Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale Daily DevotionalSample

3-The Witness Stand There's a definite and deliberate flow to the book of Romans. In the previous chapter, Paul introduced the reality of God's wrath towards sin and its impending judgment. But Paul also understood that whenever the issues of sin and judgment are raised, there's the temptation for the "saint" to instinctively adopt an attitude toward the "sinner." Sadly, since our sins have been covered and forgiven by Christ, we can tend to lose our sensitivity towards those who don't know the Lord. We begin to look down on them, criticize them, and judge them. "I can't believe what so and so did! If only I had the keys to hell and death! Why...they'd sure get what's coming to them." It's that very attitude that we're now warned against in Romans. Yes, God's wrath will fall on those who haven't taken refuge under the cross. But the Spirit of God would want us to know that before we point the finger at others, we need to point the finger at ourselves. Whenever we judge others, we aren't any better than those we're judging. We're better off because of what Christ has done for us, but in essence we're no better. In our own way, we're just as guilty and worthy of judgment as anyone else, which ought to humble and protect us from missing the true significance of the gospel. It's so important that we get this. If we don't, our hearts won't be in the right place as we continue down this Romans road, and eventually we'll grow pharisaical and calloused to the spiritual truths that we've been called to be witnesses to. Sadly, since our sins have been covered and forgiven by Christ, we can tend to lose our sensitivity towards those who don't know the Lord. What does this passage reveal to me about God? What does this passage reveal to me about myself? Based on this, what changes do I need to make? What is my prayer for today?