Daily Devotion That Gives Hope

FRIDAY, 24 MARCH 2023

TEXT: Romans 2:17-29

17. Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God,

18. and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law,

19. and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,

20. an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law.

21. You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal?

22. You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

23. You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law?

24. For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written.

25. For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.

26. Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision?

27. And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law?

28. For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh;

29. but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.

(New King James Version Holy Bible)

TOPIC: FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT

The Jews boasted about their knowledge of the Law and claimed that God chose them and made a covenant with them. They wrongly concluded that nothing could prevent them from inheriting this eternal life. So, they mocked and laughed at the Gentiles. Head knowledge without a heart-felt commitment to obedience isn’t true faith.

Unfortunately, this is what obtains among many of us who consider ourselves as Christians. This is worse among Church leaders. A few years ago, Christians were believed to be people of integrity because they demonstrated their faith in obedience. Church leaders were especially highly esteemed, respected and their testimonies taken as true and reliable.

However, despite the proliferation of churches and Christian related ministries across the globe, evil is on the increase. We teach the truth but our lives are far removed from what we teach. Children of many Christians are confused because their parents’ lives are completely the opposite of what they teach.

Church members no longer believe the teachings about sin because most of their leaders live double lives.

QUESTION: Does your life reflect your knowledge of the Word of God as something trustworthy and that Jesus is the Redeemer?

PRAYER: Thank You, Lord Jesus Christ, for the privilege to know and the power to live by the Word of God. Help me to stay on course. Amen.