the Gospel

Beautiful Feet.

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How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. – Romans 10:14-17 ESV

Paul has just finished saying, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame” (Romans 10:11 ESV), and “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13 ESV). Once again, Paul used the Old Testament Scriptures, quoting from Isaiah 28:16 and Joel 2:32 to prove his point. Belief in God will lead one to call out to God in times of need or trouble. His emphasis has been on the Jewish people. He has expressed his heart’s desire that they be saved, even suggesting that he would be willing to suffer eternal damnation if it meant that the Jews would come to faith. But Paul knew they would have to experience salvation the same way as everyone else. They would have to call on the name of the Lord.

But at this point in his letter, Paul turned his attention to the believers in his audience, asking them, “But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? ” (Romans 10:15 NLT). Yes, the Jews had a responsibility to believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior, just like everyone else. But Paul was adamant that the believers in Rome had an even weightier responsibility to tell them about Christ. After His death and resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples and commanded them, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you” (Matthew 28:19-20 NLT). He also told them, “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you” (John 20:21 NLT). And that great commission didn’t just apply to the eleven men who Jesus left behind. It has been the marching orders for every follower or disciple of Jesus Christ from that point until today.

Once again, Paul quotes from the Old Testament Scriptures, using the words found in Isaiah 52:7: “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!” These original words were given to the people of Judah to announce that God was going to restore them from captivity in Babylon and return them to Jerusalem. Paul uses these words of comfort and joy to express what it is like when someone hears the good news of Jesus Christ for the first time, telling them that they can be restored to a right relationship with God, even though they are undeserving of His amazing grace. When someone shares the gospel with an unbeliever, faithfully obeying Christ’s command to tell, they are bringing news of peace and salvation.

But Paul breaks the sad news that not everyone who hears will listen. Even when Isaiah told the people of Judah that God was going to set them free from captivity in the land of Babylon, not everyone listened. Not everyone believed. God had told them, “Get out! Get out and leave your captivity, where everything you touch is unclean. Get out of there and purify yourselves” (Isaiah 52:11 NLT). Yet the prophet would, “Who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?” (Isaiah 53:1 NLT). Many of the Jews living in Babylon would refuse to return to the land of promise. Rather than believe God and make the long, arduous journey back to Judah, they would choose to remain in captivity. And Paul stated that, in his day, not everyone who heard the gospel ended up receiving it. Both Jews and Gentiles rejected the good news regarding Jesus Christ. They refused to accept the message of salvation through faith in Christ alone. For Paul it always came back to faith. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17 ESV). We have a responsibility to tell. But each and every person who hears must express faith in what they have heard. We have a responsibility to communicate the gospel with unbelievers, but it is NOT our responsibility to convert them. They must confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in their heart that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9). Then and only then will they experience salvation.

Ultimately, it is God who calls, justifies and glorifies (Romans 8:30). Salvation does not depend on human will or effort, but on God, who has mercy (Romans 9:16). And God said, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion” (Romans 9:15 ESV). Conversion is never the result of coercion. We will never debate someone into a saving relationship with Christ. Our responsibility is to share. We must learn to leave the results up to God. Paul provides us with an interesting and important analogy in his letter to the Corinthians believers.

After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. – 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 NLT

Some of us plant. Others water. But God alone causes the growth. We simply work for Him and get to watch the amazing fruit of His harvest.

Faith Alone.

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But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.”  And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” – Romans 9:6-13 ESV

Yes, God did choose Abraham and through him created the nation of Israel. They were God’s chosen people. And as Paul has said, “to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises” (Romans 9:4 ESV). God even ordained that the Messiah, the Savior of the world, would be born an Israelite. And yet, earlier in his letter, Paul wrote, “For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people” (Romans 2:28-29 NLT). So what is Paul saying? Better yet, what is God doing? Have His promises to Israel failed? Was all that He promised to Abraham a lie?

The point Paul seems to be making has to do with the sovereign grace of God. For the Jews, they believed they had a right relationship with God simply because they were descendants of Abraham. Their faith was in their heritage and their unique place as God’s chosen people. But Paul makes it clear that simply claiming Abraham as your father is not enough. To prove his point, Paul reminds his Jewish audience that Abraham had a number of sons, and yet only one of them, Isaac, was chosen as the line through which the promise of God would flow. Also, Isaac had two sons, but only Jacob was chosen as the conduit for God’s promise. And Paul points out that this sovereign decision by God had nothing to do with the behavior or merits of the two sons  –“though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad.” So what does all this mean? Paul tells us when he writes, “This means that Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children” (Romans 9:8 NLT).

