Salvation Is Available To All

SCRIPTURE

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Romans 9:30 – 11:36

Romans 10:4, 8-13 (Living) They don't understand that Christ gives to those who trust in him everything they are trying to get by keeping his laws. He ends all of that. 8 For salvation that comes from trusting Christ--which is what we preach--is already within easy reach of each of us; in fact, it is as near as our own hearts and mouths. 9 For if you tell others with your own mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord and believe in your own heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in his heart that a man becomes right with God; and with his mouth he tells others of his faith, confirming his salvation.

11 For the Scriptures tell us that no one who believes in Christ will ever be disappointed. 12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect: they all have the same Lord who generously gives his riches to all those who ask him for them. 13 Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.


OBSERVATION

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How awesome that God loves all of us the same and that he gives everybody the opportunity to be right with him.The righteousness that comes through faith (9:30), it came from God (10:3) and it is available to everyone that believes it (10:4).

How do we get right with God? All you have to do is “tell others with your own mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord and believe in your own heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (10:9-10)

How simple is that? Declare that out of God’s kindness (11:5,6) Jesus is your Lord and believe that Christ death didn’t keep him down but that he came back to life again and went on to heaven.

How do we know that we will live again? Because Christ is our example, if he died and returned to life and then went on to heaven then we can be sure that he has the power to do this same thing for us.

How did we become a part of the blessings promised to the Jews? It is nothing that we did to earn it, all along God wanted everyone to come to him in repentance so there really isn’t much difference between us; we are all alike (10:11-13), we have been grafted into the family tree. But don’t think that you are something because you are in the family tree and others have been cut out for you know that he can cut you out too (11:17-21), you have to remember that God is kind but he is also just (11:22).

How long is this offer good for? God's gifts and his call can never be withdrawn; he will never go back on his promises (11:29).

How wonderful is our God?

Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his wisdom and knowledge and riches! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods! For who among us can know the mind of the Lord? Who knows enough to be his counselor and guide? And who could ever offer to the Lord enough to induce him to act? For everything comes from God alone. Everything lives by his power, and everything is for his glory. To him be glory evermore (11:33-36).

APPLICATION

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I will always be thankful that I am included in the blessings that be promises to his own people, I have been grafted into his family tree.

PRAYER

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Thank you Lord for making it simple to become on of your own, I didn’t earn it, I just had to believe. Thank you that anyone can call upon you and be saved (10:13).

The Lord's Plans

SCRIPTURE

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Romans 8:28-30 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Romans 9:14-16  What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses,"I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16 It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy.

1 Chron 29:11-12  Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.
12 Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.

Isaiah 45:9-11  "Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, 'What are you making?' Does your work say, 'He has no hands'? 10 Woe to him who says to his father, 'What have you begotten?' or to his mother, 'What have you brought to birth?' 11 "This is what the LORD says-- the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands?

OBSERVATION

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Here is possibly the most difficult concept to understand, it is so obvious how small our brains are, at least mine is.

God is in control, not only is he in control but he is in complete control. Whether in heaven or on earth, king or peasant. He is personally involved and he has a personal investment in us. No problem for me to understand, but I have to remember that he is still in control even though he has given me a free will. If we have free will then how can he still be in control? Instead of being a harsh dictator forcing his will on us he somehow lovingly works out his will through our will.

It seems unfair from a human perspective that some of us would be chosen and others are not chosen and he knows which are chosen and which are not even before we were born. Out of all the thousands of people on the earth he chose Abram, he chose Isaac over Abraham’s other sons, and out of twelve brothers God chose Joseph. Think about Jacob and Essau, Jacob was chosen over Essau before their birth. Actually that’s how it is for everyone, he has always known the outcome of our lives.

God knew when he made me that I would accept Jesus as my Savior. He knows when he makes somebody that will not accept Jesus as his Savior, but still he makes that person anyway. He knew which person would be a great humanitarian and which person would become a killer. He knew that Cain would kill Abel. He could have only made perfect people incapable of doing wrong but then we wouldn’t love him out of our own desire and free choice and that’s what true love is.

He has determined that some will be healed from an illness and others won’t, some will live through war and some will die. Some will live to one hundred years and some will not leave the womb alive.

