The Wrong Standard

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23

When it comes to sin our tendency as humans is to compare ourselves with others. And when we make these comparisons, we do not compare ourselves with people who are less sinful than we are, but rather people who are more sinful than we are. "At least I'm better than that person!" "At least I'm not as sinful as those people!" "At least I don't do that!" "At least I haven't committed adultery!"

The problem with our comparisons is this: When it comes to sin, the standard is not other people. The standard is Jesus Christ. And Jesus is perfect. All of us fall short of his glory.

In baseball, if you hit .300 for a season, that is super. In fact, if you hit .300 for your career, you will probably end up in the Hall of Fame. But life is not baseball. When it comes to life, it is not enough for us to hit .300, we have to hit 1.000 because God is perfect and the least little sin will separate us from God. Moreover, we don't have the least little sin, but we have tons of sin, sin in our attitudes, in our actions, in our words. We have sins of pride, of unbelief, of selfishness, of fear, of anger, of impurity and much more. We all fall short of the glory of God.

Bishop Handley Moule stated this truth in a vivid way: "The harlot, the liar, the murderer, are short of it [sc. God's glory], but so are you. Perhaps they stand at the bottom of a mine and you on the crest of an Alp; but you are as little able to touch the stars as they."

Father, I confess to you my sin and my sinfulness, and I am so grateful that you gave us a Savior to rescue us from our sin.

The Essence of Sin

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23

Romans 1:18-3:20 is the most important section on sin in all the Bible. And then, three verses later, in Romans 3:23, we come to the most important single verse on sin in all the Bible. But what exactly is sin? What is the essence of sin?

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, considered by many to be the greatest English-speaking preacher of the 20th century, wrote this:

I am not asking whether you know things about Him but do you know God, are you enjoying God, is God the centre of your life, the soul of your being, the source of your greatest joy? He is meant to be. He made man in such a way that that was to be the position, that man might dwell in communion with God and enjoy God and walk with God. You and I are meant to be like that, and if we are not like that, it is sin. That is the essence of sin. We have no right not to be like that. That is sin of the deepest and worst type. The essence of sin, in other words, is that we do not live entirely to the glory of God. (Spiritual Depression, 31)

Another British evangelical, J.I. Packer, once described sin in this way:

What, in positive terms, is the essence of sin? Playing God; and, as a means to this, refusing to allow the Creator to be God so far as you are concerned. Living, not for him, but for yourself; loving and serving and pleasing yourself without reference to the Creator; trying to be as far as possible independent of him, taking yourself out of his hands, holding him at arm's length, keeping the reins of life in your own hands; acting as if you, and your pleasure, were the end to which all things else, God included, must be made to function as a means - that is the attitude in which sin essentially consists. Sin is exalting oneself against the Creator, withholding the homage due to him, and putting oneself in his place as the ultimate standard of reference in all life's decisions. (God's Words, 73)

More succinctly, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the great Soviet dissident and writer once wrote, "If I were called upon to identify briefly the principal trait of the entire twentieth century, here too I would be unable to find anything more precise and pithy than to repeat once again: Men have forgotten God."

All three of these statements are true. We have all sinned against a holy God. We have all fallen short of his glory. All of us.

Lord, I confess my sin and my sinfulness to you and I am so grateful that Jesus came to save us from our sin.

Faith Alone

The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction.

Romans 3:22

A while back a friend asked me if I would go to M.D. Anderson, the world renowned cancer hospital in Houston. The man that I was visiting was dying of pancreatic cancer and he was only 53 years old. I knew him a little, not well. He had been a great distance runner, a member of the U.S. Olympic team. When I came into the room and greeted him, he looked at me and said, "I'll shoot straight with you: I'm afraid to die." I appreciated his honesty and I asked, "Are you ready to meet God if you die?" He responded, "Yes, I have asked forgiveness from Jesus, but I am worried that I have not been good enough." At that point I explained to him that it was not about being good enough, that salvation is a gift of God, freely given when we place our trust in Jesus. If he had placed his trust in Christ to save him, then he could be assured that God had accepted him and that he would go immediately to heaven.

