believer but also the unity and well-being of the local body of Christ. There was no place for spiritual stagnation or immaturity. There was no excuse for disunity and discord. God expected His people to grow, and so did Paul. But it was to be a team effort. Each individual was expected to do his or her job, selflessly and sacrificially. And the commitment was for the long term.

This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. – Ephesians 4:13 NLT

Father, You have given us Your Spirit, equipped us with spiritual gifts, provided us with qualified leaders, and placed us into the body of Christ. In doing so, You have “given us everything we need for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1;3 BSB). We have no excuse. There is no reason we should struggle with uncertainty, disunity, or spiritual ignorance or apathy. Unless, of course, we choose to quench and grieve Your Spirit by refusing to hear His voice and heed His commands. As Paul made clear to the Galatians, we each have a daily choice to either live according to our selfish, sinful flesh or according to the Spirit. We can live empowered by the Spirit or enslaved to our sinful nature. Which is why Paul wrote, “let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves” (Galatians 5:16 NLT). That is the way I want to live, but I know I can’t do it on my own. That is why I am grateful for the gift of Your Spirit. You have given me all that I need and have surrounded me with other like-minded men and women who are Spirit-enabled, empowered, and committed to building up the body of Christ until Your Son returns. May we bring You glory and honor as we carry out Your will. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

God Doesn’t Need Your Help

10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
    and every tongue shall confess to God.”

12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. – Romans 14:10-12 ESV

Don’t despise. Don’t judge.

To judge is to assume that you know what is right and wrong for everybody else. To despise is to treat with contempt those who, by your estimation, are “weaker” in their faith. In either case, Paul warns against treating your Christian brothers or sisters this way. When you do, you set yourself up as God, taking on a role that does not belong to you. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned against judging others.

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” – Matthew 7:1-3 ESV

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.” – Luke 6:37 NLT

It is presumptuous and dangerous for us to play God in the life of another believer. But that is what we are doing when we judge them. We are neither omniscient nor omnipresent, so it is impossible for us to accurately discern the heart of another human being. Because we are finite creatures, we are limited to the external evidence we can see. But Jesus disclosed that the day is coming when we each have to account for our actions, but not those of others.

Paul reminded the believers in Corinth, “For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body” (2 Corinthians 5:10 NLT). God will be our judge. He will determine whether what we have done was right or wrong, and determine the quality of the works we have done since coming to know Christ.

This will all take place at the Bema Seat of Christ. This judgment has nothing to do with our salvation, but will determine the rewards we receive in the eternal Kingdom. Paul talked about this event in his letter to the believers in Corinth.

Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames. – 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 NLT

But it is interesting to note that, on another occasion, Paul wrote the following words to the same church:

It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.” – 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 NLT

Here, Paul is telling believers to judge one another. But notice the difference. This concerns sin in the life of the believer and has nothing to do with grey areas, personal preferences, or the opinions of men. If the Word of God condemns their action as sinful, then we must deal with it accordingly. In this case, Paul was addressing an issue in the church in Corinth that had become intolerable, and he painted a clear picture of the problem.

I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you—something that even pagans don’t do. I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother. You are so proud of yourselves, but you should be mourning in sorrow and shame. And you should remove this man from your fellowship. – 1 Corinthians 5:1-2 NLT

Rather than condemn this man’s behavior as unacceptable, they were approving of it by gladly tolerating it in their midst. In fact, they were evidently bragging about their progressive tolerance. So Paul let them have it.

Your boasting about this is terrible. Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. – 1 Corinthians 5:6-7 NLT

Earlier in his letter to the Romans, Paul encouraged them to draw clear distinctions between good and evil in their midst. 

Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. – Romans 12:9 NLT

It is not loving to tolerate and to overlook sin in the life of a brother or sister in Christ. And it does not make you more “spiritual” to refuse to judge someone in the body of Christ who is blatantly and consistently sinning. Paul expected believers to take a strong stand against sin within the camp and provided clear directions for dealing with sin within the body of Christ.

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. – Galatians 6:1 NLT

James echoed this sentiment when he wrote, “My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins” (James 5:19-20 NLT).

It is important to remember that the context of Romans 14 is judging and despising one another based on personal opinions, not the Word of God. Paul warns against determining right and wrong based on one's own criteria rather than God’s. It is similar to what the Pharisees and religious leaders of Jesus’ day were guilty of doing. They had developed their own set of rules and regulations that had nothing to do with God’s Word or will. They judged others for their inability to live up to the self-imposed standards they had established, but that was not their job.

These men had a God-ordained responsibility to help the people interpret and apply the Mosaic Law, a fact Jesus pointed out.

“The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you…”  – Matthew 23:2-3 NLT

However, Jesus also warned against emulating the behavior of the Jewish religious leaders. 

“…but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.” – Matthew 23:2-4 NLT

God had not appointed them to be the arbiters of truth. It was not up to them to determine right and wrong because God had clearly delineated the boundaries of righteousness and wickedness. Yet, these men had developed their own set of “unbearable religious demands” that they used to judge others as unworthy and unacceptable to God. And Jesus had strong words for these hypocritical self-appointed judges.

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.” – Matthew 23:13 NLT  

In their pride and arrogance, they refused to accept Jesus as the Messiah and did everything in their power to keep others from doing so as well. They judged others using a set of standards that God neither ordained nor approved, leaving sinners without hope of forgiveness and atonement. But judgment is God’s responsibility, and His Law was designed to show people their sin and their need for a Savior. 

For Paul, judgment wasn’t completely off limits; it was a matter of where that judgment was applied. He wants us to know that, as believers, we have no business judging sin among the lost. But we do have a responsibility to judge and deal with sin in the body of Christ because it can be infectious and deadly. But even when judging the sin in our midst, we must do so with love, desiring to see our brother or sister restored in their relationship with God.

We play God when we condemn what God has condoned and approve of what God has forbidden. The prophet Isaiah warned those who did such things.

What sorrow for those who say
    that evil is good and good is evil,
that dark is light and light is dark,
    that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.
What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes
    and think themselves so clever. – Isaiah 5:20-21 NLT

Solomon wrote, “Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent—both are detestable to the Lord” (Proverbs 17:15 NLT). We must constantly control our desire to judge and despise others based on nothing more than our own opinions. But we must also be careful not to play God by ignoring His Word and tolerating what He has clearly forbidden.

Father, Paul paints a fine line between judgment and judgmentalism. He is calling us to judge the sin in our midst, in the body of Christ, but to refrain from judging others based on our own set of standards. Yet, how easy it is to judge and despise others based on nothing more than our personal opinions and preferences. We look down on others because their manner of dress doesn’t meet our approval. We judge others based on lifestyle preferences we find offensive or off-putting. But, in most cases, we have little or no Scriptural support for our strongly-held opinions. They are little more than man-made rules that we determined and use to judge the spiritual worthiness of others. Forgive us for our arrogance and audacity to act as judges with evil motives. When we do, we are no different than the self-righteous religious leaders of Jesus’ day. Open our eyes to the sin in our own lives so that we can effectively and lovingly address the sin in others. But let it always be based on Your Word and not our will. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

The Power to Love and Life Differently

9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. – Romans 12:9-21 ESV

As Paul did in his letter to the believers in Corinth, he follows his discussion of spiritual gifts with an emphasis on love. Chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians contains one of Paul’s most detailed treatments of the spiritual gifts, which he follows up with Chapter 13, his well-known and much-beloved exposition on love. And in our verses for today, Paul stresses the need for genuine love within the body of Christ, utilizing our Spirit-endowed gifts in our daily interactions with one another. This is the point in his letter where Paul gets painfully practical, illustrating the characteristics of true Christ-likeness. This section of his letter is filled with a lengthy list of commands that can come across as overly demanding, if not impossible to fulfill.

But he is not demanding adherence to a list of rules or regulations; he is calling for believers to live out their faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. Christianity is not to be some esoteric or academic pursuit, practiced in privacy and lived out in seclusion; it is to be relational and practical. The grace that God has shown us should be evident to and aimed at others. We are to love as we have been loved and to forgive as we have been forgiven, and our love is to be without hypocrisy. The Greek word Paul used is anypokritos and, as you can see, it is very similar to our word “hypocrisy.” In the Greek world, a hypocrite was a literal actor in a play. Through the use of a mask or disguise, the play-actor cleverly fooled his audience into believing he was someone else.   

