Thot 4 2 day March

thot 4 2 dayMARCH

[Romans]

Ronnie Gibson

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Thot 4 2 day March

These devotions are dedicated to the endearing memory of my dear friend and brother-in-Christ Robert Robinson, whom the Lord thought

appropriate to call home to glory on July 18th 2014.

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INTRODUCTION

It had long been my late brother’s desire that I focus on producing a set of daily devotions to encourage God’s dear children on their Christian pathway.While sharing some of these devotions with Robert and his wife Maureen my attention was directed, by the Holy Spirit I believe, to Paul’s letter to the Romans.So, for each month of the year, I intend to systematically go through the first twelve chapters of the book - a chapter for each month. This would entail considering each chapter verse-by-verse on a daily basis. Of course, January would equate to chapter one; February to chapter two, and so on. However, since there are sixteen chapters in Romans and only twelve months in the year, I have added an ‘executive summary’ as a tailpiece to December.While I set out my analysis of the Roman epistle it is not meant to be construed as a commentary, but a devotional work.Therefore, I pray as we share these devotions you will be drawn closer to our Lord, and experience His blessing both on your own life, and through you, the life of your family members.

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ANALYSIS OF EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Chapters 1-7THE REAL GOSPEL

Ch 1 - and THE POWER OF GODCh 2 - and THE JUDGMENT OF GOD

Ch 3 – and THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODChapter 8

THE REAL CHRISTIAN

Chapters 9-11THE REAL JEW

Chapters 12-16

THE REAL LIFE

As we come to chapter 3 of Romans and contemplate the ‘real gospel’, we add to the ‘Power’ of God as seen in chapter 1, and the ‘Judgment’ of God as seen in chapter 2.I will endeavour to follow the above analysis throughout the daily devotions, seeking to stress the ‘reality’ which Paul presents in this wonderful and inspiring epistle.Reality, in the realms as outlined above. Teaching, to challenge all of us as to the will of God for this world, and also for your life and mine.So, let’s go, and please God, we will learn together, more of our wonderful, magnanimous, amazing God.

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March 1st3. THE REAL GOSPEL—and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v1 “What advantage then hath the Jew? Or what profit is there of circumcision?”

February (chapter 2) has taught us clearly about the real Gospel and the 'Judgment of God' plus the solitary fact that, with Him, there is no respect of persons; plus the day will undoubtedly come when He will, through Jesus Christ, judge the secrets of men, regardless of their national or religious background.No small wonder then Paul begins chapter 3, and the 'Righteousness of God', with this less-than-subtle question - "What's the use then in being a Jew?" and adds - "What is the point then of the ritual of circumcision?"

The next thirty days of March will unfold for us the response of Paul to this perceived dilemma. Paul has a definite plan in mind for he desires that his fellow-countrymen might grasp the eternal and fundamental fact that, before God, all men, without distinction, are classified as undeserving sinners.

But he has to endeavour to remove the religious clutter and baggage from their thinking, before setting the majestic claims of Jesus Christ to them.

So March takes you and me into our own homes and workplaces to ascertain the calibre of our family and colleagues, and seek, by the help of the Holy Spirit, to guide them through the fog of Satan's clouding of their minds so they

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can embrace the concept of God's righteousness and the offer of His Son.

March 2nd

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v2 "Much every way, chiefly because that unto them were committed the oracles of God."

Paul begins to answer the deep question asked yesterday regarding the value of actually being a Jew and observing the rituals of their religion. He begins by reminding the Jewish people at Rome that they are immensely privileged to be born a Jew. Not least because Almighty God in His wisdom and grace condescended to place into their safekeeping the oracles and laws.Of course, God did so because He desired them to know Him and know His ways and accordingly follow them. The upshot of this being that the non-Jew in the rest of the world would marvel at the greatness and majesty of their amazing God. They retained within their reach the message from Heaven which had the aura and ability to change the world and present to it the living and holy God. Needless to say, such a privilege brought with it awesome responsibility.

