Parable Of Jotham

I was discussing the parable of Jotham over on the OSG group on facebook.  I thought it is very appropriate for the time we are currently in with the new leaders taking office soon.

If you would like to check it out it’s Judges 9:7-15.  Are there any Abimelech’s in this past election?

Tags: election, Jotham, Parable

Online Small Group

Sign ups will finish this Sunday on the 24th of Aug for the online small group. If you are interested in being a part of the group please go to www.cornerstonebuzz.org and click the sign up link on the right or you can go directly to the online small group site and register for an account and I will send you the enrollment key.

This group is open to all who want to join so I hope to see you there.

Tags: online small group

Online Small Group Ministry

This fall we are going to try and host a small group bible study online. I have setup a forum to accommodate this effort. I would appreciate it if everyone would go check it out. Feel free to register for an account and browse around. If you don’t register for an account you will not see all of the features on the forum. Just browse around, kick the tires and give me some feedback. Also if your interested in joining early just drop me an email on the forum and I will make sure to let you know when we get started this fall. I would love to have you.

Here’s the address: Small Groups Ahead

Thank you!

Blogger Small Group

I’m going to bow out of the blogger small group this week. I’m on a mission trip with the youth from our church and I and being stretched and growing in all kinds of ways this week. The schedule is tight so not very much room for reflection and thought on Romans 4. Off to eat breakfast with the kids now.

God Has Set Things Right

This is a continuation on a weekly study on the book of Romans. This time I’m going to go over Romans 3:21-31. My other Romans posts are here:

• We’re all in the same sinking boat.
• Romans Chapter 3 1-8
• Romans Chapter 2

This post is part of a larger group of fellow bloggers that are also posting their views on the same scripture.  If you would like to join in please do you can start any week you would like and be part of the group.  I would love to have you.  Go to Vagabondrunn to get the details and to see the other posts.

I’m going to use the Message translation this week.  Let’s get started.

21-24But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.

The mention of we here is talking about both Jews and Non-Jews.  We were not able to live righteous lives by merely following God’s law so God helped us out.  He put us in right standing with himself.  He gave us a pure gift.  He sent his son Jesus Christ to clean up our mess and restore us to the way God always wanted us to be.

25-26God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public—to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. This is not only clear, but it’s now—this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness.

God sacrificed his son to pay for the sins of the world for old testament times to present.  He did this in the public for everyone to see.  Having faith in the blood of Jesus allows us to live in God’s rightness.

27-28So where does that leave our proud Jewish insider claims and counter-claims? Canceled? Yes, canceled. What we’ve learned is this: God does not respond to what we do; we respond to what God does. We’ve finally figured it out. Our lives get in step with God and all others by letting him set the pace, not by proudly or anxiously trying to run the parade.

This is saying that God is saving us by faith alone and not by the law.  We aren’t able to uphold enough laws for God to respond to us.  We have to accept what he has done for us to be saved.

29-30And where does that leave our proud Jewish claim of having a corner on God? Also canceled. God is the God of outsider non-Jews as well as insider Jews. How could it be otherwise since there is only one God? God sets right all who welcome his action and enter into it, both those who follow our religious system and those who have never heard of our religion.

There is one God for all who accept what he has done for us.

31But by shifting our focus from what we do to what God does, don’t we cancel out all our careful keeping of the rules and ways God commanded? Not at all. What happens, in fact, is that by putting that entire way of life in its proper place, we confirm it.

Faith in what God has done for us does not cancel out the law it confirms the law and we uphold the law based on our faith in God.

We’re all in the same sinking boat.

Go to Vagabondrun’s blog to get all of the details and join in.

Have you ever sat at church and thought to yourself that person over there really gets this and they follow all of the rules.  How could I ever reach the level they’re at?  On the other hand have you ever looked down on someone and thought man they are a bad sinner.  I don’t sin that much or I would never do that.  Well I have had all of these thoughts before and I am sorry.  Reading the below passage puts these thoughts into perspective for me.  I want to just kick myself and say hey “There is no one righteous not even one.”  I can’t do enough good stuff to be right with God.  Neither can the person two rows away either.

The sins that I do God see’s as vile and detestable.  He compares our throats to an open grave.  Rotting flesh has to be one of the most vile things ever.  There are also some other references to the mouth much like James.  The words that come out of our mouth is compared to poison.

To follow God’s law is not enough to be declared righteous.  The laws are there so we are conscious of our sins.  We can not save ourselves by following all of the rules.  All men except Jesus Christ have come up short of being perfect.  God’s law is also there to show us how to please him.

This is all stuff I have heard before but this time while reading Romans 3 for this post it has sunk in a little deeper than it ever has before.  I’m not the best writer so my thoughts and sentences are choppy but there is no denying the scripture below.  It’s all that really needs to be said.  Read the scripture and decide for yourself.

Romans 3:9-20 (New International Version)

No One is Righteous

9What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
12All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”
13“Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.”
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”
14“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”

15“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16ruin and misery mark their ways,
17and the way of peace they do not know.”
18“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

Tags: God, Jesus, righteous, Romans, sin

Romans Chapter 3 1-8

Romans 3:1-8

God’s Faithfulness

1 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2 Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.

Paul is saying that God has a special plan for the Jews one of these was they were entrusted with the word of God.

3 What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness. 4 Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written:
“So that you may be proved right when you speak
and prevail when you judge.”

God will remain faithful even if some of the Jews did not remain faithful. Any man that questions this is a liar and will be judged by God accordingly. God stands firm on what he has said. “He is a man of his word.” Thank you God!

5 But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) 6 Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? 7 Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?” 8 Why not say—as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say—”Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved.

Paul is trying to head off a debate here about justifying yourself to continue to be unfaithful. The argument is if all of my wrong doing increases God’s truthfulness then I should do more wrong to glorify God more. Paul says this is a slanderous argument and God will judge you accordingly no matter what kind of excuse you make.

This weeks scripture to me speaks to how big God really is. He is faithful even to the unfaithful and a fair and just judge at the same time. Also I can not come with any kind excuse to escape Gods judgment. Excuses aren’t going to matter before God.

This post is part of a Blogger Small Group being hosted over at Vagabondrunn. Feel free to join in at anytime. If you would like to just leave comments that would be fine also. Talking about and discussing God’s word is how we learn and understand. I’m open to any kind of discussion you would like to have about this topic. Have a great day!