Paul tells his readers that their love is to be without hypocrisy. There was to be no play-acting or artifice, pretense or pretending. Their love was to be genuine, heartfelt, and highly practical. And to ensure that his readers understood the difference, Paul gave a long list of examples of what that kind of love looks like for the believer.

Interestingly, Paul begins his treatise on love by encouraging his audience to hate all that is evil or wicked. Notice that Paul does not tell them to hate those who do wicked things. Instead, they were to despise the impact their own wickedness has on the lives of others. Their animosity was not directed toward people per se, but against evil itself and its devastating effects. If their love were to be without hypocrisy, they must know the difference between what is truly good and what is evil; they had to see things the way God does.

At its core, wickedness is anything that stands opposed to God and His will. The Book of Proverbs provides a short but decisive list of what God finds offensive and objectionable. 

There are six things the Lord hates—
    no, seven things he detests:
haughty eyes,
    a lying tongue,
    hands that kill the innocent,
a heart that plots evil,
    feet that race to do wrong,
a false witness who pours out lies,
    a person who sows discord in a family. – Proverbs 6:16-19 NLT

Notice that these are all relational issues that negatively impact others. In Paul’s list, he provides a counterpoint to these God-despised vices. We are to love one another like brothers. We are to outdo one another in showing honor rather than demanding it for ourselves. We are to be zealous and enthusiastic in serving the Lord by loving, honoring, and serving others. Our lives are to be marked by hope that translates into patience even in the midst of trials. We are to pray, give, and show hospitality to one another.

And here is where it gets really interesting. Paul tells us to bless those who persecute us. This should sound familiar, because Paul is simply expanding the words of Jesus from His Sermon on the Mount,

“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.” – Matthew 5:11-12 NLT

And Jesus went on to describe how His followers were expected to live distinctively different lives.

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” – Matthew 5:43-48 NLT

Jesus was demanding perfection. Yet His Jewish audience had failed to keep the Mosaic Law. How would they live up to Jesus' more exacting and seemingly impossible commands?

Paul knew the answer. He understood that this alternative lifestyle could not be pulled off through sheer willpower. It was only through faith in Christ and the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit that this new lifestyle could be achieved. He, too, called for a life marked by empathy, harmony, the pursuit of peace, trust in God, and a willingness to suffer for the sake of our faith. These things are not easy, and they run counter to the ways of the world in which we live. But they are the characteristics of Christ. They are at odds with the self-centered focus that marks fallen man.

Yet, God has placed His Spirit within us so that the love and life of Christ may become evident through us. Our faith in Christ should be visible to both believers and non-believers alike by the way we live our lives in front of them. According to James, our faith is to have fruit. 

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? – James 2:14 NLT

Fruitless faith is no faith at all. God saved us in order to transform us into the likeness of His Son. We are to exhibit His character and model His behavior, not through our own self-effort, but through the power of God’s indwelling Spirit. Salvation isn’t just our ticket to heaven but the key to our sanctification. Our holiness is not to be a hypocritical display of self-produced playacting, but a visible demonstration of the Spirit’s presence and power in our lives. It is to be real and discernible to others as our faith produces the fruit of righteousness.

Father, You have called us to a life of holiness, but You do not expect us to pull it off in our own strength. You don’t provide a lengthy list of dos and don’ts and then demand that we keep them all. Instead, You provided Your Spirit to equip and empower us to live in keeping with Your will. As Peter put it, You gave us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). You knew obedience was impossible for us to pull off, so You provided us with the power to do the impossible. Your Spirit produces the fruit of righteousness, not us. He alone can transform us into the likeness of Your Son by providing us with the strength to do Your will and to live according to Your ways. Despite our sinful flesh and the constant presence of a sin-stained world, we can live godly lives and not be overcome with evil. Instead, we can overcome evil with good. For the good of others and the glory of Your name. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

The Prescription for What Ails Us

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. – Romans 8:1-7 ESV

Back in Chapter 3, Paul shared the sobering news that “by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20 ESV). No one can be made right with God through adherence to the law. Why? Because the law is only equipped to reveal God's holy requirements, it has no power to help us keep them. Knowledge of His righteous demands does not produce righteousness; obedience does. So, the law delineates God’s expectations, but our sinful natures cause us to break those very requirements.

In Chapter 7, Paul shared his personal experience with attempting to keep the law.

I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of coveting. – Romans 7:7-8 ESV

It is impossible for anyone to be justified in God's eyes by adherence to His law because He demands perfect obedience. James clarified God’s expectation of perfection when he wrote, “the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws” (James 2:10 NLT). And while it may appear to be unjust for God to place such an impossible and unachievable standard on His people, Paul reveals that God always had a solution in mind.

But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. – Romans 3:21-22 NLT

From Chapter 3 through Chapter 7, Paul defends justification by faith. His goal is to eliminate the burden of condemnation that law-keeping produces. Trying to live up to God’s laws through sheer willpower will never produce righteousness; it can only condemn us for having fallen short of the mark. As Paul stated in Chapter 3, “everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23 NLT). The law was designed to reveal man’s sinfulness and his need for a Savior.

For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. – Romans 3:20 NLT

In Chapter 8, Paul starts off by saying, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1 ESV). God has provided a way for men to be restored to a right relationship with Him that does not require law-keeping. Those who place their faith in Christ are justified by His righteousness, not their own. They are made right with God because of what Jesus has done on their behalf. He died on their behalf as a payment for the sin debt they owed. He gave His sinless life in their place so that they might receive eternal life rather than the condemnation of death they deserved. By placing their faith in what Jesus has done for them, they cease placing their faith in what they can do for themselves. Faith replaces works. 

At the point of salvation, a new law is at work in their lives. Paul describes it as “the law of the Spirit of life” (Romans 8:2 ESV). When we hear the word “law,” we tend to think in terms of restrictions and binding requirements that keep us from doing what we want to do. But the Greek word Paul uses is nómos, which carries a much broader, less oppressive meaning. According to Strong's Concordance, it is derived from the Greek word “νέμω némō (to parcel out, especially food or grazing to animals); law (through the idea of prescriptive usage).”

In other words, it is more prescriptive than restrictive. The Mosaic law had benefits; it provided God’s directions for life and His prescribed way of living in unbroken fellowship with Him. In the 23rd Psalm, David describes this prescriptive nature of God's law.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
   He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
   He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
    for his name's sake. – Psalm 23:1-3 ESV

Through the law, God guided, directed, and protected His people. But the law’s power was weakened by man's flesh or sin nature. Man was unable to keep God’s law willingly and obediently.

So when Paul speaks of “the law of the Spirit of life,” he is telling us that God has provided us with a new way to live in fellowship with Him.

…the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. – Romans 8:2-4 NLT

The key is found in verse 5. We must “live according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:5 ESV).  As believers, we are to live our lives in obedience to and dependence upon the Spirit of God, not the flesh. The Spirit is the nómos or prescribed way God has provided for us so that we might live in fellowship with and obedience to Him. God placed His Spirit within us because our spirit (flesh) is weak and incapable of keeping His law.

Paul vividly contrasts the choice that lies before God’s children every day.

Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. – Romans 8:5-8 NLT

Our sinful nature is alive and active, but we are no longer enslaved to it. We have been set free from its control by the indwelling Spirit of God, who provides us with direction for living a God-honoring life and the power to accomplish it. But we must choose to live under His control instead of our own. We must submit to His leadership, and desire what He desires and long for those things that He has determined as best for us.

But in his letter to the Galatian believers, Paul reminds us of the constant battle going on within us.

The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other… – Galatians 5:17 NLT

If we try to please God through our flesh, we will fail. But if we live our lives in dependence upon the Spirit of God, His prescribed means for living a godly life, we will experience life, peace, joy, contentment, and the ongoing transformation of our lives into the likeness of Christ.

