the God I’ve known and heard

Have you not known? Have you not heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He does not faint or grow weary;

his understanding is unsearchable.

Isaiah 40:28

O Lord God,

I come to You humbly with these reminders of the God I worship and I need. These truths move me to worship. They put my heart in its proper place. I bow down to a God more glorious than anything or anyone I think would make me happy. I pray to a Person Who knows and loves me more than any human lover ever possibly could. I cling to a Savior stronger than my inabilities. I learn from a Mind unsearchable in Your wisdom and understanding.

Lord, You are my everlasting God. This year I have become frightfully all too aware of the fragility of mortality. I’ve seen the flower of life’s bloom suddenly fade, wither, and die in the body of the person I’ve loved most in this world. I’ve grieved, O how deeply my soul has in brokenness grieved, at the transience of all things. I’ve even for a season lost the gusto of action and activities and relationships that I once thought were so important to my happiness in life. In all this I’ve had nobody else who truly understands but You! I’ve thrown myself into the arms of Your care, my everlasting God! I too am made of this flaking, dying dust. But You are my hope O God! You are everlasting. You are God.

Dear God, You are my Creator and have placed me exactly where You want me to thrive in Your universe. I could be anywhere in the ends of the earth You’ve made, and yet here I am… alive now… relating where You want… to whom You want… for Your glory… along with all creation I serve Your purpose!

Mighty God, You are my strength. You have lifted up my weary, grieving, broken soul. You have restored my shattered perspective with a grace-filled new perspective. You have been my Provider of true joy.

You provide my understanding, wise and patient Father. And as I seek to follow You, my Lord, cultivating new life in new directions alongside my family, my old friends, and my new friends, I will praise the Lord Who knows what I need, loves me, saves me, and always sustains me for His glory!

Amen

glory revealed

And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,

and all flesh shall see it together,

for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Isaiah 40:5

A day was prophesied that the glory of the LORD would be revealed to all the world. And in Jesus this has happened! The glory of God came to dwell among us in human skin. God was enfleshed. The Lord of heaven incarnate to make God’s glory known,  lived with us, walked among us, talked to us, loved and laughed and cried and sang alongside us, all to bring us to a new relationship with the Father Who sent His Son so we could be made new again by His Holy Spirit.

The glory of the Lord HAS been revealed. And I see Him at work shining in me and all His people even now. The gospel story shines in glory in the church as Christians seek to live like Jesus and proclaim His saving gospel into a dark world. The message of salvation in Jesus is the glory of the Lord revealed. The church is where that glory shines. God’s people are called to reveal His glory in a world that is blind to God’s greatness and holiness.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” 

John 1:14

Jesus,

You are the glory of the Lord now revealed! You are grace and truth. We see Your glory. We know it. And may we worship and proclaim You with every day that we have to do so!

Amen

glorious, majestic God

Glorious are you, more majestic

than the mountains full of prey.

Psalm 76:4

G - Giving You my praise

L - Living for Your fame

O - Only You are God

R - Reigning over all the world

I - Invincible in power

O - owning everything… everyone

U - Universal King

S - Sovereign in actions and events

M - My God, my Savior, my Lord

A - Always faithful Word

J - Jehovah Jireh, Jesus Christ

E - Exalted above all gods

S - Strong to save your people

T - Triumphant in battle

I - Incredible Deliverer in need

C - Cosmic Controller of our destiny 

G - Grateful creation cries to You

O - Omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God

D - Destroyer of death through eternal life

My God,

These thoughts of You lift my soul with immeasurable hope. You are more majestic than any earthly experience. And You love me, keep me, care for me. I will always praise Your name.

Amen

waters, streams, pools, and springs

For waters break forth in the wilderness,

and streams in the desert;

the burning sand shall become a pool,

and the thirsty ground springs of water;

in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,

the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

Isaiah 35:6b-7

This wilderness stretches as far as I can see;

Miles and miles of dry rocks before me.

Yet water flows from rock in this dry land;

Unleashed by the grace of God’s loving hand.

A desert wasteland seems barren and dry;

I wonder how long until I die.

Pausing to wonder what all this heat and pain can mean

I am rewarded with the wonder of a cool, flowing stream.

Beneath my feet is burning sand —

The depth of dryness in this land

is punishing, pain-filled, hard, and cruel

yet You, Lord, pour out a refreshing pool.

This thirsty ground… this desperate man

cries out to God with all that I am:

“Quench me, Lord! It’s all that matters!”

