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.
Read:
Romans 3:1-4
“1 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2 Much in every way! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God. 3 What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? 4 Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: ‘So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.’”
Understand:
Objection number two is found in verse 3 where the questioner said, “What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness?” Here the questioner granted that not all Jews believed, but he wanted to know if that meant God would go back on His promises. It was God who chose Israel as His people and made a covenant with them. So, could the unbelief of some cause God to break His word?
Paul’s response to this objection was a resounding “Not at all!” Whenever there is a question whether God or man is right, always proceed on the basis that God is right and every man is a liar. In effect, this is what David said in Psalm 51:4: “The complete truthfulness of all You say must be defended, and You must be vindicated every time You are called into question by sinful man.” Our sins only serve to confirm the truthfulness of God’s words. God will never break His covenant. Even if every single human being were a liar, God would still be true because He remains invariably Himself and true to Himself.
Apply:
There is great hope for us in this truth Paul shares. God can be trusted! It doesn’t matter if some of these were simply disbelievers or untrue to the trust they were given, God will always be faithful to His promises.
It’s true that when we study God’s Word, a pattern emerges. We learn that God never changes and never lies (Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29). We learn through Scripture that God has never failed in the past (Isaiah 51:6). He was always true to His Word as He worked in the lives of the ancient Israelites. When He said He would do something, He did it (Numbers 11:23; Matthew 24:35). We begin to build trust upon His proven character. We can trust that God will be true to Himself. He will never cease acting like God. He will never cease being sovereign, being holy, or being good (1 Timothy 6:15; 1 Peter 1:16).
With this in mind, think about this promise found in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
*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.