Many of the Jews living in Rome, who had not yet placed their faith in Christ, were under the delusion that their Hebrew heritage was their guarantee of a right relationship with God. But Paul wants them to understand that having the blood of Abraham coursing through your veins was no replacement for the blood of Christ covering your sins. Faith in Christ trumped anything and everything, including a pure bloodline. God’s promise was based on faith. The author of Hebrews reminds us, “It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted” (Hebrews 11:17-18 NLT). It was his faith in the promise of God that set Abraham apart. And it was that faith that was counted to him as righteousness. And it is our faith in the promise of salvation through His Son that makes us right with God.

Ultimately, salvation is based on faith, not works. It is based on trust in God, not a false hope in heritage or religious upbringing. Being born into the right family or worshiping in a particular faith system has no bearing and carries no weight with God. Paul has already made his main point regarding the gospel – the good news regarding Jesus Christ. “It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, ‘It is through faith that a righteous person has life’” (Romans 1:16-17 NLT). God chose Abraham. He chose Isaac. He chose Jacob. He made a conscious and sovereign decision to bring about salvation through the nation of Israel, but our hope is in the promised One. No one deserves salvation based on their background or their behavior. It is faith alone in Christ alone that brings about salvation and restores man’s relationship with God.

Dead to the Power of Sin.

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For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.  We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.. – Romans 6:5-11 ESV

For Paul, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus were more than mere events that took place. They were the key to his salvation, sanctification and ultimate glorification. As he stated in chapter one, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16 ESV). The gospel, God’s abounding grace as revealed through the sacrificial death of His own Son, had not only justified Paul in God’s eyes, it had provided him with the power needed to say no to his old sin nature that waged war against the Spirit of God within him. But Paul knew that, for believers, “our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its lower in our lives” (Romans 6:6 NLT). Paul stresses that, in placing our faith in Christ’s substitutionary death on our behalf,  we are united with Him “in a death like his.” And if that is true, then we are also “united with Him in a resurrection like his.” From God’s perspective, we died alongside Christ. Not only that, we were raised with Christ, to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:5 ESV). His death put an end to sin’s control over mankind. No longer do we live as slaves to sin, unable to resist its influence in our lives. Because we died with Christ, sin’s claim on our lives has been broken. We have been ransomed out of slavery and have been freed to live in the newness of who we are: children of God.

Paul brings up the logical conclusion that anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Dead people don’t sin. This is why he states, “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing” (Romans 6:6 ESV). When Christ hung on the cross, He took on our sins. And He died a gruesome, painful death. When He was placed in the borrowed tomb, He was lifeless, limp and powerless. Death had been victorious over Him. But then, three days later, something remarkable happened. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was brought back to life. But He was not just resuscitated. He was resurrected to new life with a new body. Yes, it had the nail prints in His hands and the wound in His side. He was still recognizable to the disciples, but He was also different. He was no longer susceptible to pain and death anymore. He had the capacity to move about freely, unencumbered by the physical constraints of the normal human body. He had conquered death and, in doing so, He had made it possible for those who believe in Him to undergo a spiritual resurrection to new life. And, as Paul puts it, “so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin” (Romans 6:6-7 ESV).

In his letter to the church in Colossae, Paul encouraged them, “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:1-3 NLT). He went on to tell them, “put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you” (Colossians 3:5 NLT). This new life in Christ is not without its struggles. We still have our old natures living within us. We still have the capacity to sin. But Paul’s point is that we are no longer slaves to sin. We have a choice. The key is that we must remember our new life in Christ. Paul put it this way to the church in Galatia: “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 NLT). It is a matter of faith. I can no more conquer my old sin nature on my own than I could have saved myself on my own. Martin Luther described it this way: “Our spiritual life is a matter not of experience, but of faith. No one knows or experiences the fact that he lives spiritually or is justified, but he believes and hopes in this. We live unto God, that is, in our spiritual and new life to eternity” (Martin Luther, Commentary on Romans).

