Begin with 2 minutes of silence and stillness before God.

I always loved seeing the T-shirt, mug, or cross stitch that said, “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.” The problem with that is that “it” is settled whether we believe it or not. Truth is still truth whether or not we choose to believe it. Paul warns of that in verses 3-4. My paraphrase: “Will their unbelief nullify God’s truth? Of course not.” Paul continues further to remind his Jewish listeners, his audience here, that just because you have the Law does not make you somehow better than the Gentiles. He tells them that the whole point of the Law (vs 20) was to show them how sinful man is - not to make them somehow better than others.

Have you ever been around someone who has so much Bible knowledge but can’t seem to apply any of it? They seem to be so focused on knowledge and unfortunately use that knowledge as a means to judge others. Boy, do we give the world an easy target when we practice this. Why would anyone lost and searching be attracted to a Gospel of judgment from a fellow sinner? They would not. I try to consider myself just one beggar trying to show another beggar where to find bread.

So our message is one of faith in the redemption by the blood of Christ. “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (vs 23) “Being justified as a gift.” (vs 24) And my favorite, “displayed publicly as a propitiation.” (vs 25) Look with me at Colossians 2:14-15, “Having canceled out the certificate of debt (propitiation) consisting of decrees against us, and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” Can you not just picture here what was going on in the spiritual realm? Satan had been trying to kill Jesus all of his life; Herod, multiple angry crowds, Satan’s tempting. Now he had Him where he wanted Him. Crucified. Only to realize that he had just played his part in God’s unique and masterful plan. Satan was duped - "triumphed over," I think the scripture says - and put on public display. Even the battle-hardened Roman soldier recognized who Jesus was. Wow, what a plan. Our debt, which we honestly earned and had absolutely no possible way to pay, nailed to the cross in bold letters: Payment in Full.

I’ll take that deal. And I have.

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• How are you at having judgemental thoughts about others who are not where you are spiritually?
• Decide on one thing you can do daily to combat that.

Family Devo: Romans 3

By: Anna Beth Scott

When partnering with your family to know, love, and follow Jesus, we strive to create and share content filtered by the Head-Heart-Hands model. 

Head: the knowledge of God and His Word | Heart: the personal connection from scripture | Hands: a missional mindset

Head

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:23

When Paul wrote this letter to the Christians in Rome there was a lot of misunderstanding about how a person was saved and if Jews were better than Gentiles. Paul explains that all people have sinned. The Jews thought the Gentiles were worse sinners than them. Paul explains that we’re all the same, everybody has broken God’s law. We all have done something we weren’t supposed to do or not done something we were supposed to do. Nobody is good enough to be with God, not even the kid at school who never gets in trouble. That is why Jesus came. When we put our faith in Jesus, our sins are forgiven, and we are made good enough.

Heart

It is comforting to me to know that everybody sins. It’s not just me messing up. My sin is no better or worse than someone else’s, therefore we can’t judge someone else. I sometimes struggle with feeling like I’m not good enough. This verse reminds me that no one is good enough by themselves. If we were good enough, then Jesus wouldn’t have needed to die on the cross. It is because of Jesus that I am made good. We can walk in confidence when we believe that truth.

Hands

Have you ever felt like you weren’t good enough? Is it hard for you to fully believe that God forgives you when you put your trust in Him? Tell God how you feel. Ask Him to help you believe that He loves you, forgives you, and gives you a purpose.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for reminding me that everybody has sinned. Thank You for Your grace given freely. Thank You for loving me and forgiving me. Thank You for making me good enough. Help me to trust You more each day. In Jesus’ name, amen.