Read Romans 4:6-8
As we saw yesterday that the Jews of Paul’s day looked back with reverent awe at Abraham. They also held King David in the same vein. Yet they knew full well that he too had his dark side. This great king committed adultery when he should have been at war. He then organised to have the woman’s husband killed.
Yet even so, we read that King David considers blessed the man whose sins the Lord does not hold or credit against him. King David spoke in the negative. God does not reckon or credit our sins to our account. The Lord will never look at those sins again or bring them out of the storage box. He will choose to forget those sins completely.
Paul, though, interprets this positively in that he says in verse 6 that God credits righteousness of Christ to the account of everyone who believes. The negative and positive work together for the same end. God does not credit our sins to our
If we bear in mind Romans 4:5 - that God justifies the wicked with this crediting - then we have a powerful truth that affects every aspect of our lives. The basic principle is that I am to treat others the way that God has treated me. God justifies the wicked. God has justified me. In my unforgiven state He has loved me and credited me with the righteousness of Christ. That means I need to reach out in love and treat those who hurt me, or let me down, or disappoint me in the same way God has treated me. I cannot wait for that person to get his or her act together because God justified me, the wicked! He didn’t wait for me to get my act together! It means I must reach out to them for reconciliation in the same way that God reached out to me. I must love them as God loves me.
This principle revolutionises the way I treat and relate to others. I can no longer love only those who love me or give to those who give to me. Even pagans and sinners are doing that. I can no longer give and expect to be repaid. Even sinners and tax collectors expect to be repaid. To be like Christ I must treat others with the same compassion and love with which God has treated me. That bench mark has been set incredibly high because God justifies the ungodly!
Prayer:
Given today’s reading jot down your own prayer points:
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks
Supplication:
¥ Pray that God would revolutionise our relationships and allow us to treat each other and even our enemies with the love and compassion that God has given to us. Pray that we would never stoop so low as to call people to get their lives together before we love them.
¥ Pray that God would bless the work of Shiloh Church Ministries in India as they reach out to orphans, widows and the needy to show them the compassionate love of Jesus Christ. Pray that God would supply all their needs and greatly bless their minsitry.
All people long to be loved. No one wants to be unloved. If you show and communicate love to people you’ll draw them to Christ.
Do you communicate love to everyone you meet?
1. Paul pulls out the big guns in yesterday’s and today’s verses. Why do you think he doesn't mention David’s sin with Bathsheba?
2. How can David be called by God ‘a man after God’s own heart’? Acts 13:22. 1 Sam 13:14
3. How would you explain Romans 4:7-8 in your own words?
4. How can these two verses be applied in every day life?
Discipleship Moment For Girls
Intro: Sometimes we have people around us who don’t really like us and make our life miserable. Sometimes they bully us or hurt us or say horrible things to us and about us. Jesus teaches us that the way we treat them in return can show a lot about the God we worship.
Share a struggle you have had in loving someone who didn’t love you in return.
Read: Matthew 5:43-48
How does God show His love for ‘good’ and ‘bad’ people?
Why should we love people who don’t love us?
What is God’s desire for the people whom He loves that don’t’ love Him?
Pray that you will able to love everyone with the love of Jesus especially those people who don’t love you and make your life miserable.
Intro: People who bully us or pick on us or make our life miserable can be a real pain, can’t they? But Jesus wants us to be radically different in the way that we treat them. Jesus teaches us that the way we treat them in return can show a lot about the God we worship.
Share a struggle you have had in loving someone who didn’t love you in return.
Read: Matthew 5:43-48
How does God show His love for ‘good’ and ‘bad’ people?
Why should we love people who don’t love us?
What is God’s desire for the people whom He loves that don’t’ love Him?
Pray that you will able to love everyone with the love of Jesus especially those people who don’t love you and make your life miserable.
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