Two Paths

Re:Verse passage – Romans 2:5-16 (day four)

Paul’s writing really flies in the face of today’s preferred way of thinking. In a world that prefers relativism and pluralism (saying things like “I follow my truth and you follow your truth,” or “there are many ways to the same endpoint”), Paul makes it clear: there is good, and there is bad, there is righteousness, and there is unrighteousness, there is one way to the Father, not many. Paul writes this to an audience in Rome that desperately needs to hear this, and we equally need this message today.

Paul makes it clear that there are only two paths in life, you can live God’s way, which includes putting your faith in Christ and allowing your heart and actions to be shaped by his character, or you can stubbornly deny God, and live according to your flesh. This is true of everyone, whether they were born into a Jewish family and felt a sense of spiritual superiority (like Paul used to) or if they had never heard God‘s law before. Paul makes it clear that there is no other criteria for eternal life apart from hearing the gospel and responding to it in faith. A family name does not qualify you, and a lack of knowledge of the law doesn’t disqualify you – the fork in the road comes with how we respond to the gospel of Christ.

How might we as believers preach this message in love to the world in which we live?