May 8

ROMANS 5

¹⁷ For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.¹⁸ Therefore, as one trespassled to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. ¹⁹ For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. ²⁰ Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, ²¹ so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. – Romans 5:17-21

ROMANS 5  GRACE ABOUNDS WHERE SIN INCREASED

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Rejoice all those who are in Christ because you are blessed

Grace abounds when you lean on the Lord; you are saved

The law will not make you righteous, it will expose your sins

There is no condemnation to all who are made righteous in Christ.

Paul continues his advocacy for the grace that comes in believing and depending on Christ. He points out continuously the contrast between Adam and Christ. He gives hope to all those who receive this letter. He says that although one man’s disobedience made the whole mankind sinners as well, Christ reversed that condemnation through his sacrifice on the cross which gave all humans a clean slate to start fresh with our relationship with God.

When we do not accept our state of sinfulness and think that we can do something to keep us rely on ourselves, we are going to have a hard time understanding grace. Many false teachings add their own efforts to be saved. In this letter, Paul stresses that grace is a free gift and all we need to do is to rely on the finished work of Christ on the cross. We were justified by that sacrifice of Jesus. We need not add to the work that he has already done. We need to learn to receive that gift humbly and have grateful hearts that acknowledges the greatest gift of all.

REFLECTION

• Why do you think some people find it hard to accept God’s free gift of grace?

May 6

ROMANS 5

⁶ For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— ⁸ but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. ¹¹ More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. – Romans 5:6-11

ROMANS 5 WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When Adam and Eve sinned, they were separated from God

There was no way to retrieve God’s presence after they disobeyed

God made a way for all those who inherited our first parents’ sin

He gave his only Son while we were still sinners to show us his love

Jesus sacrifice on the cross is the perfect way to reconcile us with God

By his blood, Jesus took the wrath of God so we can all be saved.

Paul paints a picture of how God loves mankind. Because he is holy and righteous, he will not tolerate sin. Anyone who sins against him must bear his wrath. That is the nature of God’s justice. He has to punish sin. In this letter, Paul reveals to us the mercy, grace and the steadfast love of God in that while we were still sinners, he gave a remedy for us to be reconciled with him. Just like a good parent would never give up on their children when they are disobedient and rebellious, God never gives up on his own people. He thought of the best solution to the problem of sin among mankind. He knew that no human being can appease his wrath over sin. So, he gave his only begotten and beloved Son Jesus to be the perfect sacrifice for the appeasement of his wrath. When Jesus died on the cross, he removed that wrath of God towards all sinners. He became the mediator between us and God so that we can be reconciled with God and took God’s punishment in our place so we can be saved from our sinful state and be cleansed from sin.

REFLECTION

• Is it possible for believers to love like God does? Why or why not?

May 3

ROMANS 4

¹³ For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁴ For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. ¹⁵ For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. ¹⁶ That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, ¹⁷ as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. ¹⁸ In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” – Romans 4:13-18

ROMANS 4 GRACE THROUGH FAITH

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When God chose those who will belong to him

Because of his steadfast love, he poured his grace to them

By grace, he blessed his people with the gift of faith

By faith, we are showered with his grace and saved.

The apostle Paul explains in this letter the importance of faith. Faith is a gift from God to those whom he elects to be his own people even before the creation of the world. When Abraham was chosen by God to be the one who will be instrumental to begin his redemption plan, he gave him the ability to believe in him.

Can you imagine being asked to leave the place of your origin and follow where a God you don’t see would lead you to go? Abraham didn’t raise any question or have resistance to follow what was being asked of him to do. By nature, we are control-driven human beings. We want to know what to do, where to go, how to do it ahead of time. We want details and assurance of things that haven’t happened yet and we want to plan ahead. And yet, Abraham was like a meek lamb, just heeding to the instructions to leave his country and go to a promised land he doesn’t know. It was faith given by God that made him do so. The faith came from the outpouring of God’s grace for humankind.

REFLECTION

• What do you think verse 18 means?

May 2

ROMANS 4

⁹ Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. ¹⁰ How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. ¹¹ He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, ¹² and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. – Romans 4:9-12

ROMANS 4 WALK IN THE STEPS OF FAITH

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When God chose Abraham, he was also equipped with faith

This is what made him walk in the steps of God’s call

He didn’t doubt what God asked him to do, he acted on it

To believe in God means to follow the lead of God’s Spirit.

The apostle Paul emphasizes in this letter that faith preceded circumcision in Abraham’s life. The belief and obedience that Abraham exhibited made him righteous. It was his faith that made him the father of all nations.  He acted on his faith by following the call of God to leave the place of his birth and go wherever he was told to go. In this act of obedience and following the instruction of God, he sampled to all humanity the exercise of true faith.  Faith is not just believing and not acting on that belief. God grants those who believe in him the ability to take those steps of faith that he will instruct them to take.

