Day 194

1 Chronicles 15:1–16:36; Romans 1:18-32; Psalm 10:1-15; Proverbs 19:6-7

AS WE BEGAN to dive into Paul’s letter to the Romans yesterday, one thing was made crystal clear right off the bat: “This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith” (Romans 1:17).

Today, Paul began laying out his argument, telling his readers that God has made Himself obvious to us and we have no excuse for not knowing Him. It’s our fault, not God’s, that we are confused. Our refusal to acknowledge and devote our lives to God in worship has been terribly costly.

God allowed our reasoning and choices to carry the weight of their own implications and repercussions —or, as Paul put it, “They began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. . . . They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise!” (Romans 1:21, 25).

This failure to acknowledge and worship God left people to fashion their own gods (or to worship themselves and one another), and the result was the invention of corruptions human beings were never intended to experience. Paul described it like this: “Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning” (Romans 1:29-30).

What Paul painted in today’s reading was an accurate portrait of life on earth after the rebellion found in Genesis 3. It’s still an accurate picture now. But where we’re headed in the coming days is breathtaking, because no one need stay in this state any longer.

Although Paul’s writing can be highly theological and densely packed, we will reap the life-changing rewards of clarity and understanding if we slow down and take it all in. Romans is an inspiring work that needs to be chewed slowly and digested fully. Think of it as a multicourse gourmet meal prepared by a personal chef rather than something acquired at a drive-through window.

WORSHIP:

Let the whole earth sing to the LORD! Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise!