Romans 4 is a source of great controversy and misunderstanding among so many believers. The debate rages on whether we are justified by faith as Paul says here or by works as James seems to suggest in James chapter 2. The correct answer is both are right. While they seem to contradict, they complete each other and add depth to the idea being expressed.
Paul said in Romans 3:28 that man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law and that idea is continued in chapter 4. He continues to say that Abraham was not justified by his works otherwise he would have reason to boast. Paul quotes Genesis 15:6 in verse 3 saying, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” James quotes this same verse when making the claim that we are justified by our works and not by faith only. If you look at it though, Paul and James are speaking of different works. Paul is speaking of our works towards perfectly living up to the law. These works are not what justifies us as Paul tells us it by faith alone. James is saying that faith without works is dead. These works James speaks of are the natural outpouring of a genuine faith. James is saying that true faith has works to demonstrate the genuineness of that faith. Both are saying that Abraham was justified by his faith (belief) in God’s promise that was demonstrated to us by his actions. As some people put it, we are justified by faith that works, not faith with works.
God’s promise to make Abraham a father of many nations came long before the law and before the sign of circumcision. Paul goes on to say that this promise through faith came to both the circumcised and uncircumcised which foretells the redemptive act of Christ being for both Jews and Gentiles. Abraham’s faith was in the future coming of Jesus. Our faith is in the past life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. No matter when people live in relation to the life of Christ, it is through Him alone that we can enter God’s kingdom.
Verse 24 gives us the doctrine of imputed righteousness. Just as it was accounted to Abraham for righteousness for believing God’s promise of the coming Messiah, that righteousness is also imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.
The 5th characteristic that Erwin lays out to describe the style of Jesus comes from Mark chapter 10.:13-16:
13 Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” 16 And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.
Jesus told us that to get into Heaven, we must be childlike in our faith. Some people will call that naive but that is not the point Jesus is making.
Erwin starts off by saying a child is nonthreatening. Nobody is intimidated by a child and that is how we are to live as Christians. It is not our calling to threaten people into accepting God, though so many Christians resort to this. It is easy to do because it is the way of the world. When you can’t convince by reason, it is nearly automatic to use force. Jesus never did this. Even though He created the world and could have destroyed all of His foes in an instant, Jesus never used violence to force people to follow Him. With the one exception we see where He drove out the merchants in the temple courtyard, Jesus did not use aggression, even when He was falsely accused, severely beaten, and unjustly crucified.
The next point Erwin makes is that children are not good at deceiving. This is quite obvious when you play hide and go seek with a little one. They will go hide and then 2 seconds into the seeking, they will say, “Don’t look in the closet, I’m not in there!” Children are also very open with their emotions. When they are happy or sad or angry or hungry or tired, you know it. Adults become very good at putting on a face. They may be very angry and bitter but put on a happy face as though nothing is wrong. Adults become very good at lying to or manipulating others to achieve an agenda.
The final point Erwin makes is that childrent are innocent. Children were not under the command of the law until a certain age of accountability. The idea that Jesus is making here is that we are innocent when we accept the forgiveness through Christ. This is hard to accept for Christians because we have a hard time forgetting our sins. We may say that we are forgiven and believe it in our minds but we constantly beat ourselves up over repented sins. We must truly accept our innocence once we receive God’s forgiveness through the blood of Christ. That does not mean we can keep living in sin because God has forgiven us but we must accept that forgiveness, turn away from sin and live for God.
After discussing God’s coming judgement and wrath against those who have rejected Him, Paul starts down what is called the “Romans Road” with chapter 3 being the first step. Understand and accepting the doctrine of this chapter is essential because, without it, the rest is rendered meaningless. Verses 10-12 says:
10 As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”
This is absolutely crucial for people to accept. The Bible clearly declares that nobody is good. We are not born good. We do not grow up good. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us “ The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” People are by nature bad. We must be taught to do good things and to do what is right. Even little babies naturally throw fits, lie when they are caught doing something wrong, and display selfishness with possessions. The greatest lie ever believed is that the heart of man is good. This is a great lie from Satan but he knew the true nature of our hearts. Even before Adam and Eve had committed that first sin, Satan took advantage of the natural desire to go against God. Even though Even knew God told them not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, she was easily deceived that it would be ok for her to eat anyway. If she was naturally good, she would have chosen to resist Satan’s temptation and obey God’s command. Was God being mean by telling Adam and Even that they couldn’t eat of this tree? Not at all. As our Pastor says, sin is not bad because it is forbidden, it is forbidding because it is bad. God knows what happens to us when we choose to commit sin. It hurts us, it makes our lives harder and it can destroy us. He does not want us to live a life like this but our naturally wicked hearts desire to disobey.
