You can't hide from God. But you can know He comes offering grace, mercy and peace. Genesis 3:7-10 (NIV) CONTEXT: We'll begin this passage today and come back to it later this week. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring a and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 17: The Recovery of Fallen Man We believe that our good God, by his marvelous wisdom and goodness, seeing that man had plunged himself in this manner into both physical and spiritual death and made himself completely miserable, set out to find him, though man, trembling all over, was fleeing from him. And he comforted him, promising to give him his Son, “born of a woman,” to crush the head of the serpent, and to make him blessed. Summary What a tremendous thought of what paradise will be like: The LORD God, walking amongst His people in the cool of the day. We're at that time of the year here in the upper Midwest again, where the evenings get longer, the sunsets are spectacular, and we often get a chance to set our work down and relax in the cool of the day. Imagine doing so in the direct presence of our loving heavenly Father! But this particular evening recorded in Genesis 3 was anything but relaxing. God came to walk, as was His habit, but this time He walked alone. His image bearers trembled in fear, having gotten exactly what the serpent promised: opened eyes. But the only thing their eyes could see was their own nakedness and shame. It's what happens next that sets the tone for the entire rest of the Bible. The omniscient creator and sustainer of all things called out to them, asking where they were. Certainly God knew the answer. He knew that these two, to whom He given dominion over everything He had made, had rebelled against Him, having taken the one thing they'd been commanded not to. He would have been perfectly justified to send fire and brimstone down upon them from on high. But He came looking for them, beginning a pattern that He would follow countless times throughout history with His wayward people. And instead of the wrath they deserved, He met them with the same grace, mercy and peace that He offers to you. Dig Deeper It's not that God ignored the awful sins Adam and Eve had committed. There would be no more sunset walks with their loving Creator. Life in paradise was over, and now they'd never really experience true rest again. The work that they'd been created to enjoy would be cursed, and in its place would come thorns, sweat, and rebellious children who'd be born infected with the sin they'd unleashed. Adam's sin ruined God's good and perfect creation. His instinct was to hide the resulting shame from God. I wonder if as he hid from God he thought for a moment he might get away with it. But he couldn't stay hidden. God came looking for him. Notice here that Adam never once asked for God's help. Adam would have kept right on hiding and covering up his shame with fig leaves. But God saw what Adam needed, because God came looking for him. This is the essence of the Christian gospel: that the perfectly holy Creator of all things comes looking for his image bearers who are hiding from Him in their sin and misery. There's all sorts of different reasons why you're here today, reading these words, but never forget the primary reason: God came looking for you. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who comes looking for His fallen and broken children; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for coming to find you; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Romans 5

If you believe God softened your heart, why is it so hard to accept He hardened others? Romans 9:10-24 (NIV) CONTEXT: We began this passage yesterday. We'll pick up in the same place we left off. 6 It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. 9 For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.” 10 Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” 14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17 For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. 19 One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?” 20 But who are you, o man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ”  21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? 22 What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory—24 even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 16: The Doctrine of Election We believe that— all Adam’s descendants having thus fallen into perdition and ruin by the sin of the first man— God showed himself to be as he is: merciful and just. He is merciful in withdrawing and saving from this perdition those whom he, in his eternal and unchangeable counsel, has elected and chosen in Jesus Christ our Lord by his pure goodness, without any consideration of their works. He is just in leaving the others in their ruin and fall into which they plunged themselves. Summary Hard work; dedication; blood, sweat and tears. These attributes define the ethos of so much of our success in life. We enjoy the fruits of our labors and savor the pride that our accomplishments brings. Since we've so clearly seen how God has blessed our efforts in so many different arenas and ways, it's so easy to transfer these attitudes to our salvation and conclude that God gives us His grace because the strong faith we've built up deserves it. After all, we mistakenly conclude, we had that instinct and insight to respond to God's gracious call, whereas so many others either ignored or outright rejected it. But those are exactly the attitudes the Bible seeks to dispel here when it comes to your salvation. In the most clear and unequivocal terms it says that it - that is, God's saving compassion - does not depend upon your desire or efforts, but rather, upon God's mercy. There's literally nothing you can look at in regards to your salvation and claim that you made it happen. Certainly there are actions you took - you confessed your belief, for example - but the point here is that the only reason you