Father, thank You for providing Your Son to serve as the sinless sacrifice for me. And thank You for providing Your Spirit to take up residence in me, so that I might have the power to live in keeping with Your will. You knew my flesh was weak, so You provided a workaround. You sent Your Son to pay my sin debt and Your Spirit to fill the power vacuum in my life. As Peter put it, You have “given us everything we need for living a godly life” (2 Peter 1:3 NLT). My sin no longer condemns me because I stand as righteous in Your eyes, covered by the righteousness of Christ and filled with Your Holy Spirit. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

God Made A Way

7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. – Romans 7:7-12 ESV

In assessing man's relationship between the law and sin, Paul strongly emphasized that these two things are not synonymous. He did not want anyone to assume that the law must be somehow sinful because it caused man to sin. He clearly states: “Am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! ” (Romans 7:7 NLT). The law simply reveals man's sin, just as a speed limit sign exposes a driver who is exceeding the legally enforced, visibly posted limit. The infraction is the responsibility of the individual, not the sign.

Sin cannot be blamed on the law because, as Paul says, “the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Romans 7:12 ESV). God's law was given to show man his inability to live up to the righteous standards God required. Man's sin nature was the problem; the law simply exposed it. Paul states that “apart from the law, sin lies dead” (Romans 7:8 ESV). Paul used the Greek word nekros, and while it can refer to actual death or lifelessness, it can also mean “destitute of force or power, inactive, inoperative” (Outlines of Biblical Usage).

Paul was not saying that sin was completely dead and impotent, but that until the law came, it remained dormant.

At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, and I died. – Romans 7:9-10 NLT

He was not suggesting that man was sinless before the law came, but that man sinned in ignorance. There were no speed limit signs, so to speak. So men went as fast as they wanted, with no feelings of regret or remorse. But when the law was given, God's limits became known, and man's sinful nature was exposed. Using one of the Ten Commandments as an example, Paul states that before learning the command “You shall not covet,” he would not have known that coveting was wrong. His sin nature would have coveted, ignorant of any conviction that he was doing anything wrong.

But when the law was given, it clearly revealed that coveting was against God’s will. Yet, man's sin nature resisted that command and produced an increased desire to covet. Because of man’s sinful nature, he possesses a predisposition to rebel against the will of God. You can see it in a small child when you tell them not to touch a hot stove. Suddenly, everything in them wants to do exactly what you just told them not to do. Because of the fall, humanity is wired with a relentless attraction to the forbidden. When God says, “You shall not,” we inherently respond, “But we shall!”

God gave the law to show mankind what was required to maintain a right relationship with Him and to experience true life. Because God is righteous and holy, He requires that those who desire to enter His presence be holy. He cannot tolerate sin. Just as light cannot coexist with darkness, neither can God coexist with sin. And Paul explains that God's good, holy, and righteous law, which promised life to anyone who could keep it, ended up bringing death to mankind. Paul explains why.

Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. – Romans 7:11 NLT

Sin was the problem, not the law. St. Augustine describes man’s predicament this way: “The law orders, that we, after attempting to do what is ordered, and so feeling our weakness under the law, may learn to implore the help of grace” (cited in Institutes of the Christian Religion (Book 2, Chapter 7, Section 9), John Calvin).

Paul said, “had it not been for the law, I would not have known sin” (Romans 7:7 ESV). It is our awareness of our sinfulness as revealed by the law that creates in us a desire for God's help. But sadly, many just try harder to keep God's law. Their self-awareness of their guilt simply increases their self-effort. Rather than throwing up their hands and saying, “I can't”, they stubbornly refuse to ask for help from God and push themselves harder, thinking they can somehow earn His favor. Sadly, there are others who, when convicted by God's law, refuse to acknowledge its authority over them. Sin, “seizing an opportunity through the commandment” (Romans 7:8 ESV), ultimately produces a growing list of infractions and transgressions. They knowingly and willingly break God's “speed limit.”

In the next chapter, Paul provides the great news regarding God's law. He writes, “The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin's control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins” (Romans 8:3 NLT).

The law shows us our sin. It also reveals our need for a Savior. And God sent His own Son to do for us what the law was never intended to do. Jesus came to save us and free us from the condemnation of the law. Our righteousness is found in Him, not in our feeble attempts to keep the law. God did for us what the law could not do; He saved us from sin. No amount of behavior modification or rule-keeping would eliminate our love affair with sin. Only the transformation of our hearts could produce the righteousness God demanded. 

The prophet Ezekiel records the promise God made to His covenant people, the Israelites. They had failed to live up to His holy standards and repeatedly violated His law. Yet, God assured them that a day was coming when He would perform a miracle of heart transformation that would not only restore them to a right relationship with Him, but would also enable them to live in perfect obedience to His law.

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.” – Ezekiel 36:25-27 NLT

That is what God has already accomplished in the life of every Christ-follower. And Paul reassured his young protegé Titus that this heart transformation was a guaranteed reality because of God’s matchless grace. 

Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. But—When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. – Titus 3:3-7 NLT

Father, in Your grace, You provided the people of Israel a clear compendium of Your righteous standards. Your law revealed exactly what they needed to do to live in community with You. But they were incapable of keeping your law. In fact, the more they tried to live in obedience to Your revealed will, the more often they failed. But You were simply trying to expose their helplessness and hopelessness. You never intended the law to save them; it was designed to expose their sinfulness and their need for a Savior. They needed to understand that a sinless life was impossible without Your help. Obedience was unachievable as long as they operated in their own strength and according to their sin-prone wills. So, You sent Your Son as the cure for what ailed them. He became the means by which sinful men could be made righteous in Your eyes. As the author of Hebrews writes, “the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God” (Hebrews 9:14 NLT). You made a way when there was no way. You provided salvation when we couldn’t save ourselves. And we are forever in Your debt. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

Free To Live and Love Like Christ

1 Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.

4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. – Romans 7:1-6 ESV

In this section of his letter, Paul seems to be addressing his words to believing Jews in the church in Rome; to “those who know the law.” To drive home his point about freedom from sin and the law because of our death with Christ, he appealed to their understanding of how the law worked. According to the law, if a woman attempted to marry another man while her husband was alive, she would be a lawbreaker and guilty of committing adultery. But if her husband were to die and she remarried, she would not be committing adultery because his death would have freed her from the condemnation of the law. That particular law would no longer apply in her case.

So it is with those of us who have died with Christ. As Paul stated earlier, “our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin” (Romans 6:6 ESV). Not only has the old self been crucified and put to death, but the condemnation of the law has passed away as well. That does not mean that when we sin, we are not breaking God's law. When you lie, you are violating God's command against lying. When you covet, you break God's command: “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:17 NLT).

But even when we knowingly or unwittingly break God’s law, there is no longer any condemnation. Paul makes that perfectly clear in the very next section of his letter.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. – Romans 8:1-2 ESV

For the believing Jews to whom Paul was writing, their lives prior to coming to know Christ were marked by a constant need to keep God’s law perfectly. To fail to obey all of His laws was to come under His just and justified condemnation, a fate that brought the penalty of death. Just prior to his death, Moses warned the people of Israel about the gravity of failing to practice perfect obedience to God’s law.

“If you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and to obey the commands and decrees he has given you, all these curses will pursue and overtake you until you are destroyed.” – Deuteronomy 28:45 NLT

Centuries later, James picked up on this warning in his letter to believing Jews.

But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.

For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.” So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law. – James 2:9-11 NLT

That is why Paul refers to it as “the law of sin and death.” The law could not save; it could only expose and condemn. It could not sanctify anyone or make them more holy; all it could do was show them their sin. In fact, Paul states that very fact in verse seven of this chapter.

…am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.” – Romans 7:7 ESV

As he stated in Chapter 6, “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23 ESV). This ties back to his earlier statement in Chapter 5.

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. – Romans 5:12 NLT

Adam’s sin didn’t result in the immediate termination of life, but it did result in the first couple being expelled from the garden and their loss of intimacy with God. Their relationship with God was permanently and irrevocably changed because they had chosen to disobey God’s prohibition against eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

So the death Paul refers to is not just physical; it has a spiritual dimension. Violation of God’s law produces alienation from Him because He is holy. God had made His expectations of the people of Israel clear.

