Begin with 2 minutes of silence and stillness before God.

This was a tough chapter for me. A lot of discussion about the Law, which I, though God’s redemption, think little about. Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law…” That is some great news, my friend.

Paul, not wasting any time to pick a fight, begins to remind everyone that God is not a respecter of persons. He does not have a different standard for Jews and Gentiles. It does not matter how much you know. It does matter to Him what you do with what you know. If we could get by with just head knowledge, then I could be playing for the Braves instead of sitting home watching them. But I can’t hit a 95 mph fastball. Not even with a tennis racket. I know how; I can talk about it, but it is not going to happen. Paul reminds us that God expects us to bear witness of Him by being doers of what we have in our heads and hearts.

Paul continues then to speak directly to the Jews. He reprimands them for speaking against certain sins and judging others when they are in fact guilty of the same. Verse 24 is painful and makes me check my actions on a regular basis. “For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles (in my case unbelievers or fence-straddlers) because of you.” It hurts to think that my actions cause others to not think well about God. I wish I could say, “not guilty,” but I certainly am. I know I have done things and said things only to walk away and go, “Wow, was that really a good representation of who I claim to be?” For me, that usually comes in the form of a yucky gut feeling that will not go away. And even hours later I will be thinking, “What is making me feel this way? Oh, hello Holy Spirit. Got that one wrong, huh? Need to apologize, you say?” It's not part of this scripture, but can I just say that some of the most memorable moments in my life, scenes from my childhood that are forever etched in my memory, were friends/family apologizing to me. It makes a huge impact. Be a doer.

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• How are you at judging others? Do you consciously work on this?
• Do you have any routine actions that reflect poorly on being a child of God?

Family Devo: Romans 2

By: Anna Beth Scott

When partnering with your family to know, love, and follow Jesus, we strive to create and share content filtered by the Head-Heart-Hands model. 

Head: the knowledge of God and His Word | Heart: the personal connection from scripture | Hands: a missional mindset

Head

“For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.” Romans 2:13

Many Jews were proud of all the Bible verses and laws they had memorized. They thought that just knowing the verses and laws made them righteous and special. Paul explains that simply knowing the laws was not what pleased God, actually obeying God’s law is what would make them righteous. When a law was broken, a sacrifice had to be made so that the person could be forgiven. When Jesus died on the cross and rose again He was the ultimate sacrifice for all of our sins. He knew it was impossible for us to keep all the laws, so He sacrificed Himself to cover all of our sins. Verse 4 says that it is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance. Understanding that Jesus died in our place for our sins should make us want to do what He wants us to do. By stopping the sin in our lives and doing what God wants us to do, we are “obeying the law.”

Heart

We all have moments in our lives when we do not obey God’s law. We are human and mess up sometimes. God always wants us to come back to Him by repenting, asking for forgiveness, and then doing the right thing. What sin do you need to repent of right now? Have you been like the Jews and relied on all the knowledge you have about God, but you don’t actually do what He says? Ask God to help you repent.

Hands

Write down the sins you’ve repented of on a piece of paper. Thank God for forgiving you and helping you do what is right. Then, crumble the piece of paper up and throw it away.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for always being there for me, even when I mess up. Thank You for wanting me to come back to You. Please forgive me of my sins and help me to do what You want me to do. Help me to obey You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.