This takes us to the first step on the “Romans Road”. Verses 23-26 say:
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
We are all sinners. None of us are good enough to make it to heaven on our own. There are some very important words used here that everyone must understand, justification, redemption, and propitiation. Being just means being righteous. Verse 10 said none of us are righteous but verse 24 now says we are righteous because, through God’s grace, he has justified (made us righteous) us without cost to us. We did owe something to God. Because of our sins, our penalty is our life. Later on in Romans 6:23 we learn that the wages of our sin is death but God’s desire is that all should have eternal life. The word redemption means to pay off completely and that is what God did through Jesus. He payed off the price we owed because of our sins by dying in our place. The death of Jesus on the cross was used in place of ours which is the meaning of propitiation. While we owed our lives as a payment for our sins, Jesus’ life and death was accepted in its place freeing us from that debt. This is why a Christian will say there is nothing that we do to earn salvation. God payed off our debt (redeemed) by making Jesus an acceptable form of payment (propitiation) in our place and made us righteous (justification) by His grace.
Paul finishes by saying that this justification coems by our faith apart from the deeds of the laws. The only thing one must do to become positionally righteous is believe that God can do this and did do this through the life and death of Jesus Christ.
Paul holds no punches during these first two chapters in dealing with man’s rejection of God and God’s judgement on the unrepentant. Anyone who says a loving God would never send anyone to Hell has never read Romans chapter 2. Verses 1-10 deal tell of God’s plan to judge those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness (vs. 8). To these people, Paul tells us that they will receive indignation, wrath, tribulation, and anguish. While God is loving, He is also just and will deal harshly with those who reject Him. Thankfully for us, God is patient and long suffering and gives us chance after chance to repent from our sins and give our lives to Him. Verse 4 tells us that it is God’s goodness that leads us to repentance, not fear, not manipulation, not bribery, not logical arguments.
Chapter 2 also addresses something that so many people question about Christianity and have much trouble over. All the time, we hear non-believers ask, “What about the Pygmies in Africa who have never heard the Bible?” Verses 11-16 help answer this question.
11 For there is no partiality with God. 12 For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law 13 (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; 14 for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) 16 in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.
Paul writes here that nobody has an excuse. Those who knew the law were judged accordingly. The law we are talking about here is the law of God, or the 10 commandments. This is the innate law written in our hearts that we know to be true by nature. Those who had never heard the law but sinned by going against what we naturally know to be true will be judged the same as those who were given and heard the law but sinned anyhow in the law. Verse 13 tells us that God justifies the doers of the law, not the hearers. This holds true for those Gentiles (non-Jews) who had never received nor heard the law but naturally did those things. There have been accounts by missionaries that go deep into unknown territories and find tribes that worshipped in a way very closely resembling Christianity. They knew instinctively that there was a God, that murder, lying, coveting, ect. were wrong. I don’t know exactly how it is going to work out in the judgement but I know one thing for certain. God is just and will judge each person on earth fairly and rightly and nobody will be able to question His judgement one way or another.
The 4th style on the list of Gayle Erwin’s book is humility. He starts with Matthew 18:4
Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven
As Erwin goes on to explain, most people have such a huge misunderstanding of humility. We believe that humility is telling people how bad you are, how little you know, how much better other people are than you. That is self-pity at worst and false-humility at worst.
Jesus gave the perfect example of humility, which Erwin defines as simply seeing ourselves as we actually are, nothing more and nothing less. It is being honest with ourselves and with others about who we are and what we can do.
In our warped minds, Jesus could have easily been accused as being full of pride and having a large ego when He said things like, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” or “if you have seen the Father, you have seen Me for I and the Father are One.” These are not seemingly humble statements but they are true. He was not building Himself up, He was merely telling people who He was. There is nothing wrong with declaring out loud who you are. The problem comes from within when you become prideful. The difference between pride and humility is in the heart.
If Tiger Woods said in an interview that he was the best golfer in the world, would that be inaccurate? It moves from humility (being honest about yourself) to pride when he starts believing that being the best golfer in the world makes him more valuable as a human being and that other people should start treating him special.
The value of humility and being honest about yourself is that you have nothing to hide from people. Jesus was accused of many things but never had to fear those accusations because He was innocent of any wrongdoing. He had no skeletons in the closet, he had no past that could be used against Him by His enemies.
Contrast that to our politicians in America today. They stand before us declaring themselves as our servants who have given up their private lives to work for us. They tell us that they do it in all humility to make a difference in the world. Then, we hear story after story how they weren’t paying taxes, how they were cheating on their spouses, how they were engaged in scandals to earn enormous amounts of money.