I appreciated this man's honesty. I am concerned that many people wonder if they have been good enough, if they have done enough. But the only question is: Am I trusting in Jesus to get me to heaven or am I trusting in myself to be good enough? The Bible teaches over and over, and nowhere more emphatically than the book of Romans, that we are justified, or made right with God, by faith, by trust, by believing in Jesus.

Someone put it this way: "God justifies the believer - not because of the worthiness of his belief, but because of Christ's worthiness, who is believed."

If you have never done so, then right now breathe a prayer: "Jesus, I trust you alone to save me. All my hope is in you. Thank you that you died on the cross and paid for my sins. Thank you that you are faithful to hear this prayer and save me. Thank you so much. Amen."

Lord, I am so grateful that my salvation does not depend on how good I am but only on how good Christ is.

Heart of the Gospel

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it.

Romans 3:21

Some scholars consider Romans 3:21-26 not only the key paragraph in the Book of Romans, but the key paragraph in the Bible.  This is the heart of the gospel, a packed summary of what God does for us in Christ on the cross.  There are so many key theological terms in the passage:  righteousness, law, faith, sin, justification, grace, redemption, propitiation, blood.

Paul begins with the righteousness of God:  But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law.  This term, righteousness, is a vital term in the Book of Romans.  Sometimes in the Bible the term refers to God’s righteous character.  At other times the term is used almost synonymously for God’s salvation or deliverance.  Quite often the term refers to God’s gift of righteousness to us, or God’s gift of right standing with him. That is the meaning of the term righteousness here in Romans 3:21.  The righteousness of God is God’s gift of our right standing with him.

How do we get this right standing with God?  Through faith.  “The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (3:22).  The verse is especially emphatic because the words faith and believe are two forms of the same root word in Greek.  It is like Paul is saying:  “The righteousness of God comes through belief in Jesus Christ, for all who believe.”  We receive the gift of being right with God through faith in Christ, which means through believing in Christ or through trust in Christ or through reliance on Christ and not ourselves.

It is noteworthy that this root word for faith occurs twice in verse 22 and twice more in verses 25 and 26.  Furthermore, in the theme passage of the Book of Romans, Romans 1:16-17, the word occurs four times.  For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith” (1:16-17).

The Bible is so emphatic:  We received the gift of right standing with God not because of what we do, but because of our faith or belief in what Christ has done for us.

Lord, all my hope, all my trust, is in Jesus Christ to save me.

Rescue

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it.

Romans 3:21

A few years ago, on August 5, 2010, the Copiapó mine, an hour south of Santiago, collapsed.  Thirty-three miners were trapped 2300 feet below the surface.  To appreciate the situation, 2300 feet is almost twice the height of the Empire State Building in New York City.  Things looked bleak indeed for those 33 miners and their families.  The rescue operations began and ideas flowed in from around the world.  Work went on around the clock. The whole world kept watch.  After 17 days, all 33 miners were still alive.  After 50 days, all the miners were alive and this was the longest that any miners had ever survived underground.  Finally, after 69 days all 33 miners were rescued!  Glorious rescue!

These 33 miners could not rescue themselves.  They could not do anything to contribute to their rescue.  The rescue had to come from above.  The miners were trapped in darkness, helpless and hopeless, waiting on rescue from above.  In some ways, the story of the Copiapó mine is a picture of Romans 1-3.  In the first three chapters of Romans we see that all humans are under sin and guilty before God, deserving of his wrath and judgment.  We could not rescue ourselves.  We could not even contribute to our rescue.  The rescue had to come from above.  We were trapped in darkness, helpless and hopeless.

