Devotion #5: Law & Order
Several years ago, I was called upon to fulfill my civic responsibility of jury duty. I was actually chosen to sit on the jury, but it was not anything like what I was expecting. This experience definitely destroyed the image of the shiny, majestic courtroom I was imagining. I thought I would be walking onto a set for the TV show “Law & Order.” Although it is not realistic, that courtroom drama scene is exactly what I imagine when studying the book of Romans.
Romans 2:12-13 says, “For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.”
Can you picture the courtroom? We do not usually like to focus on the attribute of God’s justice. Grace? Yes. Mercy? Yes. Love? Absolutely. However, when we remember that God is also just, then we have to consider how He will judge. God is the perfect Judge and is holy (perfect) in the way He displays justice. What a better Judge than the One who sets the boundaries for all morality? He alone is the Author of the Law, determining what is right and what is wrong. In this passage in Romans, Paul points out that God will impartially judge everyone for sinning against what they know to be right; everyone is guilty. Matthew 5:45 speaks to God’s impartiality, “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
The next chapter of Romans reminds us that we have all missed the mark or “fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). This is not to make us all feel guilty, but rather to remind us how desperately we need the Gospel. Author Jen Wilken writes, “Those who do not cast themselves upon the perfect sacrifice of Christ will spend their lives attempting to make atonement by offering their own good works to a God of their own imagining. They will seek to justify themselves by whatever means they can.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” This is the Gospel. The atonement that we all desperately need came as a gift; we do not have to pursue futile attempts to right our wrongs. The perfect Judge does not play favorites, and He rules with complete fairness. In His fairness, He also shows mercy. Knowing the way to redemption, He pronounced the guilty verdict and yet still provided the payment through His son, Jesus. Kristin Schmucker wrote, “By the cross, God both requires payment for sin and becomes the payment.” Take a few moments to thank God for His Law, His justice, and His sacrifice.