The Proof

Many people seem to think that the only way to prove or disprove something is with the sense of vision. When I was in grade school I learned that we have five senses: smell, touch, vision, hearing, and taste. I also learned that they were all equally important. At some point science and atheism seemed to convey that sight was the only true measure of something’s validity. There are many problems with this idea. Does that mean that if we were all blind that nothing could ever be tested true or false? Does this mean that a blind person can never truly know truth because they can never see it? If we were going to stick with that theory, that vision is the only defining sense, then we could use the argument that if we look at the world around us and see the creation then we should see God in that. I know everyone wants to see a picture of someone who looks like a man, but much larger with a bearded grandpa looking face seated on a throne in the clouds smiling down on us. But can’t we see God in the creation, and often in people around us? I once heard a story that went something like this…

If you were in a museum and saw a beautiful painting hanging on the wall would you not assume that someone made that painting? Now I would imagine that if it were just splashes of paint on a canvas then maybe you could think it was accidental and that nature caused it. Maybe the winds knocked a can of paint over on top of this canvas, but if I was referring to a painting that was done in great detail and absolute perfection. Could you look at something like this, with a scientific mind, and just say that it was a coincidence that a paint of color would fall into this canvas and create such a masterpiece? It often takes a more scientific mind to see God then to see the theories objecting to God.

Now back to this sensing thing, if we were to dispute the idea that sight is the only measurement that we can use to say whether something is true or false then we could acknowledge the importance of other senses as well, then. Now, the bible teaches us that once we believe and accept Jesus as our savior and are redeemed by that faith, that the holy-spirit comes and lives in our hearts. This is where the sense of touch comes into play.

If you are not a believer then you cannot measure this feeling, but as a believer I have measured this feeling and can honestly tell you that I feel the Lord touch me all the time. He fills my body with compassion for people that I would have once looked down on. He fills me with love for people who I would have hated before him. He has definitely changed the way that I look at things in the world around me, and has turned my life 180 degrees around to a place where I have everything I could have ever wanted. But if you are looking for a physical touch for me to feel, then I would have to say that when I spend time with the Lord I can feel him physically touching my heart.

Now on to the sense of hearing. I can physically hear the Lord speak to me. Most of the time it is to my heart, and it is the voice in my head. But there were times where I could hear the audible sound of him speaking to me, if I am not listening to the voice in my heart.

So there are three senses we now have covered. If you were a blind man and made a new friend, and he spoke to you and you could feel him touch your arm at times when he was trying to make a point or when he was holding you if you were scared, then you would probably not have a doubt in the world that this man existed. Am I right? So why would you have so much trouble believing that God exists, if people were to tell you that you could experience Him in this way?

So you won’t take my word for it then? Well, ok. I can understand that as the person I was 10 years ago would not have believed me either. You need proof you say? Ok then. I will give you proof.

When you are in history class and you read about Napoleon Bonaparte, do you ever wonder if they are making him up? Do you ever wonder if the textbook is lying about him and that he never walked a day on this earth? Would you be surprised to learn that there is more proof that Jesus was resurrected from the dead than any proof that Napoleon Bonaparte ever walked a day on this earth? It is true.

How do you know that anything that happened before you were born is true? Even after you were born for that matter, if you were not on-location then there is no way to know if what people are telling you is true. Correct? You see news broadcasts where these people tell you that there is a war going on, but it could be a fraud. It is quite possible that there is no war going on, in fact, if you have not been to Iraq there is a possibility that Iraq itself does not exist. [disclaimer: this is stated as an example and is not meant in ANY way to speak with anything but respect towards our war efforts especially those of soldiers on the ground]

So how do we know what is true and false that other people tell us. Well there are a couple ways. First of all you have to scientifically and logically decide what sources you will trust and you will also need to use your discernment. What is more logical? That the universe was a perfect coincidence or that it was made by someone. Think about that.

The next thing is that you have to have faith. Facts will never convince you, but knowing the facts may allow you to give in to what you have known you have been heading for, the truth. Once you realize that Christianity is not some crazy cult or a bunch of people who are building their lives on something that is wrong, and you are shown that it is an intelligent deduction based on the facts, then you can really start to understand.