If the story ended at Romans 3:20, then we would be left at the bottom of the mine, trapped in darkness.  But the story does not end there.  The next verse begins:  But now!  But now!  When things looked the bleakest:  But now!  When we were helpless and hopeless:  But now!  These two words represent the moment the shaft breaks through to the miners, a shaft of light and hope and grace.  The rescue had arrived.  But now!

O Lord, we are so grateful for the rescue above all rescues.

Hating Sin

For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

Romans 3:20

Romans 3:20 completes the longest and most thorough passage on sin in all the Bible. Beginning with Romans 1:18 Paul talks about several aspects of sin.  Here’s the flow of thought.

1:1-15              Introductory Thoughts

1:16-17            Theme:  Right with God

1:18-3:20         Sin

1:18-32       Depraved Gentile Sin

2:1-15         Hypocritical Religious People

2:17-3:8      Self-Righteous Jews

3:9-20         Whole Human Race

Paul underscores that both Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews), that both the religious and the irreligious, that all people are under sin and in desperate need of a Savior.

Why is there such an inordinate emphasis on sin?  As we saw recently, unless we recognize the depth of our sin problem, we will never appreciate the wonder of God’s grace.  If we do not recognize our sinfulness, we will see no need for a Savior.  As the seventeenth-century pastor, John Owen, put it:  “He that has slight thoughts of sin never had great thoughts of God.”

God hates sin, because God knows that sin destroys us.  And if God hates sin, then we must hate sin.  “The pardoned sinner hates the sin that cost the Savior his blood” (Charles Spurgeon).

Let me ask you:  Do you hate the sin that cost the Savior his blood?  Or, do you tolerate sin in your life with “It’s no big deal”?  Is there any part of your life that needs to be surrendered to Christ?  Your language?  Anger?  Fear?  Way you love your spouse?  Temper?  Sexual purity?  Pornography?  Spending?  Giving?  Gossip?  Self-centeredness?  Honesty?  Envy?  Unforgiveness?  Compassion for lost people?

Papa, may I hate the sin that cost the Savior his blood!

The Purpose of the Law

For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

Romans 3:20

No one has ever been saved by their works.  No one has ever been saved by their own goodness or performance.  Every person who has ever been saved has been saved in the same way:  by the initiating grace of God through our responsive faith in God.

In the Old Testament, salvation was based on a promised Savior.  That is, the blood of the animal sacrifices could never really atone for sin.  They were simply a temporary covering until one day the Lamb of God died in our place on a cross and paid for sin.

Before the cross people were saved by God’s grace through faith.  Through faith in a coming Savior.  After the cross people were saved by God’s grace through faith.  Through faith in a Savior who came.

Abraham is the greatest example.  As Genesis 15:6 states, and as Paul underscores in Romans 4, Abraham was justified by his faith, not by his performance.  That is the same way that you and I are justified, by the grace of God through faith in a Savior, not by our performance.

So, in light of all of this, what exactly was the purpose of the law in the Old Testament?  The law was never given to save us.  Rather, the law was given to show us our sin and hence point us to our need for a Savior.  Romans 3:20 is a central passage on the purpose of the law:  “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”

So the law does not bring the forgiveness of sin, but the knowledge of sin.  The law helps us to realize how sinful we are and hence our need for a Savior.

Martin Luther stated it classically:

The principal point … of the law … is to make men not better but worse; that is to say, it sheweth unto them their sin, that by the knowledge thereof they may be humbled, terrified, bruised and broken, and by this means may be driven to seek grace, and so come to that blessed Seed [sc. Christ].

Thank you so much that we can trust a Savior and not our own performance to get into heaven.

Pervasive and Ubiquitous

As it is written:  “None is righteous, no, not one.”

Romans 3:10

In verses 10-18 Paul quotes no less than seven Old Testament passages.  Seven in a row!  That tells us something about the way Paul saw Scripture.  Paul saw Scripture the way Jesus saw Scripture:  “It is absolute authority.  It is God’s Word written.”

