Weekly Devotional 12-01-14 Romans 3:23 and 6:23a
Romans 3:23 reads, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”… Romans 6:23a, “For the wages of sin is death.” In these verses the Apostle Paul was addressing the spiritual condition of both Jews and Gentiles of his day before the mercy of God (6:23b) was to be shown upon them; quite a declaration for sure. These truths of course transcend those to whom Paul was writing, to all persons of all ages, B.C. and A.D. All persons, from Adam to present, are sinners and separated from Holy God before the Holy Spirit regenerates them to newness of spiritual life. Such regeneration, Paul writes, comes from the hand of our benevolent God. Consider the second part of Romans 6:23, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Informing them (and us) of this gift Paul wrote, “8But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 NKJV). As we try to understand this, there are some things that we must recognize. Being sinners, Paul’s readers, those of his time and everyone since, were (are) alienated from God at the time God visits His mercy upon them (us). In fact, we all made God our adversary. We did not want to subject ourselves to His authority. We wanted to be our own masters. Our attitude was who is God that he should rule over us? We were alienated from God, our Creator. We resisted the light that came into the world, embodied in Jesus Christ, because we loved being in spiritual darkness, not wanting to sense the guilt that that light would bring. The Apostle John put it this way, “19And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed” (John 3:19-20 NKJV).
Man’s predicament is he is dead toward God; with no desire to escape the spiritual darkness that enslaves him, this had (has) to be overcome. Ah, enter the Holy Spirit. Jesus sent Him into the world to convince and convict the world of sin (John 16:7-11) and to regenerate those to newness of spiritual life whom the Father would efficaciously call (John 3:1-8). Paul affirms this in his letter to the Ephesians when he wrote, “1And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others” (Ephesians 2:1-3 NKJV).
Thanks though to God, He so loved man, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever would come to believe in Him, would not perish, but have everlasting life. And to make it possible for man to believe in His begotten Son (Jesus), He sent forth His Spirit (The Holy Spirit) into the world “8bto convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16:8b NKJV). Further, He opened (opens) the understanding of those who would be caused to turn to God for relief from that conviction. The Apostle Paul himself is an example of this. He had been persecuting the followers of Christ, arresting and bringing them to Jerusalem where they would be judged as idolaters and blasphemers. However, God used this very persecution to soften the heart of Paul, as he watched what this judgment brought, i.e. the stoning of Stephen. The Holy Spirit was convicting Paul during this event.
We read from Acts 9:1-6, “1Then Saul a.k.a. Paul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’5And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’Then the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’6So he, trembling and astonished, said, ‘Lord, what do You want me to do?’Then the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’” Paul would later write that it was (is) God’s goodness that leads men to repentance (Romans 2:4). Therefore, it was God’s goodness that led him to repentance and it is God’s goodness that leads anyone else to repentance.
If after reading this little work, or for some-other reason you find yourself desiring to be forgiven of your sin and of being made right with God, turn to Him. He will answer with His gift of forgiveness and eternal life. You will no longer be under the sentence of Romans 6:23a, “the wages of sin is death” but under the blessing of 6:23b, “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”.
God Bless
stevelampman@comcast.net stevelampman.net
Transforming Power; the Work of God on Behalf of Man
www. gbchurch.us