“You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” – Leviticus 19:2 ESV

“…if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” – Exodus 19"5-6 ESV

Their holiness was non-negotiable. As God’s children, the Israelites were to live set-apart lives that clearly differentiated them from all the other nations. But God knew they would never live up to His righteous standards. That was the whole purpose behind God giving them the sacrificial system. He knew they would violate His law, so He provided them with a means for restoring their damaged relationship with Him. He designed the sacrificial system to provide atonement for their sins. The blood of innocent lambs and bulls had to be shed to pay for their sins. Breaking the law brought condemnation and a death sentence. And the author of Hebrews describes the redemptive nature of God’s sacrificial system

…under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. – Hebrews 9:22 ESV

Speaking to his Jewish brothers again, Paul reminds them that they had “died to the law through the body of Christ” (Romans 7:4 ESV). Like the widowed woman in Paul's illustration, they had been freed from the law so that they could belong to another. In their case, their new “partner” was Jesus Christ. They were no longer obligated to keep the law because they had died to it. Through their death with Christ, they had been set free from the law. As a result, they were no longer condemned by the law.

In their case, they were the ones who had died. The law still existed, but their death had nullified their covenant relationship with the law. So now, when they violated God’s law, there was no longer a death sentence hanging over their head. All their sins, past, present, and future, had been paid for by the blood of Christ. He had paid the penalty for their sins with His own life. And their newfound freedom allowed them to “bear fruit for God” (Romans 7:4 ESV).

Prior to their salvation, Paul's Jewish brothers found themselves doing battle with the law and the flesh. While they knew what the law demanded of them, “the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death” (Romans 7:5 NLT). Despite knowing God’s laws, they ended up violating them and producing “fruit for death” (Romans 7:5 ESV).

But Paul reminds them of the good news of the gospel:

But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit. – Romans 7:6 ESV

Now we have the Spirit of God to convict us when we sin. Rather than condemning us, the Spirit provides us with a new way of responding to our sin.

…we confess our sins, he [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9 NLT

The Spirit also provides us with a new capacity to refrain from sinning in the first place. St. Augustine wrote, “The doctrine through which we receive the commandment to lead an abstinent, virtuous life, is the letter. This kills unless there is with it the Spirit, which makes alive” (St. Augustine, Concerning the Spirit and the Letter).

Without the help of the indwelling Spirit of God, the law can only condemn us to death. But with the Spirit's help, we can live according to the law, not out of a fear of condemnation or the threat of death, but out of love and gratitude for the grace of God as expressed through the gift of His Son.

Father, You haven’t lowered Your standards. You didn’t decide to grade on a curve or dumb down Your expectations. Instead, You offered Your Son as the solution to our longstanding problem with sin. He did what we couldn’t do; He kept Your law perfectly and established Himself as the sinless, unblemished sacrifice, worthy of shedding His innocent blood as atonement for our death sentence. As a result, we are no longer on death row awaiting the just condemnation for our sins against You. Instead, we are fully forgiven and totally acquitted of any and all crimes we have committed — for all time. We stand before You as righteous and pure because we have been covered with the blood of Christ. And You made it all possible. Thank You! Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

Slaves of a Different Master

15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. – Romans 6:15-19 ESV

Men have always had a habit of twisting God's words and using them to justify all kinds of ungodly and unrighteous behavior. And Paul knew there were those who would take all his talk about the law and our freedom from it to rationalize their sin. According to their false interpretation and skewed logic, they might conclude that if “as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant” (Romans 5:20 ESV), then it just makes sense to keep on sinning. More sin, more grace.

That is why Paul asked and answered the following question: “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” (Romans 6:1 ESV), and his answer was emphatic. “By no means!” (Romans 6:2 ESV). Because of our relationship with Christ, we have died to sin. We died alongside Him on the cross, and we were raised alongside Him to new life. That means, we are to consider ourselves dead to sin, but alive to Christ. As a result, we must no longer allow sin to reign and rule in our earthly bodies.

There was a time when sinning was inescapable; we had no choice. Before coming to faith in Christ, we were hopelessly enslaved by sin and totally incapable of doing anything about it. Jesus Himself said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:34 ESV). In describing false teachers who were having a devastating influence on the local church, Peter wrote, “They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you” (2 Peter 2:19 NLT). Peter then went on to describe those who accept Christ as Savior but allow their lives to be controlled by sin.

And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. – 2 Peter 2:20-21 NLT

We are all controlled by someone or something, and we end up slaves to whoever or whatever controls us. Paul would have us consider ourslaves to righteousness and, ultimately, as slaves to God. Rather than presenting our members (our bodies) to sin as instruments or tools to accomplish unrighteousness, we should present ourselves to God as “those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness” (Romans 6:13 ESV). We have a choice, but there was a time when we didn't. Paul vividly describes our pre-conversion condition.

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. – Ephesians 2:1-3 NLT

But all that changed when we came to know Christ. Paul emphatically and eagerly states, “Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living” (Romans 6:17-18 NLT). And just as there was a time in our lives when we willingly submitted ourselves to impurity and lawlessness (disobeying God's law), now we can willingly present ourselves as slaves to righteousness. And living as a slave to righteousness is what leads to sanctification — our growth in spiritual maturity and increasing Christlikeness. 

Paul gives thanks to God because all of this is a result of His grace. Even our ability to live obediently to righteousness is made possible by God. In the next chapter, Paul will describe what it is like to do battle with his own sin nature. He presents an all-too-familiar portrait of the Christian wrestling with his desire to please God and his fleshly impulse to disobey God. For Paul, this conflict was real and caused him to cry out in frustration, but also in gratitude for the victory Jesus had made possible.  

Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?  Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. – Romans 7:24-25 NLT

The answer to his difficulties and despair was Jesus. It is the gift of Jesus, made possible by the grace of God, that provides freedom from sin's power and control. This does not mean we won't sin; it simply means we don't have to sin. In fact, rather than sin, we can experience increasing holiness of character, which is what sanctification is all about.

As followers of Christ, we should be convicted by sin. That Spirit-induced conviction should produce confession. As we confess, we acknowledge our need to repent. Repentance is a willing decision to turn from sin to righteousness and Christ-likeness. We turn our back on the false promises of sin and renew our hope in God’s promise of new life made possible by faith in Christ.

In his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul called them to mirror the life of Christ by taking on His mindset.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Though he was God,
    he did not think of equality with God
    as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
    he took the humble position of a slave
    and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
   he humbled himself in obedience to God
    and died a criminal’s death on a cross. – Philippians 2:5-8 NLT

Though He was the Son of God, He did not use His esteemed position like a get-out-of-jail-free card to escape His Father’s will. He chose to have the mindset of a slave and submit to the will of His Master. He willingly subjugated His will to that of His Father. Even as He faced His pending death by crucifixion, Jesus prayed, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine” (Luke 22:42 NLT). 

Jesus was willing to “enslave” Himself to His Father’s will. He was committed to the pursuit of righteousness, even when tempted by Satan, tested by the Pharisees, turned on by His own people, and taunted by the Romans. He was a willing slave so that we might be released from captivity to sin and freed to serve a new master: righteousness.

Father, You have called us to live in obedience to Your will. But You didn’t  leave it up to us to fulfill Your righteous standards. You didn’t raise the bar of expectation then demand that we jump high enough to clear it. Instead, You sent Your Son to do what none of us could have done. He became a man with “a body like the bodies we sinners have” (Romans 8:3 NLT) and lived a life free from sin and fully committed to doing Your will. And because He was faithful and fully compliant, He became the sinless sacrifice, the unblemished lamb who died for the sins of the world. And our faith in Him allows us to become increasingly more like Him. As we live in this life and submit to the Holy Spirit’s promptings, we become more like Jesus. And as we become more like Him, we take on His character, that of a willing and submissive slave to Your will. It isn’t easy and it doesn’t come naturally. But, thanks to Jesus and the power of Your indwelling Holy Spirit, we can lives as slaves to righteousness. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

Grace Greater Than Our Sin

18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. – Romans 5:18-21 ESV

Paul continues his contrast between Adam's one act of unrighteousness and Christ's singular act of righteousness. Adam's sin led to condemnation and death for all men, while Christ's sacrifice led to “justification and life for all men” (Romans 5:18 ESV). But Paul seemed to know that some in his audience would question why God had bothered to give the law in the first place. Why would He have given a set of rules that no one could keep? Paul responds to that unstated question by stating that the “law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were” (Romans 5:20 NLT).

