Paul
the apostle told the church members in Rome, “do you think this,
O man, that judges them which do such things, and does the same, that
you shall escape the judgment of God?”,
and in chapter two and verse four of Romans, Paul asked if the person
who “judges”
and
does the same things, “shall
escape the judgment of God?”
where we read:
Or
do you despise the riches of his goodness and forbearance and
long-suffering;
not
knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
The
verse begins, “Or
do you despise the riches of his goodness and forbearance and
long-suffering;”
Paul began with the words, “or
do you”
which refers to “Paul question whether those who judge other who do
the same things”
“despise”
or “contemn, disdain and think little or nothing of” “the
riches” which
refers to “the fullness, abundance, plentitude or abundance of
external possessions” “of
his goodness”
which refers to “of God's moral integrity, benignity and kindness”
“and
forbearance” or
“and toleration and self-restraint” “and
long-suffering”
which means “patience, endurance, constancy, steadfastness and
perseverance”. Paul questioned those who judged others for doing
thing they did as well as to whether they “disdained or contemned”
God's “kindness, self-restraint and patience”.
The
verse goes on to say, “not
knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” Paul
added the words, “not
knowing” which
means “being wrong, ignorant, without understanding, in error and
sin through mistake” “that
the goodness” or
“the fit, useful, virtuous, better, easy, gracious and kind” “of
God”
which refers to “the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised
of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit” “leads
you”
or “conducts, brings, guides and directs the person to whom Paul is
writing” “to
repentance”
which means “a change of mind, one who repents of a purpose he has
formed or of something he has done”. Paul wondered if the people he
was writing to considered how “God's graciousness and kindness”
“lead”them to “repent”
of their sins.
When
we meditate upon these words of Paul, we see how he appealed to
whether his readers knew the “goodness
of God”
lead them to “turn from their sins”. Rather than God's
“judgment”, it is His “grace” that brings people to a
relationship with Him. Jesus Christ came to demonstrate God's
abundant “kindness”, and when He died on the cross to die for the
sins of the world, He showed just how “gracious” God is. Most
people know about the “judgment of God”, but few realize how His
amazing “grace” and “goodness” is, and it extended to
everyone who will receive Him.
Next
time Paul shares about
those who with, “hardness
and impenitent heart treasure up unto yourself wrath”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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