…and up explodes Your springs of water!

Desert jackals growl and cry;

Even my own soul will whimper and sigh.

But then cracked, broken ground which once was mean

is turned lush and reedy, verdant and green!

I now know, Lord, that deserts bloom

with Your healing touch You make room

for refreshing waters, flowing streams;

My wilderness is no longer what it seems.

nine crucial women

Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well.

Romans 16:13

For those who erroneously teach that Paul was disrespectful and down putting to women, I offer Romans 16 as evidence of their own prejudicial agenda. Of the more than twenty-five people mentioned in the closing chapter of the book of Romans, more than one third of them are women! The most prominent and the very first person mentioned was Phoebe — the apostolic envoy and patron of Paul’s missionary work who probably carried the epistle with her to deliver to the church personally from Paul’s hand, to hers, to them (Romans 16:1-2). Who then are the other notable, commended, and prominent women Paul encourages in their service to the Kingdom?

• Prisca/Priscilla (Romans 16:3). The tent-making fellow laborer with Paul alongside her husband Aquila (see Acts 18, 1 Corinthians 16:19; 2 Timothy 4:19). She is evidently in Rome, perhaps forerunning Paul’s impending visit as an advance team member.
• Mary (Romans 16:6). She is commended for hard work in the Roman church community.
• Junia (Romans 16:7). She appears to have endured imprisonment as a church leader.
• Tryphaena (Romans 16:12). She is called a worker in the Lord.
• Persis (Romans 16:12). She is called beloved and also a hard worker.
• The mother of Rufus (Romans 16:13). Though unnamed, Paul considers and respects her like his own mother.
• Julia (Romans 16:15). Although no other detail is shared about her, she is singled out for respect simply by being recognized by name by Paul.
• The sister of Nereus (Romans 16:15). Again, though not named, Paul still considers her worth calling attention to for her role in the Roman church. Her church would have known why she was being honored in this way.

The church needs women to serve the Body of Christ, support the work of ministry, and advance the gospel with their abilities. They serve in vital, commendable roles. They bring unique talents, perspectives, and gifts in service to their Lord and King! And churches that refuse to enlist sisters in their rightful service alongside men are being disrespectful to God’s wonderful design and are hurting the advance of the gospel. Lest you think this post is egalitarian and supportive of female ordination, I would say that clearly in scripture there are unique roles (elders/pastors/overseers) for only male leadership in the church, but not at all at the expense or ridicule of women… EVER! Thank God we all are equipped and placed into Christ’s service!

authentic intercession

I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf…

Romans 15:30

There is a lot more about intercessory prayer than we may realize at first reflection. Yes, it is about praying for and with someone else. However, in this short description in this one verse, before Paul explains his specific prayer need to the Roman church, he describes the need for intercessory prayer to be FOR a beneficiary. He also describes the true benefactors behind such prayer.

Let’s begin with the beneficiary. Paul was not ashamed to ask specific prayer requests for himself. He needed it. His ministry was empowered by such prayer. His plans were yielded to prayer. He expected these Roman Christians, whom he had yet to visit in their home church, to pray specifically “to God on my behalf.” For the person who truly prays for others, intercessory prayer is not self-concerned. It focuses those who offer it on the real needs of other people. It builds mutual ministry. It keeps us all humble… recognizing our need for God to be at work so we can do His good work. We are all dependent on the power and the provision of God for everything we have and we do!

Yet the power behind such intercession is not mere human effort. We all have to yield to the true benefactors of our intercession for others. God the Father is the Person to Whom we ask our requests. God the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, provides the means and authority by which we can then pray so boldly. The love of the Holy Spirit connects our hearts to the hearts of those for whom we intercede. It is nothing less than every Person of the Godhead in the Holy Trinity that grants us the power to pray and enacts the answers for our intercessions.

And so Lord, as I pray for others today I ask You, Father, to work on their behalf. Jesus, it is by Your saving work and in Your authority that I even dare to ask for them. Spirit, I ask in the love that You have given all Christians that has bound my heart to others so that I truly care for the needs of my brothers and sisters. And so I pray.

Amen

pleasing relationships

Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

Romans 15:2

What drives my relationships? Why do I interact with people? What do I hope to cultivate in relationships with people around me? How do I treat those whom I see each day? Am I open with some folks, treating them favorably, while remaining indifferent or uncaring to other people?

