As we enter the second chapter of Romans, I am arrested by the first word, "You". I would like to dodge the accusatory dart Paul is hurling, but I cannot. I doubt that any of us can. He has just made a list of behavioral acts and attitudes, which are antithetic to God's way. Then he warns that we have a tendency, as humans, to condemn those who do things we consider especially reprehensible, while ignoring the fact that some of the things in the list characterize our own behavior. When he says, "You do the same things", he does not mean we are all guilty of all of these things, but that all of them are contrary to God's will, and we have no right to condemn others, while we are all guilty of some of these sins. In the third chapter, he is going to say, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Continuing in chapter 2, he says, "...God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth." Pay attention! He is giving a definition of truth! From time immemorial men have been asking, "What is truth?" Paul indicates here that truth is the way God created the universe, and how He intends for it to function. Truth is God's way of doing things...it is equivalent to righteousness. When we fail in the purposes for which God created us, we commit the ultimate error. It is called sin, and the book of Romans is full of that word, for Paul is addressing the basic purposes which God has for His
creatures, and the message is clear.
The climax, and essence of His purposes are found in verses 7 and 8. "To those who by persistence in doing good, seek glory, honor and immortality, He will give eternal life, but for those who are self-seeking, and who reject the truth, and
follow evil, there will be wrath and anger." I cannot over-stress the importance of this statement.
When He was on earth, Jesus said, "If you love me keep my commandments". Later He said, "My commandment is this, that you love one another." The ultimate characteristic of Jesus Christ's life was sacrificing self for others. It was His
definition of love. If we are to be His, we must follow His lead. In His words, "Take up your cross and follow me." Jesus said to His disciples, "The world will hate you." It should be obvious why. Our world is driven by greed and
self-interest. Each wants to be the center of his own world, demanding his rights, regardless of the cost to others. This is the very antithesis of Christianity. The televangelist and church leader, who preaches material gain and success as the rewards of Christianity, is denying the very essence of the Christian message, which is self-sacrifice for the sake of others.
Christianity is not to be found in large church organizations, ritual obedience, liturgical repetition, nor signs and symbols. Christianity is not some obscure intellectual pursuit, attainable only by theologians, and church hierarchy. It is very simple and straightforward. Love one another, and that means putting self aside, and working to bring peace and happiness to others. It means living in such a way that others are drawn to the Father by your behavior. It means
walking humbly in His righteousness, and rejecting the myriad temptations that a hedonistic and self-centered world has to offer.
In the early years of my life I heard many preachers harshly condemn all who did not agree with the legal interpretations of Biblical passages that they deemed essential. These same men disdained love as weakness, and condemned it as "soft preaching", preferring "sound doctrine" as the way to preach. Even as a youngster I felt something was wrong here. Later I realized what it was. When you leave love out of your preaching, you leave God out, for "God is love".
Contrary to the concepts of these people, love is not a warm fuzzy feeling, nor a cop-out to escape confrontation. It is a deep feeling of responsibility for all the creatures of God. It is a willingness to subjugate my will to His, and what
pleases me, for what pleases Him. Jesus did not come to earth to create an exacting religious system. He came to bring the message of God's love. Those who preach Him as the satisfier of all our hedonistic desires, and those who interpret Him as the organizer of rigid legal rules of religion, both do violence to the purposes of the humble Man of Galilee, who came with His Father's message: "God so loved the world that He gave His Son."
