James 1:22-25 (ESV)

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

Explanation:

Have you ever heard a powerful message that really moved you to action, but then once the speaker was done, you did nothing? We all have had those moments, when we hear something good and we want to respond, but for some reason, life gets busy or the task is not what we had in mind. This is what James is calling to our attention in the above verses. As Christians, we are called to read the Bible so we can share the knowledge of who Jesus is with others. We want God’s free gift of salvation to be shared with people in our lives. But if we only read God’s Word and then do nothing, James says we are deceiving ourselves.

How silly would it be if I read countless articles on fishing, bought a lot of fishing equipment, and watched all sorts of videos on the best fishing technique…but then never went outside to actually fish? I’m sure my family and friends would certainly give me a hard time about that. This is similar to what James is addressing with us. He is encouraging Christians to not just read our Bibles, memorize scripture, and go to church (which we should do), but to get out and act on what we learn. To talk to people about how Jesus has changed our lives. To give generously to others in need, and help when we know we can do something for someone else.

I was part of a Monday night men’s group for several years that met and studied the Bible often. We would have some intense studies, breaking down scripture and discussing what it meant. I loved these guys and I really enjoyed the discussions we had. Occasionally, we would go past our 9:00 stop, but it was always worth the late hours. After some time of studying, we decided it was equally important for us to be implementing what we were learning and discussing. So, at least once a month, we split up into smaller groups and walked the streets of our city, picking up trash and sharing the Gospel with our neighbors. Those times were some of the most memorable moments I have ever had, and I think about them often. Sadly, if we had never acted on what we were studying and felt the Holy Spirit wanted us to do, I would have missed out on some amazing ministry opportunities. I witnessed God move supernaturally in people because of our obedience to be doers of the word.

Application:

1. As Christians, we should read and study the Bible, but sometimes that can be intimidating because we don’t know where to start. Make a goal this week to read the scripture given to you in your devotionals each morning, and ask God what He wants you to learn from them.

2. Go a little further with the scripture you are given in a devotional this week. Ask questions like: Who was the writer’s audience? What was the writer’s message? Why is it important for me today?

3. Tell a friend or family member this week something you have learned from studying the scriptures.

4. Ask God to show you someone to share your testimony with.

5. Find a need with someone in your life, and try your best to meet that need.

Devo Plus:

Read Matthew 7:24-27.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, help me be a doer of Your Word. When I read something and You lay on my heart to share it with others, help me to do it right away. Give me confidence to encourage others in my life to follow You. Allow me the opportunity to tell them what You have done for me. You are such a good Father and I love you! Thank You for Your Son, Jesus. Amen!

Romans 2:17-29

But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth – you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

Explanation:

Imagine one day it is made legal to trespass anywhere you want without consequence. For most of us, there would instantly be an alarm that would go off inside of us. We would feel a panic, a deep concern, because our security would be at stake. Our entire lives we have been expected to live within the bounds of the law, and trespassing is a huge infraction for a number of different reasons. We have great security and comfort in knowing that others do not have permission to just roam wherever they want, especially onto our property. To live without this law would be preposterous to even imagine.

Throughout all of history, the Jews were the ones who had the closest relationship with the Creator God. What comes with that is a long history of traditions and practices that give them access to God. They almost have a more challenging step than the Gentiles (non-Jews) when it comes to stepping into the new way of the Gospel that Christ presented, because their tradition tells them that their way is clearly the only way to God. Or so they thought.

Therefore, to hear that there is another way, a different way than what they have always known, is not only challenging, but impossible in their minds. Their security has always been in the laws, the traditions. And circumcision has always been a sign of their covenant with God. So for Christ to come along and say circumcision is no longer a necessary step to be in covenant relationship with God, would have to be preposterous to them. Almost like the scenario you read about earlier, with removing trespass laws. Only on a much deeper level. It was not their physical security that was at stake; it was their spiritual security.

However, the new way was better for all, including them. They would be required, however, to set aside all the old, and step into the new way that Jesus had established through Himself. They didn’t need to be physically circumcised now, but circumcised by the Spirit, meaning that the very Spirit of God would live in them and reveal to them what a true relationship with God looked like. This new covenant was good for all. A fresh start to walk away from a life of being hypocrites, sinners, orphans, fatherless, guilty, you name it. What good news!

Application:

1. Why would the new covenant (the Gospel) be challenging for people to set aside their old ways of thinking and behaving?

