Wholly Sufficient
What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man) God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world? For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner? And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just. - Romans 3:1 – 8
I believe the first thing I noticed when I read this passage was that God’s righteousness and being are not challenged when people whom he has chosen go against him. God’s power is not removed when evil enters the picture. Rather, he continues in righteousness. Indeed, God uses the unrighteous for Good.
But some might then contend that if good comes from evil, why are the evil being punished? This is a classic “Ends Justifies the Means” argument, and it is one that is used over and over in today’s society. When someone commits a sin or a crime, the reasons for committing this sin do not justify the sin. Rather, God is correct in judging a person in their sin, even if they did it for the “right reasons.”
This is something we as Christians need to understand. When we sin, even if we had good intentions, or even if our heart is right, we need to learn to live with the consequences. We should not demand that we are special cases and thus deserve mercy as saved beings. Rather, when we mess up, we need to be prepared to accept full responsibility for our actions and expect consequences. We may have been granted mercy and salvation, but that does not mean we get off the hook.
The bottom line: expect the consequences for any action, and do not complain when you reap what you sow.
The Consequences (Romans 3:1 – 8)
Friday, March 16, 2007
