Romans 3:7-8 But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner? And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), "Let us do evil that good may come"? Their condemnation is just.
If we are living to love with Jesus, we believe and think like Jesus believes and thinks about our sin. It will seem worthy of condemnation by some who don’t understand, just as Paul asserted in these verses. They will accuse us of being ridiculous. To say that God receives glory because we are sinners, seems to say that our sinfulness and evil works toward His glory and righteousness. It is to say that He needs our sinfulness so He can show His righteousness. So if God needs us to be sinners for His glory then why are we still judged as sinners? Paul agreed with their line of accusation. Let’s grasp His point.
For Jesus, we are of value to Him, not because He gets anything from us. We have nothing to give Him. Our value is that through our lie (exchanging the truth of God for a lie and living for ourselves), Jesus testified to the truth of God— that God is a righteous judge. He has satisfied justice and demonstrated His righteousness at the cross so we could see the glory of God, namely, that God is love and love comes from God. Jesus glorified His Father, by finding His satisfaction in the love of His Father, then, out of that fullness, He expressed the Father’s love on the cross and through forgiveness.
For all who live to love with Jesus, we also know that the value of a person, isn’t what we can get from them. Instead, their value is that they give us an opportunity to know and experience the love of Christ, then out of His fullness, we express His love to them. With this understanding someone might say, “Then let us offend you so that you might experience and express God’s love.” Their reasoning is right on. They have understood the power of the gospel and the righteousness of God. So today, remember, another’s failure doesn’t nullify the righteousness and faithfulness of God. Quite the contrary, it actually gives an occasion for love to be demonstrated for His glory.
Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com
