a better question

(by Pastor Joe)

The Word for Today: Romans 4:1-15

mark this: Romans 4:3
"For what does the Scripture say?"

"What Would Jesus Do? (WWJD?)"

This is a phrase that was originally made popular in the late 1890's. It came from the book, In His Steps, written by Charles Sheldon. I am not going to get into the book-- seeing as it has sold over 30 million copies, it's easy enough to obtain. Suffice it to say that the plot of this best seller involves the dramatic change in people's lives as they attempt to live a year of their lives, asking "What would Jesus do?" before any action or decision.

Then, about 100 years later, there was a new emphasis on WWJD? A fad swept across American Christendom. WWJD? became the new catchphrase, and these four little letters made millions of dollars by appearing on anything and everything (t-shirts, bumper stickers, bracelets, hats, buttons, teddy bears, pencils, coffee mugs, hula hoops, board games, blenders, hang gliders, accordions etc.)

The problem is that while this question can be beneficial, it is certainly not the best one. The truth is, so often, I have no idea "what would Jesus do?" I could guess. I could speculate.

But the honest answer often is, "I don't know."

We can certainly know what Jesus did do, but to assume what He would do can be a mistake. Think of His reactions to the Pharisees, or Pilate, or Zaccheus, or the money changers in the Temple, or the woman caught in adultery. Not one of us could have accurately predicted "what would Jesus do? " in those situations. He constantly mystified His own closest followers (1). The Second Person of the Trinity cannot, and will not be limited by some catch phrase.

So here is a much better question: "What does the Scripture say?"
Now there is something that we can somewhat grasp, there is something much more concrete and verifiable. Something that does not rely upon my own opinion or interpretation.

In today's reading, the apostle Paul is defending the basic truths of the Gospel message. In the previous three chapters of Romans, he has made many bold claims about:
- the sorry condition of humanity (1:18-32)
- the limitations of the Law and moralism (2:1-29)
- the consequences of sin (3:9-20)
- the justification through by faith in Christ (3:21- 31)

Now, he's trying to prove these points, and he does so by using examples from the Bible. Both Abraham and David demonstrate that we are justified (or counted as righteous) by trust in God, not by external acts or ceremonies. David speaks of the amazing mercy of God's forgiveness (from Psalm 32), mercy that is dependent on God, and not our good deeds. And Abraham's faith in God came before any kind of religious action such as circumcision. All this to bolster the claim that we are "justified by faith, apart from the Law.(2)"

But notice that Paul bases this claim not on intuition, tradition, common wisdom, public opinion, or even his own powerful experiences. These things all have their place, but he goes out of his way to make sure that his statements are rooted in Scripture.

We must follow his example. It's fine to have an opinion, a tradition, a speculation about something, but we must always defer to the Bible as the ultimate authority. Whenever people have failed to do so in the past has resulted in all sorts of nonsense, and the same is true of our lives when we fail to ask the better question: "What does the Scripture say?"

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(1) see Matthew 8:27, Mark 9:32
(2) Romans 3:28