Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. – Romans 12:21

Today's Scripture Reading (March 14, 2021): Romans 12

Evil exists in this world. It just does. We see it almost every day, although sometimes we don't recognize it for what it is. Evil exists in the little lies that we tell each other and ourselves. It is present in the gossip and misinformation that we share, sometimes too freely. Evil shows itself in the violent acts that exist all around us, even the little ones. It is revealed in our mistrust of each other and our willingness to believe conspiracy theories that permeate our environment.

Evil exists in our world. Our reaction to evil is often to return evil with evil, to get back at those who wrong us, and even to gossip about the gossipers. It just seems, at least to us, to be the right and the most comforting thing to do.

But Paul argues the opposite. He insists that we are to resist evil and all of its actions in our lives. But to fight evil, we have to be able to recognize it. It is only when we begin to recognize evil that we can resist its demands on our lives.

But Paul takes a step beyond just instructing his audience to resist evil in the world. He tells them that they are to overcome evil, not with evil, but with good. Overcome the evil that exists in the lies that we tell by being tellers of the truth. Overcome gossip and misinformation by being protective of the things that we believe. Overcome violence with peace. Overcome mistrust with trust, and in doing this, you will begin to overcome evil with good.

Mohandas Gandhi famously argued that returning evil for evil only serves to increase the suffering in the world. Gandhi argued, "An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind." Gandhi argued for a campaign of non-violence, and a non-retaliatory philosophy that he believed would eventually win India her independence. Whether he realized it or not, his path matched the beliefs of both Paul and Jesus. Jesus was clear. As Christians, we are not supposed to return evil for evil. We are set apart, and our reaction is supposed to be different

Jesus argued that we were not just supposed to refrain from murder, but instead we were to refrain from hate (Matthew 5:21-22), and we were not supposed to refrain from adultery, but instead we are not to lust (Matthew 5:31-32). Jesus argued that his disciples would love their enemies and pray for those who persecuted them (Matthew 5:43-44). In other words, we are to return evil with good.

"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you (Matthew 5:38-42).

Be a force for good in this world because you refuse to partake in evil, even if the world believes evil is deserved.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Romans 13

I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. – Romans 11:1

Today's Scripture Reading (March 13, 2021): Romans 11

"There is nothing unforgivable and there are no secrets before an all-knowing merciful God." At least, that is the truth, according to fiction author Jennifer Spredmann in "An Unforgivable Secret." According to Spredemann, our obsession with what is unforgivable is misplaced, in part, because of our lack of belief in a merciful God. But Spredemann is writing fiction, so maybe we should write off her ideas of what is unforgivable as just part of the pretend universe.

We are convinced that there must be an unforgivable sin, mainly because we know that there are things that have been done to us in our lives that we are unwilling to forgive. So, God must have his list. And Jesus himself said that "anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven" (Luke 12:10). And so, the search is on for the one sin which cannot be forgiven. It is a subject of discussion and a frequently asked question, "What exactly, in terms that we can understand, is the unforgivable sin?"

That is the question that Paul believes is on the minds of the Romans. Paul has argued that Israel's rejection of the gospel was consistent with God's eternal plan, and before the beginning of time, God was prepared for precisely that rejection. But Paul also declares that Israel chose her own path. Paul quotes Isaiah as he writes, "not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message" (Romans 10:16). God foresaw Israel's rebellion. He expected it and was prepared for it, but Israel also freely chose their path to the point that Isaiah asks a rhetorical question; who or, maybe better, has anyone believed our message? The prophets had proclaimed the message, over and over again God sent his messengers to Israel, and repeatedly Israel had rejected God's desire.

It is a lesson that Jesus tried to relay to his followers during his ministry.  

Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

"The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. 'They will respect my son,' he said.

"But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.' So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him (Matthew 21:33-39).

So, given all of this, isn't it just possible that Israel had already committed the original sin. Israel had rejected God, just as God had expected. And now the game was over.

Paul's answer is unequivocal. No, "by no means!" God is still reaching out to Israel, just as he is reaching out to the Gentiles, still pleading with them to come home to him.

So, what is the unforgivable sin? I believe it is just this; rejecting the message of God to the point where you can no longer hear the Spirit's voice. If you are wondering if you have committed the unforgivable sin, you haven't. If you had, you wouldn't care, and the question would never even enter your mind.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Romans 12

For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him … - Romans 10:12

Today's Scripture Reading (March 12, 2021): Romans 10

In "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," J. K. Rowling writes that "We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided." It is a secret that we just don't seem to understand. The racial divisions in our culture only serve to weaken us, as do our political divisions. The political right and left seem more willing to demonize each other rather than to try to find the common ground that exists between them. And many, on both sides, often seem to be amazed that there are friendly, polite people that exist on the other side of the political divide; there exist nice people who believe differently than we do. When we look at most of our cultural divisions, there really are "nice people on both sides." And if we cannot find a way to see past our divisions, we will be forever destined to be weak, and the strength that is possible in our society will remain a distant dream.