Paul has seven quotes in a row to emphasize the severity of our sin problem.  Our sin problem is bleak!  It is as deep as it is broad, as pervasive as it is ubiquitous.

Sin is universal.  There is not one single exception.  Not Billy Graham.  Not Mother Teresa.  Not your godly grandmother.  Alexander Solzhenitsyn once wrote:

“If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them.  But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.  And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”

Theologians speak of our total depravity.  That does not mean that we are as bad as we could be but that we are not as good as we could be.  There is no part of us that is untainted by sin.  For example, I have never preached a sermon with totally pure motives.  My pride and self-centeredness bleed through to some extent every time.

What is the essence of sin?  Rebellion against God.  The passage ends with this stinging statement:  “There is no fear of God before their eyes” (3:18).  That’s the problem:  a rebel heart against God!

Lord, thank you that even though our sin is great, your grace is greater.

The Sin Boulder

What then?  Are we Jews any better off?  No, not at all.  For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin.

Romans 3:9

Paul has been talking about the human sin problem since 1:18.  Indeed, 1:18-3:20 is the largest section on sin in the Bible.  The question arises:  Why does he spend so much time on sin before he gets to salvation?

This is what Paul would say:  If you don’t recognize the severity of your sin problem, then you will never appreciate the wonder of God’s grace.  You will never appreciate what Christ did for us on the cross.  Slight thoughts about sin lead to slight thoughts about grace.  If we are going to love God back – the first commandment – then we must recognize our sin and what God did to save us.

As Paul begins the final movement of the sin section, he underscores that both Jews and Gentiles are under sin.  Under sin.  It’s like we have the oppressive weight of sin on top of our chest, like a giant boulder, squeezing the life out of us.

Only God can pulverize this boulder of sin and set us free to breathe.  God did it!  He did it in Christ, and he did it at the cross.

Lord, may I see my sin the way I should, so that I can see your grace the way I should.

Blame Game

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

Romans 3:19

John Killinger tells about the manager of a minor league baseball team who was so disgusted with his center fielder’s performance that he ordered him to the dugout and assumed the position himself.  The first ball that came into center field took a bad hop and hit the manager in the mouth.  The next one was a high fly ball, which he lost in the glare of the sun – until it bounced off his forehead.  The third was a hard line drive that he charged with outstretched arms.  Unfortunately, it flew between his hands and smacked his eye.  Furious, he ran back to the dugout, grabbed the center fielder by the uniform and shouted, “You idiot!  You’ve got center field so messed up that even I can’t do a thing with it!”  (Don McCullough in Discipleship Journal)

There is a lot of foolish talking going on today – all kinds of excuse-giving and blaming others.  But one day, one day, every mouth will be stopped.  Every mouth will be stopped and the whole world will be held accountable to God.  Every one of us will have to own up to our own sin.  No longer can we blame circumstances, our upbringing, our parents, our spouse, our boss, or other people.  We did it.  We rebelled against God.  We sinned.  We are responsible.

Lord, I acknowledge to you, the holy and sovereign God, that I have sinned against you and I am completely dependent on your mercy.

Lies and Distortions

But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say?  That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us?  (I speak in a human way.)

Romans 3:5

In Romans 3:1-8 Paul raises no less than eight questions, eight questions that people were asking.

The first two questions, about the advantage of the Jews, are reasonable questions.  But the remaining questions are so far from the truth, such distortions of the truth, that Paul answers with ringing cries, such as “By no means!” or “Their condemnation is just.”

For example, with our question in 3:5, Paul responds with “I speak in a human way” because he finds the question almost embarrassing to ask.  Then he follows that with a sharp retort:  “By no means!  For then how could God judge the world?”  (3:6).

So many times, the enemies of the gospel, both human enemies and demonic enemies, take a truth and distort it.  In fact, we ourselves are susceptible to enormous self-deceptions and rationalizations.  The only antidote to the lies and distortions of God’s truth is to saturate your mind with God’s mind, to treasure and read and meditate and obey God’s holy Word.

