Romans 3: God’s provision for sin

Scripture

³ What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? ⁴
Not at all!

Observation

This chapter contains some of the most well-known verses that summarize what Jesus did to save us (check out v. 21-26 – brilliant stuff), as Paul explains step by slightly confusing step the meaning of Jesus’ sacrifice – I have always found Romans is best read s-l-o-w-l-y! Anyway, the verse I’ve selected above simply encouraged me, and even though Paul is discussing the Jews here, and their history, I think that the verse can be equally applied to our experience today – however well or badly we behave or conduct ourselves, God doesn’t change. Our conduct might or might not help people to find him, but it doesn’t change how forgiving, faithful and loving he is.

Application

Now, the next logical step in the argument is to say, well, if God can carry on fine with or without my good behaviour, why should I bother being ‘a good Christian’? What difference does it make if my sexual conduct is pure or not? And so what if I don’t live ethically, or generally be nice to people – doesn’t change God, does it? No, but this is where we can be grateful that the Bible is not just a chapter long! God knows what’s best for our lives, and he reveals it over and over again through the rules he gave his people, through the stories of people who behaved well and badly, through the way Jesus healed bodies and lives. The way we choose to behave as children of our earthly parents has a deep effect on our relationship with them, and the same is true of our relationship with God. Whether we behave well or badly doesn’t change who he is or how much he loves us, but it almost certainly will have an effect on how we are able to relate to him – and that is his goal, to have lots of people with him. Again, this isn’t quite what I was struck by when I first read the verse (the post was going to be about being grateful that we can make mistakes without needing to feel hopelessly guilty – our mistakes don’t change God, and when we ask for forgiveness he has already given it through Jesus), but never mind. Hopefully that was the Holy Spirit guiding my fingers in some way…

Prayer

Father God, thank you that you are you and you are constant no matter what my behaviour is like. And thank you that forgiveness is offered for all and any mistakes. But please help me to live in a way that does bring glory to you, and enables others to see you more clearly. Amen.

 

Psalms 1-5

Scripture:

 

 Psalm 5:4-6

You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; 
       with you the wicked cannot dwell.

 5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; 
       you hate all who do wrong.

 6 You destroy those who tell lies; 
       bloodthirsty and deceitful men 
       the LORD abhors.

 

Observation:

 

When I got to these verses in my reading this morning, I couldn’t help but stop and read them again, as I have issues with the theology behind the wording (and I checked several translations – thank you Bible Gateway – and they all say the same thing, pretty much). I’m fine with verse 4, and the first half of verse 5, but then the verbs in the rest of the selection are directed very clearly towards the people involved rather than the sins they exhibit. It doesn’t say “you hate the wrong that men do” but “you hate all who do wrong”. Nor does it say “the LORD abhors the actions of bloodthirsty and deceitful men”, but it says he hates the men themselves. This doesn’t sit well with me in these verses because everything else I know about God through Scripture and experience tells me that he loves all people equally, but certainly can’t stand the sins that we all exhibit during our lives.

 

Application:

 

So how do I rationalise this? Do I just assume that this is young, slightly more naïve David writing here, who would later fall into sin himself and understand more about forgiveness of people? That seems somewhat arrogant on my part! Is it something in the Hebrew worldview that sees the sin / sinner issue in a more black-and-white way, so I am less likely to be happy with it due to cultural reasons? Or is David just more honest – is “love the sinner, hate the sin” just a platitude that we have come to accept in current Christian circles that actually gives us an excuse to not say much or do much when we know people are sinning? I’d love to have some comments with your thoughts!

 

Prayer:

 

Praise you Lord for being a sinless God. Thank you that we can trust in your perfect holiness and righteousness, and that sin cannot stand before you. Help me Father to make sense of your Scriptures in a way that honours you and those who wrote them down. And please Lord give me the courage to make a stand against sin, as Jesus did, while showing love to the sinner.