True, some of them were unfaithful; but just because they were unfaithful, does that mean God will be unfaithful? Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true….
Romans 3:3-4a
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Have you ever entrusted something to someone hoping they would do right by you or do something good with what you entrusted to them? Sometimes we entrust ourselves to people through friendships, marriages, etc… We trust them to be a good friend, a good spouse, or even a good parent. When people break that trust, when they let us down, it can be devastating and it can turn our life upside down.

Well, that is kind of the situation Paul is talking about here in Romans. God had entrusted a great mission and truth to the Jewish people. He had entrusted Himself to them as they were supposed to be the people telling the world about God. But, they didn’t do that. They let God down. So, Paul raises the question now of what does that mean for God? Does that make Him unfaithful – will it hinder Him from fulfilling His promises and saving His creation? How devastating is their unfaithfulness to God? 

The good news is – their unfaithfulness doesn’t change God’s faithfulness. Their lies doesn't change God’s truth. He will find a way to fulfill the promise He made to Abraham and to all of us. He will provide a way for people to be saved despite our unfaithfulness and our lies. Paul later tells us that God found a way in Jesus.

Jesus is the ultimate display of God’s faithfulness and His ability to fulfill His promises even when our sinfulness gets in the way. There is great hope in this reality because it means no matter how much we might mess up we can never mess up so much that God would walk away. We can never sin to the point where we stop God’s plan of redemption from moving forward. God will keep working His will and fulfilling His promises. The question isn’t really about God’s faithfulness, it is about ours. Will we be faithful to God knowing how faithful He is to us? He will keep moving – with or without us. It is up to us if we go with Him or not.

In life people are always going to let us down. But, God never will. His invitation to join Him – to be forgiven, to be saved, to live the abundant and joy filled life He has for us – is always there. No matter how much we have let others down, let ourselves down, and even let Him down. God is always there – always faithful. Will you join Him?
 
Pastor Matt

They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God…
Romans 1:19-21
 
Knowledge is an amazing thing. Some people will tell you that knowledge is power. That might be true. But, knowledge is also a burden. With knowledge comes an incredible amount of responsibility. Once we have obtained knowledge we are left with a choice – what are we going to do with the knowledge we have? How will we respond to it? Will we allow that knowledge to shape us in some way?

In Paul’s letter to the Romans he is challenging them on that very idea. They have all this knowledge. They have the proof of God’s existence in creation around them, in the written law they have shared and studied for generations, and now in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They have so much knowledge that they have been left without excuse. But, despite all this knowledge they still chose to not honor God, worship Him, or live for Him. Instead they have chosen a life of evil and brokenness. So, he asks them again, what will you do with this knowledge? Will this knowledge produce in you a life of surrender and obedience of faith?

Think of this as a trust fall – you know where someone stands on a chair or something while others stand behind them read to catch them when they fall. The person on the chair falls willingly into their arms. Think about those people as being your knowledge of God and His saving work through the cross of Jesus. You have this knowledge? Has it turned into faith? 

Faith is the falling part. Faith is saying I have this knowledge and I am ready to act on it. I will give my life in surrender and obedience to Him because I fully trust Him. Put yourself up on that chair with this knowledge and now decide – will you fall, step eagerly into this faith, or jump? Do you truly believe, trust in, the One you have knowledge about? According to Paul, if you don’t act, if you don’t fall into the arms, the knowledge wont get you very far. 

I pray we all have knowledge of who God is and that knowledge results in a life of obedience of faith – a life of surrender to God and His plans for us.
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Pastor Matt

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”
Romans 1:16-17
 
Obedience is not an easy idea to surrender to and for many not something we are interested in. Who really wants to obey someone else? Who wants to live by someone else’s standards and/or expectations? I just want to do what I want to do!? It is hard for humanity to understand that obedience is actually the only way to truly find freedom and to live life to its fullest.

Take Paul for example. Paul was a man who started off doing whatever he wanted – which at the time was persecuting the Christians and trying to stop their movement from spreading. But, later, found a much more successful and free life through being obedient to God instead of trying to stop God. Paul left a life of doing whatever he wanted to a life of doing whatever God wanted. Why would he do that? Why surrender to God and do whatever God wants?

Paul saw in God something he never saw in anyone or anything else. He saw an incredible level of faithfulness. Paul had seen leaders come and leaders go. He saw humanity say one thing and do another – broken promises, lies, and manipulation. Through Christ he witnessed God make good on His promises dating way back to the days of Abraham (Paul knew his Old Testament). In Christ he witnessed faithfulness and love despite a total lack of faith and love on our part. All of this brought about faith in Paul’s heart, a faith that led to his obedience.

Paul obeyed God because he had faith in him. For Paul, and hopefully for us, Faith is not just an intellectual assent to a series of propositions but surrender to the One who asks us to trust Him. To surrender, to have faith, is to obey. Paul’s faith told him that God would always do what was best, He would never leave Him alone, He would never forget about him, and He would always love him. Who wouldn’t want to follow, to obey, someone in which you have that much faith and trust.

The question for us today is how is our faith? Is our faith deep enough to lead to our obedience? If we began living in obedient faith right now what would change? If we lived every day like that – where would God take us? I don’t know – but I do know the One leading the way and I know He always has my best interest at heart. Have faith – and obey.
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Pastor Matt