God provided His people with the law, not to eliminate sin, but to expose it. In Chapter 7, Paul writes, “it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, ‘You must not covet’” (Romans 7:7 NLT). But he also adds that “sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power. At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, and I died” (Romans 7:8-10 NLT).

God gave the law to the people of Israel to prove that no man could live up to God's holy and righteous standards. He had given them a comprehensive compendium of legal commands covering every conceivable aspect of life. He left nothing up to their imaginations or personal opinions. It was all in black and white, so they had no excuse and could not plead ignorance. They knew what God expected, but because of their sinful natures, inherited from Adam, they could not accomplish what God demanded of them. As a result, sin increased. They repeatedly and willingly violated the laws that God had laid out for them. 

But the good news is that “as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant” (Romans 5:20 NLT). Man's guilt required God's grace, and the wrath of God against the sins of man met the love and grace of God at the cross. It was there that God's holy and righteous wrath was poured out against humanity's sins and rebellion against Him.

God is a holy and just judge, and He cannot overlook or ignore sin. To do so would be an injustice and a violation of His own holy character. So, God had to punish man's sins, and, as Paul states in the following chapter, “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23 NLT). God required a proper payment for mankind's sin debt, and that debt was paid by His own Son on the cross. God was required by His own law to punish sin, but the payment He required was the life of a sinless, unblemished sacrifice. The blood of a bull or goat would not suffice; it had to be a human sacrifice.

The book of Hebrews provides a detailed explanation for the necessity of Jesus’ substitutionary death on behalf of sinful humanity.

For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer.” – Hebrews 10:4-5 NLT

It was the death of Jesus, the sinless Son of God, that propitiated or satisfied the just judgment of God against sin, and it all took place on the cross. It was there that the wrath and love of God were poured out simultaneously. His judgment fell on Jesus as He bore our punishment for sin, but His love was displayed as He provided a substitute to die in our place. As Paul stated earlier in this chapter, “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8 NLT). 

That amazing thing is that God's grace abounded even as man's sinfulness increased. He provided the law so that the scope and scale of man’s sin problem could be exposed. Earlier in his letter, Paul made it clear that even the Gentiles inherently knew God’s law and obeyed it because it was written on their hearts. It was wired into their DNA because all men are made in God’s image. 

Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right. – Romans 2:14-15 NLT

Yet, both Jews and Gentiles had chosen to break God’s laws. They willingly violated what was written on tablets of stone and on their hearts.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. – Romans 3:23 NLT

Despite his gloomy assessment of mankind’s spiritual state, Paul provided the good news.

Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. – Romans 3:23-26 NLT

God had every right and even the righteous responsibility to deal with mankind's sin. And yet, He delayed; He postponed judgment until such a time as He could send His Son to pay the debt mankind owed.

But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. – Galatians 5:4-5 NLT

The grace of God, revealed through the life and death of Jesus Christ, is what makes it possible for men and women to be restored to a right relationship with Him. Rampant, runaway sin was no match for the grace of God. His grace super-abounds; it is more than sufficient. As the old hymn so eloquently puts it:

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.

Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin!

Grace Greater Than Our Sin, Julia H. Johnstone, 1910

Father, Your grace is greater. Greater than my sin. Greater than my doubt and disbelief. Greater than my stubbornness and constant reliance on my own self-sufficiency. Your grace exceeds my expectations and abounds far beyond anything I could ever earn or deserve. It is mind-boggling to think that You loved me enough to send Your one and only Son to die in my place. In a world where love is almost always reciprocal and a response to having been loved, Your selfless act of mercy and grace is difficult to comprehend. It seems illogical and inconceivable to us. And yet, as Paul so aptly puts it, You showed Your great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). Your law exposed our sin and sealed our condemnation as lawbreakers. Yet, in Your love, grace, and mercy, You made a way where there was no way (Isaiah 43:16-19). You provided a means of salvation that satisfied Your justice and made possible our justification. And I love You for it. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

The Law and God’s Love

19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. – Romans 3:19-20 ESV

Paul continues his polemic on the relationship between the Jews and the law by saying, “the law speaks to those who are under the law” (Romans 3:19 ESV). In other words, the law given to the Jews by God told them exactly what His righteous expectations were. No arguments. No questions. No quibbling. No excuses.

But in revealing His righteous standards to the Jews, God was not implying that everyone else was exempt from His law. In fact, Paul makes it clear that God gave His law to the Jews “to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God” (Romans 3:19 NLT). The Jews were given the privilege and responsibility of knowing God's law, but they would prove incapable of living up to it. They could not claim ignorance, only incompetence. They would find themselves completely unable to keep the law.

For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. – Romans 3:20 NLT

Later in his letter, Paul clarifies God's purpose in giving the law. He states, “It was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, ‘You must not covet’” (Romans 7:7 NLT). The law said, “You shall not…”, but Paul's sinful nature said, “Why not?”

The law revealed God’s righteous requirements, but indwelling sin took advantage of that knowledge. Paul describes it in vivid terms.

But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power. – Romans 7:8 NLT

Paul goes on to say that the law is good, holy, and spiritual. It was given by God to men and is, therefore, righteous. Paul describes the conundrum in which man finds himself.

So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin.  I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. – Romans 7:14-15 NLT

The Jews wanted to keep the law, but couldn't. They tried, but they failed, and their failure was fully intended by God so that He might expose man's complete inability to earn a right standing before Him based on human effort.

For by the works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight. – Romans 3:20 ESV

Paul expounds on this thought in his letter to the church in Galatia.

Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law. – Galatians 2:16 NLT

Later in that same letter, Paul states, “If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 3:21-22 NLT).

But according to Paul, the law had a purpose. God had a perfectly good, completely righteous reason for implementing the law.

Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. – Galatians 3:23-24 NLT

The law was designed to reveal the kind of righteousness God demanded. But in revealing the righteousness of God, the law also revealed the sinfulness of man; it exposed our inherent weakness. Even on our best day and given our best efforts, we could never live up to God's holy standard. The law showed us our sin and revealed to us our need for a Savior.

Augustine wrote, “The law orders, that we, after attempting to do what is ordered, and so feeling our weakness under the law, may learn to implore the help of grace.” The law was intended to drive the people of Israel to God. Its stringent requirements were meant to expose their desperate need for His grace, mercy, forgiveness, and strength to live the lives He had called them to. The sacrificial system He provided was a constant demonstration of their sinfulness and their need for atonement. There was never a time when they could stop making sacrifices, because there was never a time when they stopped sinning.

The author of Hebrews describes the temporary nature of the sacrificial system God provided for the Jews.

The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. – Hebrews 10:1-4 NLT

Then in verse 10, he points out God’s plan: the gospel.

For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. – Hebrews 10:10 NLT

The law revealed God's righteous expectations and, in doing so, exposed our sin and our need for a Savior. No one can save himself. The hope of self-righteousness is deceptive and ineffective. But the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

Father, man tends to see the law as a hindrance to his happiness. He views it as a staggering list of dos and dont’s that cramp his style and stifle his freedom. But You gave the law to reveal Your own righteousness and to expose our inability to adhere to Your non-negotiable holy standards. Your own chosen people couldn’t pull it off, so there is no way that we will ever earn Your favor and forgiveness through religious rule-keeping and our paltry attempts at self-righteousness. Yet, You provided a way for us to be restored to a right relationship with You that is based on grace, not grit. The gospel isn’t about earning, it’s about received the free gift of salvation made possible through the sacrificial, substitutionary death of Your Son. As Your adopted and fully accepted children, we are free from having to keep Your law as a means of proving our righteousness because we have been imputed the righteousness of Christ. And because You have given us the Holy Spirit to indwell and empower us, we have the capacity to keep the law but out of a sense of delight, not duty. As Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15 ESV). You loved us while we were still enslaved by our own sinfulness and, now, we love You in return and express that love through our faithful obedience to Your commands; not to earn Your favor, but because we already have it.
Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

A Sinner Condemned, Unclean

12 For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. – Romans 2:12-16 ESV

Paul viewed sin as nothing less than unrighteousness, man's inability to live up to God's righteous standard. Earlier, in chapter one, Paul wrote, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” (Romans 1:18 ESV). The unrighteous behavior of men, their refusal to live according to God's divine requirements, suppresses the truth about God’s identity and His expectations for mankind.

