Archived Daily Manna | Rejoice Fellowship | A mission to release people to rejoice in the world.

Message: When reading this one must keep in mind, first and foremost, that salvation comes by faith, not by works. This is a fundamental doctrine of Christianity. Otherwise, no person could hope for heaven. We would all be condemned, for none of us can stand before God on our own merits. We sin. But we can find forgiveness for our sin, through our faith in Christ. Forgiveness, however, is not a loophole. We cannot spend our lives pandering to evil, keeping Christ’s forgiveness in our back pocket like a “Get Out of Jail Free” card tucked under our side of the Monopoly® board. Trying to manipulate God’s forgiveness is not “faith”; it the gamesmanship of the Sunday Christian, a glib and poorly conceived strategy of hedging one’s bets, rooted in agnosticism. Christian family Looking on the bright side, though, Paul does not say that only people with perfect conduct will find eternal life; he says that those who seek God’s glory will find eternal life. The opposite of seeking God is translated “self-seeking,” but this term is somewhat misleading. Self-seeking, in its common sense, certainly refers to sinful behavior, such as greed and avarice. But here it is used in the more fundamental sense of seeking for truth within oneself, rather than from God’s word. A person with real faith in God will, in consequence of his faith, behave better than he or she would without such faith. In fact, the impact of faith on a person’s actions is usually profound. But the man or woman of faith will still sin. It is our living faith, our seeking to find God’s glory, which will trump this behavior and ultimately earn us total forgiveness. That said, Paul’s purpose in writing this passage was not to foment a discussion of faith vs. works. As one reads through Romans 2, it becomes increasingly clear that Paul is addressing Jewish Christians, to help them reconcile with Gentile Christians. The key phrase is “God shows no partiality.” The Jews were steeped in a religion of race, law, and salvation by works. Paul’s purpose in writing this passage was to convince them that Gentile and Jew would be judged exactly alike. Ask and it shall be given unto you As a side note, having given the psalm today in the KJV, I noted that the KJV of Romans 2:11 reads, “For there is no respect of persons with God.” Even the NKJV changes this to “God shows no partiality.” The wording in the KJV unfortunately sounds, to the modern ear, as if Paul is saying that God has no respect for human beings, which is not the intention of the sentence. The clear meaning is that God does not care who you are: Jew or Gentile, male or female, slave or king, etc. Still, as is so often the case, the elegant KJV says it better! In fact, let’s read the KJV: Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God.