As most of you know, this last Sunday night we had the second business meeting in a row in which we dealt with a very important issue: namely which staff position to fill next. Of course staff salary dollars are a very precious commodity PLUS staff leadership can be pivotal when it comes to maximizing church growth. So, the decision as to which staff person to hire at this point: a minister of students or a minister of education or a minister of recreation and should this person or persons be full-time or part-time or some combination thereof…well, we all know this is a big deal—this is an important decision. We definitely want to make sure we get this one right—which is why both meetings were well-attended….and several people spoke to their particular perspective on the issue.
Now—if I sound PROUD as I talk about this—well, it’s because I am. I am very PROUD…very impressed…very thankful for the wonderful way you guys dealt with a potentially divisive issue. In our discussions at both meetings, people shared their opinions and insights but there was not one “ad hominim” comment. That is to say—no one was mean-spirited—no one criticized someone else for their views in an unchristian manner. On the contrary—everyone was respectful and loving. Voices were never raised—except when the mikes didn’t work properly—and this was only because the listener wanted to hear what the other person had to say—even if it was an opposing opinion. Everyone patiently allowed members to express their various thoughts—no matter how long it took. Then when it became obvious that everyone had said all they needed to say, we voted. And—that was that. We all left happy…loving one other just as much as we did when the meeting began…even those who voted opposite to the way we voted.
So—yes—I AM proud—because it seems to me that here at Redland we understand how important church unity is. We treasure and guard our fellowship. We genuinely love one another and we do all we can to preserve that mutual love from which we all draw such strength and encouragement.
I bring this up—not just to pat you on the back—but also because, as I continue my study of Paul’s letter…well, it seems to me that he embraced this same conviction—when it came to the unity of the church at Rome. This would make sense because Paul was experienced enough in successful church starts to know how important healthy fellowship is if a church is to grow and be effective—and he doesn’t come right out and say it but, if I read him right, as he begins this letter he shows his concern about a potential disruption of the health of that particular church. In fact, I think there is ample evidence to prove that one of the main reasons Paul wrote his letter in the first place, was because he was worried about a potential split.
You see, in this church in Rome there were apparently two camps. On one side of the aisle were a group of members who came out of a Gentile background—and on the other side of the church were Christians who came from a Jewish background. Gentiles would hear the Gospel, profess their faith in Jesus, and then join the church—but with little if any knowledge of the Old Testament. Most of these Gentile believers knew squat about the Jewish laws when it came to the food you were allowed to eat and the food you were NOT allowed to eat. On top of that—they were clueless when it came to the intricate Sabbath restrictions. Well, they would see the Jews who knew the Old Testament from cover to cover and I think they would probably feel inferior to these believers who knew about exciting things like the Messianic prophecies but as these Gentile believers studied the Scripture themselves, they would see that the Jews had also manufactured a bunch of man-made rules and traditions…rules and traditions that the Jews loved very much. The Gentile guys and gals no doubt began to think of the Jewish believers as a bit too rigid and up tight and traditionalistic.
On the other hand, the Jewish believers would look at the Gentile converts and think, “Well, they may be saved, but they’re a long way from being sanctified!” The Jews no doubt thought of the Gentiles as having a lot of rough edges and liberal views on certain things. They must have wondered, “How can we worship with these moral misfits?”
From the reports he had received—and with the discerning guidance of the Holy Spirit, Paul knew he had his work cut out for him if he was going to nurture healthy fellowship there and get these two opposing groups to experience unity and learn to work together. He also knew healthy fellowship was absolutely essential if this church was to reach its potential for impact in that pivotal city. To show you why I say all this, look back at chapter 1 and see if you can’t see Paul acknowledging these opposing two sides, with comments that were very diplomatic.
- In verse 8 he says, “I thank God for ALL of you…”
- In verse 14 he writes, “I’m under obligation to ALL—Jews AND Gentiles.”
- In verse 16 he says, “I want to preach the Gospel..because it is the power to believe for BOTH sides of the aisle…Jews and Gentiles.”
