Category Archives: Excuses

Bible, Discipline, Excuses, Forgiveness, Grace, Scripture, Sin

STUPID QUESTIONS

ROMANS 6:15

“What then? Are we to sin because we are not under the Law but under grace? Far from it!”

You’ve probably heard someone say, “There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers.” That may be true in the academia world where students are seeking more knowledge about a subject. They can ask all sorts of questions of their teachers with the hope of learning more. The purpose of that quote above is to encourage students to ask for clarification and to not be afraid of seeking the information they are after.

However…Paul introduces a question today that is really stupid. Pardon me for saying so, but this question is so bizarre that he quickly answers it himself by saying, “Far from it!” It’s very similar to Romans 6:1 that we saw earlier. This whole chapter has been showing us the answer to these two questions. Repetition of thought is important to reinforce learning. That’s exactly what Paul is doing here. He is trying to drive home a point to the Romans and us.

APPLICATION

Concerning this verse, Ellicott’s Commentary says this, “The Apostle returns to a difficulty very similar to that which presented itself at the beginning of the chapter. The answer is couched under a slightly different metaphor. It is no longer death to the one, life to the other, but freedom from the one, service to the other. These are correlative terms. Freedom from sin implies service to God, just as freedom from God means service to sin. The same idea of service and freedom will be found worked out in John 8:32-34; John 8:36, and in Galatians 5:1.”

As followers of Christ, of course, we shouldn’t take grace for granted and sin willfully. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. “Before Christ, we chase sin. After Christ, sin chases us.” Don’t ever think Jesus excuses our sins just because we are in the family. Now wait! I am not saying He doesn’t forgive our sins. I said He doesn’t excuse them. Sins have consequences. We may escape an eternal punishment, but we could face discipline here on earth for repeated disobedience.

You don’t hear that preached much, do you? The whole notion that God is love and would never allow anyone to go to hell is just plain hogwash. It is true that God doesn’t send them there, but they do go because of their refusal to follow Him. As a child of God, we can receive a good ole fashion whooping for our continued disobedience. So, to echo Paul’s answer today in this verse concerning choosing to sin – “Far from it!”

O Lord, keep me far from sin and close to You.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Excuses, Forgiveness, Judgment, Mercy, Scripture

NO EXCUSE

ROMANS 2:1

“Therefore you have no excuse, you foolish person, every one of you who passes judgment; for in that matter in which you judge someone else, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.” 

That’s the bottom line – we have no excuse. After the past several verses of chapter 1, Paul simply says, “Therefore you have no excuse.” Have you ever had to admit that? I sure have. I’m 64 years old and have been married almost 40 years. There have many things I have done in those years for which I had no excuse. I have learned to just admit when I’m wrong (well, at least most of the time, lol). I don’t need to rationalize my decision.

The literal Greek for that first phrase is “Therefore inexcusable you are.” Ouch! The Greek word for “inexcusable” is anapológētos which has that same negative prefix alpha which we saw in 1:31. The second part of the word comes from apologeomai which means to defend or excuse. One source I looked at said it “frequently describes the hopelessness of trying to defend a case in court, while lacking an adequate defense.”

APPLICATION

But you have to read the rest of the verse to see what Paul is talking about. He is telling these Roman believers they had no right to judge those people he had just been writing about. In fact, he says, “for you who judge practice the same things.” Isn’t that still the case today? Usually, people who bark the loudest are the most guilty. Take the beam out of your own eye first, we are told.

Who will do the judging? God will. We will all stand before a holy God one day. Unbelievers will face a harsh judgment and be separated eternally from God. Believers will be judged on their works here on earth. But we will all face God. We have no excuse. We won’t be able to point our fingers at our spouses or employers or the government. No one is going to be held accountable for our sins but we ourselves.

When you see a brother or sister struggling in sin, pray for them. If you are able to help restore them, do that without entangling yourself. Remember, except for the grace of God, there you go also. None of us have arrived. We are all on this journey together. We have no excuse for our own sins. Repent today and seek the Lord’s forgiveness.

O Lord, forgive me for being judgmental of others and pointing fingers at their sin when I have sin in my own life which need to be confessed.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Excuses, Gospel, Manifested, Revelation, Salvation, Scripture

WITHOUT EXCUSE

ROMANS 1:20

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

There have been a few times in my life when I have been without excuse. One was the time I told my wife to “shut up.” There is never an excuse for that, and I apologized profusely. Another time was forgetting to send a group of children to a children’s camp. No excuse, just forgot the date. I could go on, but I am sure you have your own “without excuse” moments. But there is one moment in your life you do not want to be without excuse. Let’s look at today’s verse.

Paul says in verse 20 that no one, not even the person who has never heard the Gospel, has an excuse to not believe in God. He says God’s “eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived.” As I have mentioned in a recent blog, God isn’t trying to hide Himself. He wants to be seen by us. He wants us to hear His voice. Even in the deepest, darkest jungles God is revealing Himself.

APPLICATION

HELPS Word studies defines the Greek word translated as “without excuse” this way. “(anapológētos) comes from ‘alpha privative’ (a/‘not’) and apologeomai (‘to defend, excuse’). It ‘occurs in documents from the second century before Christ. Frequently it describes the hopelessness of trying to defend a case in court, while lacking an adequate defense.” The word is only used here and later in Romans 2:1 (which we will see later).

In Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary, he writes, “Our Creator’s invisible power and Godhead are so clearly shown in the works he has made, that even idolaters and wicked Gentiles are left without excuse. They foolishly followed idolatry; and rational creatures changed the worship of the glorious Creator, for that of brutes, reptiles, and senseless images. They wandered from God, till all traces of true religion must have been lost, had not the revelation of the gospel prevented it.”

Therefore, we have no excuse for not sharing the Gospel with these lost and eternally dying individuals. That’s why we send missionaries to the remotest parts of the world. I heard recently that approximately 4.5 billion people are lost. Of that 2.25 billion have never heard the Gospel. To put that in perspective, if you lined up that group five people across and three feet apart, they would circle the globe five times. All of them are marching to hell. We are “without excuse.” We must share to as many as quickly as we can.

Lord, give me opportunities today to share the Gospel with someone who needs to hear about salvation through Your Son, Jesus.  

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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