After Abraham took the step of faith, he was declared the father of faith and the father of all nations. As a result of this faith, he was acknowledged as righteous. So, God made a covenant with Abraham and instructed him to be circumcised which seals that agreement. This will set God’s elect to be set apart from the rest of the world. It clearly manifested God’s faithful promise to Abraham: he was to become the father of all nations and he will have countless offspring.

REFLECTION

• How is following the steps of faith an essential process in a believer’s life?

April 29

ROMANS 3

⁹ What then? Are we Jewsany better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, ¹⁰ as it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one; ¹¹no one understands; no one seeks for God.
¹² All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;

No one does good, not even one.”
¹³ “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
¹⁴ “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
¹⁶ in their paths are ruin and misery,¹⁷ and the way of peace they have not known.”
¹⁸ “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. ²⁰ For by works of the law no human beingwill be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. – Romans 3:9-19

ROMANS 3 NO ONE DOES GOOD

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Can anyone claim that they are good at what they do?

Does anyone truly understand or comprehend God?

He who thinks he is good is a liar because only God is good

Even Jesus himself didn’t claim that he was good.

We live in a world system that is plagued by standards of perfection. This system focuses on the “self” in relation to the world around it. The standard it follows is to be accepted as “good if not better or best.” The system propagates comparisons which generates envy and power struggles including all sorts of conflicts of various kinds.  He says it very clearly in James 3:16: For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. In this letter, Paul points out to both the Jews and Gentiles that there is no one who does good. In Mark 10:18, Jesus corrects someone who called him good. Only God is good according to our Lord Jesus Christ. He humbled himself to become human and doesn’t claim anything else that the Father hasn’t given him.

REFLECTION

• What does the idea of “being good” do to believers and unbelievers alike?

April 28

ROMANS 3

Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? ² Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. ³ What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? ⁴ By no means! Let God be true though everyone were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.” ⁵ But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) ⁶ By no means! For then how could God judge the world? ⁷ But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? ⁸ And why not do evil that good may come? —as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just. – Romans 3:1-8

ROMANS 3 BELIEVERS’ BETRAYAL DOESN’T CHANGE GOD’S FAITHFULNESS

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When one is chosen by God, it doesn’t excuse him from infidelity

Because God has given us a will, we are free to reject his invitation

Betraying the offer of God to belong to his kingdom

Will probably manifest that you weren’t chosen by him after all

When he chose you as his child, he gave you the ability to say “yes”

Your betrayal and rejection of him doesn’t change his faithfulness.

In this letter of Paul to the Romans, we could probably hear the questions being shot at him regarding the value of circumcision or being a Jew. If he said in his earlier letter that God is not partial, what is the point of being a believer? They even challenged Paul in verse 8 when they thought of why not just do evil then so good may come? Another question that they raised was if the believers were unfaithful, would God also do the same to them. We can hear how shallow and childish these people were regarding their faith. They have to be convinced that there are some benefits that they will gain if they do believe in God. Paul mentions in verse 2 that one of the advantages of being chosen by God is that they are also entrusted with the truth that comes from God’s word. Paul defends God’s character by saying that no matter how evil they are, God will stay true. It exposes such immaturity from them how they know and see God.

REFLECTION

• Why do you think these people thought that God will be unfaithful if they were?

April 25

ROMANS 2

¹² 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. ¹³ For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. ¹⁴ 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. ¹⁵ 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 ¹⁶ on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.  – Romans 2:12-16

ROMANS 2 THE UNWRITTEN LAW

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When God created humans in his own image

The Lord also placed in their hearts his laws

It is unwritten in every man’s mind and his heart

This is why we know what is wrong and what is right

There is no excuse for man to justify his evil ways

Much more so those who are given God’s laws.

In this account, Paul explains the importance of both the written and unwritten law. For those who are Jews, they were given the laws by Moses when God freed them from the Egyptians. He made a covenant with his people to follow so that his promise will be received by them.

The Gentiles on the other hand didn’t have a covenant with God, but now, Paul is preaching to them the gospel. He made them aware that God has placed in their hearts the unwritten law of God. Even if they do not know God, they have a moral compass. We can call it conscience. We feel shame when we do something against that unwritten law, but we feel okay if we do not go against what is right. Paul also reproves the Jews because even though they know the law already and yet do not do it, they are as guilty as those who do not know the law of the Lord. The book of James calls this the royal law of liberty in his second chapter which is about loving our neighbor as yourself.

REFLECTION

• Cite examples how the unwritten law is manifest in every human being.