Slices
Prepare
Quietly repeat these words from Psalm 16:5 and let their truth seep into your soul. ‘Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.’
Bible passage
No one is righteous
9 What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. 10 As it is written:
‘There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.’
13 ‘Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practise deceit.’
‘The poison of vipers is on their lips.’
14 ‘Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.’
15 ‘Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 ruin and misery mark their ways,
17 and the way of peace they do not know.’
18 ‘There is no fear of God before their eyes.’
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
Explore
I remember listening to a radio programme in which a rather well- spoken woman was asked for her reaction to an evangelistic talk that she had just heard. In a scandalised tone she complained: ‘It was awful. He called me a hopeless sinner!’
‘Sin’ is not a popular word in today’s world. Today’s reading, however, allows no escape route. No one has lived a perfect life (v 12) and consequently no one has right standing before God (v 10). There are undoubtedly many and various ways to fall short of the life God desires for us (vs 13–18), but in one way or another everyone has fallen down.
Is it because people are bad? No. It’s because they are gripped by something bad: sin (v 9). In the grip of this relentless malicious power, ultimately all people fall down.
So, are we stuck? No! Spoiler alert: sin has been defeated. ‘For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin’ (Romans 6:6).
Sinner? Definitely. Hopeless? Definitely not!
Respond
Ask for God’s Spirit to empower you, making these hymn words your own prayer today:
‘I want the Spirit’s power within/ Of love, and of a healthy mind/ Of power to conquer inbred sin/ Of Love for Thee and all mankind…’*
*Charles Wesley (1707–1788), ‘The Indwelling God’
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Exodus 19,20; Matthew 25
Pray for Scripture Union
Mission Partner The Pimlico Foundation is looking for a full-time youth worker. Please pray that they will be successful in recruiting the right person to enable the charity’s work to continue to grow and develop. Pray too for their new community outreach projects.