Paul’s main point in this section seems to be that we must recognize that our new life, made possible by Christ’s resurrection, is to be lived to God. We are to “think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.” As Paul stated, each believer is to “put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you.” He tells us to “put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him” (Galatians 3:10 NLT). Our new life in Christ requires a constant vigilance that includes putting off the old and putting on the new. We are to pursue righteousness and flee from sin. We are to constantly consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. We belong to Him. We exist for His glory. “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10 NLT).

 

The Free Gift.

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But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. ­– Romans 5:15-17 ESV

Adam’s sin brought death into the world. And his sin, and that of Eve, was the result of disbelief. They doubted God’s word. When the serpent spoke to Eve in the garden, he got her to question the veracity of God’s word. He planted seeds of doubt in her mind and it led to disobedience. Doubt resulted in disobedience. Disobedience resulted in death – for all. But Paul delivers the great news regarding the good news of Jesus Christ: “The free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin.” Adam’s sin brought death. God’s free gift brought righteousness. Adam’s sin brought condemnation. God’s free gift brought justification. And the free gift that Paul is talking about is the grace of God made possible by the death of His Son, Jesus Christ. He speaks of this same amazing gift of God’s grace in his letter to the Ephesian church. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ ­– by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5 ESV).

Adam’s doubt in God brought disbelief in God, and that disbelief led to disobedience and death. But the faithfulness of Christ to the will of His Father resulted in a life of obedience, even to the point of death. Paul describes it well in his letter to the Philippian church. “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8 ESV). Jesus’ obedience to the Father resulted in justification for all men, not just Himself. His death paid the penalty for the sins of all men, for all time. Adam’s sin brought the reign of death to mankind. Christ’s sacrifice ended the reign of sin. John wrote, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 ESV). Jesus Himself said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24 ESV). The free gift that Paul speaks of is free, but it must be accepted. It requires belief in the message of God’s grace as offered through the death of His Son. Any hope we have for being seen as righteous and acceptable in God’s eyes is found only in the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Adam’s sin brought death and condemnation to all mankind, but Jesus brings the offer of eternal life and no condemnation to any and all who will place their faith in Him as their sin substitute and Savior. In chapter eight of his letter to the Romans, Paul writes, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1 ESV).

Many struggle with the idea of imputed sin. They find it unfair that one man’s sin could have infected and impacted and entire race of people. That we would be held responsible for a sin committed by one man all those years ago seems to make God out to be a tyrant. But it is not as if we stand guiltless and innocent before God. The sin of Adam and Eve introduced sin into the world, and it didn’t take long for it to take root. Adam’s own sons inherited his sin nature. Cain murdered Abel out of a heart of jealousy and anger. And Paul reminds us, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 ESV). It is not like we are standing before God with our hands clean and our hearts free from sin and rebellion against Him. Adam’s sin brought God’s condemnation against sin into the world. Death became the penalty for man’s disbelief and disobedience. But God brought the cure for man’s inescapable and inevitable death sentence. He sent His Son as the payment for the sins of all men. He satisfied His own wrath against sin with the life of His own Son.

The first Adam could not remain faithful to God. He doubted God. He disobeyed God. But Jesus Christ, the last Adam, lived a life of obedience and faithfulness to God, fully meeting His righteous requirements and fulfilling His law. Which is why Paul writes, “‘The first Adam became a living being’; the last Adam a life-giving Spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:45 ESV). All Adam could pass on to us was his human nature and, along with it, his sin nature. Paul continues, “The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:47-48 ESV). With our belief in God’s gracious and merciful gift of His Son, we become new creations. We receive new natures. We become children of God, no longer enemies, alienated and under His wrath. We find ourselves standing in His presence covered in the righteousness of Christ and freed from the condemnation of sin and death. Not based on anything we have done to earn it, but solely on the free gift of grace made possible through Jesus Christ.

Fully Convinced.

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In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. – Romans 4:18-25 ESV

Belief does not come without its obstacles. It does not go unopposed or unchallenged. The author of Hebrews gives us great working definition: “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1 NLT). It is not a timid thing. It is not half-in kind of a commitment. It requires confidence and assurance, both of which must be firmly placed in God, not the thing for which we are hoping. Earlier in chapter four, Paul wrote, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” (Romans 4:3 ESV). Paul was quoting from the Old Testament account found in Genesis 15, where God promised Abraham, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them. So shall your offspring be” (Genesis 15:5 ESV). And it says that Abraham believed God. He took Him at His word. But Abraham had plenty of reasons to doubt God. He had just offered an alternative plan, suggesting that God consider using one of his male servants as his heir. The problem, as Abraham saw it, was that he was old and his wife was barren. He believed that God was going to do what He had promised, but he just wasn’t sure how. That is why Paul says, “in hope he believed against hope.” The New Living Translation puts it this way: “Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations.”

