Romans 10, today's reading, continues with some of the same themes we've seen in Romans over the last few days. Here are a few notes on this chapter:
- The opening point is that Israelites at this time were passionate for God, but they were wrong in how they were going about it. They were trying to earn God's favor through their good works and by not sinning, but that is impossible. And they had rejected the only possible way to be right with God, which is through accepting Jesus and what He did on the cross.
- Here's the irony: There are a ton of church-goers today who honestly approach God in that same (wrong) way. We should do good works and try (with God's help) not to sin, but we do that as a grateful response to God accepting us because of Jesus, not to try and get God to accept us. But many church-goers today do good and try not to do bad in an attempt to earn God's approval. It’s just not possible to “earn” it and it shows a lack of understanding the free gift of love God offers us through following Jesus.
- So we're taught in this chapter that the only way to be right with God is to say yes to Jesus through 'believing in our heart and confessing with our mouth.' (By the way, have you done that? If not, I’d love to talk with you about what that really means.)
- And then the point is made (in verses 14-15) that people can't say yes to Jesus unless they are told of Him and have His offer explained to them, so it's our responsibility to make sure everyone hears: in a loving, non-judgmental way!
What's your application from this chapter? Perhaps you've never said yes to Jesus, and need to? Or maybe you've been trying to do good and not do bad as a way to earn God's approval, not realizing that's the wrong motivation? Or could it be that you need to be more committed to sharing your faith with people who don't know Jesus. Take some time today and think about where you’re really at with God. If you want someone to talk with you as you journey through figuring out where you’re at with Jesus then feel free to email me. Tommy@tattoochurch.com
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