2. Why is the covenant better for all who choose to believe in it?

3. What is a truth you have come to love about the new covenant?

4. How can you better walk in the newness that the new covenant brings for you?

Devo Plus:

Re-read Romans 2:17-24. Based on this reading, how can hypocrisy impact one’s personal ministry?

Prayer:

Jesus, thank You for making a new way, a better way. Help us to walk in this new way. Help us to know when we are being more concerned with our outward appearance than we are with the condition our hearts. We need Your Holy Spirit to reveal to us any way in us that needs to change, and to give us the strength to live in the new way You have made for us.

Romans 2:12-16 (ESV)

For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

Explanation:

We all know people who claim to know famous people. I am one of those people. I went to college with some pretty amazing musicians, and I drop those names whenever I get a chance. I have not seen these guys in almost 20 years, yet I still talk like they are my best friends whenever I get a chance. I have association with them, but I don’t know that I can say I really know them.

Paul says to know the law without living the law is to perform a “name drop.” It’s to have an association with the law, without truly living it out. Paul will go on to say this is not actually knowing the law. He says that those who obey the law, yet do not “know it,” actually know it better than those who claim to have been associated with it.

The point is this. God does not judge those who are associated with the law any differently than those not associated with it. The standard is the same for both. It is those who do what the law says who actually know it. In saying this, Paul sets the table for the big news in Romans 3: Nobody truly knows the law because nobody keeps it. Because of this, God is going to give His Son, the One who truly knew and kept the law, as a gift to those who don’t know or keep it…all so they can one day walk in obedient relationship with God.

Application:

1. What is one thing that stood out to you in today’s passage?

2. How does knowing about someone and actually knowing someone differ?

3. Do you know Jesus (not just about Him), in a way that causes you to walk in obedience to Him?

4. If not, what is hindering you from knowing Him that way?

Devo Plus:

Read the culmination of Paul’s argument in Romans 3.

Prayer:

Dear heavenly Father, please forgive me for the ways I try to allow my knowledge about You be enough. All the practices and things I do that fall short of obedience to You are just smoke screens to truly knowing You, truly having faith in You. I pray that would help me to know I could never earn Your favor, but You invite me to trust You. So give me the courage to live that out in my life!

1 Timothy 1:12-17 (ESV)

I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Explanation:

First Timothy is one of the pastoral epistles, and all three…1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus…deal with the challenges from false teachers. The author, Paul, frames this book by first warning Timothy and his church to beware of false teachers. Then, he not only shares this warning, but showcases the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the mercy God has given. Paul expresses complete gratitude for the calling God placed on his life to serve Christ, and to share the very Gospel that had transformed his life.

The dramatic difference between the Paul who knew Christ, and the Saul who lived in opposition to Christ, presents a clear picture of a life in unbelief versus a life of full acceptance and trust in Christ Jesus. Paul explains that because of all the things God has done in his life, he has reason to display the perfect love of Christ and share the Gospel that set him free.

Paul’s encouragement and challenge to Timothy and his church should also resonate with us and our daily walk with Christ. What a privilege it is to be shown mercy and grace in our sin, and to be met with an opportunity to live out our lives as a constant display of His patience and grace. “But I received mercy for this reason,” to demonstrate to others the eternal life we receive in Christ Jesus.

Application:

1. Why does Paul share the brokenness of his former life?

2. Think back to the way you lived before walking fully with Christ. How has He shown you mercy and grace?

3. In what areas in your life are you failing to display the example of Christ to others?

4. What are some ways you can remind yourself of the Gospel, and share it with others?

Devo Plus:

Read 1 Corinthians 15, Philippians 2:9-10, and Romans 1:16 to get more insight into this passage.

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for loving us enough to give us mercy and grace when we are undeserving. Thank You for challenging us to live a life more like You, and thank You for allowing us the responsibility to share Your Gospel and the power that comes with Your great Name. Remind us of the very power of Your mercy, and push us daily to live a life through the lens of the Gospel. We are so grateful for the love You show us, and for the opportunity to share that love with those around us. Thank You for Your true power, strength, mercy, and love. “To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Matthew 23:1-7, 23-24 (NLT)

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.

“Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!

Explanation:

There is one realm where “fake it till you make it” never works. With Jesus.

Jesus was not about the show. 

Jesus was about reality. 

Jesus wasn’t about the consensus.

Jesus was about the one.

Jesus was not about the look.

Jesus was about the action.

Jesus wasn’t about the titles.

Jesus was about the results.

Jesus was about faith, mercy, and justice.