Job suffered without an explanation, as I heard pastor Adrian Rogers say “Job didn’t have the first few chapters of the book of Job to explain to him what was going on,” he just had to live through it. Countless millions have suffered with disease and have endured pain that is never healed. Some live with torture and persecution while others live with liberty and freedom.

I can not understand a lot of these things, but I do know God and as I learn more and more about him I know that I can trust him for the things I do not understand. The main essence of God’s being is that he is holy that is his highest moral excellence, the thing that separates him above all else. The Bible tells us that he is a just judge, that he is merciful and loving and that he doesn’t want anyone to perish.

His plan has always to show himself as a just and loving God no matter what circumstances we are in that fact does not change.

Romans 11:36  For everything comes from God alone. Everything lives by his power, and everything is for his glory. To him be glory evermore.

APPLICATION

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No matter what happens in life there is a purpose and there is a good chance I will not understand the purpose because my God is way bigger than me. I will trust him no matter what.

PRAYER

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Help me Lord in the difficult moments to rely on you and remember that you loved me enough to send your son to die for me.

Romans 1-8 In Review

When I finished the book of Acts I almost didn't start the book of Romans, I was tempted to jump to another book.

I am glad I didn't it's been fun.

Here is a basic outline of what I have learned in Romans so far:

• God has something against me.
• The law proved that God really does have something against me.
• We need to be made right with Him.
• The way to be made right with God is through faith, just like Abraham was.
• Now that you are right with God you will have peace and joy.
• You also have become a friend of God and a part of the family.
• Because of this we can say that we have a new life.
• We are alive in Christ but struggling to become more like Christ.
• It is a struggle to live the new life but we have the power through the Holy Spirit to be more than conquerors.

In The Family -Part 2

SCRIPTURE

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Romans 8:29-39 For from the very beginning God decided that those who came to him--and all along he knew who would--should become like his Son, so that his Son would be the First, with many brothers. 30 And having chosen us, he called us to come to him; and when we came, he declared us "not guilty," filled us with Christ's goodness, gave us right standing with himself, and promised us his glory.

31 What can we ever say to such wonderful things as these? If God is on our side, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son for us but gave him up for us all, won't he also surely give us everything else?

33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? Will God? No! He is the one who has forgiven us and given us right standing with himself.

34 Who then will condemn us? Will Christ? No! For he is the one who died for us and came back to life again for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us there in heaven.

35 Who then can ever keep Christ's love from us? When we have trouble or calamity, when we are hunted down or destroyed, is it because he doesn't love us anymore? And if we are hungry or penniless or in danger or threatened with death, has God deserted us?

36 No, for the Scriptures tell us that for his sake we must be ready to face death at every moment of the day--we are like sheep awaiting slaughter; 37 but despite all this, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ who loved us enough to die for us. 38 For I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can't, and life can't. The angels won't, and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep God's love away. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, 39 or where we are--high above the sky, or in the deepest ocean--nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for us.


OBSERVATION

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“God’s son would be the first with many brothers” yep we are indeed a part of the family just as we said yesterday that we have a lot of benefits that come to us as a child of God and they just keep on coming, here are some more.

When we stand in God’s courtroom there will be nothing to worry about. Who could possibly condemn you?

Will it be God? No, remember He is the one that made us right in His sight through Christ.

Will it be Christ Jesus? He is our advocate in heaven and besides why would He suffer and die for us if it didn’t have any affect?

Will it be anything else? No way! There is nothing that can keep us from God’s love now that you are in His family.

When the hard times come did He stop loving us? No, remember we said that this new life is hard, we are slaves to righteousness, it is a battle as we saw in Romans 6. Remember that we saw yesterday that we must share in the suffering here on earth if we are going to share in the glory that is to come.

We are more than conquerors and nothing can throw us out of God’s family.

APPLICATION

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No matter how bad things get I will remember that I am in the family of God and that I will overcome.

PRAYER

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Thank you Jesus that you take care of your children in this life and beyond.

We Are In God's Family

God has a big, big house.