Humility also frees us up in our relationships with others. When we are honest and open, we don’t have to hide anything and those we associate are not left guessing what we really meant when we spoke. If we are always open, they can take our words at face value. Humility frees us from the bondage of always wondering what people are really thinking.
John 3:21 says:
Whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.
Walking in humility and being open and honest allows us to accurately represent Christ to a dark and sinful world. When we claim to be Christians but walk as the world walks, they see no reason to change because there is no difference between us and them. Fortunately for us, the Lord can do His work despite our shortcomings.
The book of Romans contains so much in the form of essential doctrine that it may be the key book to understanding the connection of Christianity to Judiaism from salvation through Jesus Christ to God’s plan for the Jewish people. While the book of Hebrews was written for the Jews to reveal to them how Jesus was the fulfillment of the Old Testament Law and the promised Messiah leading to the New Covenant, Romans was written for the Gentile world to show that Judaism was the foundation on which Christianity was established to open God’s Kingdom to all the world.
Romans makes it very clear that while God is loving, He is also holy and just and will judge all unrighteousness. Paul takes no time to in explaining that God will judge sinners who have rejected Him and followed after their own selfish desires.
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
It is very clear here that no one can use the excuse that God cannot be proven or has not proven Himself to the world. It is both manifest in them, meaning inside everyone knows there is a God. They know there is more beyond just this world and what is visible because God has shown Himself to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus. God did not just create the world and sit back and watch, He came down from His place in heaven and became like one of us. He lived amongst us, He felt the same emotions as us, He suffered temptation and hardship as we do, and He died for us. God knows what it is like to be us because He became one of us.
21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
Deep down, everyone knows there is something greater than simply what we see. We all know in our hearts that there is a God but something happens when we harden our hearts and reject that intrinsic knowledge of God. When we reject God and do not glorify Him, Paul says our thoughts become useless. Something happens to our minds and our hearts which leads to verse 22.
Since our natural instinct is to worship God, we must replace God with another object of worship once we reject Him. Most of the time, that object is our own intellect or the intellect of others. We start worshiping ourselves and profess to be wise but our wisdom is foolishness to God. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
When you reject God because you can’t see Him, it is natural to start creating idols that we can see. People think that idols are little gold statues like the golden calf of Aaron in the book of Exodus but idols come in many different forms. America has its fair share of idols whether it is celebrities, nature, the environment, animals, music, athletes, etc. We quickly replace God with something. People will make fun of Christians for singing in church, for raising their arms, for getting passionate about worshiping the Lord but what is the difference between that and what you see at a concert or a football game. People are screaming, they jump up with their arms in the air when their favorite team scores, they sing their favorite songs with the band. This has become more acceptable because it is something that we can see but it is no different.
24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
God does not cause people to sin, but God will allow people to choose for themselves to sin. God’s word contains the absolute Truth and it is available for everyone to know. He does not hide His Truth but people do not like the Truth. The Bible says the Word is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path but darkness hates the light. When our hearts become darkened from rejecting God and refusing to glorify Him, the light of truth becomes despised and replaced with the lie. When you refuse to believe in the Truth of God, it is not that you believe nothing, it is that you will now start believing anything. Through the rejection of God’s Truth, man came up with things like evolution to explain how life came into being. When evolution starts making less sense, it is replaced with theories of alien beings from other planets who started life here on earth. If not either of those, things like endless reincarnation are believed. Man will start believing in anything in order to replace the Truth of God that is made manifest in our hearts.
26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
These verses are not very popular in today’s society and many people try to spin the meaning to be something other than what it clearly says. When people reject God’s manifest Truth, there is something inside us, our sinful wicked nature, that leads to certain behaviors. It is not God who created the behaviors, but the unfettered desires of our own hearts that causes us to act on those passions which Paul describes as vile. It says that men and women exchanged what is natural for what is against nature. Women had sexual relationships with other women and men with other men because of the burning lust in their own hearts.
The problem with homosexuality, specifically homosexual marriage, is that it perverts God’s picture of the marriage between a man and a woman. In the beginning of time, God made a man and a woman and created the institute of marriage after Adam and Eve sinned against Him. He said that the two shall become one flesh. Ephesians 5:22-33 says:
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 31“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
There is much more to marriage than a simple commitment that two people make. There is a greater spiritual significance to marriage that goes much deeper than the physical relationship or the societal relationship. Marriage was established by God to paint a perfect picture between His Son, Jesus, and Jesus’ bride, the Church. The Church is the bride of Christ and the marriage between a man and a woman is a symbol of the relationship between Christ and the Church. As Christ is the head and the Church is the body, so too is the man and woman. They spiritually become one body. The husband is the head of the wife but in God’s economy, this means he becomes a servant to her and is called to love his wife as Christ loved the Church. Christ was a perfect servant and died for His Church so there is nothing suggesting that the man gets to rule over his wife. The men are told to love their wives because that is what most women desire, to be loved. Women are told to respect their husbands because that is what most men desire, respect.