Lest, you and me get all psyched up about their neglect of such a remarkable privilege, pause and quietly contemplate what these devotions are all about. We have God's Word freely available within our grasp, and the world around us needs desperately to have their minds untangled from the media and hype of 21st century living to observe clearly the message and person of Jesus Christ. We must not, like the Jews of Paul's

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day, miss the grandeur of this opportunity and privilege. Starting today!

March 3rd

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v3 "For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith(fullness) of God without effect?

I have deliberately added a little tailpiece to the word 'faith' to make it 'faithfulness', because that is more in keeping with the thought of Paul here. His undoubted thrust is that God remains interminably faithful, true and righteous to the Jew, regardless of their breaking the Laws which He has put into their custody.It is true that many Jews have not believed the Word of God and have been both unfaithful and unrighteous. But Paul firmly repudiates any mistaken concept of Almighty God, that He would reciprocate with unrighteousness and unfaithfulness.Our wonderfully, compassionate God will not nor can not vary from His avowed position of remaining true to His people. He does not waver because of their varying spiritual temperatures; He does not flinch when His people reject Him; nor does He stall when His people wander in their personally selected pathways. He is righteous! He is faithful! Always!

Please recall today some of those very precious commitments the Lord has made to you over the years. Do not falter, do not waver, do not wander - He has not forgotten. The Scripture says that He never slumbers nor sleeps, allow me to add that He never even blinks. Why? Because He might just miss something if He did! He might miss something crucially

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important to you or to me. He remains totally faithful and righteous, He will positively respond to you at His projected timing.

March 4th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v4 "God forbid; yea, let God be true, a every man a liar; as it is written - That Thou mightest be justified in Thy sayings, and mightest overcome when Thou art judged."

The theme of God's righteousness continues today. It is also worth bearing in mind that Paul's thrust here is to confirm this to be so particularly in the realm of what is the real gospel.The gospel of Jesus Christ can be trusted because God Himself can be trusted. It is so important that an unerring principle be established by Paul, so that his listeners and his readers clearly understand that the Lord God is far removed from the erring minds of men.

Paul quotes Psalm 30 to again reiterate that his own thinking is embedded in the history of the sacred writings of which they themselves are the major shareholders.

And it is only through this impervious righteousness of God that any man may be "justified". We will later discuss this massive topic of 'justification' during March, but suffice today to set out an interesting aspect of this concept by highlighting the fact that 'justification' is a forensic word. That is, it is precise and intricate and bears any or all adverse scrutiny.

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To God's children this is a most deliberate and fundamental fulcrum of their faith. Therefore, Paul's clear assertion is that on this crucial topic, God's Words will always prove true and right no matter the enquirer.

March 5th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v5 "But, if our unrighteousness commanded the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who take the revenge? (I speak as a man)"

The complex arena regarding the righteousness of God continues between Paul and his readers in Rome. Paul now seeks, in today's devotion, to anticipate the Jewish queries as to his standing that God is righteous.

He suspects they will argue that it is good that they should therefore continue to break their faith in the Lord, continue to sin, so that the majestic rightness of God be capably demonstrated to all and sundry - Jew and Gentile alike.

They construe, quite wrongly, that their 'badness' serves the greater purpose of displaying the magnitude of God's goodness. They further argue that it equally follows that God, being intrinsically good and fair, surely cannot punish them as they continue in their downward slide of sin.

But Paul, adds the little rejoinder, that this is his personal reckoning as a man. That is, he appeals to his readers, that he is coming alongside them in a sympathetic manner as one of them - "I speak as a man". But in so doing he is cleverly

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drawing them into a virtual 'spider's web' from which their consciences cannot escape.

March 6th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v6 “ God forbid; for then how shall God judge the world?"

The 'spider's web' of yesterday is woven tighter today.

If any one considers that by continually sinning against God, it only produces the dramatic effect of God's inherent goodness as a result, then they are sorely mistaken.

God cannot and God will not overlook sin. Sin, in any of its multicoloured schemes and designs, will be dealt with by a righteous God. Failure on His part to deal with sin, in any form, renders Him ineffective in the final analysis of judgment.

And Paul is most dramatic in his language to this effect when he pointedly exclaims - "God forbid!"

