Year 2, Week 45, Day 3 Bible Reading Observations

Year 2, Week 45, Day 3

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of 2 Corinthians 13; Romans 1.

Today’s reading concludes Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth. Today’s reading of 2 Corinthians, along with yesterday's reading of 2 Corinthians 10-12, completes the final unit of the Book of 2 Corinthians, in which Paul sounds the alarm that their souls are in danger. 2 Corinthians 13 opens with Paul stating his intention to visit them again: “This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses” (2 Corinthians 13:1). Paul reminds them that when he arrives, he will require proper validation of any accusations leveled. While much of 2 Corinthians has been Paul making the case for his validity as an apostle, he turns the examination back on them: “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” (2 Corinthians 13:5). Today’s reading also begins Paul’s letter to the Church in Rome. Romans, the longest of Paul’s letters, is a systematic explanation of the Gospel that Paul preached: “So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith” (Romans 1:15-17). This Gospel, which displays the righteousness of God, is centered on the Person and work of Jesus: “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 1:1-4).

One of the things that struck me from today’s reading was what Paul explained to be the reason for the dire need of the Gospel: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” (Romans 1:18). The first major segment of the Book of Romans, which starts in chapter one and runs through chapter three, explains that the need for the Gospel is the universal sinfulness and thus, just condemnation of all humanity. While the Gospel reveals the saving power of God’s righteousness, humanity is under the just wrath of God because of their unrighteous suppression of the truth about God. Humanity actively suppresses what they know to be true about God: “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20). God has made Himself known to each individual and to a man, what is known and understood about God is ignored, dismissed and rebelled against: “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21). However, even through mankind rejected a grateful worship rendered to God, they did not reject worship: “Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things” (Romans 22-23). Tragically, mankind's worship was wholehearted idolatry.

In response to mankind’s suppression of the reality of God, as well as their full embrace of false worship, God had already unleashed a present measure of his wrath upon mankind: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven.” While there is more wrath yet to come, Paul explains that the present expression of God’s wrath exists through the judgment of being handed over. Three times, Paul will invoke the language of God handing humanity over to indicate the present reality of His wrath: “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves… For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions…And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done” (Romans 1:24,26,28). The nature of the current measure of judgment consists mainly of God giving humanity what they want. The reason why giving humanity what they want is a judgment is because as humanity turned from the true knowledge and worship of God, they turned from their only hope of operating with thoughts and desires that would result in a well-ordered life. By turning to distorted thoughts and disordered desires, man would embrace the very life that would result in their demise and destruction. And although humanity knows better than pursuing the path that they have chosen, they distorted thinking and disordered desiring keeps them in a posture of full on commitment of rebellion: “Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them” (Romans 1:32). Not only can we speak of the Lord devoting rebellious humanity to destruction, we can also speak of rebellious humanity as fully devoted to their own destruction. Distorted thinking and disordered desiring leads man to consider his peril to be just fine.

What struck you in today’s reading? What questions were prompted from today’s reading?

Pastor Joe