These questions come to mind as I reflect on this simple exhortation Paul gives Christians here in the fifteenth chapter of Romans. The command comes on the heels of a broader discussion about Christian liberty and differences of opinion among believers. Paul defuses a hot button issue in the early church (eating meat that had been slaughtered in ritual offering to a pagan deity) and calls the church to a deeper love. He teaches about differences of conscience. We should honor our consciences (even as they may differ) within the church when such beliefs are not entrenched in either hate or legalistic self-righteousness. We do so in order to build unity in the church: the Body and the Bride of Christ. The church is beautiful when people respect and defer to conscience with one another. It is ugly when people fight over such matters.

To “please my neighbor for his good” means that my relational commitments MUST be built around getting to know and respect people individually. I must reject my assumptions. How can I see their good if I don’t know their needs, desires, and commitments? The church should be lively, interactive, vulnerable, and open. People must know and learn each other well. We should give insights to one another at a deeper level than just “news, weather, and sports” conversation. We should know each other’s hearts.

What should drive me is this: I will let you into my world and I want to be part of your world also. And as we truly know one another, we can care for each other well. Superficiality should never be our experience! I want to build you up! I want God to use you to make me a better man, to lead me deeper in understanding Jesus. I want to adore Jesus AND the beauty of His Bride, the Church. May these relational commitments drive Christians to Christ and to each other!

a love to define me

Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Romans 13:10

Love is the attribute that should define all relationships with all people. That is what Romans 13:8-14 is telling us. Christians are called to love one another within the Church, the Body of Christ. But much more than in church, we must embody the love of Christ outside in all of our lives! Paul has been arguing this point in the broader context starting in Romans 12:9. Here’s the bulleted list (Hang on… it’s long!):

• Love has to be genuine. It can’t be faked. (Romans 12:9).
• Love abhors evil, clings to righteous living. (Romans 12:9)
• Brotherly affection guides Christians to love one another. (Romans 12:10)
• Love drives the ultimate “competition”: Outdo one another in honoring each other! (Romans 12:10)
• Love creates a fervent spirit of service and rejects lazy forms of spirituality. (Romans 12:11)
• Love focuses on serving Christ when serving others. (Romans 12:11)
• Love brings hope, patience, and constant prayer. (Romans 12:12)
• Love is generous financially. (Romans 12:13)
• Love is hospitable. (Romans 12:13)
• Love blesses even those who hate and persecute believers. (Romans 12:14)
• Love enters willingly into both joys and pains of others. (Romans 12:15)
• Love is harmonious, not proud, not standoffish, and not hypocritical. (Romans 12:16)
• Love seeks peace. (Romans 12:17-21)
• Love submits to civil authority. (Romans 13:1-7)
• Love fulfills all the law by loving neighbor as self. (Romans 13:8-10)
• Love “puts off” sins of the flesh with all seriousness and “puts on” the attitudes and actions of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 13:11-14)

O Lord,

Lead me to keep loving like this… loving like You do with Your love. You love the world. You love Your Church. You love those lost in darkness. You love the broken and the hurting. You love me. May my love reflect Yours until I am with You forever!

Amen

Zion’s Strength

Walk about Zion, go around her,

number her towers,

consider well her ramparts,

go through her citadels,

that you may tell the next generation

that this is God,

our God forever and ever.

He will guide us forever.

Psalm 48:12-14

Walk God’s city, hike His holy hill

take in Zion’s beauty and wonder if you will

at the greatness of our Lord

He has drawn His mighty sword

sworn in covenant to defend

His rescued people as their friend

Go around the walls, take in the view

consider a faithful God as you do

in covenant He will never fail

for His people He will prevail

Towers numbered filled with power

Ramparts raised each day and hour

Held in Zion’s mighty citadel

raised to withstand the fires of hell

secure by His glory and His might

no foe can approach us or affright

Our God is always at our defense

His strength and wisdom are immense

Tell it to a coming generation

that God defends His holy station

Zion stands while this world will fall

because His eternal power controls it all

by His strength we will stand

follow His almighty decree and command

Forever God is strength and song

always confident He will lead us along

Zion stands tall above rubble and stone

holiness rules over what Christ will atone

never alone in God’s towers we abide

Christ is for us… at our side

I’m nothing special.

“For who has known the mind of the Lord,

or who has been his counselor?”

“Or who has given a gift to him

that he might be repaid?”