Dear reader, please do not have any misunderstanding on these wider issues which Paul seeks diligently to address. Living in this hyper-modern, free-thinking, astutely choreographed, intellectual cauldron called the 21st century one could easily be sidetracked by the superiority-orientated media that God is a non-entity and of little or no relevance.

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Do not be imbibed by such presentations - but rather return in sincere appreciation to the Word of the Sovereign and ever-Righteous God, Who, Paul reminds us, will "judge the world"

March 7th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v7

"For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto His glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?"

The construction of the 'web' continues.

Paul's reasoning is this - surely God could not condemn me if my sinning merely brought Him more glory!

This is how Paul perceives the mind, the unbending mind, of his Jewish brethren as to their refusal to accept the righteous dealings of a holy God. Their moral falsehood; their unfaithfulness to the strivings of inner conscience; these they consider to be actively acceptable since it merely demonstrates with greater intensity the rightness (righteousness) of God, His Word, and His Truth.

The entanglement of this moral web is frightening in its magnitude, for it leaves open the door to all shapes of perversion and perceptions.

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You cannot but catch the reminiscence of the last verse of the book of Judges, when Scripture records (Judges 21v25) - "....and every man did that which was right in his own eyes."

This is the mentally construed philosophy of the unrepentant Roman Jews. They reasoned that the Lord God would merely enlarge His forgiving nature to cover their continuing waywardness.

March 8th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v8 “And not rather, (as we be slanderously are reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just."

Paul continues his onward march of discrediting the philosophy of these Roman Jews, who consider their standing with God supersedes even the Law which He has issued. They reckon such laws are considered necessary for the underdogs, but not them.

They spread abroad the false notion that their viewpoint matches that presented by the apostle himself in his preaching.

Paul's contention is that if you follow through their flawed ideas you come to a remarkably weird conclusion, namely, the worse they are, the better God actually likes it!

But the damnation of those who say such things will be handled by the rightness of God.

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March 9th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v9 “What then? Are we better than them? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin."

Paul raises their argument and attitudes. They reckon that as Jews they stand uniquely apart from the rest of the world in terms of relationship with God, and it axiomatically follows that they will be treated differently from all others. While I still contend these devotions are not meant to be construed as a commentary, it is important that I draw a crucial distinction here. Some believers hold to the view that God has severed all connection with the Jew, and would use our current verses to substantiate the same. But I draw the reader's attention to the deep fact that Paul has already outlined the distinctive uniqueness of the Jew to the Lord, and the issue here is NOT one of 'separation' but of 'salvation'. God has a day when He will restore the Jewish people to their former glorious and privileged position, but today Paul is advocating ferociously that they are not saved and thereby cannot hide behind their wrongly perceived concept of exclusivism. Today, in God's economy, the Jew and the Gentile are identically linked in the

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matter of salvation. And Paul insists that the sooner they realise this the better.

Just on a little sideline may I enquire of you, the reader, do you encounter men and women of our day who hold tenaciously, but errantly, to the view that their religion sets them apart from God's oncoming judgment? Hold on a moment! Could you be reading this today and are being confronted by your own falseness in hiding behind some religious presupposition?

March 10th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v10 "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one."

Paul launches into a masterpiece of salvation preaching. These Jews have become soundly entrenched in their aloofness in connection with God's offer of glorious salvation in Jesus Christ through the real gospel - (not a personally nor nationally prescribed salvation).

So Paul, with astute determination and godly wisdom, takes his readers back to the one book in the Scriptures which has touched their hearts and their worship for centuries - the book of Psalms.

Quoting both Psalm 14 and Psalm 53, Paul adroitly reminds them that the one Psalmist with a multi-checkered past reminds his fellow-countrymen that there is none who are right living; there is no one in the world of the Jew or Gentile who is innocent before a holy God.

To hammer home to his people their awful dilemma, Paul will continue, in future devotions, to spell out their depravity as

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seen by Almighty God and the plumb line He forced the OT prophet Amos to describe. A plumb-line which will not deviate from the absolute truth of their God, and a plumb-line they need to recall in their lives and in their thinking.