Abraham had every reason to doubt. His situation and circumstances shouted out to him daily, “This is hopeless!” All he had to do was take a look around and the evidence would suggest that God’s promise was nothing more than a dream. Yet Paul says, “he did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old)” (Romans 4:19 ESV). As long as Abraham looked at his circumstances, he would find himself doubting. But his faith was in something else. Even when he considered the fact that his wife was barren, rather than conclude that God’s promise was null and void, Paul says, “no unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God.” Instead, “he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God” (Romans 4:20 ESV). He was “fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised” (Romans 4:21 ESV). His faith was in God. His confidence was in the source of the promise. And Paul says, “this is why his faith was counted to him as righteousness” (Romans 4:22 ESV).

Martin Luther wrote, “Faith is something that is arduous and difficult. First, it is directed to what a person does not see; indeed, to the very opposite of what one perceives. It seems utterly impossible” (Martin Luther, Commentary on Romans). Abraham grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God. There is a reciprocal nature to our faith. When we believe and trust in God, He is glorified. And as we believe in Him, our faith is strengthened as we see Him work in ways we could never have imagined. Placing our faith in God provides us with front row seats in which to watch Him work. To believe God is to glorify God. Trusting God increases our faith in God. When we trust Him in spite of the circumstances swirling around us and the doubts welling up within us, we get to see God work. As a result, our faith in Him grows stronger.

Abraham’s faith was in God. Yes, he believed the promise of God, but his faith in the promise was based on the faithfulness of the one who had made the promise. He knew that God was good for it. He would come through. He was fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. And Paul uses the faith of Abraham as an illustration of the kind of faith we are to have. We are to place our faith in God and His gospel message, “for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16 ESV). And when we “believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification,” our faith is counted to us as righteousness. It is our faith in God and His ability to save us through His Son’s death, burial and resurrection that results in His declaration of our righteousness. We are saved by faith. And while the world will constantly strive to cause us to doubt the veracity of God’s words and to question the reality of the gospel message, we must remain fully convinced and unwaveringly confident in the one who stands behind the promise. Our circumstances will stand against us. The evidence will not be in our favor. Our hopes will begin to waver. But like Abraham, in hope we must believe against hope, and believe that God is able to do what He has promised.

A Matter of the Heart.

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For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. – Romans 2:25-29 ESV

In this chapter, Paul has been dealing primarily with the Jews, those who had been chosen by God, commanded to keep His law and enjoyed a unique and privileged relationship with Him. They believed themselves to be spiritually superior and safe from God’s judgment, because they belonged to Him. But Paul, in his ongoing exposition of the “gospel of God,” is making it clear that the kind of righteousness God demands is impossible for both the Jew and the Gentile to provide. Even though the Jews did enjoy a one-of-a-kind relationship with God, they were no better off when it came to righteousness than their non-Jewish neighbors. Paul even accused them of passing judgment on the Gentiles, while practicing the very same sins. It wasn’t enough to have and to know the law, you had to keep it. Paul said it was “the doers of the law who will be justified” (Romans 2:13 ESV). In other words, those who wanted to be made right with God were going to have to keep His law perfectly and completely. Paul’s accusations against his own people were anything but mild. “While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law” (Romans 2:21-23 ESV).

Circumcision, the physical, outward sign of the covenant between the people of Israel and God, was to be a constant reminder and a permanent mark of their status as God’s people. But circumcision was not enough. They still had to obey Him. They were still required to be faithful and worship Him alone. Later on, when God gave the law to Moses, the people had a non-negotiable, unarguable outline of God’s righteous expectations. And Paul said, “circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision” (Romans 2:25 ESV). Being a Jew was directly tied to being obedient to God. The privilege of being God’s chosen people came with a heavy responsibility. It was not enough to have a mark on your body, an external sign of ownership. “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, not is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter” (Romans 2:28-29 ESV).