I love the way He paints a verbal portrait with His words and how bluntly He declares that religious teachers are crushing people with unbearable religious demands...and never lift a finger to ease the burden. “What sorrow awaits.”

It is a sorrowful thing to live in this depth of hypocrisy. Yes, all of us slip and slide into hypocrisy from time to time because we are human, but what Jesus comes against is living in it. It’s a big monster and a horrible way to live, because the duality will suck the life right out of our soul. We truly are as sick as our secrets, and facades use monumental amounts of lies and energy to stay propped up. Phony living depletes everyone of peace and a prosperous spiritual life.

Jesus simply stood against what the religious world stood for. In this passage, He is obliterating faux discipleship and concisely spelling out the fruit of authentic spiritual life.

He publicly divided right from wrong as clearly as He separated light from dark on the first day of creation.

This is right. This is light.

Justice 

concern for fairness and a respect for all people; a desire for equality for all

Mercy 

compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone when it is within your       

power to punish them

Faith 

complete confidence and trust in God

Application:

1. Everyone has a role to play in justice. Everyone. You have someone in your life who needs the power found in prayer. Who are you going to pray for today who needs the hand of God to fight for them? Be specific. Who needs justice in this world, and only God can help?

2. Who in your town needs mercy? Who in your life needs mercy? 

3. Feed your faith today. Make at least three different choices that will nourish the faith in your heart instead of drain life from your soul. Faith gets hungry and needs sustenance.

Devo Plus: 

Jesus goes on record saying, “Come to me ALL who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, NIV). Once you operate in Jesus's rhythm of rest, you can operate in His plan.

Prayer:

God, when I don’t feel merciful today, cause me to pause and remember Your desire for me to extend mercy. It’s not something I can just muster up by myself; I need your Holy Spirit to fill me full of demonstrative mercy.  

I long for developed faith, a rooted faith that entwines so deeply in You that I just sway with the storms of life instead of breaking and snapping… 

Agitate in my heart a craving for justice for others! I want to see the need, fill the need, and support the need just like the Good Samaritan. Because it is what You want, Jesus, I want it, too. Amen.

Matthew 9:9-13 (NKJV)

As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.

Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Explanation:

For what reason would a greedy, self-centered tax collector abandon a lucrative business to follow a man with ethics opposite his own? Why would people trapped in sinful lifestyles gather around someone who could rain down judgment on their behavior? There is something about Jesus that draws the broken and hurting to His side to find safety in a world full of critical spirits.

As Christ followers, the goal on this side of heaven is to become more like Jesus every day. The Bible instructs us to do life with our fellow believers to help us grow strong in our faith (Hebrews 10:24-25). But it is challenging to find that balance between surrounding ourselves with like-minded brethren, and being relatable to unbelievers. Indulge in activities involving only Christians, and we reach no one for the kingdom. Focus on developing relationships with unbelievers, and we risk becoming more worldly and less Christ-like.

Jesus did not struggle with that issue, and not because He was perfect; rather, He was anointed—empowered to carry out God’s plan in His life. Our Savior stayed in constant contact with God, which kept Him from being distracted from His mission. Jesus protected His time alone with the Father, and as a result, God blessed Him with wisdom and discernment as He ministered to the unsaved world.

Christ followers have the same anointing through the Holy Spirit living inside us. If we are to show the kind of mercy God desires, we must model our behavior after Jesus and draw closer to God every day. Only then can we understand how Jesus was never judgmental toward sinners, yet was never attracted to their sin.

Application:

1. Would you say most of your close friendships are with Christians or unbelievers?

2. Why is it important to have a healthy balance of both types of friendships?

3. We need to have relationships with unsaved people because we may be the only gospel message they ever hear and the only Bible they ever read. What safeguards do you have in place to ensure that the world is not having undue influence in your life?

Devo Plus:

Read Luke 19:1-10 for a similar encounter with a tax collector.

Prayer:

Today, commit yourself to drawing nearer to God each day. Ask Him to give you wisdom, discernment, and protection as you witness to the unsaved world around you.

Matthew 12:33-37 (NIV)

“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Explanation:

Today’s scripture is another one of Jesus’s parables. These verses talk about good and bad fruit. If you are living a life worth imitating, trying to live a disciplined life, then you are producing good fruit. If you are living a life for God, pursuing Him and doing His will, then you are living a good fruit life. On the other hand, a bad fruit life is living for the world. It’s only thinking and caring about yourself, with the mindset set of “forget everyone else, I’ll do what I have to do.”