We, also today, do well to contemplate with awesome gravity this unmovable, unchanging Word of God.

March 11th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v11 “There is none that understand, there is none that seeketh after God."

Yesterday's devotion began a seven-point sermon by Paul in his determined effort to draw his people back to a realistic acceptance of their tenuous position before God. You will recall how yesterday Paul, quoting the Psalmist, set out the spiritual principle that there is not one man or woman on this Earth, either Jew or Gentile, who, in any way, measures up to the rightness (righteousness) of God.

Now today he attacks their minds and their hearts in a full-frontal attack on their obstinacy and refusal to bend to God's desired ways for them. Paul emphasises that there is not one Jew in Rome, or anywhere else for that matter, whose mentally-inspired attitude has taken adequately cognisance of the paths of God - "... none......understands....." He further inspects their hearts and their motives and remarkably concludes that there are "... none....that even seeks after God."

These dear, well-meaning people have been drastically blinded by the god of this world lest the light of the real gospel of Jesus

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Christ should shine in. Their blindness stymied any positive effort to reach an understanding of God's requirements for a meaningful relationship.

Lest you and I get too carried away with their futile waywardness, I ask that we reflect on the characteristics of the fellowship to which we belong. Is the real gospel and the righteousness (rightness) of God paramount in our worship and gospel?

March 12th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v12 "They are all gone out of their way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."

Paul has now dealt with two points in his brief but pointed sermon to his own people. Now he launches, albeit in sadness, to further condemn them before his God. He defames their stanch by stressing three further avenues of waywardness and rebellion.Firstly, they have all, without exception, gone their own way; obviously interpreting the records of God in their own perceptively enlightened manner. God, they reckon, is out of touch with current culture and current governmental conciliatory laws. God's people the Jew have been following the philosophical trends of their day as having reasonable precedence over the outdated and outmoded plumb-line of God.Secondly, as far as the work and worship of God is concerned, there is no satisfactory merit - they have been weighed in the balances and found wanting, indeed, without profit.

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Thirdly, their vision of right and wrong has become hazily obscure, so that they no longer recognise the true value of their actions. They have become 'useless' to the advancing glory of their Lord and God. How pathetically sad it is when the chosen people of God decide that their own judgments are more profitable than the Lord's thoughts and ways. Obviously our culture today reflects mirror-like the scenarios of Paul's day; how sad for us; how sad for the Lord.

March 13th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v13 “Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips.”

The condemnatory attitude of Paul continues today. His castigation of his own people's ways and attitudes move him to present some strong and meaty language. He accuses his own people, the Jew, of the most venomous and drastic blasphemy imaginable. Notice the three elements in his devastating attack - one, their throat; two, their tongues; and three, their lips.

It will take tomorrow to discover the out flowing of such bitterness and sourness, but today, let us intimately dwell on how corrupt these fellow Jews have become. What will proceed from their mouths can only be described as vile obscenities when we consider the cesspool from which it springs. Their throats are like open sewers; their tongues and heavily laden with downright lies; their lips carry the sting of sarcasm and poison.

Paul is seriously endeavouring to portray the rightness (righteousness) of God to these Jews in Rome, and he clearly

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demonstrates the openness and clarity of God's words and motives, compared with their innuendoed-slime of language.Although God will not disown these His people, neither will He excuse their pathetic stench of verbiage, and the sooner these Jews learn the solitary lesson, then the better it will be for them.

March 14th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness;”

Now Paul examines and castigates what comes out of the throats, mouths and lips referred to yesterday. Because of their inwardly perceived aloofness from the laws of God, these Jews have sought pernicious refuge behind two specific means of defence.

Firstly, they resort to 'swearing'. That is, when they are clearly faced with their waywardness before God, and they do not have an adequate answer to respond to God's laws, they resort to the abysmally pathetic recourse of blasphemy and cursing. No doubt they had picked this habit up from the likes of Peter, who when he was faced with the obvious, responded with oaths and curses. But, like Peter, they needed to repent; but, alas were not prepared to do so.

