Pray:
Ask God to orient or reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.
Today is our last day in Romans 2:1-11, so take some time to think back over the week. Think about the arrogance of the righteous self-moralizer; think about the hypocrisy in their lives that Paul pointed out. Think about the fact that no one in all of humanity has an excuse to receive God’s mercy; we all are equally condemned in our guilt. Think about God’s judgment and how only He knows the truth; we are finite and broken and will never be able to fully see truth without God opening our eyes. Think about the many ways people around us show their contempt for God, even though in His kindness toward them, we see God’s tenderness. He doesn’t want any to fall. Think about how through faith alone we grow in our walk with Christ. As we draw closer to Him, our lives produce works that are consistent with His righteousness. Think about how we should respond to the work Christ has done on our behalf.
Now read the passage again… this time read it in Phillips New Testament in Modern English.
Read:
Rom. 2:1-11, “NOW if you feel inclined to set yourself up as a judge of those who sin, let me assure you, whoever you are, that you are in no position to do so. For at whatever point you condemn others you automatically condemn yourself, since you, the judge, commit the same sins. God’s judgment, we know, is utterly impartial in its action against such evil-doers. What makes you think that you, who so readily judge the sins of others, can consider yourself beyond the judgment of God? Are you, perhaps, misinterpreting God’s generosity and patient mercy towards you as weakness on His part? Don’t you realize that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? Or are you by your obstinate refusal to repent simply storing up for yourself an experience of the wrath of God in the day of His anger when He shows His hand in righteous judgment? He will “render to every man according to his works”, and that means eternal life to those who, in patiently doing good, aim at the unseen glory and honour of the eternal world. It also means anger and wrath for those who rebel against God’s plan of life, and refuse to obey His rules, and who, in so doing, make themselves the very servants of evil. Yes, it means bitter pain and agony for every human soul who works on the side of evil, for the Jew first and then the Greek. But there is glory and honour and peace for every worker on the side of good, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For there is no preferential treatment with God.”
Apply:
*From what you have just read and considered: What is a personal implication/application for your life today?
Live:
(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)
Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today. KEEP PRAYING THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY.
Inspiration and insight for the devotionals came from the following books: Reading Romans with John Stott; The Message of Romans: God’s Good News for the World (The Bible Speaks Today Series), Stott, John; Romans (The NIV Application Commentary Book 6) Moo, Douglas J.; Encountering the Book of Romans: A Theological Survey (Encountering Biblical Studies) Moo, Douglas J.; Believers Bible Commentary; The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, with the New International Version, Romans through Galatians.