God created man to live in fellowship with Him, enjoying unbroken companionship and walking in step with His revealed will. But man chose autonomy over conformity to God’s will, making the fateful decision to determine right or wrong on his own.

Eve believed the lie of the enemy and did what God had commanded her not to do, and her husband willingly followed her lead. Ever since, men and women have continued to live unrighteously and ungodly, apart from God's will. And, according to Paul, all men are without excuse, whether they had been given the Mosaic law or not. Paul makes it clear that both Jews and Gentiles stand before God as unrighteous. The Gentiles, or those “who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law” (Romans 2:12 ESV). They are without excuse, because they “show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it” (Romans 2:14 NLT).

All men instinctively know right from wrong. All cultures have laws or accepted moral standards against murder, cheating, stealing, and a host of other “sins.” Paul says, “They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right” (Romans 2:15 NLT). Having been created in the image of God, all humanity has had the Creator’s moral code imprinted on their hearts and minds. This includes the Gentiles who were never given the Mosaic Law to regulate their conduct and consciences.

But the Jews are just as culpable, if not more so. They were given the law of God engraved on tablets of stone. He clearly articulated His righteous standards and requirements for morally acceptable behavior. He showed them exactly what was necessary to live righteous and godly lives. Paul states, “the Jews, who do have God’s law, will be judged by that law when they fail to obey it” (Romans 2:12 NLT). They will be judged by what they know but, ultimately, by what they do.

For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight. – Romans 2:13 NLT

Knowledge of God’s law was not enough; He expected His commands to be obeyed. The Jews, who had been given the law, failed to keep it. They knew what was expected of them but were unable to live up to God's righteous standards. So their lives were marked by unrighteousness, despite having received and heard God’s righteous commands.

The Gentiles were also condemned as unrighteous because they rejected the law of God written on their hearts. Yet Paul acknowledges that there are occasions when the Gentiles instinctively obey God’s law. 

…they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right. – Romans 2:14-15 NLT

But their obedience is sporadic and devoid of any reverence for God. Their spotty adherence to the law is self-serving rather than submissive to God’s divine authority. As Paul stated in the opening chapter of his letter, the Gentiles long ago abandoned any intention of submitting to the will of God.

…they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. – Romans 1:21-23 NLT

So what's Paul’s point? What is he trying to tell us? Remember, in this letter he has addressed the gospel of God and attempted to explain the divine nature of God's redemptive plan for mankind – “the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16 ESV).

The kind of righteousness God demands is only available through faith, not through human effort. Both Jews and Gentiles have clearly proven that no one can live up to the righteous demands of a holy God. Quoting from the prophet Habakkuk, Paul writes, “The righteous shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4 ESV). Those who would live righteous lives must do so based on faith in God. The Jews were required to trust in and rely upon the law of God to guide, direct, and protect them from sin and judgment. The Gentiles were dependent upon the law of God written on their hearts and were obligated, by faith, to trust His divine will.

Man inherently knows what is right; it is wired into his system. He knows instinctively what to do and how to live, but lacks the ability to pull it off. It isn't that he is unaware of God's expectations; it is that he is unable to live up to them. Later in this same letter, Paul writes, “The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature” (Romans 8:3a NLT).

Even when God gave the Jews His perfect, holy law, eliminating all doubt about what His expectations might be, He knew they would fail because of their sinful natures. But Paul provides the good news:

So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. – Romans 8:3b NLT

That is Paul's point and the thesis of his entire letter. God did for man what man could not do for himself. He provided a means by which man could be justified or made right with Him. And without faith in the saving work of the Son of God, no man, either Jew or Gentile, will be able to stand before God on the day of judgment. Their sins will condemn them, and even their most righteous acts will fail to measure up.

The prophet Isaiah assessed mankind’s state in rather bleak terms. 

We are all infected and impure with sin.
    When we display our righteous deeds,
    they are nothing but filthy rags.
Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall,
    and our sins sweep us away like the wind.
Yet no one calls on your name
    or pleads with you for mercy.
Therefore, you have turned away from us
    and turned us over to our sins. – Isaiah 64:6-7 NLT

But again, Paul balances the bad news with the good news. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV). Jesus Christ, the Son of God, “was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Romans 4:25 ESV).

We are made right (justified) with God, not based on our own human effort, but because of the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. And it is our faith in Him, not in our works, that leads to our salvation.

Father, Your gospel isn’t just good news, it is great news. It provided a way for sinful humanity to be restored to a right relationship with You. Without the death and resurrection of Jesus, none of us would stand a chance of entering Your presence and receiving forgiveness of sin and the hope of eternal life. Our best efforts, whether motivated by the law written on tablets or on our hearts, could not measure up to Your holy standards. All of “righteous” deeds are unacceptable to You because they are polluted by sin and rendered of no more value than “filthy rags.” Yet, because of Your gracious love and the sacrificial act of Your Son we can sing the words of the old hymn, “I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how he could love me, a sinner, condemned, unclean. How marvelous! How wonderful! And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous! How wonderful is my Savior’s love for me.” Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

The Unhappy Lot of the Unrighteous

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. – Romans 1:28-32 ESV

This is the third time Paul uses the phrase, “God gave them up.” By this time, we should be able to see the seriousness of Paul's point. If God releases men to live as they wish, separated from Him by rejecting His very existence or re-imagining their own version of Him, the outcome is less-than-ideal. Without God, the one true God, man is left to his own devices, and their foolish heart becomes increasingly darkened. Despite their self-proclaimed wisdom, they become fools, incapable of discerning right from wrong or righteousness from unrighteousness. The prophet Isaiah wrote about these kinds of people in his day.

What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them with ropes made of lies, who drag wickedness behind them like a cart! – Isaiah 5:18 NLT

What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever. – Isaiah 5:20-21 NLT

When a man decides he has no need of God, he loses far more than his awareness of the Creator. The rejection or reinvention of God is a dangerous game to play. The NIV translates verse 28 this way: “they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind.” They basically said, “We don't need God anymore,” so God allowed them to experience life without Him, and “abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done” (NLT).

Without God in their lives, man loses the capacity to think wisely. As Isaiah said, they end up calling evil good and good evil. Their minds become twisted, and their logic becomes skewed. And Paul states that they become “filled” with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, and malice. They literally become “filled to the brim.” Unrighteousness describes anything that is contrary to what God has deemed right or just. Evil has to do with man living out his godless purposes and desires in depraved ways. Covetousness is simply greed or the insatiable need for more; it is the opposite of contentment. Malice is a shameless desire to do others harm.

These characteristics mark those who reject God and manifest themselves in a variety of ways. Paul provides a fairly sobering list: “envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness, gossiping, slander, hate for God, insolence, haughtiness or pride, boasting, invention of evil, disobedience to parents, foolishness, faithlessness, heartlessness, and ruthlessness” (Romans 1:29-30 ESV). 

Here's the worst part: not only do they do these things, but they also give their full consent and approval to anyone else who does them. Even though they know “that those who practice such things deserve to die,” they do them anyway. They become driven by unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, and malice. It ends up filling them and overflowing from them.

It was Chrystostom who said, “the one who praises the sin of others is far worse than the one who sins himself” (Chrystostom, Homilies on Romans). Paul warned Timothy that a day would come when people would no longer want to hear the truth. They would look for teachers who would approve of their actions and tell them that their lifestyles were perfectly acceptable.

For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths. – 2 Timothy 4:3-4 ESV

The Greek word Paul used for "myths" is mythos, which refers to something invented, a fiction or falsehood. Without God, men will not only invent their own god, but a different form of righteousness as well. They will determine their own ethical and moral standards, and then seek out those who will tell them that their unrighteous actions are acceptable. That is the world in which we live today. Sadly, there are pastors all across the country who are more than willing to tickle the ears of their congregations, telling them what they want to hear, approving of their lifestyle choices, and, as a result, denying the truth of God.