Then when he finishes his introductory remarks, it’s as if he kind of puts diplomacy aside and addresses the 800lb gorilla in the room—that looming potential catalyst of a split in this church.
He does this by first turning to the LIBERAL LEFT—the Gentile believers—and he speaks just to them for a few minutes. We studied these comments last week, so you may remember that in essence he says, “I love you guys—I thank God for you—but you need to know what kind of crimes you have committed in the past.” You buried the creation clues—you suppressed the truth our Creator God made as plain as the nose on your face. You refused to give God glory—so God gave you over. He let you have your sinful way.
In my mind I can imagine an elder reading these comments that are in verses 18-22 of Paul’s letter where he lists the kinds of sins the Gentiles had been involved with and the Gentile believers thinking, “I hate to admit it…but Paul is right. That’s exactly how I was. I refused to bow to God. because above all, I wanted to have a good time. I saw there was a Creator but didn’t want Him in my life. I didn’t want Him crimping my life-style. I was such a fool. If I hadn’t come to Christ I would have slid over the falls of depravity. You’re talking about me Paul. Thank God for Jesus Who delivered me from all that. I have no claim to fame—no reason to pat myself on the back. I was simply a sinner in DESPERATE need of a Savior.”
And I imagine the JEWS on the conservative right hearing these same words and thinking, “You despicable Gentile misfits. Paul has you pegged! You people over there on the other side of my church are worse than we thought! Depraved is an understatement! We better keep our eye on them. They are liable to fall right back into it that kind of stuff!”
But just as the Jewish believers begin to get the big head, Paul finishes dealing with the Gentiles and says in essence, “Okay—you Christians from a Jewish background—now it’s your turn.” Look at verse 1 of chapter 2. I can almost see Paul turning to the self-righteous, gloating Jewish believers on the right as he says, “You guys back off because YOU have no excuse—you who pass judgement on someone else—for whatever point you judge the other you are condemning yourself because you who pass judgement do the same things.” And then, as the Gentile believers no doubt thought, “Go get ‘em, Paul,” he continues his second chapter by recounting the particular sins and shortcomings of the Jewish believers in the church in Rome.
I think of it like this. In chapter 1 Paul talks about the sins of the REBELLIOUS person and in chapter two he deals with the sins of the RELIGIOUS person. You see sin is not limited to the irreligious people of the world—the people who don’t come to church—those guys on the other side of the stained glass. Their sin may be more interesting—but the sins of the religious—the sins of those on THIS side of the stained glass can be far more deadly because they…we…don’t always see sin for what it is.
This morning we’re looking at Romans 2:1- 3:20 and we don’t have time to read all that but most of what Paul has to say to the Jewish believers is in verses 17-29. So follow along as I read and you’ll see what Paul has to say to these overly religious believers.
17 – Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God;
18 – if you know His will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law;
19 – if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark,
20 – an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—
21 – you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?
22 – You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
23 – You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?
24 – As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
25 – Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised.
26 – If those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised?
27 – The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.
28 – A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.
29 – No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.
The main principle I want us to take from our text is that religion in and of itself can be a very dangerous thing and as religious people its important for us to understand that, so I’d like us to look at Paul’s criticism of this particular faction in the church in Rome—and glean from it some of the potential flaws of religion. Of course he’s talking about the Jewish religion here—but I think the principles apply to any individual who believes his religion will save him. So—what does Paul say to the Jewish believers? What faults does he find with their religious behavior and beliefs—that would apply to us?
(1) First, he warns them that religion can lead to focusing too much on LABELS.
In verse 17 Paul says, “You call yourself a Jew and you think you’re going to make it to heaven…You are so proud of your label—you brag so much about your pedigree!”
And this criticism was justified because the Jews were VERY proud of their religious label. Many of them went so far as to think that their name was an instant passport to heaven. Regardless of what they DID, they thought, “If I’m a Jew, I’m going to make it!”
By the way, the word “Jew” comes from the word “Judah.” It’s first used in 2 Kings 16:6 and “Judah” literally means “praise to God” or “praise.” So the word Jew means, “he who praises God” and that’s a great label to have but instead of praising God many of the Jews were praising themselves for being JEWS. If you asked them “Are you right with God?” they’d say, “Of course! I’m a Jew!”
