Is Faith Black and White?

But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. -Romans 14:10

There is a severe problem in the church today and it concerns all Christians. There is an idea that we must meet the Gospel where it is. In youth ministries today the kids are shown a model of who they should be. They are given a model of how their lives should look. The Gospel to these kids is painted in black and white. 

The Gospel is not given with such dichotomy with the Pauline message. The Gospel, rather, meets you where you are. There is no set way to receive the Gospel, that would make it received on the basis of works. No, the Gospel comes to you, where you are, so there is no boasting. This is Paul's theology!

People come into churches today and try to change the way they are living their lives. The church gives them a model, a pattern of what they should look like. When the person makes a mistake (which is bound to happen) they walk away from church and from Christ. This is so important with youth today. We are trying to pull them to a certain way of life. When they fail to meet the standards then the only option is something else other that the church. 

This is tragic!

Paul's Gospel meets people where they are. In 1 Corinthians, Philemon, Timothy, Titus, Ephesians, and Colossians we see Paul painting the Gospel to the unique challenges faced in their lives. Can the same be done in the lives of young people and those that need a fresh way of seeing their faith today?

Does this mean that we overlook sin? May is never be! But is means that people will not all look the way we think they should. We need flexible ministries and ministers that will allow people to own their faith in a way that moves them to action. There is too much dichotomy of the way you must look if you are in church or out of church. Most people in churches are doing things we only think people outside of churches are doing anyway. 

What does that make the church? Failing people hide behind successful ministries and judge others. Stop trying to do ministry this way! It is causing a chasm that cannot be crossed. Kids are losing their faith because they think it cannot look any different than the way we say it will. We must do the hard work of meeting people where they are, even if it makes our worship services sloppy and hard to explain.

In short, too often do we ask people to put on church. We must allow the Gospel to compel them to put on Christ.

Too lofty a goal?

Paul did not think so! 

No One is Righteous

"There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one." -Romans 3:10-11 from Psalm 14

There is a concept that we must understand to fully understand the Gospel of God. This concept has guided Paul's argument from Romans 1:18 and will see it through until 3:20. The concept I am referring to is a concept of who we are before God. Paul has taken his time in showing that we are all without excuse. God has made himself knowable through creation and everyone is accountable for pursuing truth. He has shown that the unbeliever is guilty as well as, the Jewish people for not seeking God. He will in this final passage of his first argument turn to show that the legalist and moralist are also guilty and therefore without excuse.

Everyone that does not seek after truth but rather pursues their own selfish end is deserving of God's justice. That justice comes in the form of a word that western culture has no palette for; judgement. Whether we are fond of the concept or not, Paul is clear that judgment will come and when it does we will all be deserving of God's wrath. 

We are all the same at this moment we are all:

Morally evil: Genesis 8:21; Luke 11:11-13; John 3:19

Spiritually sick: Matthew 9:12

Slaves to sin: John 8:34; Romans 6:16&20; 2 Timothy 2:26

Blinded to truth: 1 Corinthians 2:14; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 4:18; Matthew 5:8

Lovers of darkness: Ephesians 5:8; John 3:20

Children of wrath: James 4:4; Romans 5:10; Ephesians 2:12

Spiritually, Physically, and Eternally dead: Ephesians 5:14; Romans 5:12; Romans 6:23

This is not the way that contemporary culture would say that God sees us. That is precisely the point Paul has so painstakingly made. Most church members would not describe their relationship with God in such ways. The truth is that in Romans 1:18-3:20 and in the testimony of Scripture as a whole if you come face to face with God then you will die! 

This begs the question, "What about Jesus Christ?" 

I am glad you asked. Paul will turn to the work of Jesus and explain justification in 3:21-5:21.

Look up, hope is here!

The Idolatry of God's Word

Therefore, you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgement, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.

-Romans 2:1

The next section of Romans is one where Paul will turn his attention on the Jews. He has already concluded that the Gentiles are without excuse for the depravity of their thinking and therefore cannot stand before a true and just God (see below). He will now show that Jews will be unable to stand before this God because of their depravity. Ironically, the law that was sent to set them apart from all humankind, set them apart from God. There are many lessons we, as Christians, can take from the response of the Jews toward their God.

So much of Jewish identity is their tradition and their ancestry. The key person that they connect themselves with is Abraham. They also connect themselves with the law (esp. the Pentateuch, or the first five books of the Bible) that was given to Moses. In Paul's view, the law was given as a guide or a tutor to show the lack of humanness in them and their need for God to make them fully human (see Galatians 3:15-29). The law and the God who gave it were never supposed to be equal and they were never supposed to be separated.

Unfortunately, this is not what the Jewish people did with the law. Instead, they made the law the only pathway to God and even made the law constrain what God could (or would) or could not do. They were unable to see God do something new. The law became their identity. They began to place their entire trust in the law. They began to praise and lift up the men that committed their lives to interpreting (or at least giving their opinion on) what the law said and what it meant for them. The law became an idol. It became a false or physical representation of God. It is not! The Holy Spirit gave God's Word, the Holy Spirit communicates through God's Word, but God's Word is not your God!

The Jews used God's Word to abuse people. They became a testimony against God.  They placed the burden of following its requirements on all others while they themselves broke the very laws they were judging others by (see above and the rest of Romans 2). They believed that because they had the law that they were upholding the law. In other words, the possession and provisions of God's Word made them righteous. The idolatry of God's Word was the precipice of their idolatry (see the Prophets esp. Jeremiah), this was not their first offense. Paul says, they are without excuse (Rom. 2:1). God will judge them according to the law that they have made into an idol. 

Ironically, by that law no one can stand before God. 

No one.