Reading for Today - Romans 1:16-32 - I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation
Romans 1:16-32 (ESV)
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 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. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. 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. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 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.
Many of the world have chosen not to have God in their knowledge, as those whom Paul writes about in the first chapter of Romans. Let us not be confused about the nature of God. Many times it is hard for the world to understand how a loving God could punish his creation, man. Many times, those who call themselves Christians cannot reconcile the grace of God and his abundant forgiveness with the fact that God will one day punish those who have not sought him diligently. While we could do nothing to earn our salvation, because it is the gift of God provided through Christ, God, in his very nature, requires that we seek to live a life that is acceptable to him. God has prescribed a way that we must follow to access the free gift he offers. If we choose to follow after the world and if we choose to seek worldly ways, living as the world, we are cutting ourselves off from God. May we seek to not have strife, deceit, maliciousness, envy, and covetousness in our lives. May we seek the moral high ground and flee from that which is evil. If we are not seeking to live a life that is pure, how can we expect to be able to be in the presence of God for eternity. This doesn’t mean we will live a perfect life. We are human and we will make mistakes. We should be focused on seeking truth and seeking to live after the example of Christ. This also does not mean that we cut ourselves off from the world, but it does mean that we show the example of Christ to all those we meet.
We should not be those who “take advantage of grace” and think we can live as the world does because the grace of God will forgive. That would be willful sin against God. It is one thing to be seeking God and to err off the path versus intentionally going off the path expecting God to accept this because He gave his Son for us. The Hebrew writer says that those who come to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.
The question for us today is – are we seeking God?
Have we died to self? Who are we living for? Are we living for self or for God? Are we following the example of Christ? Christ came not to be served, to be a servant. Are we seeking to build up the church and our brethren? What is our first desire? Do we desire the things of the world or heaven? Are we more concerned about how our actions might affect others or about getting our way? Is our life and desires aligned with the word and will of God?
These are serious questions. Questions that we need to be truthful with ourselves about answering. God knows our heart. We need to be honest with ourselves. The love of God for us is too great. The precious promises he has given us are too great. As Christians, we are God’s Children. Let us wear the name proudly, seek to die to self, serve others, and seek to live a life that honors God above everything. May we truly seek God in all we do.