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

Out With the Old, In With the New

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. – 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV

Up to this point in his letter, Paul has emphasized the kind of conduct or behavior that believers should model. Their unique status as children of God came with non-negotiable expectations that their lives should reflect their Father’s character. They had been “called into fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 4:9 ESV) and had been given the Holy Spirit to indwell and empower them. And as Paul mentioned in the opening of this letter, as the body of Christ, they lacked none of the spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 1:7).

All of these factors should have resulted in demonstrable life change, and, according to Paul, it had. But they were still struggling with pride, jealousy, and a tendency to view life from their former perspective as unbelievers. Their new natures in Christ had not yet replaced their old tendencies. This is what led them to settle their disputes in court rather than within the body of Christ. They were thinking more like pagans than believers. Their focus was on this world instead of the one to come, and they were motivated more by selfishness than selflessness. At this point, their faith in Christ was little more than an add-on, a convenient option that provided them with forgiveness of sins and eternal security, but did little to change the way they lived their lives in the here and now.

This is what leads Paul to remind them, “that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9 ESV). He then describes the unrighteous as “those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NLT). These behaviors are characteristic of the lost. This sordid list should have resonated with the believers in Corinth, because Paul immediately reminds them, “such were some of you” (1 Corinthians 6:11a ESV).

Paul speaks in the past tense, emphasizing that this was their former condition; it was how they used to live. But something had happened. Their old way of life had been radically changed when they placed their faith in Christ. Paul reminds them that as a result of God’s gracious gift of salvation made possible through His Son, “you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11b NLT).

Again, he uses the past tense, indicating that these things have already happened. They had been cleansed by God from their former sins, declared to be righteous before Him, and set apart by Him for His use. This is exactly what Paul had written to them in the opening chapter of his letter: “God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin” (1 Corinthians 1:30 NLT).

But their salvation was not yet complete; God’s work in them was not finished. God had declared them to be righteous because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ; now they needed to live righteously. God had made them holy, setting them apart as His possession; now their lives needed to reflect their holy standing. He had cleansed them from sin, forever delivering them from the penalty of death under which they had lived. But through His Holy Spirit, God had given them the capacity to live free from the power of sin in their daily lives. While they were still fully capable of greed, envy, idol worship, sexual immorality, theft, drunkenness, and virtually all of the sins listed by Paul in these verses, these sins were no longer characteristic of who they were. They were sons and daughters of God who had been redeemed. They were new creations and had been provided with new natures. As Paul writes in his second letter to the Corinthians, “anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT). This message of new life was a recurring theme for Paul. He told the believers in Rome, “For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives” (Romans 6:4 NLT).

Salvation not only offers a future reward, but it also guarantees a real and radical transformation in our present lives. Our sanctification or growth in holiness is ongoing. We are constantly dying to our old way of life and being reformed into the likeness of Christ, and this will continue until, as Paul puts it, “Christ is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19 ESV). It will not stop until we are “mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13 NLT). This transformative process will continue until we are glorified by God and given new bodies, are set free from sin, and are no longer held captive to the threat of death.

The apostle John provides us with these encouraging words:

Dear friends, we are already God's children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. – 1 John 3:2 NLT

In the meantime, we have been given the privilege, power, and responsibility to live our lives in keeping with our standing as God’s children. We are commanded to lead lives worthy of our calling by God (Ephesians 4:1). We are encouraged to live in a way that honors and pleases God (Colossians 1:10).

So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. – 2 Corinthians 5:9 NLT

We were once sinners, but now we are saints. However, we must learn to live out our new identity so that our lives reflect the true nature of who we have become in Christ.

Father, for some reason, we have no problem accepting our salvation as a free gift provided by Your grace and made available through the death and resurrection of Your Son. But when it comes to our sanctification, we seem to struggle believing that we can truly live set-apart lives that reflect our new identity as Your sons and daughters and exhibit the fruit of the Spirit in our everyday lives. Holiness seems unattainable. A life marked by righteousness appears to be unachievable. But Peter said that You have “given us everything we need for living a godly life” (2 Peter 1:3). We have the indwelling presence and power of Your Spirit and access to Your written Word. But our old sinful natures seem to be too hard to resist. The allures and attractions of this world seem too strong to deny. Open our eyes to the reality of our ongoing sanctification. We are not who we used to be. We have been redeemed and are being transformed, because You are faithful and will finish what You began. 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.

Members In Good Standing.

Colossians 1:15-23

Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. – Colossians 1:22 NLT

This next section of Paul's letter to the believers is Colosse contains some incredibly rich theological truths. In it, Paul provides us with what has been called "The Great Christology" or "Christ Hymn." In verses 15-20, Paul gives a clear and concise view of Christ's supremacy over all things. He reveals Christ's status as the very image of the invisible God, His role in creation, His headship over the church, His sustaining power over the universe, and His incredible work of reconciliation, made possible by His death on the cross. What is amazing to Paul and should be amazing to us, is that Christ – the all-superior, all-supreme Son of God, the Creator and sustainer of the universe – has chosen to provide a way for us to be made right with God. We were at one time strangers and enemies of God, as evidenced by our evil behavior, and yet, Christ died in our place and on our behalf, so that we might be reconciled to God. Paul reminds us, "You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions" (Colossians 1:21b NLT). Yet God "reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body" (Colossians 1:22a NLT). God did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He provided a means by which we could be restored to a right relationship with Him. He sacrificed His Son so that we might be made friends of God rather than enemies of God, children rather than strangers. "As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault" (Colossians 1:22b NLT).