SCRIPTURE

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Romans 8:15-23 (Living)  15 And so we should not be like cringing, fearful slaves, but we should behave like God's very own children, adopted into the bosom of his family, and calling to him, "Father, Father." 16 For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we really are God's children. 17 And since we are his children, we will share his treasures--for all God gives to his Son Jesus is now ours too. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later. 19 For all creation is waiting patiently and hopefully for that future day when God will resurrect his children. 20,21 For on that day thorns and thistles, sin, death, and decay --the things that overcame the world against its will at God's command--will all disappear, and the world around us will share in the glorious freedom from sin which God's children enjoy.

22 For we know that even the things of nature, like animals and plants, suffer in sickness and death as they await this great event. 23 And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. We, too, wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children, including the new bodies he has promised us--bodies that will never be sick again and will never die.

OBSERVATION

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Yesterday we talked about the power that we have from the Holy Spirit to live this “new life” and that He makes us able to please God.

Since we are able to please God (Romans 8:4-5) then we should not be afraid of Him but instead we should act like a member of His family. We are His children with all the rewards that come from having a rich father.

We have many benefits as His child, I will mention some today and share some more of them tomorrow. He has prepared a kingdom for us (Matthew 25:34), He has a new body for us (verse 23), He gave us his Son don’t you think that He will give us everything else (verse 32)?

But if we are going to be a part of that future glory then first we have to endure some trouble here on this earth (verse 17). Just like it is in your family, there are hard times that you go through, lots of trouble everywhere sin has caused all of creation to suffer (verse 22-23) but hopefully you ride out the storms together and come through them closer than you were before.

Just don’t get too worked up about this suffering that you are doing down here because it isn’t nothing compared to the glory that is to come. And beside that “we know that everything that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans (verse 28).

APPLICATION

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I will wait patiently for Christ return despite the difficult times that I must go through.

PRAYER

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Jesus, help me to remember that I have the easy life. I could have been born in a country that doesn’t tolerate faith in You, suffering along with so many countless others. They have it bad just like Paul did but he was still able to say that this pain isn’t anything compared to what is to come in heaven.

Help, I Can't Do This Alone

SCRIPTURE

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Romans 7:15-25 I don't understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I can't. I do what I don't want to--what I hate. 16 I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience proves that I agree with these laws I am breaking. 17 But I can't help myself because I'm no longer doing it. It is sin inside me that is stronger than I am that makes me do these evil things.

18 I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn I can't make myself do right. I want to but I can't. 19 When I want to do good, I don't; and when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. 20 Now if I am doing what I don't want to, it is plain where the trouble is: sin still has me in its evil grasp. 21 It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love to do God's will so far as my new nature is concerned; 23-25 but there is something else deep within me, in my lower nature, that is at war with my mind and wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. In my mind I want to be God's willing servant, but instead I find myself still enslaved to sin.

So you see how it is: my new life tells me to do right, but the old nature that is still inside me loves to sin. Oh, what a terrible predicament I'm in! Who will free me from my slavery to this deadly lower nature? Thank God! It has been done by Jesus Christ our Lord. He has set me free.

Romans 8:4-8 (Living)So now we can obey God's laws if we follow after the Holy Spirit and no longer obey the old evil nature within us. 5 Those who let themselves be controlled by their lower natures live only to please themselves, but those who follow after the Holy Spirit find themselves doing those things that please God. 6 Following after the Holy Spirit leads to life and peace, but following after the old nature leads to death 7 because the old sinful nature within us is against God. It never did obey God's laws and it never will. 8 That's why those who are still under the control of their old sinful selves, bent on following their old evil desires, can never please God.

OBSERVATION

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Yesterday we discussed the new life that we have through Christ and that we have to choose to be controlled as if we are a slave to righteousness. I hope that everybody that read that is back again today because there is something that I didn’t tell you.

This new life stuff, it is hard! I am trying to do what is right but oh no I blew it again. I wanted to watch my mouth, I wanted to be nicer to her, I wanted to pray and read my Bible and I meant to stay away from that. Within my own power I can not follow God’s perfect law for very long.

How can I possibly do it? God will never tell us to do something that we don’t have the power to do. I don’t have the power to do it on my own but thank you Jesus that you sent a helper to us like you said that you would.

The Holy Spirit gives us the strength to do those things that are pleasing to God, the power to overcome our old way of life that is trying to get us to live according to this world.