All the way back in the book of Deuteronomy, we have recorded the words of God spoken to the people of Israel. “Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn” (Deuteronomy 10:15-16 ESV). They were guilty of disobedience and unfaithfulness. While Moses had been on the mountain top receiving the Ten Commandments from God, the people had been busy worshiping the golden calf down in the valley. In his anger and disappointment, Moses had broken the original tablets, and was forced to return to the mountain to receive a second set. And in spite of their actions, God  made His expectations clear. “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good?” (Deuteronomy 10:12-13 ESV). God demanded obedience. He required faithfulness – from the heart. The problem with man has always been an inner one, not an outer one. Our sinfulness flows from within. Jesus Himself had said, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you” (Mark 7:20-23 NLT).

Circumcision is a matter of the heart. It has always been about the heart. And Paul makes it clear that the kind of heart that God is looking for is only available through a work of the Spirit, not the efforts of men. Keeping the law, as long as it was done through outward effort would fail, because man’s heart was inherently evil and unfaithful. The prophet, Jeremiah, had strong words from the Lord for the people of Judah. They had been repeatedly unfaithful and unable to keep the law of God. And that was not going to change. God told them, “Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Can a leopard take away its spots? Neither can you start doing good, for you have always done evil” (Jeremiah 13:23 NLT). They had a heart problem. They were incapable of remaining faithful to God or refraining from sin against God.

So Paul wanted his readers to know that all men, whether Jews or Gentiles, stood before God as guilty. It wasn’t a matter of spiritual status or knowledge of God and His ways. It was about obedience, faithfulness, and perfect righteousness – something man was incapable of pulling off on his own. Paul was simply supporting his primary premise that the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The righteousness God demanded and expected was only available through faith in His Son. The kind of heart change required to remain faithful to God was only made possible through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. All men need the gospel.

If You Point Your Finger, You Missed the Point.

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Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 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? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. – Romans 2:1-5 ESV

Paul was writing to the church in Rome and, like many of the churches in those days, it was made up of converted Gentiles and Jews. Chapter one seemed to be addressed to the former pagans or Gentiles. He wrote that he wished to come visit them so that he might “reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles” (Romans 1:13 ESV). He made it clear to them that, like all men, prior to their conversion, they had been without excuse. They had been given the natural or general revelation of God in His creation. He had made His “invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature” (Romans 1:20 ESV) clearly perceived to all men. Yet, like all men, they had rejected God’s revelation of Himself and had chosen to worship the creation rather than the Creator. And it had been the gospel that had revealed to them God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes. They had discovered that the kind of righteousness God requires was available only through faith in His Son. They had once been under God’s wrath for their dishonor and disregard of Him. They had been given up by God to reap the consequences of their darkened hearts and foolish choices. And the city of Rome was still filled with tens of thousands of people living according to “the lie.”

But now, Paul turns his attention to another group within the church. We might just describe them as the self-righteous religious snobs – those who were quick to consider themselves as better than the pagans Paul had described. More than likely, Paul was speaking directly to the Jews who had accepted Christ as their Savior and Messiah. When they heard Paul describe those whom God had given up, they more than likely excluded themselves from that list. They considered themselves God’s chosen people. They were descendants of Abraham, the recipients of the covenant and promises of God. But Paul makes it clear that, they too, are without excuse. In fact, to a certain degree, the Jews were even more culpable because they had been given special revelation from God. He had revealed Himself to Abraham. He had given His covenant promises to Abraham. He had rescued them out of captivity in Egypt. He had given them the law through Moses. He had provided for them the sacrificial system as a means of receiving forgiveness for their sins and to allow them to maintain a right relationship with Him. He had given them the tabernacle in the wilderness and the temple in Jerusalem as places where His holy presence would dwell and they could meet with Him. And yet, throughout their history, the Jews had continually sinned against Him. They had known, without a shadow of a doubt, that God existed and they were fully aware of His divine expectations on them, but they had been incapable of keeping God’s law or of remaining faithful to Him.

