Amy Boucher Pye

Category: Romans

  • Weekly Devotional: Saving love (3 in Romans series)

    A gold statue of St Paul
    A statue of St Paul at the cathedral in London bearing his name.

    This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3:21–31 (NIV)

    In the sixteenth century, Martin Luther read the book of Romans again and again in his quest to understand God’s grace and the role of our works in the role of our redemption. In the margin of his Bible he wrote that this passage was “the chief point, and the very central place of the Epistle, and of the whole Bible.” We might disagree that this section is the very most important part of the Bible, but I think we can agree that from it we can learn so much.

    We encounter here the central themes of God’s plan of salvation (and do read the full section if you have time) – that God sees us as righteous through Jesus Christ, that we all have sinned and done wrong, that Jesus atones for this wrongdoing through his blood shed on the cross. To use more technical language, we are justified by faith in Jesus. That simply means we have been set free from the consequences of our sin – in the kingdom of God on earth and in heaven.

    The gospel is a wonderful leveler, for as Paul says we all fall short of God’s glory – we all need Jesus to save us. We cannot think ourselves superior to our family or neighbors, for we know that our hearts can lead us to temptation and sin just as much as the person we see caught in a cycle of destruction. We’re led not to pride but to thanksgiving for the amazing way God sets us free – and we want to share this good news with others.

    Read through the passage again if you can, and try to put it into your own words. Maybe you’ll encounter someone today who needs to hear of God’s love for them.

    Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, I think about your sacrifice of love and mercy on the cross and I am profoundly grateful. May your love mark my going-out and coming-in this day.

  • Weekly Devotional: The gift of the law (2 in Romans series)

    Whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law… Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. Romans 3:9–20 (NIV)

    As we saw last week, Paul writes to the Jewish and Gentile Christians in Rome with his radical message of God’s saving plan. No matter what our racial heritage, we all fall under the curse of sin. As Paul says, God’s law reveals our sinful hearts and actions, and we don’t find freedom and grace through observing the law. Rather it shows us how we fall short of God and his standards – and thus how we need a Savior.

    We so-called New Testament Christians can misunderstand God’s law, thinking of it as commandments and strictures that the Lord gave in the Old Testament to keep his people in line. But God’s people saw it as a source of life and joy and hope, for through it they found guidance for living life to the full. As the Psalmist cried out, “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long” (Psalm 119:97).

    I made this mistake when I was writing my BRF Lent book The Living Cross, and was gently corrected by the wonderful writer Michele Guinness, who combines her Jewish roots with her vibrant Christian faith. She showed me how Jesus relieves us from the curse of our sin, not from the law. After all, in Jesus’ greatest commandment, he quotes from the law that God’s people love the Lord with all of their heart, soul and strength (see Mark 12:29–30, in which Jesus references Deuteronomy 6:4–5).

    I’m grateful for Michele elucidating this for me, for I’m reminded that the depth of God’s wisdom is so great that we will keep discovering it to be a well of living water that cleanses and fortifies us. The law brings life!

    Prayer: Father God, your words help us to walk in your way, and your Spirit leads us into all truth. Show me today how I can follow your life-giving law, that I might be your ambassador of love and peace.

  • Weekly Devotional: Rebellion (1 in Romans series)

    Liongraph of the apostle Paul reading a scroll.
    Image from page 40 of “The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans : with notes, comments, maps, and illustrations ..” (1888). Found on Flickr.

    Many Christian figures in history named Romans as their favorite book of the Bible. For instance, John Stott tells in his commentary that the great reformer Martin Luther said of Romans that not only “should every Christian know it word for word, by heart,” but that they should occupy themselves with it “every day, as the daily bread of the soul.” William Tyndale, a translator of the Bible, also urged his readers to learn it by heart, for “the more it is studied, the easier it is; the more it is chewed, the pleasanter it is.” Others who were affected by reading it were Augustine of Hippo and John Wesley. (As cited in John Stott, The Message of Romans, IVP, 1994, pp. 19–22.)

    Romans has been so important over the centuries because of the deep and rich theological truths about salvation and sin that Paul shares in it. And not only that, but the latter part of his letter contains practical instructions on how to live. We can find much to stretch and encourage us as we read what the apostle wrote to the church in Rome.

    Paul had never visited this church, but heard of the divisions in it, especially among the Jewish and Gentile believers that formed it. He desired that they would find unity across their differences, and that mutual respect and love would mark their lives. After all, they were all sinners in need of Jesus’ grace and redemption. And they were all one in Christ.

    When you read, keep in mind that Paul’s letter is half of the story. We don’t hear the other side of the conversation – the issues that he was addressing in the church there in Rome – but we can made an educated guess. And although he wrote this letter such a long time ago to this particular context and place, yet we can find God’s truth in it speaking to us and to our situation.

    The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them (Romans 1:16–32 NIV).

    The wrath of God – not a very cheery way to open up our set of readings on Romans, now is it? As modern people, we often shy away from speaking of God’s wrath, for it feels so hard and final, especially for us who live in a relativistic society that rails against judgement and black-and-white truth. But Paul doesn’t hesitate to name the major problem at the heart of the human condition – we’re all sinners who need God’s redeeming love and grace (as we will see in Romans 3:23: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”). So although this passage can make for uncomfortable reading, we also can find hope in it, for it names the truth of what we know through our actions – we fail God and others and need the Lord’s grace and help.

    Paul in this passage explores what happens when people rebel against God and his laws. When they follow their own desires and refuse to bow the knee to their Maker, their minds and hearts become darkened and they become fools (vv. 21–22). No longer are they infused with God’s wisdom and understanding. As the Lord gives them over to their lusts, they become imprisoned by these wrongful desires and become filled with wickedness and evil, as we see in the list in verses 29–30: “envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful…”

    But we can escape the consequences of our sinful actions through Jesus’ sacrificial act on the cross. No longer are we defined as gossips or boasters, but as God’s redeemed who are filled with his Holy Spirit as they spread his love and grace. Thanks be to God!

    For reflection: “My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name” (Edward Mote, 1797–1874).