could do that is because God in His mercy enabled you to do so. Paul elaborates by using Pharaoh as an example. God raised Pharaoh up, meaning that God engineered every aspect of Pharaoh's life to put him in a position of power over God's people. Not only that, but scripture reports over and over that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. Those are tough words to digest, but should they be? After all, you're likely quick to admit that God softened your heart so that you would accept and believe the gospel, so why should it be so difficult to swallow that God could, would and has done the opposite? Ultimately, the reason you are a Christian and others are not comes down to God's sovereign decision. "God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden." Dig Deeper Next Paul does what he's so good at doing: he anticipates his reader's objections, and right now, if you get the implications from the preceding paragraphs, you're likely objecting. If God softens the heart of this guy, but hardens another, why should the first guy get rewarded and the second guy face eternal punishment. Aren't they just doing exactly what God programmed them to do? It's not fair. "Why does God still blame us," Paul hypothetically asks. Although this objection seems reasonable, Paul immediately squashes it. Who do you think you are "to talk back to God," he asks. In other words, how could we, as mere creatures - and fallen ones at that - make accusations against the One who not only created all things but who also defines the very concept of goodness and fairness itself? This concept of God's sovereign predestination in which he determined before creation who He would show grace to and who He would leave in their sin is amongst the most difficult doctrines in the Bible. It's meant to humble us and leave us to wrestle with unanswered questions and objections. Good theology is meant to be wrestled with (hence the name of God's covenant people: yiś·rā·ʾēl - the ones who wrestle with God). So let predestination humble, and even at times frustrate you. But also realize the unsurpassed comfort this doctrine provides: That although you'll never fully understand why, God chose you to be His own and since He never changes, He'll never let you go. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will be both humbled and comforted by God's saving grace in your life; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Romans 4

This chapter is more than just fodder for late night conversations - it's the basis for your peace. Romans 9:6-16 (NIV) CONTEXT: Romans nine is one of the most difficult chapters in the Bible, dealing with why it is that God has chosen some to salvation, but left others in their sin. 6 It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. 9 For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.” 10 Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” 14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17 For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. 19 One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?” 20 But who are you, o man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ”  21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? 22 What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory—24 even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 16: The Doctrine of Election We believe that— all Adam’s descendants having thus fallen into perdition and ruin by the sin of the first man— God showed himself to be as he is: merciful and just. He is merciful in withdrawing and saving from this perdition those whom he, in his eternal and unchangeable counsel, has elected and chosen in Jesus Christ our Lord by his pure goodness, without any consideration of their works. He is just in leaving the others in their ruin and fall into which they plunged themselves. Summary For all of history there have always been two types of people: those who are in, and those who are out - the ones who have faith in God for their salvation, and the rest who stubbornly rebel against God for eternity. And for centuries, that boundary marker was delineated by (mostly) one thing: nationality. You were either a child of Abraham and thus one of God's people, or you weren't. But Paul points out some flaws in this 'saved by DNA' theory. "Not all who are descended from Israel are Israel (v6)," he writes. Ishmael, Abraham's oldest son, was out, but his half brother Isaac was in. That sort of makes sense, given that God made His promise to Isaac's mother Sarah and not her servant Hagar. What doesn't seem to make sense - from our perspective - is the difference between the twin brothers Jacob and Esau. If you know anything about their story, you know that often Esau was the honorable brother, while Jacob was a cheating scoundrel. If salvation was decided by popular vote, Esau would win. But there was only one vote in this election, and God cast it. Paul, writing words breathed into Him by God, writes that God's election occurred "before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad." In other words, God doesn't choose based on pedigree or potential. Salvation has nothing to do with our works, but is wholly dependent upon Him who calls. Dig Deeper We haven't even gotten to the toughest verse in this passage yet. How could the very God who defines love say that He loved Jacob but he hated Esau? Why would the scoundrel be included in God's ḥěʹ·sěḏ (never ending covenant love) while not only Esau, but also his descendents after him, would be set apart from it (Malachi 1:2-3, the passage Paul quotes in v13)? The Bible doesn't answer that question outright. God isn't obligated to explain Himself to us. Paul anticipates our frustration here and cuts it off, reminding us that God is sovereign - He will have mercy on only those whom He designates - but also that He is just. Paul doesn't elaborate on this, but he does make it crystal clear. God's sovereignty not seem fair to you, but ultimately remember: God is not unjust (v14). Passages like Romans 9 are not put in the Bible just to give you a headache or to provide fodder for late night discussions about how God's sovereignty relates to man's responsibility (we'll unpack this tomorrow). Romans 9, like every other chapter in the Bible, is there to build up your comfort and confidence in Christ. You can experience this peace by memorizing v16 in a very personal way: My salvation does not depend upon my desire or effort. It completely depends upon God's mercy. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whose purposes will always stand (v11); ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for His sovereign mercy in your life, and pray that these difficult truths will make you humbly confident; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Romans 3

