#DailyDevotion We See The Mercy Of God In The Severity Of God
January 23rd
Read Rom 11:25—12:13
Rom 11:25-26 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. (26) And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;… 32For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all. (33) Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
Now this section of Romans 11 has been misinterpreted by a lot of people. It is not saying all people of Israelite descent will be saved. To say that is to completely ignore what Paul said from chapter 9:1 unto this point. Only through faith is anyone saved we saw that much of Israel did not believe nor will they ever believe. But rather those of Israel who believe in Jesus and those Gentiles who become Abraham’s children through faith in Christ and are grafted into Israel make on complete Israel and it is that Israel Paul is referring to when he says, “All Israel will be saved.”
The doctrine of original sin is brought up again here in verse 32 as all people as in chapter 3 are consigned to disobedience. There is no one who does good, no not one. But God in his great wisdom and might has done this that he might have mercy on us all. No one should doubt God’s mercy, kindness, love and forgiveness given for and to all mankind. There is not one for whom Jesus did not die. You never have to doubt Jesus died for you for he died for all. God wants to have and has had mercy on all people through his son Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the crucified, dead, buried, risen and ascended One. And as Paul says this is way above any of our pay grades. It is beyond our searching out.
Since this is so, i.e. God’s mercy in Christ, how should we live? Chapter 12 leads us into that. We are to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. This is spiritual worship. Now just what is this spiritual worship? Fasting 40 days? No. Giving away all you have and living on the kindness of others? No. Whipping oneself and carrying a cross around the country? No.
Well what is it? Simply it is using the gifts God has used in service of your fellowman and in particularly the service of fellow Christians. It is to use our God given gifts to build up Christians in faith and life and to help out those around us. It is being unselfish with our lives and our goods. It’s changing the lightbulb, mowing the lawn, cooking dinner, cleaning your room, washing the clothes, going to work, changing dirty diapers, volunteering for an office or service at church, doing things for your neighbor. It is loving one another as God has loved us in Christ Jesus. It isn’t flashy. It doesn’t get a lot of news coverage. Indeed, no one may ever see you offering up your spiritual worship and you may receive no thanks for it except from God at the judgment seat of Christ.
Jesus give us your Spirit that we may recognize the Father’s great mercy towards us and give us minds that wonder at his unsearchable ways and give him praise in our lives of service to his children here among us. Amen.