Romans 2:23-24
Romans 2:23-24
You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
This passage makes me reflect on my own leaning to live by the law and how so many people that don’t know Jesus react to the Church because of the standards we put on them. I think it is in a lot of us to relate to God by a list of activities that we need to do in order to superficially satisfy our conscience before God. In other words, we think that God is happy with us when we obey a certain standard. In our effort to obey this standard, we impose this standard on others and in doing that we are boasting in that standard. We are saying to others that this is how you make God happy with you. This is not possible because it is impossible to hold up this standard all the time and when others see that, it dishonors the name of God. When the name of God is dishonored by those who wear it, the people who do not know God will be turned away because of this hypocritical lifestyle.
What is the solution? What is the alternative to this life so that the name of God will be honored by the way His Church wears His name? The answer is GRACE. Grace does not allow us to point to us in anything we try to do, therefore giving God all of the glory and making His name great. This is the only way his name can be held up for all of the glory it deserves. That is, when His children live by grace alone, by faith alone as the only standard for living. How can His name be blasphemed when the Church points to God’s grace and not their ability to make things right by their own strength?
This grace has come to us by the name of Christ. In Christ alone can we find the grace to know God.
You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
This passage makes me reflect on my own leaning to live by the law and how so many people that don’t know Jesus react to the Church because of the standards we put on them. I think it is in a lot of us to relate to God by a list of activities that we need to do in order to superficially satisfy our conscience before God. In other words, we think that God is happy with us when we obey a certain standard. In our effort to obey this standard, we impose this standard on others and in doing that we are boasting in that standard. We are saying to others that this is how you make God happy with you. This is not possible because it is impossible to hold up this standard all the time and when others see that, it dishonors the name of God. When the name of God is dishonored by those who wear it, the people who do not know God will be turned away because of this hypocritical lifestyle.
What is the solution? What is the alternative to this life so that the name of God will be honored by the way His Church wears His name? The answer is GRACE. Grace does not allow us to point to us in anything we try to do, therefore giving God all of the glory and making His name great. This is the only way his name can be held up for all of the glory it deserves. That is, when His children live by grace alone, by faith alone as the only standard for living. How can His name be blasphemed when the Church points to God’s grace and not their ability to make things right by their own strength?
This grace has come to us by the name of Christ. In Christ alone can we find the grace to know God.
posted by Tom Watson | 2:07 PM
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