The bible. Well. I remember a long time ago debating with my little sister, who is an agnostic, and she told me “well the bible is just a bunch of letters written by man”. Well this is partially true. And that is the most amazing thing. If you were to read the bible front to back you would notice something, at least I did. Though the books were written hundreds of years after each other they all carry the same tone. If you were to read a book written by 100 different authors all living at different times throughout history, don’t you think that it would not flow well and that it would seem choppy with many different writing styles, and writing “voices”? Well when I read the bible from the beginning to the back I notice the same author using the same words. The Lord tells us the same things and discusses similar topics over and over using different illustrations. There is definitely one voice speaking through all those scribes. If you do not believe me, then read if for yourself and prove me wrong.

So, back to the bible just being stuff that was written down a long time ago by men. What are we saying here? Isn’t every historical document just stuff that was written down a long time ago by men? What makes the bible any less historical than your textbook that you read in your world history class? Actually, the bible is much more of an historical document, but they probably are not going to teach you that in any public school. The first thing you should know is that we have copies of some of the books in the new testament that date back to the first century. Now I would think if I wrote a journal entry tonight about what I did today it would be a whole lot more accurate than what I wrote in a year from now regarding what happened today, and so on.

So, if your history book is written in the past ten years and is simply a reproduction of what other books have said in the past, and so on, would not the biblical books that we have from the first and second century be much more accurate representations of the events going on during that time? Or would you discount it just because people have told you that it is hogwash? Another point I would like to make is in regards to its opposition. The bible portrayed events that happened during a time. The people who could witness truth or false regarding these events were alive when the books of the New Testament were being copied and sent around. If it were all “hogwash” would not people of that time have disputed it as such? Especially if they have proof. Would not the Guards at the rock where Jesus was buried have produced the body if it were all “hogwash”? The bible was written by people who were there, not just someone who heard about the story. Paul (aka Saul) put his life and reputation on the line when he wrote his letters. Would he have done that if he knew it was hogwash?

Now let me bring your attention to a quote from Revelations. This is in chapter 22 verses 18 & 19.

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

Now, followers of Christ and people who produced versions of the bible believe every word in the bible. If that is true and they read the words listed above from chapter 22 they must fully believe that they were copying accurately or be punished in the way above. That kind of makes me not want to ever think about ever copying the bible, as I would rather not risk that kind of danger. However these early scribes would take the copying of such documents very seriously. They would copy in longhand word for word as they read the original (called the autograph). After they copied and read word for word they would have a proofreader read it again word for word. If a single mistake was found, instead of correcting the document, they would destroy the document and start over. It often took a scribe an entire year to make a copy of the bible.

That brings me to another point that has been well taught by my pastor, Brett Watson. I had never thought about this until he told us this one Sunday morning in a classroom at the Red Cross. He was referring to the objection of the resurrection whereas the disciples of Jesus stole his body in the night and hid it. He told us to think about that for a minute, put ourselves in these men’s shoes. I had followed this guy around who claimed to be God and was doing miracles and then he was killed. When he was killed he was offered many opportunities to deny his deity and be set free but would not do that. I knew this guy pretty well and so lets say that I would steal his body from the tomb in the night. Now lets understand that the guards would have been put to death if they lost the body. The Pharisee’s knew the prophecy that Jesus would rise from the dead, everyone was talking about it and waiting to see if it would happen. Knowing their expectations, they probably expected him to jump out of the rock, but on a sword and start killing Romans for them, but regardless they were aware of the prophecy. So these guards were told that if they let anyone pass this rock, or remove this rock, or move the body then they would be put to death. But lets say that even though their lives were on the line they allowed themselves to fall asleep, which is highly unlikely. And then I, a disciple of Christ, came in the night and stole his body from the tomb. Lets say I hid it to noone could find it and got away with it. Jesus told me that if I followed him that it would not lead me to an easy life, but lets say that I even ignored that and thought that I would benefit in some way, monetarily or stature wise. Now, lets think about what came of the apostles. They lived in poverty, they were constantly running for their lives, put into jail, suffered horrible deaths, and were scoffed at by anyone high in society. So, let’s say that I had hid Jesus’ body and then I went around the world proclaiming the gospel. There is no way anyone on the planet would endure the sufferings and the martyrs deaths that the apostles died, all for a lie. So then you would have to proclaim every single one of them a crazy person. But even a crazy person would not endure sufferings that they could get out of by admitting to a lie. The apostles did what they did, not to gain for themselves. The messages that they taught were ones of love and forgiveness. Does this sound like the acts of a madman? In addition, if you were to read the books of the New Testament, which were written by them, you would know that these were men who were of proper and sound mind.

