Romans 1
29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Romans 2
23You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24As it is written: "God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."
Last night, I imagined Apostle Paul standing on a podium, screaming and pointing his fingers at me for all my transgressions and for the times I have tainted God's name among the Gentiles with my hypocrisy and wickedness. I trembled in slight fear because these verses were a perfect description of who I really am. Why is it so easy to revert back to living a life of a Pharisee? How many times have I rationalized my deceitful tongue and wicked thoughts? I boast about God's endless love to nonbelievers, but how many more times have I dishonored Him by bounding my love to only a certain few? With these questions fluttering in my head, I went to bed feeling really crummy.
Romans 4
7"Blessed are they
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
8Blessed is the man
whose sin the Lord will never count against him."
But was I ever so relieved when I read these words this morning..
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