Preaching God's Word has a powerful effect on all who hear it, but only the appointed believe it. Acts 13:42-48 (NIV) CONTEXT: Paul & Barnabas preached the gospel in a synagogue in Antioch, and the people there invited them back to preach the following week. 42 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. 43 When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. 44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him. 46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “ ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” 48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 16: The Doctrine of Election We believe that— all Adam’s descendants having thus fallen into perdition and ruin by the sin of the first man— God showed himself to be as he is: merciful and just. He is merciful in withdrawing and saving from this perdition those whom he, in his eternal and unchangeable counsel, has elected and chosen in Jesus Christ our Lord by his pure goodness, without any consideration of their works. He is just in leaving the others in their ruin and fall into which they plunged themselves. Summary Verse 44 is every preacher's dream - that the entire city would show up to listen. Of course, Paul would be the first one to tell us that they weren't coming to hear him speak; after all, he admits often in his letters that he wasn't an impressive speaker. It wasn't a celebrity preacher the people came out for, rather, they "gathered to hear the word of the Lord." God's Word contains immense power, especially when it's proclaimed to people as Paul and Barnabas were doing. Romans 1:16 says that the gospel - that is, the message of the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ - is the very "power of God!" We picked up our reading today at verse 42. Most of the verses that come before today's passage in chapter 13 record the first powerful sermon Paul preached in Antioch. Like any good sermon, it's full of scripture references, and it has a clear gospel call in v38-39: ...through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39 Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin... But a few verses later, the sermon ends and nothing really happens. There's no emotional altar call as Barnabas quietly strums his guitar to the tune of Just As I Am, and Paul doesn't ask for a show of hands while everybody's eyes are closed from those who accepted Christ. There's just a cordial invitation for Paul and Barabbas to return the following Sabbath. If preaching is so powerful, why wasn't anybody converted in that first sermon in Antioch? Why are there so many people who let these powerful, life bringing words just bounce off of their ears? Dig Deeper Something resonated with people the first time Paul preached there; enough that word spread and the whole city - not just the Jews - showed up to hear Paul & Barnabas preach the following week. And it was at this second time that the work of the Spirit suddenly became visible. But the first manifestation didn't look the way we might expect. Rather than a people rejoicing in their newly discovered forgiveness, we see a group of Jews who saw the crowds and "were filled with jealosy (v45)." That's the thing with the Holy Spirit: when He moves upon people, they certainly react, but only those who are "appointed to eternal life believe (v48)." And so it was with the Gentiles who "honored the word of the Lord (v48)." These, the unlikeliest of converts, people who had probably never heard a verse of scripture before this day, these were people who had been appointed for eternal life by our loving Father before the world had even been formed. Remember these ancient Gentiles from Antioch. Your salvation doesn't come because of your commitment to serving your church (the Jews had much more), and it doesn't come because you have an awesome preacher (although God does use him). Your salvation comes to you simply because, as our Confession puts it, God "elected and chose you in Jesus Christ our Lord by his pure goodness, without any consideration of your works." AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who appointed us to salvation and provides the means for us to recieve it; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that the doctrine of election will humble you so that you might better serve God; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Romans 2

