Good morning to all on the Glorious Sunday morning. Waine and I have had the luxury of waking up in our own bed for the entire weekend. What a treat! A shout out to Kenzo Maciel, our grand nephew who celebrated his second birthday yesterday. His grandmother Velma and his parents Marco and Michelle were very happy and proud. Its great to celebrate the passing of time with a new generation. I am still in awe that I am a grandmother many time over and now a Great Aunt. Life is very wonderful when there are others who can recall that you had an influence in their lives.
I am continuing my journey in Romans chapter 3, verses 1-31, " What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God. What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written:
“So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing His wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases His glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?” Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is just!
What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of His blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— He did it to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law." Amen and may God add a blessing to the reading and understanding of His Word!
Wow! Paul was stepping out on some thin ice. The Jews were relentless in thinking they were the only chosen of God. Paul is addressing the Roman Jews who saw themselves as the "sophisticated" Jews because they dwelled in the city where the seat of power of the known world was held. These Jews held fast to the notion that their Messiah had not yet come and when He did they would be vindicated and exalted. Paul is now trampling on all that. He is teaching that with the advent of Christ, His birth, His life, His death and then....His resurrection all bets were off if you were still holding onto the notion that you were the "chosen" few because of your circumcision. The era of being "special" because of your earthly birth lineage was over. God has created a new covenant with man. The covenant is FAITH through Christ. This was radical. Paul was speaking to people who measured their worth on what they did or did not do--he was telling them that God now expected them to reach deeper into a relationship with Him through an "unseen" factor called faith. They had to repent of their sins by accepting the message as preached by this Preacher from Nazarene--the one their tribe persecuted and crucified. Just think about what a radical concept this had to be. The concept of FAITH was so new. How do you get out of the mold of thinking its what you do and not what you believe? That's the POWER of FAITH. How radical is it to believe that the persecutor of Christians, Paul, becomes the very person who spreads the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles alike. I am sure Paul woke up every morning thinking this and it strengthened his faith. Remember Paul never met Christ. He persecuted the Jews who believed in the ministry of Christ and yet now he, Paul, was one of the chief evangelist. He became the embodiment of the transition from works to faith.
Christians have the same challenge today. We are given the task of spreading the message of faith to a world that remains blind to the message that Christ brought. There is a life we cannot see. There exists a life after the one that is now tangible. Our life is limitless and can be with God or without Him. My mind can't even wrap around it. We are all so busy trying to navigate this life that we hardly stop to think about what happens after the transition. Christ preached that we will be united with our Creator but must cross the divide on a Ship called Faith. Christ died to give us the chance to cross the divide. Some say what's the point? Well the point is that we were not put into existence just to be here for 70 years. We are ETERNAL creatures who have immeasurable lives. We can either exist in the glow of God our creator or exist in the void with Satan. Our spiritual genetic make up demands that we think further than the flesh and blood that we see. It demands that we look forward to being reunited with our Creator. The choice is ours while we live and breathe on this side of Jordan.
Wouldn't it be great that when you cross Jordan you are met by those you love and care about. I tell all my children that when I get to Heaven I don't want to have to look for them. I am counting on seeing my mother and father again. I am counting on seeing my brother Yoshio again. I would like to see all of you.
Now may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
Stephanie
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