Now lets think about one of the most pressing pieces of evidence. Fulfilled prophecy. I can tell you that out of all the religions in the world not a single one aside from Christianity can claim a single prophecy fulfilled, aside from those that could be controlled. For instance, if Mohammad said he would go to a city, and then he went there. Christianity can claim hundreds if not thousands of fulfilled prophecies. And I am not referring to coincidences. Jesus may have been able to know the scriptures to know that he should ride into town on a donkey on Palm Sunday, but there is no way that he could control hundreds of the prophecies around him, concerning his ancestors, the place and circumstances surrounding his birth, and other things that happened to him out of his control.

Now Josh McDowell has an amazing image of this for you. He had logicians figure out the probability of someone fulfilling only eight of the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled. Now understand that Jesus fulfilled hundreds, and if you read the Old Testament and then you read the new testament you can see this for yourself. So McDowell discovered that the chances of one man fulfilling eight prophecies from the Old Testament was 1/100,000,000,000,000,000. To give you an image of this ratio we need to understand the size of the state of texas. It is pretty much ginourmous. If you were to cover the state with silver dollars, two feet deep and have a blindfolded man reach down and grab one of the silver dollars, then that would be the same chance that Jesus Christ fulfilled just eight of the prophecies that he fulfilled. Is that enough proof?

The bottom line comes down to faith. Paul tells us that it is by grace through faith that we are saved and that is the only way to be redeemed by God. So these facts and logics will only help you realize that Christians are not fools but believe in a scientifically viable Messiah, not give you faith. But if you have any question about it pray about it, ask the Lord to show himself to you, and I promise He will, just maybe not always in the way you expect. Jesus was never one to stick to mediocre human expectations.

The Rain

I have to say one of my favorite things is walking in the rain. In fact, rain was a struggle my husband and I had to get through early in our relationship.

When he sees rain he either goes inside or gets an umbrella. When I see rain I want to run outside and stomp in puddles. He would exclaim that rain is dirty and gross, and I would say it was refreshing and clean. Needless to say, my husband will now walk in the rain with me and even enjoy it, though he does still think it is dirty.

Rain to me used to signify cold ugly weather where you couldn't do fun things. Rain has a completely different meaning to me now and I find it beautiful, cleansing, refreshing, renewing, happy, and even loving. When did this transition happen? On a hot sticky humid grey day in Sarasota Florida about 8 years ago.

On this particular day I was sitting in church, that was at that time renting a classroom at the local red cross. I felt like I should go outside and pray. I had been feeling lackluster in my faith for some time and felt like I was going through the motions, and though I was continuously learning and reading my bible I wasn't feeling a real connection with the Lord. So as I walked the parking lot praying aloud to the Lord. I prayed specifically for renewal. I prayed the Lord would wash me of the burdens that I carried and that I would be refreshed with a passionate relationship with Christ.

When all of a sudden I became aware of an intense feeling of love and then boom it happened. It poured rain down over me. And I started to laugh out loud to myself. I had been asking the Lord specifically to wash me and renew me and pour his love on me and boom rain pouring all over me. I continued to laugh and pray and walk around for a few minutes more enjoying the cold rain falling down my face, drenching me. Coincidence? That would be naive to believe it was a coincidence. And trust me, my burdens were lifted that day, my passion was renewed, and I felt the Lord's love in a very real way. This was one of those times in my life that pushed me into a deeper love and relationship with Christ.

Since that day I think back to those moments often. Yes, I was always a puddle splasher but I never ever appreciated rain like I do now. Now when I see rain, I notice things. I see the sun-cracked dry light brown earth filling with moisture and life-source. I see the withered green leaves puff up with energy. I see the dirt pour off my driveway down into the gutters. I see my car shining a little more (well when its waxed real good). I feel the appreciative exhale of a Floridian about to explode from heat and humidity when the rain starts coming and we get a few brief moments of coldness, well when the rain isn't near boiling temperature and scalding our scalps. I see the birds huddled up together on power lines waiting for it to pass.

I really do love the refreshing rejuvenating effect that rain has on us. And I think living in Florida in the summer has an exaggerated vision of what rain does. Not even considering the droughts and water restrictions that we've had in recent years... When I leave for work in the morning I go out and drench the soil in my plants. When I come home the soil is so dry that there are cracks in the soil and it looks like someone literally took a food dehydrator to it. And the leaves on my plants are curled in and browning. So when it rains just then and the soil expands and turns a darker brown and the leaves puff back up, I can just see how the rain gives new life to things.