Now—think about this. Do we have people doing this same kind of thing today? Do we have people who get tripped up by this particular flaw of religion? Do we still have label lovers? Sure we do! Just ask someone, “Are you a Christian?” and many people will immediately answer, “Of course. I’m a Presbyterian” or a Southern Baptist or Assembly of God or Catholic. Even worse than that they might say, “Of course I’m a Christian. My parents were Christians or my grandparents were missionaries or my uncle is a pastor…” as if you could become a Christian through some sort of label osmosis. Some say, “Of course I’m a Christian, I attend such and such church…” as if that attendance label will make you a believer bound for heaven. There are a lot of religious labels today. People say, “I’m a fundamentalist, dispensationalist, charismatic, full gospel. I’m a contemporary service attender or a traditional service attender.” Some people even think they are Christians simply because they are Americans. They say, “This is a Christian nation—so since I live in this nation, therefore I am a Christian.” If we’re not careful—religion can lead us to believe that the right label is all we need. And this is a dangerous flaw indeed because a religion—no matter what it’s label—a religion that doesn’t lead the practitioner to a deeper personal relationship with Jesus Christ is an empty religion—that produces empty people. Let me put it this way—you can’t always trust labels—even religious ones!
Last week I went to the hospital to see the new Cook baby, and on the way, I stopped at Giant to get some diapers. I always do that when I’m visiting a new born because I remember when our kids were young that diapers were one of our main expenses. So I picked a package that would fit Riley who weighed in at 8lb 13.2 oz—a #1 on the “Pampers scale,” and I noticed that the price of diapers is the same as it was when Daniel was born—back in 1983…but I also noticed that the quantity you get for that price is less than HALF—44 diapers when we used to get boxes of 90 for the same ten bucks. I know some inflation is to be expected in 25 years—but to DOUBLE the price of such a necessary commodity—I don’t think so! And diapers aren’t the only product where we see this quantity shrinkage. There’s a lot of that kind of thing going on these days. In fact, it’s a very popular marketing strategy to increase profits. Experts point out that most consumers are more sensitive to price changes than they are to size changes so companies can get away with less quantity—if they keep the same price—which means you really have to look at your labels closely. You can’t always trust what you see at first glance. I know most of you don’t have kids in diapers, so here’s some other examples.
- COFFEE CANS. Years ago, coffee was sold in 1-pound, 2-pound, or 3-pound sizes. Without making the CONTAINER any smaller, now the WEIGHT of some cans is only 11 ounces.
- ORANGE JUICE. The one-gallon container has been shrunk to 96 ounces and yet the packaging makes it look like you’re still buying a whole gallon—128 ounces.
- ICE CREAM CONTAINERS. Several companies have subtly changed the size of their containers from ½ gallon to 1.50 quarts—a reduction of 25%.
I don’t know about you guys—but at the Adams household we take the price of ice cream very seriously! It’s right up there with the price of gas! Well, when people started complaining, some of the companies explained they were doing consumers a favor because the smaller size fits better in the freezer! Isn’t that thoughtful!? If they ever tried that on me I’d suggest that instead they lower price so my money would fit better in their wallet!
I find it interesting that the packaging industry has dubbed these new containers “cheater cups,” because they’re designed to fool or CHEAT consumers. I share all this because the fact is, if we’re not careful, religious labels can produce “cheater Christians”— they can generate empty worshipers who are fooling themselves and others. I mean, far too many religious people have great “labels”…they have pretty packaging on the outside but they have downsized the amount of spirituality on the inside.
By the way, the Jewish believers didn’t stop in taking sinful pride at their NAME label—they also took pride the physical “label” of circumcision. Every Jewish man thought if he was circumcised that was his passport to heaven. He could do anything and still make it to heaven because of that one ritual. Sure, it was a form of works but they banked on it. If you asked a Jewish man, “Are you right with God?” he’d say, “Of course, I’m circumcised! I’ve got the physical label.” Well, in verses 25-29 Paul really makes some “cutting remarks” about this erroneous Jewish belief! You see, this religious practice had become a ritual, an end in itself.
