This morning’s devotion was written by Paul Zahl.
Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law. (Romans 3:31, ESV)
Time and time again, Christian people stumble on this question of the Law.
The question I get, time and time (and time) again, is this one: How will I know to do right when grace and forgiveness are everything? Don’t we need a few tips, or pointers, say, from the Bible? Won’t people take advantage of grace?
That is the question you always get when you present the Gospel. You don’t get it from “non-believers,” who respond to the Gospel with incredible relief and assurance.
You get the question from “Christians,” believers for some time, who seem fearful of it, or maybe even jealous, I don’t know. “Christians” just can’t seem to understand that grace always ends up “upholding the Law” in practice. You don’t have to worry. The Holy Spirit automatically creates works of loving from prior love.
Even so, I don’t think the ministers of grace are ever going to “persuade” the Christian community that grace applies to Christians. I have failed utterly at this for well over 30 years. Outsiders love the message; insiders resist it, even hate it. Probably we just have to “let them go”—the “Christians” I mean. Something about the way the religious (sub-)culture works just makes it impossible to hear the grace word there. I’ll try to keep on going, and “I won’t… back… down” (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers). But have no illusions: You’ll never persuade the “religious.”
Better maybe just open up a hospital for these people when they crash (they always crash). Take ‘em in then, offer the Old, Old Story, and maybe then, after crashing and burning, they’ll hear it with new ears.
COMMENTS
6 responses to “Hopelessly Devoted: Romans Three Verse Thirty-One”
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Breaking my FB Lenten break to share this gem.
This is amazing! I love this so much.
Wow…hadn’t thought of this before…what does it say about things when it seems that so much more prayer and time is spent trying to “evangelize” Christians with the message of grace (the gospel) , than non-Christians with the message of the gospel (grace).
So very true!
I hear and agree in many ways with the observation, but it seems that most mbird readers, along with many other Christians, responded to the message of grace after they were already baptized and confirmed believers. If one does not believe a god exists, the assertion that this non existent one is gracious is not that comforting. On the other hand, I recall those amazing years when the Adevent was stuffed and overflowing every service, almost exclusively with southerners who had been Christians for years, not non-believers, and who were hungry to hear PZ’s message of grace. The Holy Spirit can melt with love every heart, even the Christian heart.
This is a gem, thanks PZ and Mockingbird!