Secondly, they engaged in 'bitterness'. That is, faced with their obvious failure to comply with the will of God their defence mechanism kicked in and they degraded their speech to

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sarcasm and vitriol and bitterness. The old expression which I have been long-taught insists- 'the dog that yelps the most is the dog which the stone hit'.I suggest we all pause here and reflect on our responsive behaviour and language when we are challenged by God's Holy Spirit.

March 15th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;”

Paul continues to build his case on the contrasting God's rightness and their wrongness. So far in our devotions it has touched the heart of these Jews, through to their mouths and language.

Today, it gets further into the mire. Paul accuses them of physicalising their inner thoughts and outer language by becoming abusive in actual harassment and victimisation. They are unafraid of God's reactions to their words, and their actions. They are so far entrenched in what they consider to be their allotted privileges, that they have lost the plot as far as the righteousness of their God is concerned.You can almost catch their group discussions as they promote their grandiose standing according to past promises from God to these His people. They have adapted the spiritual ostrich-like stance of burying their responsibilities in the sand and prefer to conduct their own life-style approach, even if it means resorting to unbecoming behavioural patterns.

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God's people of both yesteryear and this year have an inbuilt tendency to muscle their way out from under God's wishes and ways, assuming that physical and verbal strength equals spiritual rightness. Not so, brother! Not so, sister!

March 16th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v16 “Destruction and misery are in their ways:”

Yesterday's devotion concluded with Paul's devastating analysis of the habitual practices of God's chosen people. Now, today, he spotlights the resultant response from the Lord - nothing good will follow such unspiritual activity. And the resultant response has two remarkable features - one, whatever they try to construct will fall to pieces in destruction; and, secondly, whatever degree of satisfaction they feel by their attitudes and actions will be transient and fleeting.The 'destruction' is visualised as being - 'dashed to pieces'; the 'misery' is construed as being - 'devoid of peacefulness'. Such behaviour by God's people will have the 'anti-Midas' touch; that is, no matter what they put their hands to will not prosper. Sure, they may well have a larger bank account, but as the comic stressed: 'you can see what God thinks of money by the people He allows to have it!'The 'value' of a believer consists not in the abundance of what he possesses. The true value of the true believer is found in

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Psalm 1 and the words of verses 1,2&3. Please do read at your earliest opportunity.

March 17th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v17 “And the way of peace have they not known”

The onslaught continues from Paul. In a determined strategy to cause his people to view the immense gap between their perceived concepts of right and wrong, Paul is dedicated to telling them the truth. God is so dynamically true and right in all His dealings with men that Paul has to draw the unlikely parallel with their own behavioural patterns. And now, after dealing with their outwardly evidenced failings, he now launches into their inward feelings.Peace is demonstrably absent from their lives. The secure feeling of knowing that all is well with the soul is decidedly missing. The physical activity is merely covering up the lack of spiritual movement. They are on the infamous treadmill. Occupied so diligently with their business ventures and their striking another manipulated deal they have failed miserably in the realm of the real gospel and the rightness of God.

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No! You are misreading today's devotion! I am not talking about the 21st century entrepreneurial pursuit of the next mega deal. I am not addressing the candidates on Alan Sugar's 'The Apprentice' here, I am deeply concerned at the secondary position into which many of us believers put the Lord God.

March 18th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

The scary bottom of their pit has now been revealed. These highly religious, well-meaning religious people have become so fully occupied with having and getting, that, unbeknown to them, they have dug the deepest hole in their spiritual lives - they have lost even the smallest regard for the rightness of God. Paul expresses it with grim, heart-searching reality, they have no fear of God. They care nothing for God nor what He thinks of them.Hold on! Can we in today's devotion be addressing those who attend church/temple worship regularly; paying in their tribute money and tithes; sitting at the Lord's Table; singing eloquently and rousingly the psalms and hymns of worship; carrying the oracles of God in their hands; dressed in suitable clothing fitting for God's house; can these really be the addressees of Paul's letter and enclosed critical comments?

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YES! They do all the above with fervour and suaveness, but they have lost the plot. They are missing the point. They have lost the vision, and even with more regrettably, they have lost the inner concept of the fear of God.