We live in a day when the cry for tolerance has drowned out God's call for righteousness. We have become accepting and accommodating of all kinds of attitudes and actions that God has deemed unrighteous and unacceptable. It is unloving to allow someone to live according to a lie. It is unmerciful to hide the truth from those who are deceived. It was Jesus who said, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:21-32 NLT). The gospel of God is about the righteousness of God made available to men through the gift of His Son.

Left to his own devices, sinful man will never produce the righteousness that God demands. Even those who claim to believe in God will fail to live up to God's righteous standards. That is why Paul says that all men are without excuse and stand guilty before God.

But the good news is that Jesus came to die for sinners. He came to pay the price for our guilt and to free us from condemnation. But for a man to be free, he must acknowledge the truth of his own sin and accept the gift of God's Son. He must understand the reality of his guilt and the just outcome of his sin: death. Then he must accept the free gift of God's grace and believe that Jesus Christ has paid his debt and replaced his unrighteousness with righteousness. That is the good news, the gospel of God.

Father, in a world where tolerance and a reduced standard of righteousness rule the day, there is an ever-increasing need for the truth of the gospel. Sin is real, whether anyone wants to admit it, and judgment is coming. Your holiness and righteousness do not diminish just because men question Your reality or try to reinvent Your nature. Your judgment against sin remains unchanged, but so does Your solution. Your Son is the only means by which sinful men can be restored to a right relationship with You. Death remains the penalty for unrighteousness, but Jesus gave His life so that sinners could become Your sons and daughters. But this world is full of people who have rejected You as God and who have determined to live according to their own standard. They are blind, ignorant, deceived, and in desperate need of the truth. Empower Your children to take seriously their role as reconcilers. May we become increasingly more bold in proclaiming the good news about Jesus and calling condemned sinners to “Come back to God!” (2 Corinthians 5:20 NLT). Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

The Wrath and Love of God

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. – Romans 1:18-20 ESV

In verse 17, Paul states that the gospel reveals the righteousness of God from faith for faith. In Greek, the word “reveals” is apokalyptō, which means “to make known what was once hidden.” So Paul is saying that the way to achieve righteousness, which was once hidden from men, is through faith in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. That is why he says, “The righteous shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17 ESV). This new or formerly hidden faith means that getting right with God was revealed through the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; in other words, through the gospel.

Now, in verse 18, Paul unveils another once-hidden mystery; the gospel also revealed the wrath of God. He states, “God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness” (Romans 1:18 NLT). The gospel, which is the good news regarding salvation through Jesus Christ, the wrath of God was poured out. Jesus’ excruciating death on the cross is simultaneously a picture of God's love and wrath. The prophet Isaiah, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, wrote of the coming Messiah.

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
    it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
    a punishment for his own sins!
But he was pierced for our rebellion,
    crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
    He was whipped so we could be healed.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
    We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all. – Isaiah 53:4-6 NLT

Peter referred to this passage when he wrote, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24 ESV). The full extent of God’s hatred of sin was revealed on the cross. The innocent died for the guilty. The sinless One had to pay the price for the sinful. God died for the godless.

To restore sinful, disobedient men to a right relationship with Himself, God had to pay the ultimate price and sacrifice His own Son. Jesus came to die, and His death was the only means by which the wrath of God could be satisfied, so the sins of man could be forgiven, and righteousness could be achieved.

Later in this same letter, Paul asks a rhetorical question.

What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? – Romans 9:22-24 ESV

God would have been completely just and right if He had chosen to destroy all mankind, because all men are guilty of having rebelled against Him. They were all vessels of wrath prepared for destruction. But instead, God chose to pour out His wrath on His own Son, so that some might be saved from destruction. There are those who have described that idea as a form of divine child abuse. They struggle with the idea that a good and loving God would out His own Son to death, even though it resulted in the redemption of countless millions of condemned people.

But God knew what man couldn't know, that a restored relationship with Him was impossible without His help. Humanity could never live up to God's righteous standards and was totally incapable of producing the kind of righteousness God required. That's why Jesus told His followers, “Unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:20 NLT).

That statement from Jesus did not come across as good news to His audience; it sounded implausible and impossible, but that was His point. The righteousness God required was outside their capacity to achieve, so it would have to come from a source other than themselves. It would have to be a righteousness revealed from heaven in the form of Jesus Christ.

But while the gospel is good news, it is accompanied by bad news: God hates sin and must punish it. In His holiness, He cannot tolerate or overlook sin. Mankind is inherently ungodly and unrighteous, and in their state of unrighteousness, they suppress or hold back the truth. This doesn't mean they in some way restrain or hinder the truth of God, but that their actions deny the reality of God’s holiness and His expectation that His creation reflect that holiness.

Paul goes on to say that humanity is without excuse because God has revealed Himself through His creation.

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. – Romans 1:20 NLT

The very existence of idols throughout human history lends credence to Paul's statement. The human race has always recognized the existence of a greater power outside of everyday experience. Men reveal the reality of God in their built-in need to worship someone or something. Martin Luther writes, “This demonstrates that there was in their hearts a knowledge of a divine sovereign being. How else could they have ascribed to a stone, or to the deity represented by stone, divine attributes, had they not been convinced that such qualities really belong to God!” (Martin Luther, Commentary on Romans).

So man is without excuse, but not without hope. While the full extent of God's wrath was poured out on His Son on the cross, His love was also on full display.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16 ESV

Later in this letter, Paul elaborates on this remarkable truth. 

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. – Romans 5:6-9 NLT

God's wrath was satisfied by Jesus, but men must accept God's gift of His Son’s sacrificial, substitutionary death. They must rely on Jesus' payment to provide them with the righteousness they could never have earned on their own. But the apostle John goes on to reveal a sad but true reality.

God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. – John 3:19-20 NLT

Men can choose to accept the love of God or remain under His wrath. He has provided a way of escape, but all men must choose to accept or reject it.

Father, this is a difficult truth to understand. As human beings we tend to believe that we are inherently good and capable of performing “good deeds.” Yet, Your assessment is, “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6 NLT). As Paul so bluntly put it, “None is righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10 ESV). And because we are all sinful and unrighteous, we are deserving of Your just condemnation. Yet, You chose to send Your Son to die in our place and take upon Himself the punishment we deserved. He payed the price we owed for our rebellion and allowed us to be declared just, righteous, and fully forgiven of every sin we have ever committed — past, present and future..Yet, You didn’t stop there. The gracious gift of Your Son’s death didn’t just remove our iniquity, it transferred His righteousness to our account. Remarkably, we stand before You as fully righteous and acquited of all charges against us. At one time, I was guilty, condemned, unclean, and without excuse. But, in Your grace, You offered me the free gift of faith in Your Son’s death on my behalf, and my life was changed forever. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Called To Be Saints

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. – Romans 1:1-7 ESV

Paul wrote his letter to the church in Rome from the city of Corinth during the winter of A.D. 56-57. It would be another three years before Paul actually set foot in Rome and, when he did, he would do so as a prisoner of the Roman government. It is not clear how the church in Rome got started. Paul obviously played no role in it, having never been there before, and there is no indication that any other apostle had ever made it to the Roman capital to share the gospel. Nevertheless, the gospel had arrived, perhaps as a result of eyewitnesses to the events at the Feast of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the followers of Jesus. When Peter preached his first sermon, under the influence of the Spirit of God, more than 3,000 individuals came to faith in Christ. Many of these people, who had been in Jerusalem for the annual celebration of Pentecost, would have returned to their hometowns, carrying the good news about Jesus with them. It is likely that some were citizens of Rome.

Regardless of how the church in Rome began, it had gained a worldwide reputation, and Paul acknowledged it.

Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world. – Romans 1:8 NLT

No doubt, Paul wrote his letter to the church in Rome under the influence of the Holy Spirit and with the desire to provide them with a solid understanding of the doctrine of the gospel of God. He knew the incredible influence this church would have because of its location within the capital of Rome, the most powerful nation in the world at the time.