For God is at work within you, helping you want to obey him, and then helping you do what he wants. Phil 2:13 (Living)

APPLICATION

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I will stay plugged into the power source. The Holy Spirit is the only power that I can use to live a life that is pleasing to God.

PRAYER

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Thank you Jesus for sending the Holy Spirit to give us the power to please God with our lives.

Give Up The Control Button

SCRIPTURE

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Romans 6:1-4,12,17-18  What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.

17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

OBSERVATION

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I like to be in control, my biggest regrets are the ones that I made when I was in charge of my life. Paul said that we are supposed to be living a new life but that is a difficult concept to understand when you have been in church since before you were born and you believe the lie that you never did anything that was too bad. We are all bad when we use the correct measuring stick. I grew up in church and became a Christian at nine years old, I have been in church 98% of the Sundays that I have been alive, I was a compliant kid so how much new life did I need?

No matter how good we are we still have to decide who is in charge of our life. It took almost forty years for me to understand that I was letting the old sin nature reign. I was a Christian but I had not been living the new life, I was choosing the wrong master.

We all have to decide if we will follow the sinful desires of this world or as a Christian should be doing, we should be living a new life that is opposite of the way that the rest of the world lives.

Away then with sinful, earthly things…You are living a brand new kind of life that is continually learning more and more of what is right, and trying constantly to be more and more like Christ who created this new life within you. Col 3:5, 10 (Living)

The choice is mine every hour of the day, I am just one step from stupid. Am I going to follow the desires of this world or will I choose the slavery that leads to holiness and eternal life

APPLICATION

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I will choose the correct master and remember that:

You should have as little desire for this world as a dead person does. Your real life is in heaven with Christ and God. Col 3:3 (Living)

PRAYER

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Father God thank you for the privilege of living in this country and growing up in a Christian home. Thank you for a deeper knowledge of you, I pray that I will make the right choice every hour to live a new life that is free from the desires of this world.

Our Forever Friend

SCRIPTURE

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Romans 5:1-11 So now, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith in his promises, we can have real peace with him because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 For because of our faith, he has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to actually becoming all that God has had in mind for us to be.

3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us--they help us learn to be patient. 4 And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady. 5 Then, when that happens, we are able to hold our heads high no matter what happens and know that all is well. For we know how dearly God loves us, and we feel this warm love everywhere within us because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

6 When we were utterly helpless, with no way of escape, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners who had no use for him. 7 Even if we were good, we really wouldn't expect anyone to die for us, though, of course, that might be barely possible. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since by his blood he did all this for us as sinners, how much more will he do for us now that he has declared us not guilty? Now he will save us from all of God's wrath to come. 10 And since, when we were his enemies, we were brought back to God by the death of his Son, what blessings he must have for us now that we are his friends and he is living within us!

11 Now we rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God--all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done in dying for our sins--making us friends of God.

OBSERVATION

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The last time I talked about that we have all sinned (3:23) and that we cannot became right with God through good works (3:20, 28). Even Abraham, chosen to be the father of the Jewish nation, you figure he must have been of pretty good character but God told us that even he was declared righteous only through his faith (4:3).

Now today I can see in chapter five, the benefits that we receive as a result of our good standing with God. Now we can know real peace with God and we can have joy that will last in the good times and the bad. Joy that is based on the hope of knowing that despite all these trials we still have Gods power through the Holy Spirit.

What an awesome relationship that we can have with our creator! We have been saved from all of God’s wrath that we deserved. Its amazing that He did all these things for us before we were His friends. No greater love could God have shown than to die for His enemy’s, but now because of that death we can become friends of God.

Col 1:20-21  It was through what his Son did that God cleared a path for everything to come to him--all things in heaven and on earth--for Christ's death on the cross has made peace with God for all by his blood.  This includes you who were once so far away from God.


APPLICATION

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I will remember the benefits that God gives to all His friends. I will check out the list of benefits in Psalm 103!

Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits…

PRAYER

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Don’t let me forget how much that you have done for me, none of which I deserve.

Do You Measure Up?

SCRIPTURE

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Romans 3:9-10  What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10 As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one.

Romans 3:21-24  But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Romans 4:1-3  What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about--but not before God. 3 What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."