Be alert to the lies of the enemy and the distortions of God’s Word.  Lies such as these:

• God is not really good. He cannot be trusted.
• God is a mean God and he’s mad at you.
• Because of your failures, God has written you off.
• You can sin and get away with it. There are no real consequences.
• You’ve just got to do this sin. You have no choice.  You can’t help yourself.
• To be happy, you can’t obey God on this command.
• God doesn’t hear your prayers. You might as well give up.
• You have to earn your salvation by being good.
• If you don’t measure up, God will reject you.

O Lord, protect us from all lies and deceptions.  Thy Word is truth.

Twisted Thinking

What if some were unfaithful?  Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?

Romans 3:3

Paul’s immediate answer to this question that some were asking:  “By no means!  Of course not!  No way!”

The premise is twisted thinking:  Because some of the Jews were unfaithful, that means God is unfaithful?  These questioners are looking at people, who are sinful and flawed, and they then make a conclusion about God.

People in our world make a similar argument all the time.  It goes like this:  “Look at those Christians!  They are so arrogant, condescending and judgmental.  If that’s Christianity, it must not be true.  God cannot be real.  Jesus cannot be God.”  Or, it goes like this:  “Look at those Christians fighting wars against one another, in Lebanon or Ireland or in the Balkans.  Or, those white supremacists are Christians.  Even many of the Nazis.  It must not be true!”

It is not uncommon today for skeptics to look at flawed people and make a conclusion about God.

Several thoughts in response:

1. Just because someone claims to be a Christian or goes to a church does not make them a genuine Christ-follower. Millions of people are “cultural Christians” who do not know Christ.

2. For those who are genuine Christians, none is perfect. All of us are flawed.  Deeply flawed.

3. The only perfect man is Jesus. Focus on Jesus:  Who was he?  How did he live?  What did he say?  The test of Christianity is Christ.

Our unfaithfulness does not diminish God’s character in the least.  That’s twisted thinking.

Papa, though I am deeply flawed, I thank you for a Savior who lived a blameless life.

Oracles

Then what advantage has the Jew?  Or what is the value of circumcision?

Romans 3:1

At the end of chapter two, Paul made several strong statements about the Jewish people:

• There is no difference between Jews and Gentiles in salvation.

• Being Jewish won’t save you.

• Having the law won’t save Jews.

• Being circumcised won’t save you.

• A true Jew is a Jew inwardly, not outwardly.

By the end of chapter two, Paul’s readers would think, “Wait a minute!  Aren’t the Jews God’s chosen people?  Doesn’t that matter!  If there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, then what advantage is it to be Jewish?  Does circumcision have value?”

Paul’s immediate and emphatic answer:  “Much in every way.  To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God” (3:2).  When Paul begins to enumerate the advantages of being Jewish, the first thing he thinks of is the Word of God.  “The Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.”  They were entrusted with the very words of God.  And this is a treasure beyond all compare!

The preface to the ESV states of the Bible:

“This Book [is] the most valuable thing that this world affords. Here is Wisdom; this is the royal Law; these are the lively Oracles of God.” With these words the Moderator of the Church of Scotland hands a Bible to the new monarch in Britain’s coronation service. These words echo the King James Bible translators, who wrote in 1611: “God’s sacred Word… is that inestimable treasure that excelleth all the riches of the earth.”

Is this God’s sacred Word to you?  Do you see the Bible as the oracles of God, the very words of God?  If so, you will read it, delight in it, memorize it, study it, obey it and share it.

O Lord, may I treasure your holy Word.

Sodom and Gomorrah

Pieter_Schoubroeck_-_De_verwoesting_van_Sodom_en_Gomorra

Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven.

Genesis 19:24

God is good but he is 

not

 safe. He is not a cosmic Santa Claus or a benign grandfather or a cuddly teddy bear. He is the Lord! He is the Sovereign Ruler of the universe. He is the Judge of all the earth. He is a consuming fire. He is most holy.