It is nothing new, and maybe that is what makes trying to break the chains of division hard. We have always demonized "the other side and the stranger." In 1973, the British government produced a series of cartoons created with the express purpose of warning children about the danger that was inherent in the presence of strangers in their midst entitled "Charley Says." The cartoon featured a little boy named Tony and his cat, Charley. And in every episode, it was Charley who "meowed" the lesson of the cartoon. The cartoons warned against strangers even though most child abuse is conducted by people known to the child, not strangers. The effect of such campaigns as "Stranger Danger" and "Charley Says" is to give us false security with people we know and a wrong impression about people who are not like us.

Paul is writing to a culture that is divided. It didn't matter which side of the division you stood; there was a national and racial pride in who you were. Greeks were proud to be Greeks. Romans were ecstatic to be Romans. And the barbarians to the north couldn't imagine why they would want to live like any of their southern neighbors. And, of course, the Jews believed that they were the chosen ones of God. There is nothing wrong with being proud of your heritage. But it is a short trip from being proud of who you are to believing that your ethnic or national origin saves you.

Paul disagrees. His message to all sides of the argument is that there was no difference between Jews or the Gentiles, which encompasses all who are not Jews. God's blessing is on all people, regardless of their heritage. It is not our ethnic origin that is important when it comes to our relationship with God. What is essential is that we dare to call on him and invite him into our journey of life.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Romans 11

It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. – Romans 9:6

 Today's Scripture Reading (March 11, 2021): Romans 9

"Not everything is as it seems, and not everything that seems is." Portuguese writer and Nobel Prize winner in literature, Jose Saramago, made the argument describing what seems and is as two inclined planes that are inclined in such a way that they are destined to meet at some point in the future. It is a nice idea, but I am not sure that it is always a reality. Sometimes, what seems and what is are parallel planes that never meet, with one being just a shadow of the other. What seems often retains the form of what is but exists without the real thing's substance or texture.

I have a friend who is usually quite hostile against the Christian Church. Sometimes he seems to blame Christians for everything that is wrong with the world. And, once in a while, I get frustrated. But the truth is that he is not totally wrong. The Christian Church is responsible for at least some of the world's evil. Sometimes, what should be the most accepting place in the world seems to work hard to find new and original ways to exclude people.  

But not everything is as it seems, and not everything that seems is. Let's start with the Christians in the Church. We might have placed the label on ourselves, but not everyone who attends, and not even every Christian leader, is truly a Christian. This is a direct result of three conditions inside the Church. First, many in the Church are merely exploring the faith. They have made no commitments to the Christian faith and often don't even know what Christ really demands of them. They are present and welcome in the Christian Church, but they aren't yet truly Christian.

The second condition is that there are actors inside the Church or chronic hypocrites. These people have been there for a long time, but they are just going through the motions, often perverting the gospel message in the process. It was these "Christians" that Jesus spoke to in his closing of the "Sermon on the Mount."

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers' (Matthew 7:21-23)!

Third, of course, there are the rest of us—people who try to follow the dictates of our Christian beliefs but who fall short. We genuinely want to follow Christ, but also understand Paul's words; "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do" (Romans 7:15). The result is that what we see is a church that is broken. But not everything that seems is because I am convinced that underneath the Christian Church's broken façade is a genuinely accepting and loving place that I wish was revealed to the world more often.

Paul is making a similar argument here. One meaning of Israel is "Governed by God." But Paul argues that not everyone who is from Israel by ancestry is Israel or "Governed by God." There are pretenders in our midst. There always have been, and there always will be.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Romans 10

Personal Note: Happy Birthday, Dad.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. – Romans 8:18

Today's Scripture Reading (March 10, 2021): Romans 8

"I know, in the light of eternity, that this doesn't matter. But …" It is a phrase that I repeatedly hear from those who are around me. It is the confession of those frustrated with life. I know that the problems I am struggling through right now are nothing in the light of all that is to come. But I want you to know that at the moment, I am suffering. And at the moment, the struggles of life seem to be overwhelming. And we know the answer. In those moments, we need to lift up our eyes and try to see "the light of eternity." But in the midst of the suffering here and now, that is hard to do.

Paul is trying to empathize with the Romans. He knows what it is to suffer in life. And he wants his readers to understand that he is not naïve about the problems they are facing. He understands what his audience is going through because he is not immune to that kind of suffering; he struggles through some of the same situations. Paul insists that he is not looking at life through rose-colored glasses. And yet, he firmly believes that it is all worth it, in the "light of eternity."

And it is "the light of eternity" that makes living a Christian life make sense. Even Paul argued that without the hope of eternity, the Christian lifestyle only increases our distress.

If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:14-19).

It is that last phrase the sums up Paul's argument. If all our faith can do is help us through this life, then Christians should be the most pitied of all the people of the earth.

But Paul is convinced that this is not true. He sees all of the struggles of this life and all of the problems present with trying to live the Christian life and still considers that life is worth it in "the light of eternity." Life is not supposed to be without its struggles. And, at times, living the Christian life is hard. But it is at those times that we need to lift up our eyes and see "the light of eternity."

