"...of whom I am the worst."

Romans 2

We teach best that which we need learn most.

In other words, this lesson is for my own benefit.

I like to judge others. when somebody asks me how my day is without waiting for a response, I judge them. When somebody spends money on something they don't need, or often times, don't even want, I judge them. And let me say this - over the past nineteen years, I've gotten very, very good at it. College classes have made sure of that. Now, I can not only judge the person, but classify them into cultural subsets and judge those as well. I can rant against consumerism, Hollywood, urban culture, suburban culture, mass production, and the newly-coined term affluenza. Like the prayer of the Pharisee, I thank God that I am not like those who give into their commercial identity.

Meanwhile, my book and CD collections continue to grow and I search for clothing that proclaims that I am not like the rest of the world.

Paul was talking to me.
Or rather, I think, Paul was talking to himself. Paul tells his follower Timothy, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the worst." This is the same Paul who authored the majority of the New Testament and is considered to be the third most influential person in history (last list I saw placed him just behind Jesus and Muhammad, but that was four years ago).

Like Paul, we are all sinners. Worse yet, we all try to take the place of the Judge, the very person we claim to follow. And yet, we, along with the rest of the world, are called to be followers of the Risen Lord.

What then, shall we do? We take Martin Luther's advice. We sin boldly. We admit that we are sinners and drop our false pretenses. But we believe in Christ more boldly still.

Rock on.

These Are NOT Paid Actors

Romans 5:1-5

I love commercials. And not just regular commercials, but infomercials. Where they claim that they are all unpaid testimonials, these people really used this product and are now perfect. And there is always that little disclaimer on the bottom. "These are not paid actors...yada, yada, yada." And it leaves you with the impression that these people (who barely remember their few lines) really aren't actors (but not in the good sense).

Likewise, every Christian is a walking, talking testimonial for Christ. Indeed, we are not receiving compensation for demonstrating how Christ has influenced our lives.

Now, before people start reading too much into this, I am not saying Christians are perfect in the modern sense of the word. We still sin. We are, however, forgiven, and therefore made perfect through Christ.

...Anywho, this passage offers a demonstration of Christ's impact on our lives. In the words of CS Lewis, we become "little Christs" and as it says at various points in the New Testament, we are "adopted as sons (Eph. 1:5)". God grants you a sense of peace and you rejoice in it.

But wait, there's more. If you call and order at anypoint in your life, you also get to enjoy suffering. Yup, you heard me correctly folks. For no extra charge, you will actually get something out of the hard parts of life. You get perseverance, which comes with character, which comes with hope. And this hope will not disapoint you.

Rock on.

*Disclaimer: jesusfreak8801 is not a paid writer. And it probably shows. Also, it should be known that no offense is meant to the advertisment industry. Please don't sue.*

Failure to Excommunicate

Romans 2:1-4

Prejudice is one of the great plagues of the modern world. People can and will find anything to judge people on. I must confess that I am guilty of this. It's easy, when you think about it. "He dresses this way and listens to this type of music, so he must be like this." "She drives this type of car and wears this brand of clothing, so she must make this much money."

It goes beyond that, though. We have moved beyond the level of judging a person to a point where we try to decide the status of their slavation. "Well, no one who comes form this background could possibly be a Christian." "No one who has made this mistake will ever be saved." But remember what Paul says: God is ultimate Judge. He will judge based on truth and the forgiveness that Christ brought to Earth.

"Jesus loved the outcasts. He loves the ones the world just loves to hate. And as long as there's a heaven, there'll be a failure to excommunicate."- Relient K

Rock on.