A WORD FOR TODAY, June 17, 2024
Peggy Hoppes
We pray you have been blessed by this daily devotion. If you received it from a friend, you can see other devotions and studies by visiting our website at www.awordfortoday.org.
Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, June 17, 2024
“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it - the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one - who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.” Romans 3:21-31, WEB
I confess that I’m quick with judgment. I grumble when a car cuts me off on the highway. I look twice at the teenager riding his bike around the neighborhood, wondering what he is up to. I shake my head at the young girl wearing clothes that are too tight. I say I forgive those who hurt me, but I remember their trespasses, which sometimes keep me up at night. On top of this confession, I consider myself a good person without considering whether I’ve given others reason to grumble or judge. As a matter of fact, I don’t consider my sins all that bad, and the good I do must balance anything I might do wrong. Right? Their sin must be greater than any of my “little” sins. I suspect that I’m not the only one who holds this in their thoughts.
Paul tells us that we all fall short of the glory of God. Sin, any sin, my sin, are judged by God. It doesn’t matter how big or small it is, if you do something against the Law, you are a transgressor, deserving of God’s wrath. There is a hierarchy of offences in human terms. Murder is definitely worse than stealing a loaf of bread, but in terms of God’s demands, all are sinners in need of a Savior, even when our sins are “little” compared to others. We have no reason to boast. James tells us that if we fail in one offense, we have broken the whole Law.
As someone once said that even though we all fall short, that hasn’t kept us from comparing distances. We aren’t separated according to their sin. The folk with “worse sins” aren’t forced to sit in a corner. The folk with “lesser sins” aren’t given special seating. We all sit in the pew under the watchful gaze of our righteous Judge. It is easy for us to become smug because we think we are better than our neighbor, but the reality is that we all deserve God’s wrath. Grace means that we don’t get what we deserve.
Paul boasted about himself; he could boast about his family pedigree, racial background, professional and educational attainments, and religiosity/morality. He may have been able to boast, he was even smug about it. Before Jesus. Then Paul realized that the confidence he had in himself was all rubbish. They did not help at all. He gave his boasting up for Jesus. We need to do the same. You can’t boast and believe at the same time. Our best achievements can’t justify us. The law gives us no grounds for boasting, for self-worth, or for confidence. The righteousness of God, and from God, has been revealed “apart from law.” It seems as if Paul is saying that the Law is nullified but it is not. Jesus keeps the Law for us. The Law does not equal salvation, but salvation leads us to keep the Law. Only the Gospel allows us to recognize and uphold the perfect standards of the Law.
We have no reason to boast except in Jesus Christ our Lord, who has given us faith to be humble before our Judge who does not deal with our sins, big and small, with the wrath we deserve, but with the love and grace that was won by our Lord Jesus Christ.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276. Like the page to receive the devotion through Facebook. For information and to access our archives, visit http://www.awordfortoday.org