You were predestined to read this post. Ephesians 1:3-6 (NIV) 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 16: The Doctrine of Election We believe that— all Adam’s descendants having thus fallen into perdition and ruin by the sin of the first man— God showed himself to be as he is: merciful and just. He is merciful in withdrawing and saving from this perdition those whom he, in his eternal and unchangeable counsel, has elected and chosen in Jesus Christ our Lord by his pure goodness, without any consideration of their works. He is just in leaving the others in their ruin and fall into which they plunged themselves. Summary The concept of predestination - the idea that God determined, as v4 says, "before the creation of the world" who would receive His grace - is amongst the most difficult doctrines of the Bible for most people. Yet that's not the category Paul frames it in here at all! Rather, this is the first thing Paul writes to the Ephesians; not as a matter of profound mystery, but as the primary basis for doxology (words of praise). "Praise be to God," Paul begins, "for he chose us in Him before the creation of the world..." There is absolutely nothing you can be told or discover about yourself that will give you more of a sense of self worth than this: to know that before God called light itself into being, He knew who you were and had chosen you to be His own! No wonder Paul places this difficult to digest doctrine as the primary foundation of our praise for God! One of the reasons we have trouble understanding this is because we know ourselves all to well. Other people easily see the myriads of sin and faults in our daily lives, and you yourself know that the stench goes way deeper than what others can see. Why would God want someone so broken? The short answer is that He doesn't. He does for sure want you, but He wants you "to be holy and blameless in His sight." This is why Jesus came to be Immanuel - God With Us - and why our Father, in His eternal love, "predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ." That is, He set us apart so that the holiness and blamelessness of Christ would belong to us and we would be made eternally acceptable to our Father. Dig Deeper Because this doctrine of predestination is so hard to wrap your head around, there have been all sorts of cooked up explanations to help make it conform to our idea of fairness and logic. One of the most famous erroneas explanations is this: Predestination means that before God created the world, He looked down the corridors of time and chose those whom He saw would be faithful and obedient to Him. This seems to make the whole idea easier to swallow, since it seems way more fair and not so arbitrary. But if this were the case, why would it form the basis for our doxology, as Paul presents it here at the beginning of his letter to the Ephesians? All God really did is look into the future to see how awesome we were; He simply recognized we were better than everyone else in the world, and so really His choosing us is how God praises and honors us! See how quickly false doctrine turns into idolatry? The Bible tells us here that God did something much more impressive than just looking down the corridors of time. He doesn't just look down them, rather God formed and directed the corridors of time before time began so that all of the experiences you've had ultimately direct you to Christ! As we've read in Romans 8:28, "In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." Understanding the doctrine of predestination will never be easy, nor even completely possible. There will always be a mysterious aspect to it. But ultimately remember that this doctrine isn't meant to confuse or frustrate you, rather it's to move you "to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves." AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that as you wrestle with difficult doctrines, you will respond in praise and glory to the One who chose you to belong to Him; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Romans 1

Don't fall in the trap of thinking God's mercy will negate His justice! Deuteronomy 7:7-10 (NIV) 7 The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your fathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. 10 But those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction; he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 16: The Doctrine of Election We believe that— all Adam’s descendants having thus fallen into perdition and ruin by the sin of the first man— God showed himself to be as he is: merciful and just. He is merciful in withdrawing and saving from this perdition those whom he, in his eternal and unchangeable counsel, has elected and chosen in Jesus Christ our Lord by his pure goodness, without any consideration of their works. He is just in leaving the others in their ruin and fall into which they plunged themselves. Summary God's chosen people. What a way to think of ourselves! Often the word 'choice' conveys quality and superiority, as in the USDA's grade of 'choice' for meat or a 'choice' bottle of wine. So it's easy to begin to think that there was something that set us apart from the common herd of humanity that God saw when choosing us for Himself. But God quickly snuffs out any notion that people like us are any better than people in general. He makes plain to His newly freed covenant people as they began their trek to the Promised Land not to think that they "were more numerous" than other groups, because the were actually "the fewest" (literally: the smallest). In other words, God didn't choose Israel because they were the biggest, strongest, most advanced nation in the world, because they were actually the smallest, weakest and nothing more than a bunch of escaped slaves. Fast forwarded to the book of Acts, which chronicles the early development and growth of the church, and you'll see that God followed the same pattern as He called an eclectic, but in no way impressive (as least according to the world) group of people to salvation. So you need to continually stuff away any sort of pride that sneaks into your psyche trying to convince you that somehow you were more worthy of saving than others. God tells us here exactly what His criteria is for whom He elects to salvation: His own faithfulness to the covenant. He is faithful to save those He's obligated Himself to, as by His grace they love Him and keep His commandments (v8-9). Dig Deeper It's popular to pit God's mercy which brings people to salvation against His justice by which He will repay those who hate Him with eternal destruction. Somehow, His merciful, covenant love will strengthen as His anger towards sin diminishes until all that's left is His gracious mercy and blessings. But this is not at