Originally circumcision was meant to be an expression of faith. It symbolized a deep commitment to God. It was like the “wedding ring of Judaism.” Circumcision was a way of saying, “I am committed to God and His kingdom.” But a ring is only worth as much as the vow behind it. It’s worthless if there is no commitment.
Well, you can substitute any word you want to for the word “circumcision” and you get the same idea. You can substitute the word “baptism,” or “Lord’s supper” or “church member” or “confirmation.” It doesn’t matter the ritual—all of these things are useless symbols if there’s no heart commitment behind it. Ritual without reality is empty and worthless.
Paul is saying, “God isn’t fooled by that physical label.” He is only interested in religious rituals that express something that comes from the heart. And the fact is, there are tons of un-circumcised, un-baptized, unconfirmed, unpasteurized, un-simonized individuals who’s hearts are in better shape when it comes to their love for God than those who have the accepted religious label. The point I’m trying to make is that the “labels of religion” mean nothing…unless there is something inside to back them up.
This week I read about a dentist who took X-rays of every patient who came in and then made a special proposition to them. He said, “For 100 dollars I will fill these cavities that you have here, but if you don’t want to pay that much, for ten dollars I will retouch the X-rays.” Religious labels without inner commitment are like that. They’re nothing but “retouched X-rays,” because the “cavity” is still there.
Several years ago, Fritz Ridenour wrote a commentary on the book of Romans and entitled it, How to be a Christian Without Being Religious. In it he wisely pointed to the fact that Christianity is not a religion—it’s a relationship. And it is! Religion for religion sake—religion gives you nothing more than a label religion that doesn’t lead the practitioner to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ is an empty religion—that produces empty people.
(2) A second flaw of religion is that it can lead you to focus on LAW instead of GRACE.
Paul rebukes the Jews here and says, “You RELY on the law…” referring of course to the Torah—the first five books of the Old Testament. You see, many of the Jews had let their religion lead them down the dead-end path of self-righteousness in that they thought having been given the law made them better than others. They even added hundreds of their own man-made rules and regulations—which did even more to increase their holier than thou attitude.
Well, do we have anything like that today? I mean, do the teachings of our religion ever make us look at others, people who go to other churches…people who don’t even attend church…does it make us look at them as being somehow LESS holy than we are? Be honest now. When you’re walking out to the car with your Bible under your arm, dressed in your Sunday best and you see your next-door neighbors packing for a trip to the beach how do you feel? Do you think, “Those pagans… God… thank You that I’m not like them. I’m so grateful that I acknowledge You in worship!” Do you think that? Or do you covetously wish you were going with them?
Well, BOTH responses are sinful! My point is this—if we’re not careful, RELIGION with its laws can make us think we are better than the UN-religious people in the world. It can make us forget that just like every single human being on this planet, we are helpless sinners, who would still be hopelessly lost if it weren’t for the unmerited grace of God. In verse 20 of chapter 3 Paul reminds us that the law doesn’t make us righteous no matter how religiously we follow it. The purpose of the law is to show us our sin and need for Jesus.
We need to be careful because religion can turn us into irreligious JUDGMENTAL people. A grocery store check-out clerk once wrote to advice-columnist Ann Landers to complain that she had seen people buy “luxury” food items with their food stamps—like birthday cakes and bags of shrimp. The writer went on to say that she thought all those people on welfare who treated themselves to such non-necessities were “lazy and wasteful.” A few weeks later Lander’s column was devoted entirely to people who had responded to the grocery clerk’s note. One woman wrote:
“I didn’t buy a cake, but I did buy a big bag of shrimp with food stamps. So what? My husband had been working at a plant for fifteen years when it shut down. The shrimp casserole I made was for our wedding anniversary dinner and lasted three days.
Perhaps the grocery clerk who criticized that woman would have a different view of life after walking a mile in my shoes.”
Another woman wrote: “I’m the woman who bought the $17 cake and paid for it with food stamps. I thought the check-out woman in the store would burn a hole through me with her eyes. What she didn’t know is the cake was for my little girl’s birthday. It will be her last. She has bone cancer and will probably be gone within six to eight months.”