In spite of all of this, the Jews of Paul’s day had become self-righteous and prideful because of their unique relationship with God. Their attitude had become like that of the Pharisee in the parable that Jesus had told. “The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector!’” (Luke 18:11 NLT). Because they were descendants of Abraham, they somehow thought of themselves as better than the rest of humanity. But Paul warns them, “in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things” (Romans 2:1 ESV). They stood just as guilty as the pagans. They could not point their fingers and claim to be exempt from the list of sins listed in Romans 1:29-31. They could not afford to consider themselves as somehow better than the rest

We can’t forget the fact that this entire letter is ultimately about the gospel, “the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16 ESV). It is about “the righteousness of God … revealed from faith for faith” (Romans 1:17 ESV). Paul’s whole point in these opening chapters of his letter is to prove that no one stands before God as righteous. They are all without excuse, whether they are Gentiles or Jews. In fact, a little later on in his letter, Paul writes, “Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin. As the Scriptures say, ‘No one is righteous – not even one’” (Romans 3:9-10 ESV). Righteousness is not man-made, it is God-given. It is based on faith, not works. It has nothing to do with human merit, but on God’s mercy and grace. Paul wanted the Jews to know that they had been recipients of God’s kindness, forbearance and patience. The fact that they still existed as a people had to do with God’s covenant promises, not their faithfulness or righteousness. He had continually rescued them from their own self-destructive tendencies in order that He might fulfill His promise to send the Messiah as a descendant of David. And when Jesus had showed up on the scene as the Messiah, He had called the people of Israel to repentance. And Paul says that God’s kindness, in the form of the Messiah was meant to lead them to repentance. Yet Paul has to tell them, “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath” (Romans 2:5 ESV). Why? Because the Jews were failing to recognize their own sinfulness and their need for a Savior. In pointing their finger at the sins of the pagans, they were missing the whole point. No one is righteous, no, not one.

Prayerful Leadership.

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But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. – Acts 6:4 ESV

As the early church continued to grow in size, there were inevitable problems that came up. Acts chapter four describes a situation that arose between two different groups within the rapidly expanding church in Jerusalem. As a result of the events surrounding the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jews who had come from all over the known world to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost had come to accept Jesus Christ as their Messiah and Savior. There were native Hebrews who spoke primarily Aramaic and were from the region of Palestine. But there were also Hellenistic Jews who were primarily Greek-speaking and from outside the land of Palestine. One group used the Hebrew Scriptures, while the other used the Greek translation, called the Septuagint. It seems that their main issue was a linguistic one that translated into a cultural conflict and ended up making its way into the early church. Even in those early days Satan was attempting to use division and dissension as a means to create disunity within the body of Christ.

While Hellenistic Jews and Hebraic Jews had their own synagogues in Jerusalem, when they became believers in Christ, they ended up worshiping side by side. This inevitably led to some tension. Luke records that a dispute arose over the distribution of food to the widows within the church. The Hellenistic Jews were claiming that their widows were being neglected. This dispute led the twelve apostles, who made up the leadership of the local church, to appoint men to oversee the distribution of the food to ensure it was done fairly and equitably. Their reasoning for this decision was simple. “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables” (Acts 6:2 ESV). They were not diminishing the importance of the issue or demeaning the role of service, but were simply establishing priorities. In their minds, it was essential that they continue to spread the good news regarding Jesus Christ. That was the mandate given to them by Jesus Himself before He ascended back into heaven. So they chose “ seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom” (Acts 6:3 ESV) to handle the issue of the distribution of food to the widows. This decision left them free to devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.

It is interesting to note that the apostles saw their responsibility as two-fold. Jesus had made His instructions clear: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20 ESV). But Jesus had also taught them how to pray. He had modeled for them in His earthly life the importance of prayer. His ministry had been marked by a careful balance between preaching and prayer. The apostles knew from watching His life, that Jesus lived a life of dependence upon the Father. As impressive as His miracles had been, the disciples didn’t ask Jesus to teach them to heal, they asked Him to teach them how to pray. They had been amazed at the intimacy of His prayer life with the Father. They were taken by His need for time alone with God and the power and guidance He seemed to receive from those moments alone in prayer. They had lived with Jesus for more than three years. They knew how hard He worked, how tired He became at the end of a long day. And they had seen Him spend entire nights in prayer, skipping the evening meal and missing out on much-needed sleep. Yet He met the new day with a renewed sense of commitment and a supernatural energy that they couldn’t explain. When Jesus had his encounter with the woman at the well, the disciples had returned with food and offered some to Him. But He said, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about” (John 4:32 ESV). They were confused by His statement, wondering where He had gotten food to eat. But Jesus replied, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34 ESV). That statement of Jesus probably came to the minds of the disciples as they considered their responsibilities within the growing church. They had a job to do. They had been given a task to accomplish by Jesus and in order to do it, they were going to need to rely on prayer just as Jesus had done. Their accomplishments for God would be directly tied to the time they spent alone with Him. It is interesting to note that when the disciples went to Jerusalem after the ascension of Jesus, “they went up to the upper room, where they were staying” (Acts 1:13 ESV). And Luke tells us, “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer” (Acts 1:14 ESV). It was in that context that the Holy Spirit came.

