FBC Daily Devotional – February 3, 2022

Faith Baptist Church

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:06

Well, a good Thursday morning to you. How are you doing on this fine day? Are you starting it off well?

00:13

Have you been able to get with God and his word? If you haven't been able to do that yet, I hope this will prompt you to give some thought to the word of the

00:23

Lord today. And today in our scripture reading schedule, we're reading two passages of scripture that actually dovetail very nicely together.

00:34

Psalm 14 and Romans chapter four. Let me explain.

00:40

Psalm 14 begins with a very bleak outlook on the people of this planet, on all humanity.

00:52

Listen to what God says. The word of the Lord. The fool has said in his heart, there is no

00:58

God. They are corrupt. They have done abominable works.

01:05

There is none who does good. So as God looks upon this planet, looks upon the hearts of people on this planet, what does he see?

01:16

He sees no one who does good. No one who measures up to the perfection of righteousness that he demands.

01:26

That's what he's talking about. We look at people, we see somebody give something generously to somebody who says, well, that's a good work.

01:35

Understood, but that's not what God's talking about. God's talking about the level of moral perfection that he, a perfect and holy

01:44

God, demands. There's none who does good even perfectly, does good perfectly.

01:52

He goes on, he says, the Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek

01:58

God. They have all turned aside. They have all together become corrupt.

02:06

There is none who does good, no, not one. And what this passage is simply talking about is what theologians call total depravity, that every human being on the face of the planet is depraved.

02:22

Every aspect of our being has been harmed and affected, corrupted by sin.

02:29

We are totally depraved. And therefore, as Paul writes in another place, we are dead into trespasses and sins.

02:39

This is what God sees of all humanity. They are all corrupt.

02:46

There is none who does good, no, not one. But then keep reading because the next verse says, have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge who eat up my people as they eat bread?

03:02

Wait a minute, wait a minute, what? God's speaking and he speaks of my people, my people?

03:13

Wait a minute, I thought everybody on the planet did evil. I thought there was none who did good and that everybody was corrupt.

03:20

How is it then that there are a people of God? And he goes on in verse six to say, there ain't great fear for God is with the generation of the righteous.

03:31

Wait, wait a minute, there is none who does good. They're all corrupt, nobody does good.

03:39

And now he's talking about a generation of the righteous. How do you put these two together?

03:45

How is it that there can be a generation of the righteous among in a world where no one does good and everybody is corrupt?

03:54

Aha, this is where Romans four comes in because the apostle Paul, we started reading in our schedule today at verse 13.

04:02

But if you go back a couple of verses, Paul's actually quoting Psalm 14 because this is what he says, beginning in verse 10.

04:11

He says, as it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one, there is none who understands, there is none who seeks after God, they've all turned aside, they've all together become unprofitable.

04:21

There is none who does good, no, not one. So Paul's just quoting

04:26

Psalm 14. But then he goes on to say and to clarify that the righteousness of God, apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the law and prophets.

04:40

Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe.

04:48

All right, now we're starting to get somewhere. Now we're starting to see that even though the whole world is corrupt and there's none righteous, no, not one, there is a way to be a part of the generation of the righteous.

05:03

And that way is through Christ, through Christ. And we become righteous, we have the righteousness of God imputed to us through faith in Jesus Christ as we believe in him.

05:20

Because he says to all who, and on all who believe. And then he goes on to say this.

05:27

For there is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

05:33

There he goes, referring back to Psalm 14. There's none righteous, there's none who does good. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

05:42

Well, how then does one become a part of the generation of the righteous? He says in verse 24 of Romans four, being justified freely, justified, that means declared righteous, have a righteous standing before God, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

06:12

How can one be righteous? How can one be a part of the generation of the righteous?

06:19

By putting your faith and trust in the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. And God in his grace freely justifies, declares righteous the one who trusts in the work of Jesus, the one who trusts in the work of Christ.

06:41

And the one who does so is a part of the generation of the righteous.

06:47

Is that you? I trust it is. If not, put your faith in Jesus today, put your total trust and dependence upon the work of Christ who died on the cross to redeem sinners from their sinfulness that they might be justified, declared righteous, be a part of the generation of the righteous in God's sight.

07:17

Our Father and our God, we are so grateful today for the gracious work of Christ and the redemption that is ours in Christ Jesus.

07:27

And by his redeeming work, we can be justified, we can be a part of the generation of the righteous.

07:35

Oh, I pray that everyone in the sound of my voice today will be a part of that generation.

07:43

May they be trusting fully in the work of Jesus. This we pray in Jesus' name, amen.