I am learning how to breathe in the rhythm of your grace. Be still and know I am finding rest within the storm.
” The noise of the world can easily occupy you and your mind so every moment your consciousness is overwhelmed by noise, sights and colours, people, thoughts churning around in your mind. That is why it is so important to draw aside and become still and allow your mind and thoughts to focus on Me. I am there to bring stability amidst the storm, to bring hope when voices are shouting there is only disaster coming. In all this My aim is to help you turn your thoughts to Me, to seek Me in the quietness and in the storm. I am always there, always the same and will be into eternity – in Me is total stability – I am The Rock.”
Today we come to a little pause in Romans as Paul takes up a diatribe (an argument) with an imaginary person. Read Romans 3:1-8. It’s almost as if he feels that the Jews may think he is being a bit harsh with them. Remember that throughout Romans this problem of dealing with both Jews and Gentiles keeps surfacing. This little interlude almost acts as an introduction to Paul’s later argument in chapters 9 – 11, where he deals in greater detail with the problem of the Jews.
As we read this section we need to hear the questions Paul is answering, to follow his argument.
Verse 1 -“Is there no advantage (spiritually) to being a Jew? – Much – in many ways, and here he picks the main one initially. They have been entrusted with the very words of God. Is that not our claim as well?
Verse 3 – does the Jewish unfaithfulness point to God also being unfaithful? His answer is much stronger than the NIV shows it. More like the powerful replies in Galatians “let them eternally be damned”. God is and will always be true!
Verse 5 – So if our unrighteousness sets off against God’s righteousness, highlighting it by comparison, should we not sin more to show God’s righteousness up better? If that is so it means God is being unfair by bringing His wrath to bear on us. Paul pauses here realising how outrageous this may sound. If God is unfair how could He judge the world. He takes this argument to its conclusion in verse 8 with a statement commentators believe was one that was being spread around at the time “Let us do evil that good may result”.
So how do we apply this passage to ourselves? I don’t believe we would easily take a view that sinning more is good because it shows God’s righteousness up better. However many people feel quite comfortable in their lack of taking sin seriously, because in their minds their sins are being covered by God’s forgiveness and grace. Paul repeats this question in 6:1 again. This lack of recognizing the seriousness of sin is far more subtle and I believe pervades the western Christian culture. God’s wrath is very real and very frightening so much so that He sent His Son to die for our sins, how can we not take them seriously?
(Lily has pointed out to me that the LutheranChurch has a special day of repentance today. This is most appropriate in this context).
Then there is also the reminder at the beginning of this passage of the huge grace we have in our possession in the form of God’s word. This is so precious and we should all appreciate its value enormously, demonstrating that by spending time reading and meditating on it. It is in seeing God’s holiness that we become more conscious of our lack of real holiness.
So Paul is building his case that everyone is a sinner and in need of God’s solution, the forgiveness of sins as won for us through Jesus’ death on the cross, as described in the gospel, about which Paul is so passionate. We will reach the climax next week. God bless till then.