Prayer must be an essential part of the ministry. Activity alone is not enough. Prayer is an act of reliance upon God. It conveys our need for Him. It communicates our dependence upon His power and our need for His direction. God doesn’t need us to do things for Him. He wants to do things for us and through us. He wants to unleash His power in our lives. But sometimes we get too busy to pray. Our self-confidence can turn into self-reliance, which can end up being self-destructive. Prayer reminds us that we need God to accomplish our God-given responsibilities. Jesus needed God. Jesus depended upon the Father. So why don’t we? The apostles devoted themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. They knew that one was not more important than the other. But they also knew that one was impossible without the other.

Prayer With A Purpose.

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But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for. – 2 Corinthians 13:7-9 ESV

The apostle Paul was always having to defend his apostleship. There was no shortage of individuals who would question his authority and criticize his claim to be speaking on behalf of Christ. But while Paul was not shy in defending himself, his greater concern was for the spiritual well-being of those who had come to faith in Christ through his preaching and teaching. Since his own salvation experience on the road to Damascus, Paul had dedicated his life to spreading the good news about Jesus Christ to both Jews and Gentiles. He traveled near and far to make known the gospel message and to see lives transformed by the saving power of Jesus Christ. And if he had to suffer in the meantime, he was more than ready. But he was not willing for anyone to question his authority or discount his message, because he had received his commission from Jesus Christ Himself.

In this, his second letter to the church in Corinth, Paul finds himself defending his apostleship once again. He writes, “you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me” (2 Corinthians 13:3 ESV). But the greatest proof of Paul’s claim to being a spokesman for Jesus Christ was the very power evident in their midst that had made possible their transformation. “He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you” (2 Corinthians 13:3 ESV). Lives were being changed. Hearts had been transformed. The message of new life in Christ had taken root and born fruit. But while Paul was away and absent from their midst, he prayed. He prayed with a purpose. He was asking God to produce fruit in the lives of the believers in Corinth. In other words, he was asking to see the byproduct of practical sanctification in their lives – as a form of proof of their salvation. Their faith in Christ should have been producing fruit. And it was for this that he prayed. “But we pray to God that you may not do wrong…” The presence and power of Christ within them, in the form of the Holy Spirit, should have been producing in them a growing desire to do what was right and to turn away from doing what was wrong. Living in the power of the Holy Spirit should have been producing holiness, obedience, and acts of righteousness. Paul told them that “your restoration is what we pray for.” The Greek word Paul used was katartisis and it means “a strengthening, perfecting of the soul.” It comes from root word that has to do with restoration or repair. It means to “make one what he ought to be.” Paul was praying that the believers in Corinth would be experiencing the transforming, restorative power of Jesus Christ in their lives. That power would be ample proof of Paul’s status as a messenger of Jesus.

Paul wanted to see lives changed. He wanted to see the power of God released in the lives of those who had come to faith in Jesus Christ, His Son. He desired to see those who had accepted Jesus as their Savior radically restored to a right relationship with God with lives that reflected their newly restored natures. Salvation is a wonderful thing, but it is just the beginning. Sanctification is an essential byproduct of a new relationship with Christ. Growth in Christ-likeness should accompany the presence of His Spirit within us. Paul prayed for proof of that presence. He wanted to see lives transformed. He wanted to see evidence of the saving power of Jesus Christ. Jesus had died, not just to make it possible for us to one day spend eternity with Him in heaven, but to radically reform our lives here on earth. And it was to that end that Paul prayed.

But do we pray for transformed lives? Do we long to see believers living radically different lives right here, right now? Or do we pray more for physical healing than holiness? Do we pray for freedom from trials more than we pray for a display of Christ’s righteousness in the midst of them? Are we so busy asking God to make our lives easier that we fail to recognize that Christ died to make our lives more righteous? Paul prayed for life change, not circumstantial change. He prayed for holiness and righteousness. He wanted to see the power of the presence of God lived out in the everyday lives of the people of God. In his first letter to the believers in Corinth, he had reminded them of just how far they had come since accepting Christ. “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV). God had  transformed them from what they once were to something new and radically different. But His work was not done yet. He was still in the process of changing them from the inside out. And it was to that end that Paul prayed. So should we.