When two men or two women engage in sexual relationships with each other and are granted the status of marriage by society, this picture intended by God is destroyed. It is a representation of something greater in society, and that is the rejection of God as the object of our worship that Paul talked about earlier in the chapter.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
I already wrote in detail about these final few verses which you can read here.
17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”
18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.
19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’”
20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”
21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”
22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23 Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!”
24 And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches[d] to enter the kingdom of God!
25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, “Who then can be saved?”
27 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”
We get a very interesting encounter here between Jesus and the rich young ruler. The first thing we notice here is that the young ruler comes running to Jesus kneeling so he obviously believes there is something unique about Jesus. Then he says something that would have been controversial to the Jews in those days. He calls Jesus “Good Teacher” which would only be used to refer to God. Jesus questions the ruler asking why he calls Him good when there is only One that is good and that is God. Jesus was not telling the man He was not God but giving the man an opportunity to affirm His deity as God.
Then Jesus does something interesting. When asked by the man what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus starts listing the commandments of Moses. Why would Jesus tell the ruler that he can make it to heaven by following the law? The answer to that is we can earn our way into salvation and inherit eternal life by keeping the law. There is a catch though, nobody is good enough to keep all the law every moment of our lives. The ruler said that he had kept all the laws but Jesus knew of one that he did not perfectly follow and that was his love of money. When Jesus told the ruler to sell all he had and follow after Him, he was not willing and walked away sorrowful.
The idea here is not that we can’t have money to get to heaven, but we must be willing to give up what has a stronghold on our lives to follow after Christ. Is there anything that has a hold of your life that you will not give up for Christ? If so, what will you gain by holding on to it if it cost you eternity like it did with this young ruler?
Jesus told the disciples that it is harder for those who trust in riches to enter into Heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle (and this was meant literally, not as some suggest by claiming there was a gate called the eye of the needle that Jesus was referring to). While this is impossible, just as it is impossible for us to perfectly keep the law and earn our way into Heaven, Jesus gives hope by telling us all things are possible with God. There is one exception to the notion that nobody is good enough to perfectly keep the laws, and that is Jesus. While it is impossible for us, Jesus did what we couldn’t do and lived that perfect life for us. He took our place, followed the law perfectly, then died for us on the cross in the death we deserved. All sin and deserve Hell but God’s love for us is so great that He did all the work for us that we were not capable of doing ourselves. He made the impossible possible by living our perfect life, dying our deserved death, then rising again into eternal life as He promised He would.
It is by God’s grace that we are saved through our faith in Jesus Christ and not anything we can do on our own (Ephesians 2:8). We are all sinners and fall short of God’s required perfection to be worthy to enter into His eternal presence and inherit His kingdom but though the redemptive work of Christ, we can be counted righteous and inherit that kingdom as adopted sons and daughters of God.
America has always been a nation for good though never perfect. It has a past filled with injustices but has always worked to correct them and make things right. Recently in Florida, something so gruesom happened that it is hard to accept that it was a real even and not something out of a Hollywood movie.
TAMPA, Florida — Eighteen and pregnant, Sycloria Williams went to an abortion clinic outside Miami and paid $1,200 for Dr. Pierre Jean-Jacque Renelique to terminate her 23-week pregnancy.
Three days later, she sat in a reclining chair, medicated to dilate her cervix and otherwise get her ready for the procedure.
Only Renelique didn’t arrive in time. According to Williams and the Florida Department of Health, she went into labor and delivered a live baby girl.
What Williams and the Health Department say happened next has shocked people on both sides of the abortion debate: One of the clinic’s owners, who has no medical license, cut the infant’s umbilical cord. Williams says the woman placed the baby in a plastic biohazard bag and threw it out.
Police recovered the decomposing remains in a cardboard box a week later after getting anonymous tips.
I came across another story today that gives a glimmer of hope. A 12 year old girl at a school in Toronto won a speech contest after nearly being forced to drop her topic of abortion. This girl made a video of her speech which you can see below.