We are admonished elsewhere in Scripture that 'the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom', but God's wisdom and righteousness has been heavily cloaked by their own wisdom and their own righteousness. How do I perceive this greatness and righteousness of our God in my daily living?

March 19th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v19 “Now we know that whatsoever things the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and that all the world may become guilty before God.”

Devotions of today and tomorrow will touch the centre of Paul's thrust to his own people the Jew and will spread out to embrace all men everywhere. Truly, the judgment of God lies predominantly on the Jew since they have been the first recipients of God's rightness. They should be foremost in the proclamation of this amazing characteristic of Jehovah, but have failed in their eternal responsibility. On the contrary, they have mistakenly sheltered under these privileges and went about determining and adhering to their own standards, irrespective of God's clear and defined requirements.Because they, the Jew, have failed to publicise God in their living standards, then the watchful Gentiles have also missed

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the mark set by Him. The ramifications of such a negligent betrayal is that the whole world are without excuse when the real gospel and God's righteousness have now been revealed. Paul phrases it so - "every mouth is stopped". There are no excuses, no platitudes, no words possible to be expressed by man to counteract the 'plumb-line of God's rightness in His dealings with mankind.You are guilty before God, insists Paul, regardless of you being a Jew or a Gentile.

March 20th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v20 “Therefore by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in His sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

Paul insists that no one can ever be right in God's sight by doing what the Law demands. For the more we know of God's law, the clearer it becomes that we are falling short. His law only serves to make us see how wretched we are as guilty sinners. The embracing word Paul thrusts before his readers (and thereby us) is "justified". The fundamental and crucial concept associated with both the real gospel and the righteousness of God. Being 'justified' is the act or process by which an individual is brought into a right state as reckoned by God Himself. God makes us 'right' with Himself. A deliberate process outside of man's ability to achieve, regardless of their pre-supposed ideals.

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What a wholesome and full experience for any man to acquire, the unenviable position of being right before a holy and righteous God, irrespective of background and religious affiliation.No small wonder that Paul has been force-feeding these Romans on the diet of their own inadequacies over these past days’ devotions. He insists, with great determination, that they must not miss this wide-open door to fellowship with God, for it embraces all nations, all peoples, all religions, all humans.Wherever you are reading these notes today, let me assure you with utmost joy and determination, such an offer is on the spiritual table for you.

March 21st

3. THE REAL GOSPEL -and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD

Romans 3v21 “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed to by the law and the prophets:”

Paul highlights the obvious contrast. The old perceived system of rightness with God under the Law has been shown as deficient in the light of Jesus Christ's offer of salvation through God's justification. The system now is different but not new, because the Scriptures have foretold of God's justification long ago. It hinges beautifully on the central theme of March's devotions, namely, the righteousness (rightness) of God Himself, married to the proclamation of the real gospel, which has is our fundamental focus for all the first seven chapters of Romans.

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The gospel stories are crammed with the stunning realisation of reconciliation with Jehovah, not through selfish achievements, but through this majestic concept of justification through God's righteousness.Knowing the Lord as you do, bask delightfully in the knowledge of what He has done for you in bringing you to the unenviable place of rightness with Him. Do not let the 'enemy' rob you of the sheer preciousness of such a blessing.This is you and your God!

March 22nd

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v22 “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all that believe: for there is no difference:”

I do hope the hairs are beginning to stand on the back of your neck as you ponder today's reading and devotion

Paul has entirely decimated every pretence that what any man can do, can in any way get him into this right relationship with God. Salvation and rightness with Almighty God is solely dependent on personal faith in God's singular offer of His Son Jesus Christ. Furthermore, the last four words of the verse, which are a prelude to the famous verse which follows, declare that 'there is

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no difference'. No one is excluded! No one is exempt! No one is outside the offer! No one is discriminated against! No one is victimised!The offer of rightness with God is built rock-solidly on the wonderful Person of Jesus Christ, and what every Jew and Gentile must glean confidently is that it is a matter of exercising "faith" in Him. Nothing else is acceptable to God!Wonderful, or what?