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Romans 9

Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. – Romans 7:25

Today's Scripture Reading (March 9, 2021): Romans 7

Samuel Johnson that "Nothing … will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome." The truth is that those conditions will never be achieved. We will never have all of the answers that we need to attempt something worthwhile. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't fight against whatever it is that is challenging us and needs to be done.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) knew of what he was speaking. Dr. Johnson struggled with health issues almost from the day he was born. He suffered from childhood tuberculous scrofula, which left him with deep facial scaring, one deaf ear, and one blind eye. Later in life, Johnson suffered from gout and testicular cancer. From reports of his behavior, it seems likely that he suffered from depression and Tourette syndrome.

But health issues were not the end of Dr. Johnson's problems. He also suffered financial hardships and personal failures. Yet, in spite of these challenges, Dr. Samuel Young gained recognition as a skilled and discerning author, displaying his ability as a poet, essayist, biographer, and even as a literary critic. It is not that we just need to push through the obstacles that stand in our way. Yes, there are things that we can do as individuals. We can move through the hindrances of life to a point, but, in the end, we will always come up short.

Paul is struggling. He has been pushing through the obstacles and can find very little for which he can be thankful. The struggle seems to be never-ending. As soon as he clears one obstacle, another raises its ugly head in his path. Paul acknowledges that he feels like he is a slave; in his mind, Paul is a slave to God's Law, but the problem is that he is also a slave to his sinful nature. He is a man who has two masters, and in practice, he knows that he cannot satisfy either. Paul is lost and depressed, and as he looks into his future, he doesn't see that anything is changing. He will fight one struggle after another until, at last, the struggles claim him as their prize. (Dr. Johnson suffered a stroke which left him unable to speak during his final year of life. The struggles that he had fought against throughout his life finally claimed their prize.)

But when Paul lifts his eyes up and sees Jesus. Finally, he has something for which he can be thankful. It is the gospel message. Jesus did not come so that we could have more rules; he came to deliver us from sin and a future that lasts beyond the obstacles of life.

I love Pastor David Guzik's take on this passage and the obstacles that we see in life.

You thought the problem was that you didn't know what to do to save yourself – but the law came as a teacher, taught you what to do and you still couldn't do it. You don't need a teacher, you need a Savior.

You thought the problem was that you weren't motivated enough, but the law came in like a coach to encourage you on to do what you need to do and you still didn't do it. You don't need a coach or a motivational speaker, you need a Savior.

You thought the problem was that you didn't know yourself well enough. But the law came in like a doctor and perfectly diagnosed your sin problem but the law couldn't heal you. You don't need a doctor, you need a Savior (David Guzik).

We don't need the things that we often believe that we have to overcome life's obstacles. We need a Savior. We need Jesus.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Romans 8

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 6:23

Today's Scripture Reading (March 8, 2021): Romans 6

Pastor G. C. Brewer (1884-1956) liked to preach from this passage in Romans and would often include a story about some teenage boys who watched the Tennessee River rise above flood stage. As the boys stood watching the river, they caught sight of a small rabbit trapped on what was becoming a smaller and smaller island. The boys were busy discussing the rabbit's fate when they began to consider the possibility of rescuing the scared animal. The problem was that even though all of the boys were good swimmers, they had been drilled by their parents repeatedly about the dangers of the Tennessee River when it reached flood stage.

Finally, the biggest and strongest of the teens decided that he was going to swim over to the island and rescue the rabbit before the island disappeared altogether. He was an outstanding swimmer and made it all the way to the island. He gathered the rabbit into his overalls and jumped back into the water for the swim back to shore. But the teen had no sooner gotten back into the river when the end of a partially submerged log hit him in the head. The boy disappeared under the water's surface, and it would be four days before the officials could find his body, far downstream. The boy's friends were present for the recovery of the body, and one of them found the remains of the rabbit in their friend's overalls. The dead boy's friend held the body of the rabbit up and proclaimed, "This is what he gave his life for!"

G. C. Brewer would then conclude that "What people labor to receive through sin, they get!"

Sin and death are the great equalizers of our existence. Sin is already present in our actions. Death will be a part of our history, both in the little ways that we seem to die every day and in that final moment when we disappear below the surface of this world, never to reappear on this plane. The presence of sin and death is what makes God's gift of eternal life so necessary in our lives. Paul argues that when we work for sin, death is the payment we are laboring to receive.

God's gift is life. It is the cancelation of the wage that we have rightfully earned. It is not that our belief in Christ allows us to escape the consequences of our actions, but, instead, that the gift of God that helps us to shape our existence in this life and to escape the ultimate destruction that should be our wages. Both have been taken away from us because of the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf.

But Paul's point is more than just that we have the opportunity to exchange our earned wages for God's gift. He is arguing that because we have received the gift of God, we need to do whatever we can to stop working for sin's wages. Instead, we can allow ourselves to be shaped by the gift that we have been freely given. Recognizing the damage that sin does in our lives, we should do anything we can to avoid committing even the smallest sin and everything we can to magnify the shaping power of the gift of God both in us and all of those with whom we have contact.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Romans 7