Non-Prejudiced Praying.

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First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. – 1 Timothy 2:1-4 ESV

Who do you pray for? Better yet, who do you NOT pray for? The answer to that second question will reveal a lot about our prayer life, but also about our faith in God. We know that Jesus told us to pray for our enemies. Most of us have a hard enough time with that one. Then Paul comes along and tells us that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people. Then, just so we don’t misunderstand him, he gives us a few examples: kings and all who are in high places. When Paul says “all people” he is not saying every single individual. But he is referring to all types of people – saved and unsaved, good and bad, rich and poor, undeserving and deserving, even politicians. Why did Paul bring up kings and those who are in places of authority over us? He provides the answer. “That we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” There is a direct benefit to praying for those who rule and reign over us. God has placed them there. Paul had a unique, but very godly, perspective about governmental authorities. “The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong” (Romans 13:4 NLT). Peter shared his views. “For the Lord’s sake, respect all human authority—whether the king as head of state, or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right” (1 Peter 2:13-14 NLT). Our prayers for those in authority over us should be based on an understanding that God has instituted civil government. They are there to help maintain order and punish wrong-doers. But that does not mean that all governments are good and that all politicians do what is right. We know there are corrupt administrations all over the world. But that is why we should pray. They ultimately answer to God, so we should appeal to him that they would rule rightly and justly. So that we can live godly lives in peace and tranquility. For those of us living in the United States, we do enjoy a remarkable degree of civic peace and the ability to practice our faith without censor or persecution. That is not the case in many places around the world. So we should pray that God will keep our government and its leaders morally right and ethically pure. We should pray for their salvation, not just their replacement. We should ask God to use them to accomplish His will. 

But their is an interesting aspect to Paul’s admonition that we might easily miss. We are to pray so that we might live peaceful and quiet lives, godly and dignified in every way. In other words, our prayers for all men are not so that we can enjoy the kind of lives we want to live, but the kind of lives God has called us to live. The goal of our prayers is that we might have an atmosphere in which we can practice godliness in peace and tranquility, free from persecution and the danger of physical harm as a result of our faith. We all know that there are plenty of places around the world where Christians are being forced to live out their faith in the midst of great danger and the potential for severe persecution at the hands of the civil authorities. They do not enjoy peace and tranquility. For them, living godly and dignified lives can lead to physical harm, financial loss and even death.

So we are to pray. We are to pray for all men. That includes prayer for our neighbors, coworkers, bosses, governmental leaders, school board, police force, firemen, teachers – the list is endless. But we tend to be highly selective in our prayer lives. We pray for those we know best and like the most. We neglect the unlovely, undeserving, and unfamiliar. We practice a form of prayer prejudice, conveniently reserving our petitions for those whom we deem worthy of our time and attention. But Paul would have us realize that to pray for all men is something that is pleasing to God. Why? Because God desires that all men come to a saving knowledge of His Son. This would seem to indicate that our prayers for all men should include a desire that they come to faith in Christ. Which is only logical when you consider that the answer to every problem facing mankind is a right relationship with God made possible only through acceptance of Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross. If we want righteous and just leadership in this country, we need to pray that those in authority come to faith in Christ. If we want to see our nation morally revived, it will only happen if men and women come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior and experience the life-transforming power made possible through His indwelling Holy Spirit. The answer to the world’s problems is not better government, but godly government, and that will only take place when we have godly people serving in places of authority.

So we need to pray. For all men. Not just some. We need to pray for their salvation. We need to ask God to sovereignly move in the lives of those who rule over us. So that we might enjoy an atmosphere of civic peace and tranquility, and so that we might be able to live godly lives without fear of persecution. Our goal is not to be our own personal ease and comfort, but the spread of the gospel. We should pray for an atmosphere in which the gospel can be preached unapologetically and unhindered. At this point, we still enjoy a certain amount of freedom here in the United States. But that could change in a heartbeat. We are already seeing increased animosity toward Christianity at the highest levels. And it could get worse. So we must pray. For all men. All the time. Without prejudice.