March 23rd

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v23 “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God;”

This conclusive statement of Paul removes from these Jews and Gentiles any personal aspirations of self-promotion, as far as the things of God are concerned.The great eternal levelling takes all the wind out of their sails - all are sinners. There is no hiding behind ancestral religious upbringing and 'in God we trust' slogans associated with many and various denominations and religions throughout God's world. The plumb-line of Amos, to with I have referred often in these devotions, hangs perpendicularly down the life of every man. The scholars; the self-appointed gurus; the life-

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style balancing acts; the mass-following millions; all these must eventually acknowledge, albeit grudgingly, that all men are sinners. And as such they all fall short of the marker set down by the righteous God. The glorious standard - His glorious Son Jesus Christ - is the datum line for all mankind, and Paul reminds these dear people at Rome, they fall below the line for they are all sinners, without exception.How challenging is all this in today's society, where the fear of God, the acknowledgement of God, the existence of God is demonised by peoples and governments alike. Child of God, we live in an exciting world where the 'gods' of this world are A-list celebrities; are the doyens of mass hysteria and worship. It is imperative that we adhere tenaciously to the teaching of God's Word.

March 24th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v24 “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:”

Three verses form the concluding arguments of Paul to these people - 24, 25 and 26 - as he sets out the work and Person of Jesus Christ on an unparalleled platform of greatness and majesty.Today, he emphasises three wonderfully ecstatic concepts. There is the matter of 'cost' - justification is "free"; then, there is the consideration of "grace" which remarkably is also free; finally, there is the value of "redemption" which is also free.

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And all this 'freeness' is pin-pointedly found exclusively in the Person of Jesus Christ. How amazing! How absolutely amazing!I offer a responsive slogan to you, framed in today's idiom of texting. How can you and I respond to all this wonderful giving by God? Here is my thought –

42me2live2dayisU!Please take time to work out the above texting, it has revolutionised my life, perhaps it may do the same for you, as you respond sincerely to today's devotion.

March 25th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v25 “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forebearance of God;”

Paul is determined that his own people would get the eternal vision in true and unblurred perspective. So, he spells it out to the Romans in fundamental steps. Before examining the steps, it may be prudent to pause briefly and set the scene. Paul has reduced their self-sufficiency to non-effect. He has levelled the playing field in declaring that all, without distinction, are

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sinners in the eyes of the righteous God. He has presented to them the One Who alone is able to redeem them from their sin. Now he explains how in four remarkable steps God has achieved this unachievable.One, Jesus Christ took the punishment from God that was due on the sinner - called "propitiation". Two, the cost of that punishment was the personal shedding of the "blood" of Christ. Three, God's rightness is satisfied by such an offering by Christ - called "redemption". Finally, God has provided this remedy for man's sin by His own determination and forethought.This way, God was being fair to all in His magnificent offering of redemption and forgiveness, while, at the same time, retaining His stringent rightness.

March 26th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v26 “To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.”

What is delightfully pre-eminent in Paul’s discourse is the theme of this entire chapter, namely, the real gospel and the righteousness of God.

He not only wishes to detail this essential topic to them but he desires to “declare” it in their thoughts and readings. The momentous thought that God is always right in what He does

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and in how He does it should, and must, thrill the heart and soul of every born-again child of God.

This eternal and characteristic of Almighty God inspires total dependence and faith in Him - no wonder another NT writer insisted that “without FAITH it is impossible to please Him.”

By God’s righteousness we are assured of His ‘justness’ in all His activities and dealings - He is unbreakable and unshakably “just”.

Coupled to this remarkable characteristic this same irrepressible God adds its practical outworking - namely, the justifying of anyone who willingly and decisively believes in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.

What a God we have! What a privilege we have!

March 27th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v27 “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay, but by the law of faith.”

I trust your heart is beating a little faster because of today's reading. For Paul here nails down the fundamentals of belief in His Son as Saviour and Lord. Salvation, which He offers freely to all men, is not dependant on our 'working' our way into God's mercy, but by the law of faith.Faith is the key which opens the door to eternal salvation found in Jesus Christ. Christ Himself declared to the apostle John - "I

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am the door, by Me if any man enter in he shall be saved". Our acquittal from the guilt of our sin is not self-based but Saviour-based.If there is one demonstrative proof of this principle it is found in Luke 23, where the repentant thief, who cannot go anywhere to be saved, nor do anything to be saved (because his hands and feet are nailed to the cross) receives the congratulatory comment from Christ because of his unbridled faith - "today, you will be with Me in paradise."

