Series: The Judged
Message: Questions
Preacher: Japhet De Oliveira
Reflection: Mark Witas
Live Wonder: Jessyka Albert
Live Adventure: Jessyka Albert
Live Purpose: Kyle Smith
Editor: Becky De Oliveira

Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.

Read: Romans 3:1-8 in The Message (MSG). Note 1–3 insights or questions.

Reflect:  There’s an old joke about people preparing to run a marathon in Death Valley. Hundreds of people have gathered to run the race and television news crews are interviewing the runners to get their perspective on the event—particularly their plans for keeping cool during the run, many of which are unusual.

One reporter sees three participants with unique ways to keep their bodies from overheating and decides to interview each of them.

The reporter asks the first runner, “I’ve noticed that you are wearing a unique backpack for the race. Can you explain how it works?” “Sure,” the runner says, “I have ice water in the pack with a little straw so that when I start to overheat, I can drink the water to cool me down.”

The reporter asks the second runner, “I see you have a couple of interesting devices in your hands. What are they?” The runner explains, “These are two lightweight solar powered fans. When I start to overheat, I’ll put them near my face to cool off.”

The reporter approaches the third participant and scratches her head. “I see that you have a car door strapped to your back. Why would you run across the hot desert with such a heavy load?” The runner replies, “Oh, it’s simple really. If I begin to overheat, I’ll just roll down the window.”

Some things just don’t make sense. In Romans 3, Paul defuses the empty logic that some might choose to sin so that in contrast God will look good. It’s like the man who bangs his head against the wall. When asked why, he says, “Because it feels so good when I stop.”

It seems that human beings will do anything to justify their sin. We baptize our actions in religious rhetoric so that we can live with ourselves. We compare our “little” sins to the wickedness of those around us and settle into a mindset of “holier than thou.” And it’s all wicked. It’s all wrong.

The only remedy to this sickness is to stop with the excuses, stop with the rationalizations, and fall deeply into the arms of the One who is without sin. We need to allow God to speak to us, to purge us from our own self-deception. We need to get closer and closer to Jesus so that we can become more and more like Him. Making excuses for sin just doesn’t make any sense.

How open are you to allowing Jesus to speak truth into your life? Have you used empty logic to allow things into your life that you know shouldn’t be there?

Recalibrate: Why do you think we have the tendency to rationalize our sin?

Respond: Pray for an honest and pure heart.

Research: Read Steps to Christ, Chapter 3, “Repentance.”

Remember: “God keeps His word even when the whole world is lying through its teeth” (Romans 3:3, MSG).

Mark Witas is the lead pastor at Pacific Union College Church in Angwin, CA. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Mark has served as a youth pastor, Bible teacher, college and academy chaplain, and lead pastor in the United States and Canada for the last 33 years. He has also authored four books: Born Chosen, Live Out Loud, Portals, and Just Jesus.

Tell your child the good things about them. How did you notice these good things? Is it by seeing bad things in others, or is it strictly because you just love your child so much? Paul challenges the thought that by doing bad we can reveal more of God’s good. Ask your child to show with their arms just how good they think God is! Ask them why they think God is good.

Do you know what it means to “make an excuse” for something you did wrong? What if you weren’t supposed to have any cookies before dinner but you tried sneaking one off the counter and broke a plate? A good excuse might be that you were getting a cookie for your brother or sister, right? But does that mean it was OK for you to get a cookie when you weren’t supposed to? Paul says that some people thought that when they did bad things, it showed how good God was. It would be like eating that cookie! Do you need to eat broccoli to know how good the cookie is? Or is the cookie good no matter what?

When I was in middle school I thought that being a “bad boy” made me look cool. I would talk about girls, pick fights, and get in arguments with my teachers in front of the whole class. I look back now and think, “What a loser!” If only I could go back and tell that younger Kyle how crazy he was being. I don’t beat myself up about it though. Our world has caused so many people to believe this equation: Bad = Good. In Romans 3:8, Paul addresses this mindset in relation to the goodness of God and our sin. What are some ways we as Christians can fix this false idea of Bad = Good?