Paul began his letter by introducing himself, even though the believers in Rome would have been well-acquainted with him. He referred to himself as a servant of Christ Jesus, who did not operate on his own initiative, but was a willing slave to the one who had saved him. He served as an apostle, commissioned by Jesus Himself. And he acknowledged that he had been set apart or appointed for a singular purpose: to take the gospel to the Gentiles.

The entire letter of Romans will elaborate on the remarkable significance of God’s good news concerning His Son. Paul boldly and unapologetically claims both the deity and full humanity of Jesus, “who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God” (Romans 1:3-4 ESV). Paul emphatically declares that Jesus was resurrected from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit, and that one miraculous reality made salvation possible and the grace of God available to sinful mankind. The resurrection of Jesus is the central doctrine of the Christian faith. Without it, we have no hope, which is what led Paul to write, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17 ESV).

Paul never missed an opportunity to share the gospel, but he also took advantage of every chance he was given to strengthen the local church. He not only wanted to see people saved from sin, but also to ensure they grew in their salvation. In verse seven, Paul refers to his readers as saints (hagios), which means “set apart or holy ones.” In Paul's mind, they were positionally holy, but they were also to be practically holy in their behavior. They had been “called to belong to Jesus Christ,” and so their actions and attitudes should reflect that calling.

A major part of what Paul writes in this letter concerns what practical holiness looks like. He wanted the Roman believers to live as if they were dead to sin and alive to God. They were to live by faith and not by works. They were to live according to the power of the Spirit of God and not the flesh. They were to recognize their position as heirs of God and to offer their bodies as living sacrifices to God, refusing to be conformed to this world.

The gospel of God does not stop with our salvation, but carries on throughout our lives as God continues His work of sanctification in our lives, “to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations” (Romans 1:5 ESV).

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are loved by God. The very fact that He sent His own Son to die in our place is the greatest expression of love He could have displayed. But not only are we loved by God, but we are also called by Him to be saints or set-apart ones. We are to live our lives in the power of His Holy Spirit and allow Him to continually transform us into the likeness of His Son. It is God’s miraculous transformation of us that proves our salvation by His Son. Not only have we been saved, but we are also being conformed to the image of Christ.

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. – Romans 8:29 ESV

God’s continual transformation of our lives is one of the greatest testimonies to the reality of the risen Christ and the power of the gospel.

Father, there is no doubt in my mind that You have been conducting an ongoing transformation of my life from the moment I placed my faith in Jesus at the age of seven. There have been days when that growth has wained and my faith has weakened, but You have never left me or forsaken me. Despite my stubbornness, You have never removed Your Spirit from me. I have repeatedly stiff-armed the Spirit and refused to listen to His words of warning and conviction. I have lived according to the flesh far more than I would like to admit. But Your work of sanctification in my life has never stopped. I can look back and see the radical change that has taken place, not because of my efforts, but because of Your grace, mercy, and love. More than 63 years ago, You called me into a relationship with You through faith in the death and resurrection of Your Son. Over the decades, You have remained faithful to Your promise to transform me into the likeness of Jesus. It hasn't always been pretty and I haven't always done my part. But I am grateful for Your commitment to finish what You began and for the knowledge that I will one day experience the joy of becoming like Christ, sinless, pure, and completely set apart from sin. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Spirit-Empowered, Not Self-Motivated

11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All the saints greet you.

14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. – 2 Corinthians 13:11-14 ESV

How do you close out a letter like this one? For 13 chapters, Paul has had to defend his ministry, confront the Corinthians about their lack of giving, encourage their continued spiritual growth, and expose the false apostles undermining his authority and hindering his work. Now, as he wraps up his letter, he does so with five simple statements.

First, he tells them to rejoice. He doesn’t explain what they are to rejoice about, but he most likely has their position in Christ in mind. They are children of God, heirs of His Kingdom, recipients of His grace, and possessors of His Holy Spirit, and they have much to rejoice about. Yet it is so easy to lose sight of all that God has done and to allow ourselves to live ungrateful, joyless lives. The life of the believer should be marked by joy and rejoicing, but it is a choice. We must decide to express our gratitude to God for all that He has done for us. Even if we find this life difficult and full of trials, we can rejoice that our future is secure and that all God has promised us is guaranteed. We have an eternity ahead of us, free from sin, pain, and sorrow. Even if we must suffer in this life, we face a suffering-free future because of our faith in Christ.

Secondly, Paul tells them to “aim for restoration.” This could actually be translated, “set things right” or “put things in order.” This interpretation seems more appropriate because Paul has been pointing out issues within the church that were not as they should have been. He was concerned about their reticence to give to the saints in Judea. He was worried about the impact the false apostles had had on their faith. Paul wanted them to get their proverbial act together and pursue spiritual maturity.

It is quite easy for believers in Christ to find themselves distracted from their primary God-given directive to pursue spiritual maturity. Yes, we are to witness and share the gospel with those who have not yet heard. But our transformed lives are one of the greatest testimonies we can give to the power of the gospel. Disorder and disunity in the church are antithetical to our calling as the children of God. Selfishness and self-centeredness are not to characterize our relationship with God. As Paul wrote in his first letter, the Corinthians had a habit of living as if they were still part of the world.

Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? – 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 NLT

Paul wanted them to get their spiritual house in order and restore things to the way God wanted them.

Next, Paul told them to “comfort one another.” Actually, this might be better translated as “be encouraged” or “be comforted.” This seems to fit in with what Paul said earlier in his letter.

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us. – 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 ESV

Paul wanted his letter to bring them encouragement. He knew that their situation was far from perfect and realized that their pursuit of spiritual maturity was anything but easy. So he tried to encourage and comfort them by letting them know that God was not done with them yet. As they were comforted by God, they would be better able to live in unity and peace with one another.

It was a common practice in the early church to greet one another with a kiss as a sign of unity and their common bond in Christ. But Paul insists that they must greet one another with a holy kiss, without hypocrisy and not just for show. A holy kiss can only come from holy lips. You can’t verbally tear down a brother in Christ, then greet him with a kiss as if nothing is wrong. James writes, “Sometimes it [the tongue] praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!” (James 3:9-10 NLT). Holiness is the key to true unity and peace.

Finally, Paul closes his letter with a salutation that alludes to all three members of the Trinity: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” Grace, love, and fellowship. These three things are critical to the health and spiritual effectiveness of the church. We exist because of the grace or unmerited favor of Christ, made possible by His death on the cross, and we are to extend that grace to all those within the body of Christ.

In his letter to the believers in Rome, Paul confirms that Jesus’ death was the direct result of God’s love for sinful mankind.

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. – Romans 5:8 NLT

God loved us so much that in spite of our sinfulness and rebellion, He sent His own Son to die on our behalf. And we are to love one another in the same selfless, sacrificial way.

Finally, as believers in Jesus Christ and recipients of God's love, we have been given the Spirit of God. We are inhabited by the Holy Spirit, who makes our fellowship with one another possible. He has given each of us spiritual gifts designed to benefit the rest of the body. He empowers us to love as Christ loved, and produces within us fruit that is designed to minister to one another: “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23 NLT).

Our unity is Spirit-empowered, not self-motivated. Our love for one another is made possible by the Spirit of God, not our own self-will. Grace, love, and fellowship, made possible by the Son, the Father, and the Holy Spirit, are all we need for living together as the body of Christ, as sons and daughters of God.

Father, Peter said that Your “divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness” (2 Petere 1:7 BSB). You loved us enough to send Your Son to pay our sin debt with His own sinless life. Jesus willingly died so that we might live and enjoy forgiveness of sin and the promise of eternal life. And the Holy Spirit took up residence in us the moment we placed our faith in Jesus, empowering us to live as Your sons and daughters in a broken and sin-damaged world. As a result, Paul calls us to be joyful, grow to maturity, encourage each other, and live in harmony and peace. While there are times when those lofty goals seem impossible and unachievable, You have graciously provided everything we need for life and godliness. At no point have you left us to fend for ourselves or to live godly lives in our own strength. Nothing is impossible for You and, therefore, nothing is impossible for us. May I embrace the attitude that Paul had: “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13 BSB. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.