The Lord has a similar effect on us. The Lord can bring us life when our bodies and souls are light brown and cracked dry. When the scorching heat of life has made us feel like we can't breath or move, the Lord can fill our spirits with himself and rejuvenate us. Without rain a plant can only live a very limited life. Without the Lord we are only breathing and following the motions.

I pray for you today that you ask the Lord to rain his spirit on you. Maybe it won't be in a literal way, maybe it will. I pray you ask him to take up greater residence in your heart and that you would love him in even a small portion of the manner that He loves you. I pray that you know today that you have a father in heaven who is watching and waiting for the tiniest of times with you, and is deserving of so much more.

Psalm 42
1 As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?

The Cavity

Here is my confession: from the ages of 20-30 I did not go to the dentist for cleanings. I think I went one time when my tooth hurt and it turned out to be a bad cavity that required a root canal to fix. I didn't go back for a few years when I was 30. I brushed my teeth at least once per day during these ten years, but didn't floss and didn't go to the dentist for cleanings or exams. The result was going for a cleaning and exam last year and finding out I had about 12 cavities and required 2/3 root canals. [note to young readers - floss and go to the dentist regularly - the hit to the checkbook in your 30s will not be fun]

Imagine my surprise when I had no pain in my mouth and I was told almost all of my teeth had cavities in them. I was in shock. Especially when I saw the price tag was much more than we had in our bank accounts. I explained to the dental assistant that they must be mistaken because I had no pain. I went back to the dentist a week later for my cleaning. What she explained to me has had me thinking for a while now.

The dental assistant that cleaned my teeth warned me that since she was going to be cleaning out the cavities, I might start to experience pain that I hadn't previously noted from my cavities. She said that the decay and crud in my cavities were covered up the holes in my teeth and preventing me from feeling the pain that I should have felt from the problems with my teeth. She said when that crud was removed that I would be prone to pain until my root canals were completed and my cavities filled in.

Did you catch that? Due to my irresponsibility I had let crud come into my mouth and cover up the pain I should have felt from the absence of tooth material in my teeth. I started to think about this on a more spiritual level. 

I thought about how we all have these God shaped holes in our hearts. We all have a desire to worship something, and we all fill that desire, that God shaped hole, with something. Once we fill it with something (ie money, success, popularity, sex, drugs, alcohol, careers, food, television, music etc) it doesnt quite satisfy us the way we thought it would, but it numbs us to that desire. It makes us feel like that hole is full. "Pay no attention to the gaping hole in my chest where the creator of the universe would like to reside".

Have you ever been shopping when you saw something you just had to have? You just knew with your innermost being that once you had that one item your world would be so much better and you would be so much happier? Then you get home, take it out of the bag and have that sinking feeling that that item isn't really going to change your life? Or maybe it makes you really happy for a while and then you start to think about something else that you just have to have.

Have you ever felt this despair that made you feel like something was missing in your life? Maybe you thought it was the spouse that would complete you. Maybe you felt alone. Have you ever felt alone in a room full of people? Once you fill it with a person its not so obvious on your brain. But it never really satisfies the way you think it will.

Have you ever sat in front of the tv to "numb out". Came home night after night and planted yourself in front of the tv so you could zone out and not think about things? Or spent all your spare time listening to music or watching music videos? It sure makes you feel like you are living a full life doesn't it?

These are all different coping mechanisms we have for filling our God-Holes. Some of us who don't know God use them to allow them self the life they want, or because they don't know the answer to that emptiness is the Lord. Some of us who know the Lord use it in place of spending time with the Lord and growing with him. Which one of those people are you? I know that I can certainly fill my devotional time with my favorite episode of  X when the Lord calls me to him. Ummmm... what God Hole?

So as I realized that just like filling a cavity with crud and decay numbs me to the pain of my teeth problems, things like tv and friends can numb me from the pain of not spending time with my Lord. Are tv or friends inherently evil? No. But if I am using them as a distraction from time with the Lord they have become my idols. Just like little wooden carvings of calves I have made myself my own idol, and I am ashamed.