Our salvation is preciously based on the work of Christ, not on the work of self, nor on the work of the say-so others.Well, hallelujah!

March 28th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v28 “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”

Please do not miss the opening words of this truly remarkable verse of Scripture - Paul draws a double line (as does an accountant when he has done all the calculations and adjustments in a set of Accounts) under the previous twenty-seven verses of this chapter - "Therefore we conclude." And what is that conclusion?Wrapped in majestic, impenetrable bubble wrap is the conclusion for all peoples of all times - six words which baffle the most highly-educated scholars of all ages - "a man is justified by faith". Being made righteous before a holy God is

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exclusively the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is His work! His alone! Yet our God has provided a double portion of man-ward precautions and instructions. The first is the marvellous concept of "faith" which we as humans must exercise to obtain this gift of justification. The second is the devastating statement that "deeds" are null and void in this whole arena. We cannot offer even a modicum of effort to appease God, for all our righteousnesses are as 'filthy rags'.

In our day, as in the days of Paul, this message is considered anathema, because it does not stand easily with the theology of most religions, or with most individuals. And as we shall shortly see this message is so fundamental to the presentation of the real gospel and to the rightness of God when appropriated to every man.

March 29th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v29 “Is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:”

Having established the principle of justification Paul then needs to clarify the equality of such a principle across the total spectrum of mankind. Jews are left in no doubt that they, in spite of their religious observances and upbringing, must seek justification from God. Gentiles are clearly instructed that they, in spite of their previous alienation from God, can also be included in this category.Justification, argues Paul, has built within it the enduring and eternal dimension of inclusiveness. No one is excluded. No one

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is missed. God has provided at great and dire personal cost a means whereby a right relationship with Him may be formed. The real gospel which embraces the righteousness of God encompasses the world and it's seven billion inhabitants.Yes, your family and mine included. Yes, your friends and mine. Yes, your neighbours and mine. Yes, your colleagues and mine. And the clear-cut insistence is, that it is our delightful task to tell them of this supreme offer from the Lord God Himself.

March 30th

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v30 “Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.”

Today's devotion is a reinforcing strategy by Paul - saying the same thing as yesterday, but in a different way. Having made it abundantly clear that both Jew and Gentile can equally revel in the offer of justification from a righteous God, Paul drops the national titles and reduces them to religious practices.The Jew with his devoted obedience to the ritual of circumcision needs to be justified before God, because

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religious observances do not, nor ever could, make a Jew right with Jehovah God.The unlearned and wayward Gentile, with no religious affiliation, except of his own making, needs to be justified before God in precisely the same format as a religious Jew. There is no difference, and this has been Paul's assertion throughout this past month and this chapter of Romans.

I am sure wherever you live and are reading these notes today, you will meditate on the religious divides within your environment. What great delight it is for the child of God to deliver, with love and grace, these magnificent features of a magnanimous God.

March 31st

3. THE REAL GOSPEL - and

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GODRomans 3v31 “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.”

Paul envisages the possible questions regarding this concept of justification and endeavours to close his arguments with firmness and decisiveness.The Romans reasoned that if rightness with God was based on the application of personal faith in God's Son, then the law was being made redundant and obscure. Why would they then need

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to adhere in personal life to the rigours of God's demands as detailed and outlined in OT scriptures?For the umpteenth time Paul puts the shutters and fences around his thinking by declaring emphatically - "God forbid!"The contrary is true. When any man is bonded in the right relationship with God, that man, regardless of previous affiliations and observances, must adhere tenaciously to all the words and precepts and commands issued by his 'Justifier'.After all, this is His right to demand, when we consider the enormous price paid by Him to secure such justification.The real gospel of God accompanied by the perfect righteousness of God surely fills our heart with spiritual delight; today and each day!

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