all the message of the Bible. God reveals Himself as both fully merciful and fully just. There are countless accounts in scripture and in our own histories in which God demonstrates His merciful, covenant love to His people, as He had just done for the Israelites in today's passage. Yet at the same time, He remains true to His justice by repaying sin (notice the word 'repay' was used twice in v10 - sin must be paid for, either by the sinner or a substitute). The Heidelberg Catechism, which we used as our Bible reading road map last year, says it the best. Question & answer 11 says, God is certainly merciful, but he is also just. His justice demands that sin, committed against his supreme majesty, be punished with the supreme penalty— eternal punishment of body and soul. This is why in His endless mercy for His covenant people, God sent His one and only Son to pay with His life to fully atone for your sin and fully satisfy God's justice. This means that all those who are in Christ will forever experience the never ending mercy of God, and all those who remain in sinful Adam will experience nothing but God's holy wrath and justice. Make sure, by the profession of your mouth and the belief in your heart (Romans 10:9) that you are in Christ! AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, the Lord your God, is God; He is the faithful God who keeps His covenant of love; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for choosing you to belong to His covenant and showing you His mercy in Christ, and pray that His election will humble you rather than stir up false pride; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Matthew 28

Meet Pelagius, a really nice heretic with good intentions. Titus 3:3-7 (NIV) 3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 15: The Doctrine of Original Sin We believe that by the disobedience of Adam original sin has been spread through the whole human race. It is a corruption of all nature— an inherited depravity which even infects small infants in their mother’s womb, and the root which produces in man every sort of sin. It is therefore so vile and enormous in God’s sight that it is enough to condemn the human race, and it is not abolished or wholly uprooted even by baptism, seeing that sin constantly boils forth as though from a contaminated spring. Nevertheless, it is not imputed to God’s children for their condemnation but is forgiven by his grace and mercy— not to put them to sleep (alternate translation: This does not mean that the believers may sleep peacefully in their sin) but so that the awareness of this corruption might often make believers groan as they long to be set free from the “body of this death.” Therefore we reject the error of the Pelagians who say that this sin is nothing else than a matter of imitation. Summary Enslaved. That's what Paul says that at one time we all were (v3). If most of us are honest, that's a tough to identify with, since we've had the blessing of knowing Jesus our whole lives. But even those who came to know the Lord later in life likely wouldn't describe their life prior to Christ as living "in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another." Thankfully, God restrains people's sinful natures so that most people don't fully experience a life filled with total malice and hatred (a doctrine we call common grace). Yet Paul here accurately describes what life is like apart from God's grace. So if God has brought us to new life through the Holy Spirit, and He even holds in check the behavior of those who haven't been regenerated, why is it so important to continually remind ourselves of this ugliness? The answer comes in the very next verse. If you don't realize the effect that original sin has had on you - that it's sapped you of any ability to do any sort of good on your own - you'll end up chalking the good relationship you currently have with God to the righteous things you've done, as if God owes you salvation because you're such a good person (or at least better than most). Paul here corrects this sinful instinct, writing that Christ "saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy (v5)." Dig Deeper Pelagius was a British monk, and a really nice guy. He moved to Rome around the end of the 4th century. He was appalled by the moral laxity of society and advocated for more personal responsibility in the Christian life. This sounds like a good thing, so it might be surprising to find out Pelagius' efforts sparked one of the biggest theological controversies of all times and ended with him branded as a heretic. Pelagius' teachings revolved around the idea that human beings were created with the inherent capacity to choose good or evil without the necessity of divine grace. He argued that the essential nature of humanity was not corrupted by original sin, and therefore, each person was born morally neutral with the ability to live a sinless life by their own efforts. In other words, people are not born in sin, but end up sinning simply by imitating those who came before them. So the key to defeating sin is to just stop imitating it. Through sheer willpower, people can set themselves on the straight and narrow. God's grace was only necessary to forgive past sins, but wasn't necessary for a person to repent in the first place or even live Godly lives moving forward. Those things can and must be done by us independently. This may sound really good, and even freeing! It's easy to see why it's attractive to think that the Church has been holding humanity under its thumb by telling them that on their own they're totally depraved, and how much better everything would be to escape that dependence. But not only does this never work out in reality, it flies in the face of all that God has told us is true as we've read what the Bible says about original sin these last couple of weeks (and we've only seen the tip of the iceberg!). But worst of all, and the reason that Pelagianism is deemed a heresy, is because it points people away from their need of Christ and leaves them clinging to nothing but their corrupted, sinful selves. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who saved us because of His unfailing covenant love; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will live righteously as an expression of gratitude - not the rationale for - the grace you've already been given; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Matthew 27