Have you ever put your foot in your mouth like that? Have you ever judged someone and found out later that you were way off base? We must remember that only God can judge—and we need to heed Paul’s warnings here because if we’re not careful religion will push us to forget that and embrace self-righteousness. Religion can make us forget that we are all desperately lost without the grace of God. Let me put it this way. Your ability to obey the law won’t help because when it comes to your salvation…nothing, nothing at all, can be purchased at the do-it-yourself shop.
(3) This leads to one final flaw of religion that Paul touches on. He says if we’re not careful, religion can encourage HYPOCRISY.
He tells the Jewish believers that in spite of all their precious rules and regulations they were still guilty of doing the same things they criticized the Gentile believers for doing. I mean, Paul boldly points out that the Jews don’t OBEY the law that has been entrusted to them. Look at verses 21 and following, “You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking it?”
The Jews of Paul’s day are like many of us—who have the Bible—and understand it’s teachings—but don’t always live by them. Our obedience tends to be very selective. So many times our behavior doesn’t match our belief. We say one thing and do something else. I think God is talking about us in Isaiah 29:13 when He says, “They honor Me with their lips but their hearts are far from Me.” I also feel convicted by Ezekiel 33:31-32 where the prophet says, “My people come to You, as they usually do, and sit before You to listen to Your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them You are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear Your words but do not put them into practice.”
Many RELIGIOUS people make this mistake. They just give lip service to God. They pray, sing praise songs, listen to WAVA non-stop, etc. — but their life style does not match. And unfortunately examples of this brand of lip service are not hard to find. When the Ted Haggard scandal erupted a couple years ago, most of the criticism that came from those outside the church was directed at his hypocrisy. After all, he had spoken against gay marriage and the homosexual lifestyle while engaging in homosexual behavior. When the Jim Bakker scandal broke around twenty years ago, you “old” people may remember that Jimmy Swaggart appeared on Nightline saying, “The gospel of Jesus Christ has never sunk to such a level.” Of course in just a few months Swaggart himself would test those limits when his own scandal involving paying a prostitute made headlines. Many found it remarkable that he could be so outspoken in his criticism of Jim Bakker when he himself was involved in inappropriate behavior. The same could be said of Gary Condit and Newt Gingrich. During the Monica Lewinsky scandal, both men were vocal in their criticism of Clinton; neither, it turns out, had clean hands. This is the insidious nature of hypocrisy. It causes us to condemn others for our own sins.
And, while the sin of hypocrisy is, technically, no worse than any other sin, for those outside the church, it is the worst sin that a believer can commit, because it confirms every bad thing that non-believers think about Christians. Whenever a Christian or a church fails to practice what they preach, non-Christians look at us and say, “If they live that way then their God must not be real.” Every time a Christian commits a sin that is visible we just load the rifles of the unbelievers who want to shoot at God any way. We give them ammo. This is what Paul is saying in verse 24, “We expect new believers to mess up—but you Jews know better! Hey! God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
Well, no one likes a hypocrite. In fact, we love it when they get caught. We rejoice when they are condemned for doing the same things they condemn us for doing. I’m reminded of the classic Indonesian story of the tiger’s tail. A farmer was returning to his village when he suddenly stopped because lying across his path he could see a tiger’s tail and looking very carefully he could see that the tail belonged to a very large and fierce tiger. This tiger was waiting for a traveler like himself. Well, acting on impulse, the farmer put down his scythe, ran forward and seized the tiger by the tail. With an angry snarl the tiger tried to free his tail but the more he roared and plunged, the harder the farmer held on. The struggle went on for a while, and then, just as the farmer felt he could hang on no longer, who should come along the path but an Indonesian holy man. The holy man stopped, surveyed the scene with interest and was about to pass on when the farmer called to him, “Dear holy man, please take my scythe and kill this tiger. I can’t hold on to it much longer.” The holy man sighed and said, “My friend, that I cannot do for I am forbidden by the rites of my religion to kill any living thing.” The farmer tightened his grip and said, “But holy man, don’t you see that if you fail to kill this tiger then it will kill me. Surely the life of a man is of more value than the life of a beast!” The holy man folded his arms in the depths of his flowing robe and said, “About that I cannot speak. All around me in the jungle I see things killing and being killed. I am not responsible for these things. Neither can I help them. But for me to kill…ah, this I cannot do.” Just then the tiger gave a vicious snarl and a furious pull on its tail. Sweat poured from the farmer. The holy man prepared to leave and the farmer sobbed in despair, “Dear holy man…don’t go! If it is against the rules of your faith to kill this beast, at least come and hold its tail while I kill him.” The holy man paused and considered. “I suppose I could do that. There can be no harm in holding the animal’s tail.” Cautiously he approached the infuriated beast and joined the farmer in holding on to the tail. The farmer asked, “Do you have him holy man? Do you have him fast?”