My thought? We all have good fruit days and bad fruit days. But ask yourself which one of these days you have more of. If you’re reading this, then I’m going to guess you’re a follower of Christ. And you want to produce good fruit more often than bad fruit. But you are human, so you are going to have bad fruit days. Just how do you handle those bad days? Does your day get ruined if something doesn’t go your way? Do you lose your cool if someone cuts you off in traffic? Do you show grace and mercy to people around you?

Today’s passage talks about the good that is stored up in your heart, but it also mentions the bad that can be stored up in your heart. I love this verse because it calls us out. If you put junk in your heart, only junk will come out. You want to be a solid Christian friend who is able to know the Bible, help people when you can, keep your cool in harsh situations. Do you know how to do all this? Put in Christ! Put in His Word and holy songs to God, have healthy godly relationships, honor God with your time and finances.

There’s a lot of bad you can put into your heart that will drive you away from God…the shows you watch, the music you listen to, the way you talk when you’re not at church or around godly people, places where you hang out, your internet history, the way you treat your spouse, how you talk to your kids, gossip, what you do when no one is looking. But God wants you to turn back to Him. He is there with open arms, ready to hug you and keep you safe. Repent and turn from your ways; that is how you begin to produce good fruit. Start and end with Jesus. 

Application:

1. What good fruit are you producing?

2. What bad fruit are you producing?

3. What words do you want to hear from God on your judgment day? Good fruit or bad fruit?

4. What do you need to change to be more Christ-like?

Challenge: Pick one negative, unholy obstacle you have in your life, and ask God daily to reveal something new about it. Pray about this one thing every day all week. After you pray, write down what God puts on your mind about it. After a week of doing this, reread what you wrote down. God may very well change your heart or situation each day, or He might use this list after a week to do something.

Devo Plus:

Luke 15, Galatians 5:22-23, James 3

Prayer:

God, thank You for today. Thank You for loving us and watching over us. Please show each of us how to produce good fruit in our lives. Reveal the bad fruit we need to get rid of. Help us to put godly items in our lives so we can be the best disciples for You. Change our hearts this week about the bad that we put in our minds and hearts. Lord, make us pure. In Your Name. Amen.

Luke 6:37-42 (NIrV)

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Explanation:

The above scripture is talking about how quickly we judge others. We should stop criticizing and finding faults in people who think differently than us. The way we want to be judged by God is the same way we should approach others. We should look for the good in others and give them grace. If we have a friend who is sinning, we should confront their sin in love, but before we do that, we need to look at ourselves and see the sin in our own lives.

Have you ever said this? “I would NEVER do that.” When you see a parent open the box of Cheerios in the checkout line because their child is going to eat their arm. Or you hear on the news about all the people who have addictions, and you think “that would never happen to me.” Yet we find ourselves doing these same things. Addiction can come in many different forms (like sugar, coffee, eating, shopping). What about your co-worker who tells their life story and you start to judge them in your head and treat them differently? But if you would stop and look at yourself…you struggle with some of the same issues. The fact is, we all live in a fallen world and we all fall short of God’s standard. We all sin! We are not perfect. We all struggle with judging others unfairly in some way.

So instead of judging others immediately, stop and give them grace, and point them toward God and the truth of His Word. Don’t gossip with them, or get frustrated. Stop and go to God first, and ask to see His truth in the situation. What do you think this world would look like if we stopped judging each other based on the world’s standard, and instead looked through God’s eyes to see a hurting, broken child needing grace?

Application:

1. When you hear something about someone, what is your immediate reaction? Do you go to others or God?

2. Who in your life are you judging instead of finding the good in them?

3. What sin are you holding on to and not surrendering to God?

4. Ask God to open your eyes to see people the way He sees them.

Devo Plus:

Read John 8:7-11.

Prayer:

Father, help me to stop judging others based off their actions. Instead, help me to see the good in others. Show me my sin that I need to give to You. Help me to become a friend who always points back to You, even when it is hard. I love You, Father. Amen.

Luke 18:9-14 (ESV)

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Explanation:

This is the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector that Jesus used to reach those who were overly confident in their faith walk. The Pharisee was well-versed in the written temple laws, following all doctrine of the church, and considered part of an elite people group as seen by others. The tax collector was well-versed in Roman laws, his works were to uphold those laws, and he would have been looked down upon because many of those laws were unjust.