Know your enemy—it's closer than you think. Romans 7:18-25 (ESV) 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 15: The Doctrine of Original Sin We believe that by the disobedience of Adam original sin has been spread through the whole human race. It is a corruption of all nature— an inherited depravity which even infects small infants in their mother’s womb, and the root which produces in man every sort of sin. It is therefore so vile and enormous in God’s sight that it is enough to condemn the human race, and it is not abolished or wholly uprooted even by baptism, seeing that sin constantly boils forth as though from a contaminated spring. Nevertheless, it is not imputed to God’s children for their condemnation but is forgiven by his grace and mercy— not to put them to sleep (alternate translation: This does not mean that the believers may sleep peacefully in their sin) but so that the awareness of this corruption might often make believers groan as they long to be set free from the “body of this death.” Therefore we reject the error of the Pelagians who say that this sin is nothing else than a matter of imitation. Summary Romans 7 is both agonizing and encouraging. The agonizing aspect is clear enough, as Paul unloads this burden that continually weighs him down, writing, "I desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out." What Paul discovers here is that faith in Christ - even the strongest faith, like what Paul had - is not enough to fully eradicate the effects of original sin that we've been reading about the last couple of weeks. If you missed our earlier posts, or you just need a quick refresher, remember that original sin doesn't necessarily refer to the very first sin, but rather the sinful instinct we were all were born with. Paul doesn't use the technical term original sin. Rather, he describes our propensity to sin in a much more intimate way that's embedded into our very being when he calls it our "sinful nature (v18 - NIV)." We read from the ESV above, which used the word "flesh." As we've read through the Bible together the last couple of years, we've often used the very same Greek word Paul used - Sarx - to refer to the deeply imbedded desire to rebel against God that we all have. Dig Deeper You need to understand the gravity of this situation. Sarx is not just a pesky fly that annoys you from time to time. Paul writes that Sarx is "waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me (v23)." While this battle is brutal and unceasing, the encouraging aspects of Romans 7 give you peace for two reasons. First, know that you're not the only Christian fighting this battle, and even being occasionally knocked down by it. Even Paul succumbed to Sarx on a daily basis, and so does every other Christian in the world. Don't use this as an excuse, that since even guys like Paul caved to their temptations, I can too. Realize that this is war, and you're called to fight back, which is why Paul tells you in Ephesians to put on the full armor of God! Secondly, and most importantly, be reminded that even when you lose the daily battle, the war has already been won by your Savior, who is Jesus Christ our Lord (v25). It's through Christ that you are already declared righteous and some day will fully delivered from "this body of death." AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who delivers us from death through Jesus Christ our Lord; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for strength as you battle Sarx each day; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Matthew 26

God's covenant love is both compassionate and bone crushing. Psalm 51:1–12 (NIV) 51 For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. 7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 15: The Doctrine of Original Sin We believe that by the disobedience of Adam original sin has been spread through the whole human race. It is a corruption of all nature— an inherited depravity which even infects small infants in their mother’s womb, and the root which produces in man every sort of sin. It is therefore so vile and enormous in God’s sight that it is enough to condemn the human race, and it is not abolished or wholly uprooted even by baptism, seeing that sin constantly boils forth as though from a contaminated spring. Nevertheless, it is not imputed to God’s children for their condemnation but is forgiven by his grace and mercy— not to put them to sleep (alternate translation: This does not mean that the believers may sleep peacefully in their sin) but so that the awareness of this corruption might often make believers groan as they long to be set free from the “body of this death.” Therefore we reject the error of the Pelagians who say that this sin is nothing else than a matter of imitation. Summary David begins his beautiful and heartfelt confession of sin by appealing to God's unfailing love. Other translations describe this aspect of God's love as steadfast or loyal. The Hebrew word David uses here is ḥěʹ·sěḏ, which is the covenant love of God in which He has obligated Himself to us, His people, which often expresses itself as great compassion and abundant mercy. Often times we associate words like compassion and mercy with a mother's soothing hug and not so much with a father's stern discipline. But Psalm 51 shows us that God's covenant love involves both. Focus in on the second half of verse 8: ...let the bones you have crushed... Have you ever thought of God's love as being 'bone crushing' before? But yet that's exactly what God lovingly does to us when