PODCAST
Starting At Failure
October 15th, 2014
Romans 3:1-20
Paul writes some fairly depressing words in Romans 3. Then again, they are not his words. They are a montage of phrases from the Psalms put together as a reminder that people have failed from the very beginning of time. Imagine coming to your first day of class with an F and spending the rest of the semester trying to raise your grade to an acceptable level. The apostle notes that we all start with a failing grade before a holy God and do not have the aptitude to make up the difference. What hope is there?
One encouragement comes from realizing that you are not experiencing the problem alone. Everyone else in the class is flunking as well. The apostle’s words are a somber reminder that our failure is deep and our need is great.
However, his words should also remind us that the more fully we see our failure, the more fully prepared we will be to seek and find God’s answer for us. Good self-awareness will lead us to good God-awareness if we realize that He alone is the answer.
Author: Matthew Thomas
October 15th, 2014 at 8:06 am
Good Morning! Thank you, Matthew Thomas, for today’s devotional. Yes, I believe we are failures from the start. After reading this, I was reminded of something else that I read once; it went something like this, ‘The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ must first be the bad news of sin and redemption.’
It also reminds me of something David wrote:
“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5) Have a blessed day!
October 15th, 2014 at 10:37 pm
I appreciate the classroom analogy used here. And the best news of all is that we cannot earn an A, no matter how much we study. All we have to do is go up and ask the Teacher for an A, and it is ours!