Reading: Romans 3:21-26
Reflective Thoughts
Our scandalous God
If you’ve ever walked down the “Romans Road,” the salvation plan using the Book of Romans, verse 23 in this reading was your first stepping stone. You learned in that one verse what Paul has spent two chapters saying: No matter how hard all of us try, we all miss the mark! Sin has ruined us. By now, some of us have grown weary of hearing this. We know it. The gospel has taken care of it, we think impatiently. But we are in danger of missing the point, because we may still think this is about us.
If we back up two verses to Romans 3:21, we might gain better perspective. This tells us that, when we speak of good news, we are not speaking about ourselves, but about what God has done. Verse 21 tells us that in response to this “mess,” something that was hidden, even though it was spoken about in the Old Testament, has suddenly burst forth. This was a secret that none of the angels knew. They simply watched-and were no doubt shocked.
Paul calls what God has done “unspeakable” or “indescribable” (2 Corinthians 9:15). It was unimaginable. It was a scandal. And that scandal is revealed through your faith in Christ. Sin was the horrible circumstance-but the real story is what God did about it.