He will judge sin. Don't kid yourself. Sooner or later, he will judge sin. Our only hope is to run to him as Savior before we face him as Judge. If we flee to him as Savior, then "there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1) and we have "passed from death to life" (John 5:24).

In Genesis 19 we read of God's severe judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah. The sin of these cities is proverbial. God's judgment was breathtaking, as well as sobering.

We don't understand God's judgment. Not really. It is his mysterious work. But because he is good and because he is just and because he is holy, God 

must

 judge sin.

It helps to think of an extreme example: Adolf Hitler exterminated six million Jews with horrific, brutal deaths. Moreover, his acts of war led to the deaths of

 fifty million

 people who died in World War II. If God does not judge Hitler, if Hitler faces no accountability for his unspeakable atrocities, then we would have to question the goodness of God. Would a good God, a moral God, a holy God, 

not

 judge Hitler? Would a good God treat a Hitler and a Mother Teresa the same? Of course not!

Down deep, we know that God must judge evil, that somehow it is only right for God to judge. We just don't understand some of his judgments that seem so severe.

But God is God and not me. God will not fit inside my tiny box. He is the God of all creation and he does as he chooses. He is just, and he will do what is right and fair and good.

Make no mistake. He's the Judge. He is not to be trifled with!

Clout with God

Tissot_God's_Promises_to_Abram

Then the Lord said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know."

Genesis 18:20-21

In Genesis 18 we come to one of the more unusual prayer episodes in the Bible. God had taken human form and visited his friend Abraham. Before God leaves, he reveals to Abraham that he is about to judge Sodom and Gomorrah for their outrageous wickedness.

Why does God mention this to Abraham? Because God wants Abraham to pray for his nephew, Lot, who lives in Sodom. God wants Abraham to intercede. He wants Abraham to 

care

.

And care Abraham does. He is hesitant and tentative at first. But he approaches God, broaching the matter of this imminent judgment and he asks God to spare the entire wicked city if there are fifty good people to be found in the city.

Then he waits. And the righteous God, the Judge of the whole earth, says yes.

Abraham doesn't stop there. He is desperately burdened for Lot and Lot's family of four, so he continues to pray. 

"Will you spare Sodom if forty-five good people are left?" "Yes. Yes I will spare it."

Whew! (You hear Abraham letting his breath out as he closes his eyes in relief.) But he doesn't stop there.

"What if there are forty?" ... "Yes."

"What if there are thirty?" ... "Yes."

"What if there are only twenty?" ... "Yes."

"Lord, don't be upset at my boldness, but what if only ten good people are left in the city? Will you spare the entire city for the sake of the ten?" ... "Yes! For the sake of the ten, I will spare the entire city."

Can you sense it? God 

wanted

 Abraham to pray. God 

wanted

 Abraham to intercede. God 

wanted

 Abraham to care.

And care Abraham did. He prayed. He prayed passionately. He prayed emotionally. He prayed boldly. He prayed persistently.

God will burden us with certain needs, certain hurts, certain people, certain non-Christian friends because he wants us to pray for them. He wants us to intercede for them. He wants us to care.

Who is that for you? Some of these people God would have you intercede regularly for: a spouse, children, other family members, close friends. Other people we will pray for during a season - a health crisis, a job need, a marriage breakdown, a special request.

You are God's friend. You are God's ally. You are God's partner. You have clout with God. Who is it that God is calling 

you

 to bring before him in passionate and persistent prayer?

Ask him. Ask him and wait. Be sensitive to the people he puts on your heart.

By the way, God did not spare Sodom. There were only four good people in the city, Lot and his family. But God rescued Lot and his family from Sodom before judgment fell. Because this is what Abraham was really praying: "O Lord, please spare my nephew Lot and his family if you judge Sodom!"

God knew what Abraham wanted. He knew and heard and answered.

Anything?

bible-genesis-618x320

Is anything too hard for the Lord?