That thought should blow every one of us away. It should boggle our minds and never cease to amaze and astound us. Look at what Paul says. We have access into the very presence of God Almighty, where we stand as holy and blameless, as if we didn't have a single, solitary fault. What an incredible truth. It is so incredible that many of us have a hard time believing it to be true. We focus on our sins and our faults and find it difficult to imagine that God can't see or refuses to see what is so clear to us: Our own sinfulness. But Paul is speaking about something called our "positional righteousness" made possible by Jesus Christ's death on the cross. His blood covered our sins – past, present and future. That's why Paul could write, "So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1 NLT). Our sins have been paid for and forgiven. God sees us through the redemptive work of Christ and covered by His blood. Our debt has been paid in full. We stand before God as positionally righteous. This does not mean that we are sinless in actuality. It means that we have been justified by the death of Christ on the cross. Because of what Christ did for us on the cross, God is able to declare us legally righteous. Christ took on our sin and we took on His righteousness. It is what has been called "The Great Exchange."

But Paul goes on to remind us of another important reality. "But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News" (Colossians 1:23 NLT). It is our belief in and reliance upon this important truth that should motivate our desire to live righteous and holy lives before God all the days of our lives. Our positional righteousness, made possible by Christ's death on the cross in our place, should motivate us to live in practical righteousness. We should want to live as what God says we are: Holy and set apart for Him. So when Peter quotes God as saying, "You must be holy because I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16 NLT), he is reminding us that we are to live out the reality of who we are. Our positional righteousness must become practical and present-tense. Our sins have been atoned for, so why would we ever want to continue to live in them? When God looks at us, He sees us as righteous. Paul reminds us to live as what we are. We must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Yes, we will struggle with temptation in this life. We will even give in to it and commit sins that contradict our righteous standing. But when we remember and recognize that we have been reconciled to God through Christ, it should provide us with the motivation to repent and return. Our sins can no longer condemn us. Our periodic acts of rebellion can't remove or separate us from the presence of God. Our place is permanent. Our position is secure. So we are to live like it. "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39 NLT).

Father, while I find the theology behind positional righteousness hard to comprehend, don't let me ever doubt it. Help me rest in it and cling to it all the days of my life. Don't ever let me go back to thinking that I have to somehow earn my right standing with You, because that is an impossible task. I am right with You because Jesus made it possible. Now help me, through the power of Your indwelling Spirit, to live as who You say I am – Your righteous, forgiven, holy child. Amen.

Right With God.

Romans 1:1-17

This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." – Romans 1:17 NLT

It's not hard to tell what Paul has on his mind as he launches his letter to the believers in Rome. Seven times in seventeen verses he brings up the topic of the Good News of Jesus Christ. This was a favorite topic of Paul's and he never grew tired of writing and talking about it. But his interest was far more than academic. The Good News truly was great news to Paul because it had transformed his life in a real and radical way. At one time he had been a paid persecutor of the church of Jesus Christ, arresting Christians and throwing them in prison. He was determined to destroy Christianity and everyone who confessed to follow the teachings of Jesus. He was on his way to the city of Damascus to continue his personal vendetta against "The Way," when he had a personal encounter with the resurrected Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His recounting of the story is recorded in Acts 26, where he is on trial before King Agrippa. "One day I was on such a mission to Damascus, armed with the authority and commission of the leading priests. About noon, Your Majesty, as I was on the road, a light from heaven brighter than the son shone down on me and my companions. We all fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is useless for you to fight against my will.'

"'Who are you, lord? I asked.

"And the Lord replied, 'I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. You are to tell the world what you have seen and what I will show you in the future. And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God's people, who are set apart by faith in me.'" (Acts 26:12-18 NLT).

At that moment, Paul's life was radically changed and he would never be the same man again. He became one of the greatest witnesses for the transforming power of Christ and spread the message of the Good News found through faith in Christ throughout the known world of his day. Paul knew the power of the Good News. He had experienced it first hand. He had been called and commissioned by Jesus Himself to tell of this Good News to each and every person he met, and he did so unashamedly and unapologetically. The essence of the Good News and what makes its message great is that it contains the key to men being made right with God. Paul knew that apart from the Good News, there was nothing but bad news in store for all men and women. Throughout this letter, Paul would remind his readers over and over that there was only one way for them to be made right with God. And it was through faith in Jesus Christ. No amount of good works, religious efforts, or behaviorial change would fix what was wrong between them and God. They were all sinners and all faced the same dire prognosis. "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard" (Romans 3:23 NLT). They all faced the same fate. "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23a NLT).

But Paul had Good News. "…but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23b NLT). The Good News was that God had provided a way for men to be restored to a right relationship with Him. He had provided a solution to the problem of sin and the penalty of death. He had sent His own Son to die in the place of men, sacrificing His own sinless life in order to pay the penalty for their sins and satisfy the just demands of a holy, righteous God. And all anyone had to do was accept the reality of that fact and believe it to be true for them – by faith. Paul will spend the rest of his time in this letter, painting the very real picture of the bad news and proclaiming the unbelievable reality of the Good News. This letter will be deeply personal, incredibly theological and highly practical. It will reveal the incredible mind of the apostle Paul and his passionate desire to see all believers grow in their knowledge of Christ and experience the full scope of the life-changing nature of the Good News. Read it slowly, thoughtfully and deliberately. Ask God to give you a deeper love and appreciation for the Good News than you have ever had before.

Father, make the Good News truly great in our lives. Don't let us become complacent about this greatest of all gifts. Drive into our minds the reality of the bad news so that we might better appreciate the unbelievable beauty of the Good News. We have been made right with You and we played no part in it whatsoever. Don't let us take that for granted. Amen.