Romans 11:34-35

God needs none of us. God owes none of us. The quicker we realize that grace is not an entitlement, the better we are positioned to truly worship God and serve others. 

I’m nothing special. By that I mean this: I’ve done nothing to impress God… to make Him draft me for His kingdom based on my performance. Anything that is good in me is there solely because Christ has redeemed me. Anything productive, attractive, or noticeable in my character or achievement has come about by God’s transformative work in Christ alone. I brought nothing to that process. I needed saving, renewing, rebuilding, and equipping. All of that was done in Christ, with His Word and His Spirit doing everything! I brought only a broken mess to Him. That’s all I have ever done. It’s what I still do!

I don’t tell God what He should do. In fact, my worst prayers may demand of Him. My best prayers, however, while offering complaint or lament, are tempered with a yielded firm trust that God does indeed control me and knows what He is doing. He never needs any counsel, let alone my warped, selfish perspective! But I need His! And as I have heeded it, only then can I say something good has been done by Him through me. His mind is amazing! His thoughts are far beyond me! His purposes are so much deeper! His ways are not mine, but are always acting for my best and for His glory.

I don’t give or serve to try to manipulate God. I can’t. My gifts are meager… a child’s popsicle stick creation compared to His glorious gifts to me. I don’t serve Him to get what I want. I follow Jesus instead so that His desires will control my desires. I yield to His will, even when I must accept trial and suffering. My circumstances under His guidance will end with a result that is infinitely good and infinitely greater than my plan.

I don’t know His mind except to yield to His thoughts in the revelation of His Word. I don’t give to get back, yet He showers me with gracious care ALL THE TIME! Thank You, Lord!

remembrance of future hope

He will swallow up death forever;

and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces,

and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,

for the LORD has spoken.

Isaiah 25:18

The promise of the prophecy of a perfect future of comfort and peace is very personally felt. All of us have lost at least one person we love in death. It could be a grandparent, a parent, a spouse, a child, or a close friend. Whenever death takes away a love, it leaves behind a unique and powerful pain like nothing else we feel. Grief always sees the chasm left behind by missing love. Fear makes us shudder with the realization that one day we too will be torn from those who love us by death’s relentless assault. But… God will eventually swallow up death forever. It will be eclipsed by eternal life. Jesus has made the way for death to be no more. We will experience a new heavens and a new earth. That is a kind of existence only God can make. By faith, with hope, we look to that day.

Tears of grief will one day be no more. I find that to be the sweetest promise… God tenderly wiping away my deeply shed tears. There is not a day I don’t cry at least a little… broken by the way death has stolen love and joy from me. Yet there is ALWAYS a comfort among the tears… always… without fail! I know whom I have lost is truly not lost. Heaven holds whom I miss. Jesus confidently is the hope of being together again! I can go on in this life knowing my tears will one day be wiped clear and death will forever be an ancient history… eternity is what lasts! Eternal life energizes me at the remembrance of future hope.

Lord,

I will trust that the reproach of loss is taken away by Jesus. I may miss the life that death has stolen, but I also know You have defeated death. You have already begun new life by Your resurrection from the dead. You have seen and You comfort all sorrows. I will hold then to the peace that You have spoken!

Amen

I am sure.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39

I am sure.

I am secure.

In the love of Christ I stand

secured by His saving hand.

Nothing can separate me…

Nothing can humiliate me…

Nothing can intimidate me…

When the Spirit of God regenerates me.

I am sure

nothing will lure

me from His eternal hold.

Saved forever by Christ’s blood.

Jesus always holds me dear…

Jesus always calms my fear…

Jesus always keeps me near…

His grace poured on me now and here.

I am sure.

I need nothing more.

His Word and Spirit lead me on.

Future glory is what my hope rests upon.

I see heaven ahead…

I can smile at death’s bed…

I am no longer afraid…

God will always keep me as He has said.

I am sure.

I am secure.

Christ I adore.

I need nothing more!

conflicted

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.

Romans 7:15

As much as I want to follow Jesus and do the things that please Him, I have to fight my self just to do so. I need Jesus. My sin has separated me from God and only Jesus can take me to God by His sacrifice, His righteous life, and resurrection from the dead. I really want to do what He asks His followers to do, yet there is a strong inclination in me toward selfishness, sinful actions, pride, and maintaining my own control. So I cannot do what I want (obey and follow Jesus) under the force of my own power. I mess it up. I fail to understand. I choose poorly. I please self. I am a sinner in need of a righteousness and a power that are not my own in order to stand a chance at any kind of Christian commitment and maturity. My only hope is in the power and person of Jesus!