Genesis 18:14a

Abraham sits under the shade of his Bedouin tents in the stifling desert heat. That's when he notices them: three men, just standing there! Moved by the Bedouin hospitality of the Middle East, Abraham scurries to serve them.

At some point it becomes clear to Abraham that one of these men was none other than God, God in human form (most likely the preincarnate Christ). And God promises Abraham that in one year, the ninety-year-old Sarah will give birth to a son. Sarah, meanwhile, is eavesdropping from inside the tent. When she hears this incredible statement, she laughs.  She laughs to herself. She laughs in unbelief: No way!

God, knowing all things, knows that Sarah laughed. He responds, interestingly, to Abraham:

The Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, "Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?" Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son" (Genesis 18:13-14).

God's question, 

Is anything too hard for the Lord?

 etches itself in my mind and echoes in my heart. I can't get away from it. Is anything too hard for the Lord?

God says to me and to you: Is 

anything

 too hard for the Lord? Is anything too hard for the

Lord

? Is anything too hard for the God who spoke the sun and the stars into existence? Is anything too hard for the God who raises the dead?

What are you facing today that seems impossible? Do you need healing? Do you have a teenager headed for disaster? Do you have a marriage that needs a miracle? Would you love to have a baby? Do you have a hopeless addiction? Is there a non-Christian loved one who is hardened against God? Does your problem seem impossible?

God's word to Sarah is God's word to you. Hear his whisper: 

Is anything too hard for the Lord?

The God Who Sees

pretty_clouds_by_technicoloraplomb

But Abram said to Sarai, "Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please." Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

Genesis 16:6

The sad saga of Sarah and Hagar is remarkable. Sarah longs for a child but endless months go by and she never gets pregnant. Finally, she gives her servant, Hagar, to Abraham to have a child by her, a practice acceptable in the ancient world but by no means acceptable with God. Hagar does get pregnant and then treats Sarah with pride and contempt. Sarah is furious and mistreats Hagar to the point that Hagar flees into the desert to run away.

This sounds like a torrid soap opera! Things look bleak for Hagar. But then God reveals himself to Hagar in the desert. There God speaks to her, encourages her, challenges her, assures her. Hagar is flooded with relief and comfort:

So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, "You are a God of seeing," for she said, "Truly here I have seen him who looks after me" (Genesis 16:13).

"You are a God of seeing."

These are words to live by.

Understand the heart of God towards you. Whatever you are going through, no matter how painful, no matter how lonely, no matter how overwhelming, 

God sees you.

 God knows. God cares. God sees.

His eyes are on you. He never takes his eyes from you. He knows all you are going through. He knows all that is in your heart.

He

 is the God who sees you.

You are 

not

 alone.

He will never abandon you.

Waiting on God

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Waiting on God

November 16, 2015

Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, "Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her." And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

Genesis 16:1-2

Abraham and Sarah had been waiting for a child. God had promised a child but month after month, year after year came and went and there was still no child.

Perhaps Abraham and Sarah thought they would get pregnant immediately and nine months later have their baby. But it didn't happen that way. Now it had been ten years. Ten years! And still no child.

Sarah is tired of waiting. She takes matters into her own hands. She rationalizes and convinces herself that God plans to give them a child through her servant Hagar.

Now, this was the legal custom of the ancient Near East. A barren wife could give her personal servant to her husband.

However, though this practice was acceptable in the world's eyes, it was 

not

 acceptable in God's eyes.

Abraham, like Adam before him, listens to the voice of his wife rather than to the voice of his God. He resorts to self-reliant manipulations and sleeps with Hagar.

They have a son, Ishmael, but the whole scheme backfires, leaving a trail of anger, jealousy, pride, abandonment and hurt. (The scheme continues to echo with pain in the Jewish-Arab conflict of today.)

Waiting is hard. No one likes to wait. But waiting is part of God's plan for us. Waiting is one of the principal ways that God teaches us. Through waiting God teaches us faith and dependence and prayer and desperateness and gratitude.

