Don’t Be Blind to God’s Goodness
Read the Text: Romans 2
Memorize the Text:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16, CSB)
Consider the Text: Romans 2:1-5
The ability to view sin in our life honestly and correctly is often a battle. We find ourselves extremely judgmental of the sinful activities of others while viewing our sin in a manner that remains unhealthy. We elevate the sin of others and remain blind to our shortcomings and thus refuse to deal with our issues. In Romans 2, the apostle Paul called believers to call sin “sin” and to battle against neglecting the goodness of God in our lives. Paul challenged believers not to become blinded to God’s goodness while dealing with the reality of sin.
We must see the SINFUL CONDITION OF THE WORLD. Sin exists as the opposition to the will and ways of the Lord. Sin occurs as the rejection of truth and living according to the ways of the world. When one lives dominated by sin, their life exists as one turned over to the darkness. At the end of Romans 1, the apostle defines life as one delivered over to the heart's desires (1:24). Such a life becomes identified by the flesh and thus lives according to the flesh. Later, Paul defined life of sin as one delivered over to a corrupt mind (1:28). Such a mind gets to where sin no longer bothers the conscience. The result of such a life means one is delivered to death (1:32). The death exists as eternal death.
We must call SIN “SIN” WITHOUT JUDGING THE SINNER. We must guard against the threat of justifying someone’s sin because of the fear of being viewed as judgmental. The identification of sin is necessary for the gospel proclamation because the good news only exists with the presence of the bad news. To identify sin correctly, we must approach the situation with humility, honesty, and hope. The focus must be on guarding the self and not viewing the self as greater than others. We must not water down or lessen the truth of sin but speak to the issue honestly. We must proclaim the hope that is available despite sin because of the gospel.
We must NOT NEGLECT THE GOODNESS OF GOD. We must share God's kindness, restraint, and patience as we proclaim the need for repentance and the offering of God’s grace. God’s kindness is experienced through his steadfast, genuine love that extends to the lost and offers them reconciliation. In restraint, the Lord withholds for a time what we deserve because of sin and extends what we do not deserve in salvation. The Lord shows patience by waiting on us to repent even when we delay. The result is that we must not neglect God’s goodness and respond to his grace and mercy that comes extended through the message of the gospel and received in faith.
We must know that NEGLECTING GOD’S GOODNESS IS TO ACCEPT OPEN REBELLION. If we choose to neglect the goodness of God, then we decide to receive the deserved punishment because of our sin. We live in a manner in which our heart hardens, and we no longer since the conviction of our sin. Thus, we live in a self-centric manner that elevates the self and attempts to lower the Lord. As a result, we store up wrath for ourselves because we choose to live as an enemy of God instead of a son or daughter of the Lord. Are we living blinded by God’s goodness and as children of wrath?
This blog is part of the Coffee and Quiet Time with Jesus Devotional Series found at equippingfaith.com. Join the journey of reading through the New Testament this year. More information can be found at equippingfaith.com.