“Yes, yes,” said the holy man, “…but hurry up before he gets loose.” Leisurely the farmer brushed off his clothes. Slowly he picked up his hat and put it on. With great deliberation he picked up his scythe. Then, bowing to the holy man, the farmer prepared to leave. “Where are you going?” demanded the suddenly alarmed holy man. “I thought you were going to kill this tiger!” The farmer paused, folded his arms in the sleeve of his coat and sighed, “Dear holy a, you are a most excellent teacher. You have completely converted me to your most noble religion. I can see how wrong I have been all these years. I cannot kill this tiger, for it is against the rules of our holy religion. As you have taught me, all around us in the jungle we see things killing and being killed. We are not responsible for these things, but for us holy men to kill…as you say this cannot be. I am now going into the village over there so you will just have to hang on to this tiger until some barbaric soul comes along who is not so motivated by the high ideals of our holy faith. Or…perhaps you will be able to convert him too…as you have converted me.” And with this parting shot, the farmer left.
And all God’s people said…..? Sure! We like to think that one day some hypocrite got caught.
Well, can you imagine what the atmosphere must have been like at this point in the church of Rome as they heard this letter read? I mean, as we come to the end of chapter 2 on one side of the aisle the Gentiles have been humbled by remembering their sin and on the other side the Jews are reeling from Paul’s very accurate criticism…when it came to the ways they had sinfully bought into the fatal flaws of religion. Well, in chapter 3 Paul pulls it all together and says, hey, look across the aisle or look in a mirror and you’ll both see the same thing: a sinner. We are all equally dependent on the grace of God. This is part of what unifies us! Look at verses 9 and following where Paul says: “Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
In other words, he reminds both sides of the church—that we are ALL sinners. We have the same problem—we are equally hopeless without Jesus. Several years ago Thomas Harris wrote a book of pop psychology entitled, I’m Okay—You’re Okay. I’m sure most of you have heard about it.
Shortly thereafter John Gerstner, Professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary used that book as a jumping off place for the following story. Gerstner and his wife had been in Kashmir and they were returning from a shopping expedition in a little boat that had just pulled up beside a larger junk near the shore. There was a bump, and some water splashed on them. The owner of the boat got very agitated and gestured for them to get out. Gerstner told how he remembered saying to his wife, “See how excitable this fellow is? We get a little water splashed on us, and you would think it was a catastrophe of the first order.” The man got more and more agitated. Gerstner said, “It’s okay…It’s okay.” Finally, the owner of the boat got so excited that he broke out of the dialect he had been using, which the Gerstners had been unable to understand, and shouted. “It no okay!!!” At this they got the message and quickly climbed onto the shore. The owner then threw his grandchild up to them and climbed out himself. When they turned around the boat was gone. The hull had been punctured in the collision and the undertow had quickly swallowed their boat. If the Gerstners had delayed a moment longer, they would have been swallowed up with it.
This is the message of these first chapters of Romans, “I am NOT O.K. You are not O.K. Jew and Gentile—No one is O.K.” And the sooner we admit that we are NOT okay and turn to the One Who knows that we are not, but Who offers us a way of salvation anyway, the better off we will be.
Let us pray.