The way the Pharisee approached God in prayer was with confidence and arrogance, not with a posture of gratitude. He spoke from his heart, and his prayer was a justification of his works and uprightness according to the temple laws. But it reveals that his heart viewed himself and others through a lens that man created, and not the lens of God. He lifted himself above others, and put himself at a higher level of righteousness because of the things he did, his works. The tax collector had a much different approach. He didn’t feel deserving enough to lift his head in prayer, and became emotional in brokenness, beating his chest (heart). When he spoke, his true heart was revealed, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ He didn’t try to justify himself, others, or his works; he just came humbly, seeking a connection with God. He knew he couldn’t do anything without God.

Jesus sees the need to address the arrogance of the heart when we allow our works to drive our confidence in faith. He is cautioning that it is only through Him we can have right standing with the Father. Our comparison to each other as a measure of righteousness and justification is a deviation from the work Jesus did on the cross. When we become justified in our actions/works and find contentment in them, we are lifting our own standards, not the works of Jesus, who is the only possible way to redemption. We have to be truly broken-hearted in our sin to be assured of God’s love and Christ’s forgiveness.

Application:

1. Who or what do you use as a measure of standard for your faith walk? (Family member, pastor, friend, group leader, connect groups, serving, etc.)

2. Can you align this standard with examples in the Bible? Are the standards guiding you deeper in relationship with Jesus? Or are they just replicated actions?

3. Take a moment and picture yourself as the tax collector. Search your heart. Approach God in prayer starting the same way the tax collector did, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”

Devo Plus:

1. Explore why Jesus used parables. Start with this podcast: https://bibleproject.com/podcast/purpose-parables/

2. The parables aren’t simply a kind of neat, clever way that Jesus taught moral or ethical truths. They’re not simply a way that he taught systematic theology through symbols. They are an expression in the service of His announcement of the Kingdom of God.

Prayer:

God, be merciful to me, a sinner! Break my heart for what breaks Yours. Help me to walk in the steps You have created and planned for my life, and be obedient to walk with those You bring to me. Allow me to see myself and others through Your lens. Amen.

Romans 2:1-11 (NLT)

You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things. Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things? Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. He will judge everyone according to what they have done. He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness. There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism.

Explanation:

“If your friend walked off a cliff, would you do it too?” I remember being asked that by my parents as a teenager. Of course, I wouldn’t. I was better than they were, or so I told myself. I was always proud that even though I didn’t always adhere to a strict “obedience code” with my parents, I still was pretty “good” in my perception. I definitely wasn’t as bad as some of my friends. I could spend all day pointing out the awful things my friends had done, while not understanding there was nothing little about a “little white lie” as far as sin is concerned.

You see, I thought as long as I could judge some of the “bad things” my friends were doing (like sneaking out at night, going to boy-girl parties, drinking, etc.), I was somehow more righteous than they were. I was not engaged in those kinds of sin. I was way better than they were.

Fast forward to today. Do you ever find yourself looking at an article, viewing a post, watching the news, etc., and think, “Wow…I’m glad I’m not like that”? You may even go a step further and think “I’m glad I’m better than he/she is.” We may not struggle with the same baggage they have, but we are FAR from being righteous in the eyes of God. Our faulty ways of thinking have to be restructured.

I read a quote once that said, “Every time I pass judgement on someone else, I’m only condemning myself.” Paul addresses this in today’s passage. It’s good to disapprove sin, because sin is bad. We get into murky waters, though, when we forget to be disapproving of our own sin. When we fail to turn the camera around and look at ourselves, we lead ourselves down a dangerous path. When we are pointing out the faults and fallacies of others, it’s like we are trying to divert God’s attention in some way. All we are really doing is rapidly inviting God’s judgment onto our own sin. God never talks in the Bible about a “sin scale” —your sin is as bad as mine, as bad as the death row criminal—because it’s a death sentence as long as we fail to understand what it means.

Application:

1. When you look at today’s passage, how would you define “righteousness”?

2. Are you ever caught in the trap where you find yourself comparing your sins to the sins of others, or trying to rationalize your way out of a sin?

3. How can self-awareness help you avoid conflicts of this nature in the future?

Devo Plus:

Read more about how to impose judgment effectively, and as a tool to lift up others around us: Matthew 7:1-5; Luke 6:38-42; John 8:1-8; James 4:11-12

Prayer:

God, I’m broken. I’ve made mistakes where I’ve tried to rationalize my sin through the magnitude of what others have done. I realize that my sin is still my sin, regardless of what another person has done. I’m giving all of that to You to manage, Lord, and I ask for Your forgiveness and guidance as I embrace Your grace.