I have spent the last year going to the dentist once a week and sometimes more for appointments lasting upwards of 2/3 hours. One of my root canals took three different sittings to complete. I am ashamed of the state I have let my teeth come into. [oh trust me - i now floss at least every day, brush like a feign with my new oral b power brush, and go to the dentist for cleanings twice per year (i feel like i live there now)]

Are you living with cavities in your heart? Have you learned to ignore them because of the distractions that you have allowed into your life? I pray for you today that you will clean out the crud, fill up those holes with the Lord, and protect your heart in the future from potential distractions. Feel free to leave a comment or prayer request. :)

I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
Psalm 119:15

The Fire

But if I say, "I will not mention him
or speak any more in his name,"
his word is in my heart like a fire,
a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;
indeed, I cannot.
- Jeremiah 20:9

I can't lie, I have a deep fascination for the prophet Jeremiah. I will probably one day name a child Jeremiah. Perhaps. There was the duck... Anyhow, Jeremiah just reminds me so much of myself. I don't mean in a powerful Godly way, I mean in the whiny, lamenting, dragging feet kind of way. I mean, imagine having a book written for you to go in the bible called "lamentations". [Baruch was Jeremiah's scribe who actually wrote the words down] The Lord often has to knock me over the head with things before I either see what He is trying to tell me or get brave enough to do it.

I first came across Jeremiah 20:9 as it was the mission scripture of thefirehouse youth group I used to work with. I thought it was great and it inspired me to spend time studying Jeremiah and Lamentations. That is when I realized Jeremiah and I were alike and I really began to understand him and dig him as a person. I understand both sides of Jeremiah's life experience. I understand being a baby, being fearful, worrying about people's opinions of me, feeling alone, feeling small, feeling unworthy, feeling incapable. But I also understand that fire that the Lord puts in your heart that burns with the deepest of deep desire to love the Lord and learn more about Him. When I feel like I would virtually explode from the love I feel for my savior my thoughts go to Jeremiah and how he burned with love for God and his word, the message.

I have a fire shut up in my bones, and when I don't feel that fire in my bones - I long for it. When I have it I whine about it (in prayer mostly), then goes the vicious cycle...

The Admonishment

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
Romans 3:23 (NIV)

So. This is yet another scripture that is helping us see our position without Christ. It is reassuring to know the ALL have fallen short. I know that when I am the only one who had gotten in trouble for something then it is much more unsettling than when others are in trouble with me.

For instance, one time my boss called me to his office to talk. I got there and him and my other boss stood there and told me where they felt I was falling short on things. It erupted because of a miscommunication and really something that was not my fault, but they did have valid things where we could all see I was falling short with. Basically due to a period of understaffing I was put into reactive mode, and once we were fully staffed again I was like stuck in that reactive mode instead of moving back to proactive mode. I hadn't noticed this until my bosses brought it to my attention, and I appreciate them for that in helping me see how I could see a better job and improve. However I have to say that it was one of the most uncomfortable experiences of working at my job to be singled out for everything that could have been negative about me at that time.

In comparison one time someone was complaining about my entire department saying that we weren't doing something a certain way (i honestly don't have a clue about what this was about anymore). My boss came in and gathered the three of us around him to explain what he wanted us to do differently in the future. After he left we made an action plan and tried our best to stick to it. This experience was not nearly as uncomfortable because we were in trouble because of the department we were in and the current policies at that time. So we couldn't be expected to have not done wrong. So because it was our lot in life at that moment to be in trouble it didn't feel near as bad as the time I was singled out.

So I guess it makes me feel unified with my peoples to know that we all fall short. Kind of like if we had to run the mile in 1 minute and I knew noone else could do it either I wouldn't feel as bad. Though the neatest thing of all is that though we all fall short the Lord lifts us up to the place we would be if we hadn't fallen short. Like in gym class given a pass even though we didn't pass the mile test, or if my boss had said "ill take the fall for you, no worries".

Not having the potential to be sinfree doesn't mean we shouldn't try to do what Christ would have us do. Because His instructions for us are just that - for us - so that we would have an easier life. So rock on with your bad selves... or good selves as the case may be. Because of what Christ did on the cross we all look good and righteous in the eyes of God, even though there is no one righteous, not even one.

The Law

Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. Romans 3:20 (NIV)

This short statement tells us a lot. First of all it is affirming the "saved by faith through grace" aka "faith not works" doctrine. This tells us that nothing we can do in and of ourselves can give us salvation. But it also tells us the purpose of the law, so to as not disregard it. Which is awesome. The purpose of the law is to show us where we fall short, to show us our need. Otherwise we may go on sinning against God and others not knowing our weakness. Its like if you have a job where they never give you evaluations. How would you know where you are falling short. Then one day you get canned and wonder what it was you did wrong. Wouldn't it have been easier to be given the standard and shown where you were falling short? So this is what the law does for us, it makes us concious of sin. How much more horrid would we be if we were not aware of this?

