| Good morning, everyone, Our theme for this month: “Sound doctrine, strong faith” Our Bible verse for today: “But if our unrighteousness highlights God’s righteousness, what are we to say? … if by my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner?” Romans 3:5;7 (CSB) Our thought for today: “That thinking is ridiculous” In Romans 3:5-8 Paul continues to illustrate how absurd people can get as they attempt to rationalize their behavior. Over the decades of his long and difficult ministry, Paul had made repeated attempts to reason with his own people, but with mixed results. There were times when his listeners were convicted, repented, and came to faith in Christ. But more often, the Jews reacted negatively to his message and they opposed him, sometimes to the point of violence. The reason that happens is because when you challenge someone’s deeply held beliefs, or when you question their ungodly behavior, their reaction is often driven by emotion and anger. The stronger the position is held, the deeper the emotion associated with it. Often their reasoning is so illogical it becomes silly. That was the case in Romans 3:5-8. The person Paul referred to claimed that since God’s favor upon the Jewish people was a great gift and a tremendous act of grace on God’s part, and since he had favor with God simply as a matter of his Jewish heritage (even if he sinned), then his sinful conduct actually served to highlight God’s grace and therefore it was a good thing not a bad thing. The longer the debate went on the more argumentative and ridiculous the person was getting. I think we can paraphrase his challenge to Paul like this: “How can you say on the one hand that the Jews have failed in their faithfulness to God, and then turn around and insist that they are still the people of God? (Which is what Paul did in verses 1-3). If we are as bad as you say we are, then surely God has abandoned us; but if God has not abandoned us, then we must not be as bad as you say we are and He still blesses us anyway. So, which is it?” That would be the equivalent of someone saying today: “You Christians claim that America is special and blessed by God because we were founded on Biblical principles. Well, if it is true that we were founded on Biblical principles and God has blessed us because of it, He should still be blessing us now because even if our culture and conduct have changed, we are still a nation founded on Biblical principles and therefore we should still have His blessings regardless of how we act.” That kind of thinking is especially prevalent among the liberal segments of the Christian world who claim to be doctrinally sound, but who endorse the sexual ethics of the culture rather than Biblical sexual ethics. It is that kind of convoluted reasoning that allows them to engage in unbiblical conduct and yet believe they are still receiving God’s blessings. We will continue this discussion tomorrow. For today, I challenge each of us to prayerfully consider if we ourselves are guilty of engaging in silly and illogical rationalizations about our own conduct, which lead us away from God’s will, and consequently away from His blessings. God bless, Pastor Jim (If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville |
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