creating a law for themselves...

Romans 2:12-16

Observe:
The law is a key word in this passage, repeated 10 times. The idea of righteousness and judgement continue to be key. Paul is contrasting the judgement that those who don't have the law (the Gentiles) will receive to what those who do have the law (the Jews) will receive. Paul concludes that the law is not just what is written in the Bible but is the conscience and morality of humans.
A phrase that stands out is "my gospel" (v. 16). Paul identifies so closely to the good news of Jesus Christ that he makes it his own.

Interpret:
Paul is continuing his thought from v. 11 - God does not show favouritism. The proof is that he doesn't use the law to judge people who never had the law. That would mean that the Jews were his favourites since they were the ones that he revealed the law to.
The main argument of this passage picks up on what Paul said in 1:20 - humans are without excuse before God, even if they never had the law, because they can see the attributes of God in creation (chapter 1) and they have a conscience (chapter 2). Paul argues that because we have all done things that have gone against our conscience, we all stand guilty before God. For the Jews, the Law is the standard of holiness but for the Gentiles, the law of God is written in our conscience and our hearts. Even without knowledge of the law, there is knowledge of right and wrong.
This fits into this chapter specifically because it is all about the justice of God: God's judgement is based on the truth (v.2), on our deeds (v 6-11) and on the knowledge of God and his standard we have (v. 12-15).

Apply
This speaks to God's justice. He will do what is right and just in every circumstance. It also speaks of God's patience because, while he is revealing his wrath against wickedness in the present, he is waiting to pour out the full extent of his wrath until the day of judgement. The only reason he is delaying his judgement is to give more of us time to repent. This is incredibly kind and patient of God.
I need the Holy Spirit to make my conscience soft again. I've justified my sinfulness for so long that I've effectively shut off my conscience and silenced the voice of the Spirit in certain areas of my life. Since my conscience is one of the ways that God communicates to me, then I am desperate to open up that channel of communication again.

Oooo! That's hot!

1 Timothy 4
Paul indicates that one of the reasons for the false teaching is that the false teachers have had their consciences seared as with a hot iron. Ouch! I wonder how many of us think we are living with a "clean conscience" but the reality is that the reason our consciences don't "prick" us any more is that we've seared off all the nerve endings and we know longer feel guilt, sorrow or a sense that this is wrong.
How did we get here? Did we ignore our conscience for so long that we've just gotten used to it's warnings and message? How do we get back to having a conscience that is alive to the promptings of truth and the Holy Spirit? I know that I can't let my conscience be my guide! I think it is by opening ourselves up to the Word of God and to the surgery of the Holy Spirit. I'm guessing the scraping away of dead conscience nerves isn't going to be pleasant but if I want to be alive to God and soft to his guiding, then I know that it is necessary.
God, prepare me to face the pain to bring life back to this dead area!

Clinging

Today, I tried reading 1 Timothy 1 in a different translation: the NLT. It's interesting how the use of a few different words and maybe even a different way of dividing the paragraphs puts a whole new perspective on a passage. In reading the NIV it seems like the command that Paul is talking about is the command for the false teachers to quit teaching false doctrine (the goal of this command is love...). In the NLT, it seems more general - the goal of Paul's teaching is love. I guess this makes sense since the pinnacle of the Law is "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength." and "Love your neighbour as yourself."
However, the verse that stuck out to me was v. 18 (I think - I read the NLT on line and the way this computer is acting right now I don't want to risk going back to it!). It said something like... Oh, screw it! I'm taking the risk.
Ok, it worked!! It was actually v. 19 and it says: "Cling to your faith in Christ and keep your conscience clear." It seems like we can make things pretty complicated when it comes to faith and our spiritual journey. I'm the kind of guy that likes to have a few priorities and to work on those few things until they are done. I get frustrated and flustered when there are always new ideas and new things to work on and then I'm not sure that the priorities are anymore. That's why I like this verse - the list of things to work on is short but profound: cling to the faith (brings to mind a man clinging onto a life preserver in the ocean - he knows if he lets go he is doomed. I think I need that same kind of desperation in the way that I grab hold of my faith - if I don't have it I'm in big trouble) and keep my conscience clear. If I could do just these two things (for the glory of Christ of course - there, Sid, I got a Piper thought in!) I could consider myself successful. If we could get our students to do these two things well, can you imagine what might happen in their lives? Especially the part about having a clear conscience!