Romans and Suffering

Before I came to know Christ, I can attest to how my lack of seeking God caused all kinds of suffering. When I was a child and a teenager and in my twenties, I would seek opportunities to make fun of people to boost my self-esteem. I would even be restless in my pursuit to think about how to make fun of others, or at least to be seen as the funny guy. I would look up jokes online and in books to use at parties and social gatherings. I would think of how I would respond to other loud mouths and teachers. And peace was far from me. My tongue got me in so much trouble. I got kicked out of high school for 55 days for threatening two teachers, even though I was joking. My throat was definitely an open grave. At no point did I seek God.

And in regards to an area that has plagued not only my life but so many others as well, I would seek after sexual sin and that caused all kinds of unrest and misery, not only for myself but for the women I interacted with (and even sometimes the guys that they were dating while I interacted with them). But the Lord was so gracious to cause suffering in the midst of my lack of seeking God. I was dating a girl my junior year of college who cheated on me with my roommate and then about a couple of months later (we still dated), we broke up and on that very same day she went and slept with her ex-boyfriend. I was devastated. I couldn't stop thinking about the hurt she had caused me. I was consumed by the ache of betrayal. I would try to go and play basketball. But I couldn't stop thinking about it. So, I started to pray, "Lord take this away from me. Take this pain away from me." I hadn't sought God at all. I had been living a worthless life, full of selfishness and self-pleasure seeking. But the Lord used my lack of peace to help me seek the God of peace. I praised God for that suffering, that natural consequence for my sinfulness.

If any of you can testify to how sin made you live without peace, or how when you were godless you pursued sinfulness, please share with us or with me. Seeing Scripture intersect with our lives only validates the power and the accuracy of the words of God.

Grace and peace,

Mike

Text

"None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips." "Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known." "There is no fear of God before their eyes."



Truth

Human beings, both Greeks and Jews, have been godless, either in their deadly and deceptive words or in their murderous and miserable paths that are without peace and without fear before God. How horrible is this predicament! The trial of wicked tongues and harsh responses has plagued this world since Cain deceived Abel so he could swiftly shed his blood. And that wicked Cain not only caused suffering to Abel, Adam and Eve their parents, but Cain even experienced the suffering of his punishment, which he felt was too much to bare. The Scriptures constantly affirm that one of the reasons there is suffering in the world is because humanity is horrible in their habits of speech and deeds. This human plight leads to even more suffering, in that peace cannot be had. If you have cursed someone, watch out! They might retaliate. There’s no peace for that person. If you have killed in anger, watch out! That person will seek revenge. And Paul summarizes that the reality that all humans (except for Christ) are under sin is because there is no fear of God before their eyes. People sin because they are not aware of God’s presence, His plan to judge humanity. People do not sense the great terror that God can cause on the Day of Judgment. If you don’t see any consequences to bitterness or ruining someone’s life, then the incentive gets greater. This line of thinking along with the person is worthless. No one is doing good, not even one (with the obvious exception of the God-Man, Jesus Christ). Furthermore, the reason none are righteous is because they are not only unaware of God but they haven’t sought Him out or understood Him. So the lack of pursuit and the knowledge of God will inevitably lead to godless living.



Tidbit

God causes and permits suffering and trials because people do not seek, understand or fear God but instead seek sin which leads to no peace.



Tradition

What have men and women said before us?



Takeaway

1. In Christ, we are able to do good and avoid bad. Make a list of all the good you need to do and all the bad you need to stop.

2. Be slow to speak and quick to listen, as the tongue can cause so much suffering.

3. Meditate on the results of sin: judgment, and let that motivate you to stop sinning as much as possible.

4. When you are not experiencing peace, see if there are any relationships that you need to reconcile.

5. Seek to know and understand the God of peace. Read the word and become familiar with His heart and commandments.



Testimony

How have people experienced this text, truth, tidbit and/or takeaway?



Test

One of your co-workers begins to complain about the boss’s decision to promote someone else. Your co-worker seems upset and begins to say, “I can’t stand our boss. She doesn’t see how I am more qualified. That stupid…” Later that day, at lunch, your co-worker asks you what you think: who should have gotten the promotion. How can you turn this situation into an opportunity to communicate about how sin and bitterness causes a person to be without peace. How can you ask this person about their pursuit or the lack thereof, of God?