Romans 9: God's Mercy is Not Earned

God's Mercy is Not Earned

Somebody asked me the other day, "If God loves me, why would He send me to hell (for being gay)?" It was a tough question to face and as best as I could answer as quickly as possible based on my knowledge, I said that God also wants us to do what is right for how He made us and what is right in His eyes. In later conversations with other believers I came to understand also that our disobedience is what sends us to Hell. If we are not following God's will and seeking it first in our lives and we don't accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, then that is our punishment. If a child does not do their homework, their punishment may be restriction from phones, computers, parties, etc. That is from the earthly parent. Imagine not doing what you were supposed to do on earth. That punishment would be much larger from God.

That leads me into my next point which comes up in Romans 9 that tells us that God's mercy is not earned. Now we have read this before but this time Paul explains it using Jacob and Esau as an example to what Pharisees would and connected to what is written and how we are to be redeemed to and through Christ. If we want God's mercy we have to be in His will. When we are there then we know all things work together for good (Romans 8:28). Before they were born, God picked Jacob and not Esau. It was not based on what Jacob had done because he had not been born yet. God picks those He calls based on His prerogative (Romans 9:15).

In 12th grade I had a pottery class. I used to make pinch pots and pitchers and a even mugs. I enjoyed that class. Never one (just go with it) did the clay complain to me about being a pinch pot, mug or pitcher. The clay cannot question the potter what is being done, so how can we question God on what He chooses and how He chooses (Romans 9:19-21)? No matter how God makes you, you are to still do God's will anyway. God's glory can still shine in your situation as difficult as it might be to see it, it is possible.

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Wednesday Wake Up #11

Righteous Judgement

Many people say "don't judge" or "judge not lest thee be judged." They take a Bible verse and misinterpret it by not reading the whole context of the verse, the section of the chapter or the Bible as a whole. The words they quote are from Jesus, but how it is often understood is different than how it is used.

Jesus saw that many judged based on appearance and not on what was the below the surface truth. Have you ever seen a homeless person and thought that they must have done that to themselves? People jump to conclusions and think the person must be a drunk or drug addict. They don't know that there are people with mental issues that have been left to fend for themselves. God knows the context for all of our situations. Just because you see someone at one moment it does not mean that the person is that person overall. We don't need condemnation for our mess ups, we need compassion. Christ was full of compassion whether you were blind (John 9:1-7), and adulterer (John 8:1-11) or a tax collector who was known for taxing too much (Luke 19:1-10).

Jesus was known to also respond accordingly when God's house was disrespected (Matthew 21:12-13) or religious leaders were misleading people (Matthew 23). We cannot judge on appearance and what we think unless it is in line with what God wants from us. We are not judging on personality and fashion sense and character. We don't know why people do what they do. Maybe they weren't raised well? Maybe they were abused? Do you really want to condemn an adult who may have been abused? We don't know motives. We don't have the full picture. I make mistakes and bad decisions just like you do. We can love each other through our sin and help one another with mercy and compassion, or we can condemn and keep reminding people of what they have done wrong. I don't need all of my sins brought up over and over again just like you don't.

It is okay to evaluate and confront a sinful brother/sister in Christ. That takes a judgment. It is a judgment call. We must use proper judgment when seeing who are the false teachers and false messiahs. We must use right judgment in order to serve God and encourage others, lovingly.

To hear a sermon on righteous judgment click here for John MacArthur

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John 9- Whose Fault Was It?

Whose Fault Was It?

In John 9:1-12 Jesus heals a blind man and people try to find out whose sin caused the man to be blind. They ask if it was the man's fault or if it was his parents. The man was born that way and Jesus sets the issue straight and focuses on not what caused the sin or who is at fault but how God can be seen through this man. Jesus did his part and spit in the dirt to make mud and anointed the man's eyes. Then washed off where Jesus told him to and then could see for the first time.

 

I italicized "his part" in the previous paragraph to stress how important it is for Jesus to be able to do his part. His part is what can allow for miracles to happen. We cannot fix every problem in the world. We can do our part and allow God to come in and do his part.

Whether someone is born with an ailment or condition or they develop it, it doesn't matter. The healing power of Jesus wipes it away. We have to be able to do our part too though. We can always do something whether it is prayer, helping people get to doctors, or in other cases being a friend full of compassion. Jesus was very compassionate. He knew that the man had an ailment that needed fixing, not condemnation. Once again we see how Jesus was only focused on healing, not the politics of blame.

 

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Mark 1- Fulfilling the Prophecy

Fulfilling the Prophecy 

Mark 1 gives us a condensed version of several chapters in the book of Matthew and other gospels as well. While the Book of Mark is known to not give any credit to a specific author, it is credited to be written by Mark the Evangelist who was a close associate of the Apostle (disciple) Peter. You remember Peter? Peter was one of Jesus' disciples and is the same one that denied he knew Jesus (three time before the rooster crows).

In reading through this chapter a couple of things jumped out to me that I wanted to point out.

First, for some this is silly and not needed to be pointed out, but for others this is their first time seeing and understanding this. The arrival of Jesus and details of his life were written before he was ever born...like YEARS before he was ever born. In verses 2-3 it is pointed out that the prophecy of Jesus is unfolding. The words in Mark are quoted from Isaiah 40 to point out that the prophecy is being fulfilled. This was not some random guy who did cool stuff, but God in the flesh sent to unite us with God by being sacrificed for our sins (even the ones we don't think are a big deal)

In Mark 1:40-45 Jesus shows his heart to a leper and heals him. I saw in the NIV the word used to describe how Jesus saw the leper was indignant- NIV. Indignant means showing anger for perceived unfair treatment. Also, the NLT describes his heart as being full of compassion- NLT. A third version (English Standard Version) is Jesus having pity- ESV on the leper. The point is, how is your heart when you see injustices in the world? The sick? The poor? The wrongfully imprisoned? The homeless? Jesus did not look at the leper and tell him what he did wrong in life that led to leprosy, but he healed him. He saw the need and he met it.

It is time for us to see the needs and meet them. Orphans. Battered women. Children's Hospitals. Homeless. Convalescent homes. Can you pick something to meet a need? Now is the time.

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