Reading 5: Seeing our need

It’s hard to figure this out. It’s hard to hear St. Paul say that God’s judgment and wrath are upon those who do not act righteously, that God will repay each one according to their deeds, and that those who do good will have glory and honor (2:6-10). We call that “works righteousness,” and it makes us squirm.

We Lutherans delight in pouring on the grace at every turn, so this kind of harsh language is difficult to read. It’s difficult to square it with what we know of Jesus, of faith, of being saved by grace through faith! Many of us work hard in our congregations to help people un-learn the theme of God’s wrath and judgment which permeated every stitch in the fabric of their childhoods. So, getting to Romans 2 and 3 is rough.

But, can we dwell here a bit? Can we remember that the wages of sin really are death?

St. Paul is telling the church in Rome about what God has done in Jesus. In order to grasp the full truth of what God has done in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, we have to remember what’s at stake.

We do not live righteously all the time. We are guilty of hypocrisy and cheating (2:22), and we use our religious identity of “Christian” as a shield of faith when sometimes our hearts are anything but Christ-like (2:25). So, what we deserve is wrath, punishment, and agony.

Tomorrow, we will read the part that helps us breathe deeply and feel safe. Tomorrow we get to read about being justified by grace as a free gift (3:23-26), but today we are invited to sit in the muck of our sin and our inability to save ourselves from it. Today, we remember what we actually deserve. Let us not rush into the language of grace without pausing in the yawning space where our need of a Savior is laid plain.

Paul hopes to show his readers that, in the end, no one is righteous. Everyone stands in the need of the free gift of God’s grace, whether they are pretty good or obviously wicked. Do you agree?

When did you first truly sense your own need of God’s grace? How did it feel?

Most merciful God, we confess that we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. (ELW p. 95)

–Jennifer Shimota Krushas serves as the pastor at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in High Point. In this chapter of her life, she is discovering (perhaps remembering?) who God created her to be. Her grown children are her favorite people, and her dogs are teaching her much about the importance of play, rest, and snacks.