Month: August 2025

the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality. Romans 2:10b-11

Shorter post today because I want to cover something I didn’t call out in yesterday’s devotional post.

It has always saddened my heart when I hear unbelievers consumed with this world refer to ‘christians’ as bigots or racists. What I am not going to say is that there are no bigots or racists who call themselves christians. What I will say is that if a person is genuinely converted, the evidence of their life shows that they have a relationship with Jesus, and they obey what God calls them to do through His Word, they cannot be a bigot/racist and at the same time call themselves a Christ Follower. God is very clear here through the writer Paul, that God shows not partiality….period.

APPLICATION

I need to keep a constant check on my fleshly heart. Just as the Lord sees all peoples as His children and His Word talks about all of the ‘Nations’ who will be represented in Heaven, I need to be sure that my unconscious self is kept in check…asking the Holy Spirit to convict me when I am thinking in way that is counter to His instruction. I also need to ask for a heart that loves every person even though I am saddened by their sin. I just want to be more like His Son!

6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality. Romans 2:6-11

This is a passage that a lot of people that profess salvation is ‘works based’ will turn to as a support for that stance. Although Scripture everywhere teaches that salvation is not on the basis of works, it consistently teaches that God’s judgement is always on the basis of a person’s deeds. Paul describes the deeds of two distinct groups: the redeemed and the unredeemed.

The deeds of the redeemed are not on the basis of their salvation but the evidence of it. They are not perfect and prone to sin, but there is undeniable evidence of righteousness in their lives. The unredeemed religious person will assert that their salvation is because they ‘do good’ and when they fall, they confess to a priest, ritualistically walk through some atonement exercise, and then go about their way…never having experienced the soul saving action of putting all of their trust in Jesus Christ as their sin bearer. The other type of unredeemed is scarier, this is a person who believes they have ‘believed’ in the Lord Jesus, but their heart was never transformed, and they show very little to no fruit of salvation in their lives following. Even the demons know and believe who Jesus is, but what they don’t do is surrender and put their trust in Him. This is just like the second unredeemed person I just described.

APPLICATION

Discipleship is so important. The evil one would like nothing more than to see everyone have this ‘unredeemed’ version of response to the gospel. Discipleship is an opportunity to connect with and guide people to see that what maybe they thought they have, they don’t have. I love how Paul talks about this in 2 Corinthians 13:5.

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

3 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? 4 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? 5 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 2:3-5

In verse three here, I just can’t help re-reading this in a way I might say what Paul said.

You dummy, do you really think you can draw conclusions on other people relative to their sin and drum up an angle on God that has Him turn a blind eye to your own sinfulness?

To a pure and Holy God, all sin, no matter what kind, separates us from Him…not only that, any and all sin requires punishment. As Paul said, no one will escape God’s judgement…including believers. So, as a believer, if I take this same stance in ignoring the impact of my own sin, I will have to answer for it when the books are open at the Judgement seat. When Paul says, “do you presume on the riches and kindness”, the Greek word for ‘presume’ means “to think down on”. In other words, be careful how you see the restrained hand of God in terms of His kindness, forbearance, and patience with you…These things are not a release of God’s wrath upon you, but a merciful pause to lead you to seeing how grievous you should be with your behavior in relation to what Jesus has done for you. In other words, that grace should lead you to repentance.

Oh but then the great hammer of Paul’s words falls – because you are so calloused and your heart has become so hard, you are literally storing up heaps of God’s wrath that will soon catch up with you when God’s judgement for that sin, which has not been confessed and repented of, is read in front of the throngs, and you are charged for it. This is super scary!

APPLICATION

As a believer in Christ, I am not immune from the consequences of sin…BUT, when I am humble and recognize my sin, confess it before it before the Lord, and then turn a 180-degree pivot from that sin for the rest of my life, I receive forgiveness and am able to enter back into a close relationship with the Father because the Blood of Christ has washed it away. Woe to those who are not transformed by the power of the Gospel!

1 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. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Romans 2:1-2

This should be a convicting passage for all of us! If I think I am exempt from God’s judgement because I have not indulged in the immoral excess described here, then I am strongly mistaken. Here is the thing, I have more knowledge of who God is, His grace/mercy, and what His Son did for me and therefore I have a greater accountability.

I have the knowledge of God’s commands and therefore the sufficient knowledge to judge others, then I have to condemn myself for my own sin (all sin is in equal defiance of a pure and holy God). I essentially have the knowledge to evaluate my own condition, so I have no business looking down on and judging those in the end of chapter 1. In the condemnation of others, I run the risk of excusing and overlooking my own sin.