Whether you agree with her position or not, how did we reach a point both in America and Canada where free thought and the open debate of ideas is stifled because a topic is “controversial”? Why do people on the “pro-choice” side go to such great lengths to silence anyone who dares speak against the evils of abortion with well thought out points, facts, and strong and sincere feelings for the sanctity and protection of human life?
If aborting a fetus was merely a choice to be made by the mother, why is it such a “hard choice” for those who are faced with making it? Deep down, every person knows that the “fetus” is a human being. Every person knows that ripping a “fetus” out piece by piece is brutal and depraved. While that is a “choice”, it is not a choice that be defended as ethical or humane by anyone being intellectually honest.
With the medical knowledge and technology, there is no doubt anymore when life begins. The only doubt comes when people shut off their conscience because they don’t want to address the brutal practice that has take the lives of 3,300 babies each day, 1.2 million babies each year, and 50 million babies since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in 1973.
Here is a story that represents the idea of being others centered. You can read the story behind the video here. All the men and women who serve as Firefighters and Police Officers put their lives on the line daily with a great risk of dying of dying simply for the chance to make a difference like this man did.
Jesus tells us to pick up our cross and follow after Him. Paul told us that husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the Church. The idea behind this love is sacrifice of our own desires to put others first. These men and women have something in them to do just that. Like everything in life, there are bad cops and firefighters that abuse their power. Unfortunately we end up hearing more about them on the news but they are the exception. I can’t imagine what they go through on a daily basis and often with little recognition. Sometimes they get punished for doing what they think is right. They face decisions that must be made with little or no time to think and more often than not, they make the right call.
The other group of people that that falls into this category of service and sacrifice are the men and women that serve our Nation in the Armed Forces. So many of them have died fighting to protect this country and keep us safe from those who want to destroy us. There is a real danger out there and it is evil. America is not a perfect nation but we have always fought for what is right and what is just. All of those who have fought in wars, including the current war against one of the most evil enemies this world has seen, have put their fellow citizens first by going out to face our enemies. Those who have died have done so for liberty and deserve our deepest gratitude. Those who have fought and come home need our support and respect for what they have done. They have seen the darkest side of human nature and have to live with that each and every day. If you run into a member of the military, thank them. If you don’t, pray for them that they will continue to have courage and strength to continue fighting for what is right so that we can remain free at home.
I have been slacking on my Jesus Style chapter reviews. The third section explains how Jesus taught by showing rather than telling. It is easy to sit there and tell someone what they should do. Jesus demonstrated to His disciples how they should live by living it out for them. He did not show people the way but He Himself was the Way.
Jesus didn’t tell people they should be merciful, rather He showed them by being merciful. I can somewhat relate to this on a smaller scale by my time spent as a math teacher. I could have just sat at my desk and told the students where to find the information in the book and verbally told them how to do certain problems. Instead, I tried to model how to do the problems by doing examples. I demonstrated strategies by using several while they watched. I had them do practice problems and then showed them how to solve the problem once they tried. Where my example breaks down is my lack of patience and tendency to get frustrated when they showed no interest in learning.
People learn very quickly when things are modeled to them and this showed in the life of the disciples. Where I relate more to the relationship Jesus had with the disciples is with my two sons. They are ages 6 and 4 and they do everything I do. Even when I don’t want them to learn from me, they are watching every move I make. I heard someone say one time that our kids are like the Holy Spirit because they reveal our weaknesses to us. I have found this to be very true. I will hear my boys make noises of frustration that sound strikingly similar to noises I make when I am working on something around the house that isn’t quite going as planned. I will hear them say words to each other in tones that I don’t like but realize that they probably get it from me. Now, not all their habbits they pick up from me are bad but there are enough of them to realize I fall very short of how Jesus did it. It does make me feel good though when I will hear them share with each other or say something to each other that I tried to model to them. They are empy slates that right now think I am the coolest person in the world so I have a huge responsibility to help shape them and mold them into the men I believe the Lord wants them to become.
The husband/wife relationship is the same way. I have found that if I want my wife to act a certain way or do something for me a certain way, telling her usually doesn’t end up well. It gets me in trouble and ends up causing the opposite effect. Instead, if there is something I want her to do, I get that result when I act that way myself. The same is true the other way around. When she tells me to start acting a certain way it usually doesn’t work because we are humans and are sinful by nature.
Our ultimate goal is to be more like Jesus. How likely would that be if He would have said, “Be holy because I told you to be Holy.” Instead He said, “Be holy as I am holy.” and showed us how to live a holy life. He didn’t say, “Pick up your cross and go that way.” but said, “Pick up your cross and follow after me.” Everything He did was an example and a demonstration on how we are to live.