That realization is what Paul explains about himself in both Romans 7 and 8. He too was spiritually conflicted. He too needed to win a hard fought battle with a sinful nature that won out in His heart more times than not. He too needed the Word of God and the Spirit of God to work in and with the gospel to lead him from casualty of battle to victor beyond this battle.

Paul made these statements about His conflicted soul:

1) Sin indwelt him still, leading to these wrong choices. Nothing good was to be found in that part of him (Romans 7:17-18).

2) Wanting to do right is not enough by itself. He delighted in the Law of God, yet still would do what was wrong (Romans 7:21-22)

3) He fought a spiritual war internally every day. Only Jesus Christ as Lord can deliver him in that battle (Romans 7:23-25).

4) The Holy Spirit of God, through His sanctifying presence and purpose delivers believers from the consequences and the control of that battle (Roman’s 8:1-4).

5) The Spirit of God works with the gospel doing in us what we ourselves are powerless to do. We are transformed and set free in the gospel to be led by the Spirit, not dominated by the sin we hate (Romans 8:3-11).

Lord,

Although I am in this constant war inside myself, I believe You settle the conflict through Your saving work, Your Spirit’s presence in me, and Your Word’s direction for me. Do in me what I cannot do myself. Be the power to defeat my sin and direct me to follow You, Jesus!

Amen

I died with Christ. I will live with Christ.

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

Romans 6:8

I have, in my old sinful self, already died. I have died with Christ. He took my sins upon Himself. He bore them to the cross and there suffered my hell so I could have His righteous life. I am now alive in a new life through His resurrection completing His atoning work for me. These two facts are true: 1) I have already died the worst part of death through Christ. 2) I am now alive through Christ’s resurrection and I will live even beyond my last breath here on earth to live with Him forever! I choose to remember these simple truths with two acrostics:

D - Dead to sin.

I - Invigorated by Christ.

E - Exalting my Savior.

D - Done with sin.

L - Loving Jesus in my new life.

I - Inviting others to believe.

V -Very grateful for all of this new life.

E - Exchanging my life for Christ’s.

O Lord,

The one who has died has been set free… from the power of sin, from the penalty of sin, and in eternity, from the presence of it! In Christ I have died to sin. In Christ I am given new life now. And in Christ I will one day, in resurrection, live eternally free from all my limits, my hang-ups, my failures, and my transgressions. Thank You Lord for dying for me, living in me, and giving me life forever!

Amen

the gospel I believe

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.

Romans 5:18

The problem with humanity is summed up in a three letter word not popularly discussed these days: SIN. And the root of that problem is not popularly believed these days either: Adam, the first human, chose to disobey God. The Bible presents these two situations as absolute historical fact. God created Adam and Eve as perfect people. He placed them in Eden with commands to rule the planet as He wished and as they saw fit. He placed just one warning not to eat of one tree. And by deception, Eve ate, and in direct disobedience, Adam transgressed God’s only restriction.

This is the “one trespass” that brought so much sin upon us all and condemns every person born on the planet yet today. We are trespassers. We are all transgressors. We are all rule-breakers. We are all selfish. We are all easily deceived. We are all sinners. We need a Savior, for we are all equally condemned by inherited sin and by our own sinful thoughts, attitudes, and actions.

But God sent His Son Who acted like a Second Adam. He lived a perfect life. Jesus never sinned. He perfectly obeyed the Father. And He chose to take all the sin of all humanity for all the ages upon Himself at the cross. In His one righteous act He was condemned so that His righteous life could be exchanged for our sinful transgressions. And now resurrected and interceding for all who trust in His sacrifice, Jesus is the justifier and the life-giver to all who believe in Him.

This is the gospel I believe. It is the most important thing that ever happened in the world. Jesus saves those who acknowledge sin, turn to Him, believe His saving, exchanging work for them, and bow to Him as Savior and Lord. This salvation I believe is the most important part of me! Thank God that one act of righteousness by Jesus leads to justification and life for all who believe!

Romans 5:19

For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

faith credited as righteousness

For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.

Romans 4:13

God spoke with a childless old man in the most promising way possible. He spoke to a homeless man who left all that was familiar to obey a simple call to go to a land that God alone would show him. Eventually God gave him one son in that promise. And eventually God gave him one family cemetery plot as his only possession. All the while God kept a bigger vision burning in old Abraham’s brain: descendants more numerous than sand on a beach… an inheritance that would bless the entire planet.