John MacArthur says that the Judging Person’s self-righteousness exists because of two deadly errors:

1. Minimizing God’s moral standard usually by emphasizing externals.
2. Underestimating the depth of one’s own sinfulness.

Those of who have been redeemed must live in a constant state of understanding who we were when God redeemed us from our ‘Old Self’ and now gives us an avenue of grace when in our flesh stumble. We remember that we have been saved from what we rightly deserve, and we now live in a state (in this earthly carcass) where we are reminded every day that we can’t rise above what we deserve. We live in a humility of knowing we deserve exactly what that practicing pagan across the street deserves.

The last thing I’ll say here is what my title of this post talks about -> Whatever God does is by nature RIGHT. So, when His judgement falls, it is what is supposed to/must happen.

APPLICATION

This goes right back to supporting what I was saying yesterday…I have a tendency to judge the person, when I am just as guilty of what I have judged that person of. I can’t just call out specific sins, calling them worse than anything I have done, because when I have committed ANY sin, I have sowed the deserving seed of wrath for my own works.

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. Romans 1:28-32

I am waaayyyy behind on the posts of my quiet times. Sorry for the delay but you will see a post coming per day but will not send emails on the others I am catching up on. You can just hit up the Home Page to look down at what you have missed if you are interested.

Today we are on the 3rd “God gave them up…” statements Paul makes about these people who, although they know in their hearts there is a God, have turned away and forsaken Him for the things of this world and their own prideful desires.

The first 2 were based off an exchanging of the glory of the immortal God for idols…here in the third one it is because “they did not see fit to acknowledge God”. God gave them up to do all the things that are against His plan, His creation order, and His best for them. Paul is exhaustive in the list of things they become full of. In my MacArthur Study Bible this whole section is titled “God’s wrath on the unrighteous”. God’s wrath in this sense is to let these people incur all of the consequences of ungodly behavior and things they fill their minds with. They have become FULL of all the horrible definitions of an evil debased mind.

These people’s allegiance moves away from God’s righteous pronouncement that their sin and guilt are deserving of death and instead not only do all of these things, but they also seek to promote and approve others who practice them. It is a cult making mindset that almost literally has them living hell on earth.

APPLICATION:

Once again, I am pained to see the despair and absolute hopelessness of the situation of these poor souls. I literally recoil from the behavior and platforms these people operate from. I all honesty, my response to these people and their behave can drive me to unbiblical anger which can lead to detesting the person over abhorrence of the sin. I struggle sometimes to separate the two…but then I only have to look at myself and where I was before the Lord got ahold of my life. I too lived a life of sin against my God. Being raised in a Christian home, I made deliberate decisions to follow my fleshly heart rather than submit a Savior being graciously and mercifully offered to me. Lord God help me to cleave onto You and give me a heart like yours to love the person and hate the sin.

26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. Romans 1:26-27

After reading yesterday’s post, look where it leads -> “For this reason”. So, there is a building effect at play here. Starting with a rejection of God as the One True God to be revered and worshiped, God give them over to their impure hearts that are filled with lusts…where they worship themselves and the sexuality of the body instead of the LORD God.

Where does that lead, well, it leads to the walking away from what God designed in His perfect plan for ‘male’ and ‘female’ and the incredible relationship that produces children through a sacred marital covenant. Paul calls these “dishonorable passions”: passions birthed out of a debased, lust filled, and impure mind.

Our world today lives this out and we can see, in our culture, the absolute depravity that happens when this exchange of God for worldly pleasure takes hold.

Paul ends this 2nd “gave up” with “receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error”. This is the ‘sowing’ and ‘reaping’ nature of dishonorable passions. There are many health issues and diseases that arise from this embraced behavior and lifestyle.

APPLICATION

Lord God, you know the situations and environments I work in. I pray Father that you would guide me in how to love those who have been ‘given up to’ dishonorable passions. I was (and am) in the same desperate need of your grace and mercy of every one of these people mentioned above. I love you LORD and ask for your discernment and wisdom as I walk these spaces in my life.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. Romans 1:24-25

In the remaining verses of this chapter, we have 3 “God gave them up” statements and clarifications. Today I am focusing on the first of these.

God gave them up to impurity…but Paul preferences this “to impurity” with “in the lusts of their hearts”. Notice Paul does not say “minds”. This is a deep sinful embrace of their lustful desires that in consumption of that lust, God gives them up to impurity and the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves.

