Sunday Devotion

Lead yourself or family in Prayer

Thank God for his goodness and faithfulness in all seasons

Pray for those who are suffering from the Coronavirus

Pray for protection of friends and family (by name)

pray for wisdom for the leadership of our church, and pray for wisdom for the leadership of our city, county, state, and country.

Ask the Lord for wisdom and strength to not live in fear but to rest in the peace of Christ.

Prayer:

Prayer

Most loving Father, you have called us to give thanks for all things, to dread nothing, and to cast all our care on the One who cares for us. Preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, and grant that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from us the light of your love which is immortal, and which you have manifested unto us in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Psalm 46 Meditation

Read through aloud with your family and focus on how this Psalm shapes the way we understand God (example: what does this psalm say about God? This Psalm says that he is our refuge and strength. What does it mean that he is our refuge and strength?) Also pay attention to how we are to live in light of who God is (example: v.2 “therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way”). Read through the Psalm out loud together and then discuss the questions below.

Psalm 46 ESV

To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A Song. 1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. 6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah 8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. 10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” 11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Questions:

What does this Psalm tell us about God?

What does God say to us in the Psalm?

How does this Psalm call us to live in times of trouble?

Devotion: The Righteousness of God and the Faithfulness of Christ

is a wonderfully condensed passage that contains many eternal glories of the gospel. Here we fine truths such as God’s Righteousness, Justification, Redemption, and Propitiation. These are all topics that come up in any formal study of systematic theology, but more importantly, we see them as part of the very fiber of God’s revelation of Jesus Christ. For in Christ we have received the righteousness of God, in Christ we have been declared righteous before the Father. In Christ we have been redeemed, that is, he has bought us out of slavery by the blood of Christ. And in Christ our sins have been propitiated, or in other words, the wrath that our sin deserves has been satisfied in Christ.

Romans 3:21 ESV

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—

But now...

From the moment God breathed life into the nostrils of Adam (dirt bag), Gods righteousness has been manifested. In the Garden God’s righteousness was seen in the pre-incarnate Christ who was in the Garden with Adam and Eve. The righteousness of God was seen in creation, it was manifested in the garden of Eden, and it was highlighted in both the Tree of Life and in the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God’s righteousness, that is his perfection and holy character, evident in and through all creation. And where the righteousness of God resides, there is life.

However, after the fall, the curse of sin entered into creation and like a virus and changed everything. Now, humankind is unable to approach God’s righteousness lest it be consumed by fire. The Lord put two angels outside the garden with a flaming sword that represented the righteousness of God. If anyone tried to pass by the angles and partake in the life of God they would be cut up and burned.

So now mankind is left outside the garden, lacking any hope of righteousness. However, in God’s mercy he provided a way for humanity to fellowship with God outside the garden. Instead of men and women being cut up and burned by the angels at the edge of the garden, God allowed people to cut up and burn and animal as a sacrifice upon an alter and the smoke of the sacrifice would ascend into the presence of God on behalf of the worshipper.

This way of communing with God was then fully established in the Mosaic covenant where God would dwell with his people through the mediation of sacrifices. In other words, the whole sacrificial system was God’s way of calling his people to himself in order to fellowship together. Or, as James Jordan says, “the sacrifice was God’s way of saying, ‘come over here and give me a hug.’” God also gave his people his Law which contained the righteous standard by which his people were to live.

However, God’s desire was to dwell with his people, not through the mediation of animal sacrfices, but to dwell with his people as he did with Adam and Eve in the Garden. For this to happen God’s rightousness would have to be manifested to us apart from the law. Which is what we see in

Romans 3:21 ESV

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—

The whole bible, the law and the prophets bear witness to the truth that the righteousness of God would one day be manifested apart from the law. So how is it that God has revealed his righteousness apart from the law? Look at verse 22

Romans 3:22 ESV

22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:

Here we see that the righteousness of God has been revealed through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. However, this translation is not overly helpful. This translations seems to say that God’s perfect righteousness is revealed through our faith in Jesus Christ. Without getting into the neuances of subjective vs. objective genitives in the greek language, grammatically it is just as valid to translate this verse by saying,

Romans 3:22 NET

22 namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction,

“the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe… (NET)).

Now this helps us understand how God has manifested his righteousness. He is no longer revealing his righteousness by the law, but now he has manifested the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ… It is Jesus’ faithfulness that reveals God’s righteousness, not our own. It is Jesus’ faithfulness that saves us. It is Jesus’ faithfulness that will bring us safely into the presence of God without having to be cut up and burned by the flaming swords of the angels.

Jesus himself was cut up and burned upon the alter of the cross on our behalf. He was the sacrificial lamb who died in our place. And when Jesus was raised from the dead he raised us with him, and now carries us in his arms past the garden’s gate right into the presence of God’s righteous glory. In Christ we have been brought back into the presence of God.

As you navigate these next few weeks do so knowing that you are not a child of God who wanders about in the darkness outside of the Garden. When fear and anxiety knocks on your door, when you life seems uncertain because of the global effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, know that you are safe in the arms of Christ. He has redeemed you and has called you his own. He has clothed you in his righteousness and even now sings over you as his bride. It is the faithfulness of Jesus that has saved you, and it is the faithfulness of Jesus that will sustain you.

Romans 8:31–39 ESV

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:3

By his grace God then manifested his righteousness to