Faith led an insignificant, childless, homeless, ancient man to become a “father of faith” to us all. The Jews were born of him physically. The nations, through the Savior Who arrived at the right time through Abraham’s descendants, were blessed by him spiritually. And faith was the means to it all. He is “the father of all who believe” (Romans 4:11). Faith was the root of all that God has made righteous as Abraham believed what God said and in faithful obedience heeded God’s call in a lifetime of trust (Romans 4:9b).

Lord,

By faith I come to You today. By faith in the gospel story I am also blessed. By trusting in the One Who is the Promise to all, the One Whom Abraham longed for, the One Who is the only way all nations of this world are blessed… by faith in Jesus Who lived, died, rose again, and lives now… by that faith I am forever blessed.

Thank You for the life lesson of that old wandering dreamer who held firmly to Your call, even as he significantly struggled to see Your promise kept. Your grace met him by faith even in a few faltering failures! He conceived a son with the wrong woman. You blessed Him still. He minimized his marriage. You protected what he trivialized. And You reminded Abraham of what the real promises were. May Abraham’s faith grow in me, now credited with Christ’s righteousness, so this world may also rejoice in faith as the gospel of Jesus continues to transform it!

Amen

I want to do good.

For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

Romans 3:20

I want to do good

     but I can’t

By God’s Law

     I stand condemned

Sinner in action

     enemy of the Holy

I know my sin

     reading Your Law

I want to be good

     but I can’t

Shown my sin

     by Your right standard

Time and again

     I fall far short

I’m trapped by sin

     according to the Law

I cannot do good

     even what I want

is tainted by self

     broken as I am

Incapable of righteousness 

     not as You are

Broken, powerless, empty

     on Jesus I call

You are my good

     Your righteous life

Now exchanged for

      all my impotence

Your saving work

     enabling me to please God

Your life for mine

     the only good

In Christ I do good

     empowered by His Spirit

Enabled in every good work

     Jesus pleases the Father

I yield my thoughts

     surrender my heart

Love God in all my strength

     made new to do good!

Legalism and paganism lead to the same place.

Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

Romans 2:3-4

Christ does not turn people into judgmental jerks. The salvation that Jesus brings has no intention of creating self-righteous, legalistic, finger-pointing, rude, and unkind people. In fact, Paul argues that such attitudes are as equally lost as the most despicable immoral pagan… that these judgmental actions are in need of redemption, and leave a person outside the saving work of Jesus. Christian faith DOES NOT produce judgmental holier-than-thou hypocrites!

In Romans two, after opening his masterful dissertation on the gospel with an indictment upon the gentiles who are totally culpable before God for their sinful choices and lifestyles, Paul turns his attention to the Jewish world in the second chapter. The “you” who “judge those” were the Jews. Paul had risen to the highest levels of Jewish religious leadership before his conversion to Christianity. He knew that the Jews believed that their unique covenant relationship with God alone insulated them from His wrath and cleared them of any need to repent. But they instead stood guilty before God EXACTLY like the gentiles and EXACTLY for the same things! Paul says that the Jews did the same sins the gentiles have done. It’s a rough list by the way:

• Suppression of God’s revelation of Himself and a hard turn to replacing the worship of God with idolatry (Romans 1:18-23).
• Worship of the sensual, the sexual, and the created thing rather than worship of the Creator THROUGH the enjoyment of His creation (Romans 1:24-25).
• Surrender to passions that led to sexual shamelessness and “anything goes” sexuality that corrupted God’s design (Romans 1:26-28).
• Every kind of divisiveness, conflict, hate, and evil against humanity (Romans 1:29-32).

Self-righteous unbelief of the gospel focuses on these lists, thinks itself better, but yet harbors in the heart (and even in actions) the desire to do them all as well. It presumes upon kindness, forbearance, and patience to demand outward conformity! It will rage in anger for appearances. Every time I see a sign-carrying zealot I assume that their personal browser history (electronically and internally) would show a very shameful need for the gospel that they will never publicly recognize or personally admit. How many outwardly religious will find themselves surprised in eternity in a very warm hell? I know that in my legalistic hyper-fundie days, I was often far from Jesus. Paul says unless the gospel affects the kindness, forbearance, and patience of God toward other sinners… a person is guilty before God… as lost as a pagan.