I missed an important piece. The verses before this talk about exchanging the glory of an immortal God for creation, idols, and other things of this earth that are placed by men above God. The next word in the very front of the passage today is – “THEREFORE”. Because of this exchange, God gives them over to these three “God gave them up” decrees.

In my thinking about this passage, it represents the person who gratifies themselves, probably graduating to more and more yucky stuff like pornography, then potentially prostitution, and seeking out the whacky fetish stuff that seeks to gratify that “lust of their hearts”. The debased mind that has been given over loses control and perception of right and wrong. They become calloused and uninhibited. Scary…

Finally, Paul says that they exchanged the truth about God, for a lie, and then worship themselves and their lust filled impurity rather than One Who created them.

APPLICATION

I am so grateful for the Holy Spirit, the Helper I received when I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal LORD and Savior. His voice, His warnings, His prompting, and His care have given me the chance to choose HIM when I am presented with lustful or impure thoughts. Sometimes an impure thought will fly into my mind or I will see a barely clothed woman on the street, and it is in these times that the LORD in His grace and mercy has set the knowledge of Himself in me and I have the strength to immediately pray (if there is an impure thought) or turn my gaze away as soon as I recognize the situation. LORD God, would you continue to protect me as I follow Your Son?

22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Romans 1:22-23

Isn’t this “The World” today? This is exactly the thinking the world peddles.

“Hey, you can be your own god. Come on, think about it; it logically makes sense. You are only as good as you treat yourself. Teach others how to treat you. Your own life is your right to have and control, from your mind to your emotions, your mental state, and your body. Just be good to yourself.”

‘Treating ourselves good’ is to understand that God knows what is best for us. To get what God knows to be best for us, we must surrender our own control over it. When it comes to having a right…I don’t want the right to what I deserve…because I deserve to die and pay for the sins I have committed against a Holy and Pure God. What I want is what He wants for me, and I want to serve the One Who gave Himself for me…paying for everything I deserve.

So, in this so-called wisdom to only seek god-like control over ourselves is actually the most foolish decision we can make. As Paul says, we trade the glory the One True God gives, for a futile life lived out here on earth where the only good you might receive what the world has to offer, but the length of that perceived goodness is only a nano-second in the grand scheme of eternity.

APPLICATION

My application today is just an overwhelming thankfulness of the graciousness and mercifulness character of my LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. I deserve the punishment He already endured on the cross and in separation from the Father and Holy Spirit. My entire existence in the here and now under the sun, AND the eternal hope that lays beyond this world…is owed to Him.

21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Romans 1:21

This is the start of a very sobering passage of scripture. “…although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him” – Here is the scary part…can’t this be those of us who claim to follow Jesus too? This is where the “Fear of the LORD” comes in. I do think Paul is talking about something more deliberate in the heart of those he is talking about, but it still gives me pause in terms of how the LORD sees this type of behavior and thinking that can come about in my life with distractions and life as an idol.

The LORD is so gracious and merciful that even when I find that an entire 8 hours has gone by, and all I have thought about is work, I still long for the fellowship and closeness of my Creator and Savior. I kick myself for not seeing and embracing how the LORD can be at my side and make me my best in honoring and glorifying Him, if I were to just include Him all along the way. It is during these times that I am embarrassed and humble in my prayer of confession and admitting that neglected the Spiritual Life the LORD has for me.

APPLICATION

LORD God, please help me to establish routines that never neglect to include You, to turn to You first, and to be that much more aware of the opportunities to share You with the world around me.

20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. Romans 1:20

Shorter write up today as it is really just a continuation of the final portion of verse 19 from yesterday.

The existence of God is clear. What I have heard from most of the scientist-like people I know is strangely 2 two statements – 1) “I only believe what I can find in the rocks” and 2) “I see intelligent design in nature, but I am unwilling to attribute that to the God of the bible.” This is a very scary place to be. It is really hard to see the complexity of the human eye, the birth of a child, the beauty in the things God has made, and not understand that there is a God. Then you look at all of the prophesy that has been fulfilled, the evidence in historical record, and the lack of conflicting historical accounts, to see that the God of the bible is the ‘Only God’.

APPLICATION

In my ministry and testimony, I need to speak to those areas in a person’s life that they have been imbued with a knowledge of the divine God. However, as I left off yesterday, I also need to have my own reverence and acknowledgement of God’s power and leading in my own life. This has me remembering what I wrote on my rock (on left in pic below) in Mexico this year for what I felt the Lord was laying on my heart to take home from there…an inclination to respond when the Lord was leading me to share His good news with people around me with boldness and courage.