OBSERVATION

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Are you good enough? We always think better of ourselves than we should, there is always somebody that we can use as an example of how bad we could be, that makes us feel pretty good about ourselves. Problem is that the goal is to be righteous and I can’t see anybody making that big of a claim about himself.

How in the world can I expect to meet the criteria, I don’t see much chance that I will become righteous no matter how long I live. Actually Paul tells me that I have no hope of achieving this goal in my own power but there is a way to make it happen:

Romans 3:23-24  Yes, all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious ideal; 24 yet now God declares us "not guilty" of offending him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in his kindness freely takes away our sins.

Wow! We have offended God but he freely declares us “not guilty” and the only thing that I had to do was to trust in His only Son that paid the price for all the ways that I fall short of the goal of being righteous.

Thankfully all I have to do is follow Abraham’s example, his faith was credited to him as righteousness. We can look back and see how many times that he blew it and fell short but God declared him “right with Him” through faith alone.

Psalms 32:1-5  What happiness for those whose guilt has been forgiven! What joys when sins are covered over! What relief for those who have confessed their sins and God has cleared their record.

APPLICATION

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I believe that I didn’t stand a chance to perform up to God’s standard, but He always knew that I couldn’t and had a plan from the beginning to make me right with Him. I will trust God and His promise to take away my guilt and clear my record.

PRAYER

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Thank you for taking the burden away of trying to be good enough to have a relationship with you.

Hypocrite!

SCRIPTURE

Romans 2 – 3:8

19 You are so sure of the way to God that you could point it out to a blind man. You think of yourselves as beacon lights, directing men who are lost in darkness to God. 20 You think that you can guide the simple and teach even children the affairs of God, for you really know his laws, which are full of all knowledge and truth.

21 Yes, you teach others--then why don't you teach yourselves? You tell others not to steal--do you steal? 22 You say it is wrong to commit adultery--do you do it? You say "Don't pray to idols" and then make money your god instead.

23 You are so proud of knowing God's laws, but you dishonor him by breaking them. 24 No wonder the Scriptures say that the world speaks evil of God because of you.

25 Being a Jew is worth something if you obey God's laws; but if you don't, then you are no better off than the heathen. 26 And if the heathen obey God's laws, won't God give them all the rights and honors he planned to give the Jews? 27 In fact, those heathen will be much better off than you Jews who know so much about God and have his promises but don't obey his laws

OBSERVATION

Its annoying when you are counting on someone and they don’t live up to their word. We have all done it to our spouses, friends and family but I must add one more to the list that we have done it to.

How many times have we made promises to God or we commit ourselves to obey Him and then we turned out to be a traitor.

We dare to judge others and pass that judgement along in gossip, which sometimes is disguised as a prayer request, but so often we forget that in some other situation we may be guilty of the same exact sin.

“When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are talking about yourselves, for you do these very same things. And we know that God, in justice, will punish anyone who does such things as these. Do you think that God will judge and condemn others for doing them and overlook you when you do them, too?”

Not so with God He gave us His word and He will follow through “He will give each one whatever his deeds deserve” (verse 6). “But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all that obey him, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. For God treats everyone the same.“

APPLICATION

I will show mercy to those that stumble in their Christian walk in hopes that they will extend the same mercy to me when I fail.

PRAYER

Help me Lord to obey your commands consistently.

God Has Good News For You

Scripture

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Romans 1

Observation

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Paul starts off his letter to the Romans by introducing himself as a servant of Jesus set apart for telling the good news, he is God’s man for spreading the gospel truth.

The gospel truth that was promised by God had now been fulfilled through Jesus. This is good news that is available to everybody through God's power we are made right with him.

Paul warns us that if we reject this truth that we are going to see God’s wrath instead of the grace that is being offered to us (compare verse 5 and verse 18).

God has revealed Himself to all mankind so that we are without excuse and when we reject Him and refuse to worship Him then we are inclined to set-up a god that we will worship. This sin sends us down a slippery slope that leads us into an ever-increasing pattern of rebellion (verses 18-31).

I can see now why there is so much badness in this broken world today, the scripture tells us that it is just a natural consequence of a world that does not accept the good news and come into a right relationship with our creator.

Application

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I will not be ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. -Romans 1:16

Prayer

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Lord I pray that I will be wise and not give glory away that belongs to you, I will continue to be a witness for you.