Series: The Judged
Message: Guilty Go Free
Preacher: Elia King
Reflection: Elia King
Live Wonder: Jessyka Albert
Live Adventure: Jessyka Albert
Live Purpose: Japhet De Oliveira
Editor: Becky De Oliveira
Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.
Read: Romans 3:21-31 in the English Standard Version (ESV). Note 1–3 insights or questions.
Reflect: Not too long ago, I accidentally joined a basketball league.
The details as to how this happened are still sort of murky, but let it suffice to say that I thought I had said “no.” And then on the first night of the league, there I was in my only pair of shorts and running shoes, wearing a jersey emblazoned with the name of my business. But to be honest, I was totally lost. The rules of the game were (and still are) so unfamiliar to me that I wasn’t really sure which basket was mine. I just sort of tried to run around and stay away from the ball, which was a mostly-successful strategy.
But after the whistle had been blown on me for the third or fourth time in my two minutes of glory, the referees along with my teammates began to recognize what I already knew to be true: I didn’t really belong on the court, because I was playing by a completely different set of rules.
Jesus once told a story (recorded in Matthew’s Gospel) about a man who owned a vineyard. Long story short, the man hired workers at different points throughout the day but paid them all the same. By today’s standards, that may have been grounds for a lawsuit, or at least a nasty post on Facebook. But the vineyard owner’s response to the complaint is essentially, “I made a different arrangement with them than I made with you.”
I have a feeling that, as I have shown up every week to play basketball, the referees have held me to a slightly different standard than they have for some of the other more seasoned players on the court. Are the rules different for me? I’m not sure. But what I do know is that as I have come to know the other players in the league, I have been welcomed into a new community of friends who are excited to see me succeed. (One of my opponents even cheered for me last week!)
All of this has me thinking about what God said to the children of Israel through the prophet Isaiah:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
—Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV
Recalibrate: What if God doesn’t apply the same rules to everyone? What if our salvation isn’t based on how well we follow the rules?
Respond: Pray today for the wisdom to accept that God may be operating outside of your expectations.
Research: Listen to the song “Out of the Question” by David Wilcox. How have you been surprised by the workings of the divine in your own life?
Remember: “God makes people right with himself through their faith in Jesus Christ. This is true for all who believe in Christ, because all people are the same” (Romans 3:22, NCV).
Elia King is a singer, songwriter, designer, and guitarist who has been leading music in worship settings around the world for more than two decades. He owns Trail Ridge Printing, a screen printing company in Estes Park, CO, and is worship leader at Boulder Adventist Church. Elia graduated with a BA in religion from Andrews University in 2004. He is married to Dena, owner of The Grey House—a mountain boutique—and they have two children, Ellie and Anderson.
Let your child play with their food during meal time. Let them get their hands, face, clothing, and the table really messy. Once they’re done eating, ask if you think it would be a good idea to stay this messy for the whole rest of the day or to go to bed like that. Say that playing with your food can be fun sometimes, but it’s not so much fun if you have food stuck in your hair, or on your face, hands, or clothing for a long time. Sin is really messy and Jesus wants to make us right and clean us up! Clean up your child and talk about how God cleans us up with His grace.
Go outside and play in the dirt! Wear some clothes that Mom and Dad are OK with you getting dirty. This is your one chance to get really messy for a really good reason. Maybe you could make a mudpie or build a fort. Once you’re done playing, ask yourself if you want to stay in your dirty clothes and not wash your hands? No way! That would be kind of gross. God knew that sin makes us dirty, so through His grace, He cleans us up!
We’re back in the ESV today. Did the other translations and paraphrase help you understand more? Here is a great little exercise: Write the passage out. Highlight the key large concepts that Paul is raising and see if they appear anywhere else. Righteousness (vs. 21), Law (vs. 21), Faith in Jesus (vs. 22), Justified (vs. 24), Grace (vs. 24), Redemption (vs. 24), and Propitiation. OK now do you know what each of these means? If you had a sentence to explain each one and replaced it in the passage, how would it read? Too hard? You don’t have enough time? Of course this would be a mammoth task. Perhaps it is something that you need to do someday. For now, it is important just to note concepts that are repeated (showing that they are important). Let me give you at least one that you could try. Righteousness. You see it in vs. 21. How many times does it appear and in which verses? Once you have found all of those, replace it with this idea: Covenant Justice. More confusing? Hang in there with me. Remember the story of Abraham? He made a covenant with God. It was a contract. That is what a covenant is, but it is more than simply an agreement—it is a relationship. God said, let Me covenant with you, Abraham, to work through you to restore all people. Not just Jews, but all people so that things are like they were in the Garden of Eden. Of course Abraham and many others have failed on their end of this covenant, but God says, “My covenant justice still stands. I am in a relationship with you. I am in the right relationship with you.” God is faithful, despite our rejection of Him. Do you want that relationship with God today?