necessary. Rather than let us persist in our sins, which could never be described as compassionate or merciful since ultimately our sins lead us away from God and towards hell, God uses the weight of our guilt to crush a bone or two. As our Confession puts it, this pain brings about an "awareness of this corruption [which] might often make believers groan as they long to be set free." Dig Deeper Theological terms are often multi-syllable words derived from Greek or Latin that are beyond the ability of ordinary people to really understand. But not all the time. We use a pretty simple phrase to describe people who think that God really doesn't care about sin because He's so compassionate and merciful. We say they cling to 'cheap grace' (this term was first used by Dietrich Bonhoeffer in His book The Cost of Discipleship). Our Confession describes such people as those who "sleep peacefully in their sin." The Holy Spirit seeks to wake sinners up to the danger they're in, much in the same way you might wake up a person sleeping in a burning house. Much of the time, He does this in gentle, often even difficult to perceive ways. But sometimes people are so fast asleep that more aggressive intervention is needed. The whole point of Psalm 51 is that although at times, due completely to our own stubbornness, God must metaphorically crush our bones in order to rescue us, He doesn't leave us in that miserable condition. David's request as he confesses his sin is that the 'bones' God has crushed be made to rejoice. God wakes us up from our sinful slumber in ways that often cause us to groan. He does this in order to restore to us the joy of His salvation. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whose unfailing covenant love results in great compassion, which occasionally crushes our bones. ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for pricking your conscience to wake you up to the reality of your sin, and confess it before Him so that the bones God has crushed will rejoice; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Matthew 25

This is arguably the most important passage in the Bible! Romans 5:1-8 (NIV) 5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 15: The Doctrine of Original Sin We believe that by the disobedience of Adam original sin has been spread through the whole human race. It is a corruption of all nature— an inherited depravity which even infects small infants in their mother’s womb, and the root which produces in man every sort of sin. It is therefore so vile and enormous in God’s sight that it is enough to condemn the human race, and it is not abolished or wholly uprooted even by baptism, seeing that sin constantly boils forth as though from a contaminated spring. Nevertheless, it is not imputed to God’s children for their condemnation but is forgiven by his grace and mercy— not to put them to sleep but so that the awareness of this corruption might often make believers groan as they long to be set free from the “body of this death.” Therefore we reject the error of the Pelagians who say that this sin is nothing else than a matter of imitation. Summary If these 8 verses were the only scripture we had, they would be enough. The entire Bible is summarized in the opening words of the first verse: since you're justified (just-as-if-I'd never sinned and always obeyed), you have peace with God. We've set verses 3-5 to the side today, not because they're not important, but because, as is often the case with Paul, they're somewhat of a rabbit trail. You can see the direct line of logic extending from the end of v2 to the beginning of v6: You've been justified and therefore have peace with God (v1-2) because when you were nothing more than a powerless sinner, Christ died for you (v6, 8). Notice the parallels between verses 6 & 8: 6 - when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 8 - While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Before you can fully experience the peace that you already have with God, you must have a solid understanding of the wretched condition you're in apart from Him, which our Confession has been reminding us of these past two weeks. On your own you're a powerless, ungodly sinner. But the amazing truth of the gospel is that even so, at just the right time, Christ died for you that you put you at peace with God and enable you to boast in the certain hope of His glory. Dig Deeper Even when we better understand the underlying mechanics of our salvation, we still have lots of questions, and often our questions revolve around God's timing. Why are we reading about this in Romans 5 and not Genesis 5? Why didn't God accomplish His salvation right away for His image bearers? After all, the moment after the forbidden fruit was eaten man was already a powerless, ungodly sinner! Why did the great flood occur, and then later the enslavement of God's covenant people in Egypt? Why did they wander in the desert for forty years, and then when they finally settled in the Promised Land, why did their kingdom never really re-establish heaven on earth until God had enough and exiled them to Babylon? Why in the time since Paul wrote these words two millennia ago has civilization just been one train wreck after another? Why take so long for the peace we already have with God to result in having peace with one another? Certainly verses 3-5, which we've set aside today, along with the weeks we spent looking at the doctrine of God's providence help answer these difficult questions. But for today, just cling to the somewhat simplistic, but yet extremely profound answer v6 provides: God's demonstration of His own love for us comes "at just the right time." AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who demonstrates His love for us through our Savior, Jesus Christ; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for putting you at peace with Him, and pray that you will trust in His perfect timing; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Matthew 24