This quote shows us that the whole world will be declared guilty based on the law. The whole world. Everyone who exists. If noone who exists can be innocent by the law, what makes us think that we can work our salvation out? I have noticed that most of the other religions have some form of works based salvation: the jews, the muslims, the jehovah witnesses, etc. But even if we could follow the law from here out (which we couldn't) it wouldn't erase our past sin or the sin we were born into.

People often question how one man could save everyone. But it was also by one man (adam) that we were condemned. So it is rightly so that one man could save us.

Everyone seems to be aware of our lack of righteousness before God. With the law we are able to better see sin and our separation from God and his expectations. The law is powerless to save us, only to show us where we need saving. It seems that many unbelievers are tied up in thinking that christianity = law and binding and lack of freedom, but its the freedom end the fulfillment of the law that Christ brings us.

This was also to point out the sin of the Jews. The Jewish tradition taught that the gentiles were the evil sinfilled ones, unknowing that they too fell short of the law, at least how God sees the law. So here Paul is pointing out that all who will be judged by the law will be guilty pointing also at the jews in particular here.

I think that it actually is a comfort to know that I don't have to live up to a law and that Christ already did that for me. I love him and not only does he fill the hole in my heart that was shaped for Him, but he also fills the gap between me and righteousness so that I may live here and eternally as God intended.

The Filthy Rag

"As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one;" Romans 3:10-12 (NIV)

We used to repeat this at church (crossings) every sunday when we had corporate confession. I really liked the way we did confession - going through a number of different scriptures reminding us of not only our sinful nature butour position of righteousness through Christ. The scriptures that we would read every week often go through my head and come to me when I need them.

I think that it is important to remember that we are not righteous because it emphasizes our need for Christ, without whom we would burn. As we live through small victories in our life we think of them as personal victories, as something I did, something I won, something I achieved. For a follower of Christ there is no such thing as a personal victory, as everything good is from Christ and all I am able to do is through him. But this is actually a comforting thought, truly. You wouldn't think giving someone else all the credit would be, but the Lord doesn't want credit he wants our love and devotion.

Here is where it is comforting.... Christ loves us enough to share his victory with us and loves us enough to bring us victory(s) in our own life in so many ways, and his intention is not to gain "credit" but to enjoy everything with us, to celebrate with us, to experience with us. There is a word there that I can't think of in our language - nor in another. But I am trying to get at the relationship or the spending time with part of the relationship with Christ - the intimacy - there thats kind of what I mean. But like eternal intimacy on a much bigger scale than what we can imagine. That is what He seeks from us, not credit, though He is all deserving.

My righteousness is in Christ alone and my good deeds without him are like fiilthy rags. And that is comforting, because I don't have to be without him. Or something.

The Unity

Take heart, for I have overcome the world!!!

What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. Romans 3:9 (NIV)


So it appears that this is saying that Jews and gentiles are equal under sin and that although God had initially made the Jews his people, that due to their rejection of him, that the gentiles are now equally deserving of his law and fulfillment of that law. This is due to the newly christianized Jews' pride in being "the circumcision". Paul was fighting against this attitude to show the Jews that the gentiles are now too equal under sin.

I think that though it seems like a cut and dry statement, that this is a problem that we too face in the church today. People develop allegiences to their denomination and because they like their denomination best (otherwise they'd probably be elsewhere) they tend to look down on people from other denominations thinking that they are not [fillintheblankwith charismatic /scholarly /worshipful /contemporary /traditional] enough. I wish that there was a way that we could cut down denomination lines. If we were all just the church, as we should be, then the differences in each church baptist/ methodist / presbyterian wouldn't be so well defined. And then a church could go by its name instead of by the sect it represents. Ah well but then I would probably lament on how hard it is to find a church with similar doctrine as myself.

Adam Clarke points out that though the Jews were priveleged because they had the law, that they too had sinned and fallen short of it, this losing the privelege that they had been born to. For though they had the law which should have given them an additional advantage over the unknowing - they still could not keep it, which puts them in the same position of the gentile.

Guzik points out that Paul too is Jewish and the "we" truly is a "we jews". That the pagan, the jew, and the moralist are all under sin by law and then condemnation. He mentions that we are under the power of sin. That we are under it, and slave to it. The only one that can free us from this slavery is Christ and the cross.

The mystery / plan of God as we learn in Ephesians is that Jews and Gentiles would come together in Christ to form one body, the church. So this is a statement that certainly supports that notion, and give a means to seek equality under Christ, which would be necessary to find unity.

This verse should also convict us in our heart of hearts that we are under sin, that we would be condemned without Jesus and that ought to lead us back to Christ.