The Devotional - R016

The Devotional

Comment:

Do you recognize this statement? When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. It is the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America.

Challenge: Romans 3:27-31

The Declaration in its entirety is too much for us to look at this morning, yet it will always be a good paper to control our independence. In my small world, it is a document written by man that is one of the most worthy writs known to mankind. What a joy and necessity it is for our day that we should know and adhere to such documents. MEN (56) from all thirteen Colonies signed the Declaration, declaring the NEED to separate from England and become our Own United States of America. 

While I could (maybe I should) spend the rest of this morning on our National Independence I will move on to another independence; one of greater value to the human soul of man. Boasting on the human value of the subject of national independence is good for the nation. Yet the boasting of one’s personal faith in God is never biblically practical since while we are children of God and citizens of a better nation who’s Builder and Maker is God Himself, faith is not boastful; see Hebrews 11:13-16. This is the saint’s heavenly domain and we cannot brag as to have been a part or factor in this gift.

God in His grace to you and to me has completed the work, we only need to believe Him. Speaking specifically about God’s greatest gift, the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 say that any attempt to brag on the gift of love from God is vain. As a child we might do these things but it is time that we should become adult in our thinking and belief. In verse 13 of this chapter in Corinthians the apostle says. “Now abides faith, hope and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Chapter 13 is a short read, give it a go and see that love never fails. Why? Because it never boasts.

Romans 3:27-31 – Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? (I did something, therefore I can brag on it) NO! But by the law of faith, hope and love. “Now abides faith, hope and love” Therefore we conclude that mankind is Justified (without any merit) by faith apart from the deeds of the law. So if justification came by the effort of keeping the law, I would then have something to brag to God about. I could of course brag to you, but you would not listen since you have your own bag of brag, can you not see the vanity in this? Yes, so what will you do?

Or is God the God to of the Jews only? Is He not the God of the Gentiles also? YES, He is the God of the Gentiles as well. As we move into chapter four of Romans we will see that Abraham’s faith in God was not from his fleshly mind, his human heritage as a Jew or even from being circumcised in the flesh. His FAITH is the same as our faith today and it began while still a Gentile; God “justified” his faith (without any merit on Abraham’s fleshly being) and accounted Abraham as Righteous by faith and through this same faith you and I (Jews and Gentiles) alike can have this gift by personally believing God.

Romans 10:10 says this – For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (inclusion) in God’s Righteousness.