Imagine if we never waited. Imagine if we got things as soon as we wanted, as soon as we asked for them. Would we learn dependence? Would we learn faith? Would we learn desperate prayer? Would we be as grateful? Would we not begin to think of God as a genie at our disposal rather than the sovereign Lord for us to obey?

What have 

you

 been waiting for? A job? A marriage? A breakthrough in your marriage? A child? A healing? A loved one coming to Christ? Something else?

Waiting is difficult, and at times, excruciating. But God uses waiting. He uses waiting in ways we don't understand.

So keep waiting. Don't despair. Don't give up. Don't take matters into your own hands and resort to ungodly manipulation. Don't rationalize a compromise. For example, if you are waiting to be married don't rationalize that it is OK for you, a Christian, to marry a non-Christian.

Wait. God had not forgotten Abraham and Sarah and he has not forgotten you. 

He

 will take care of you. Just wait. Just you wait.

Fear and Faith

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Fear and Faith

November 13, 2015

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great."

Genesis 15:1

In the Bible there are 365 times when God says to someone, 

"Do not be afraid!"

 (It's almost as if God wants us to have a reminder for each day.) The very first time that we hear these words is in Genesis 15.

Every time God says to someone, "Do not be afraid," you can be sure that the person is terrified. So why is Abraham so afraid? What is he afraid of?

Well, he had just led a bold surprise attack against an army of marauders, in order to rescue his nephew Lot. It was an amazing act of faith. But the next spring, when these same armies again swoop down to terrorize the Jordan Valley, they will be looking for one man: Abraham! The thought was terrifying!

So God gently assures Abraham that he, God, will be Abraham's shield. God will be the one to protect him. God says to him, 

"I

 will protect you Abraham.

 I

 will be your shield.

 I

 will be your Great Protector. Do 

not

 be afraid, Abraham."

Just as God wanted Abraham to trust him with his fears, God wants you and me to trust him with our fears. When fear wells up within us, for a health problem, for a financial problem, for a child, for a relational problem, for a problem at work, for anything, God says to us:

"Do 

not

 be afraid.

I

 am your protector.

I

 am your shield.

I

 will take care of you."

You and I are in the school of faith. God wants to build people who will trust him with their fears.

Bold Faith

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Bold Faith

November 11, 2015

When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.

Genesis 14:14

A band of marauders from the East swept down in the Jordan Valley, routing cities, seizing loot and taking captives.

One of their captives was Lot, Abraham's nephew.

When Abraham received word of this capture, he could have easily responded, "That's not my problem, Lot chose to live in that ungodly city of Sodom. Besides, what can I do? They have a huge army!"

But Abraham does something which gives us insight into the fiber of the man. Abraham immediately calls all of his men together and he sets off in pursuit!

This is an enormous risk. There's no army in the ancient land of Canaan to protect him. No police force. No safety net. He's pursuing a marauding army that has captured five cities. He's undoubtedly outnumbered.

Yet, Abraham doesn't waver or hesitate.

Abraham is on a great adventure with God. People on the great adventure with God take risks. They take bold risks. They take bold risks by faith.

People of faith don't choose the easy way, the comfortable way, the predictable way, the safe way. They take risks because they sense that God will honor their faith and ultimately take care of them.

Are you on a great adventure with God? What is God calling you to that involves risk in some way? A new job? A new ministry? Breaking off an unhealthy relationship? Sharing your faith with a friend? Bringing the full tithe to God? Going on a missions trip? Saying "I'm sorry" to your spouse? Letting go of your anger? Joining a home group? Getting help for an addiction? Obeying God in a tough area? Asking others to pray for your health problem? Becoming a Christian? ...

Back to Abraham: What happens?

He catches the marauding army at night, launches a surprise attack (possibly while they are celebrating and drunk) and completely routs them, rescuing Lot and all the rest. God came through for the man of faith.

He'll do the same for you.