Bible Reading

Romans Chapter 3 - The God Who Showed Up at Court

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Bible reading companion

18 May 2025

2 min read

While doom-scrolling on Tik Tok (don’t follow my example!), there was this video I saw of an old TV series where they had a kindly, elderly judge who would carry out judgements in his small courtroom.

And the people that stood before him had always interesting reasons as to why they are being charged in court and how he dealt with each one of them was very entertaining.

There was one particular episode - where his childhood friend stood before him, charged with an offense. The courtroom held its breath. Would the judge show mercy? Or enforce the law?

He did both.

He pronounced the man guilty—because he was. But then he stepped down from the bench, took off his robe, and paid the fine himself.

Justice. Mercy. One act. One heart.

That story echoes the very heartbeat of Romans 3:25–26 (NIV):

“God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith… so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”

Let that soak in for a moment.

God is the judge. And He’s also the one who takes the punishment.

The law had to be fulfilled. Sin had to be dealt with. If God had ignored it, He wouldn't be just. But if He destroyed us because of it, how would we ever know His love?

So, in an act that still makes angels rejoice in awe, God did both. He upheld justice and unleashed mercy. He sent Jesus to the courtroom—not as the lawyer, but as the one who would stand in your place.

Can you imagine that courtroom scene?

The gavel pounds. Guilty.

Your list of charges is long: pride, envy, impatience, every time you rolled your eyes in traffic or withheld forgiveness one more day.

The law is clear. The fine is steep. The sentence is death.

But just as you’re led away, Jesus stands.

“I’ll take it,” He says.

And the Judge—who is also your Father—lets Him.

Justice is satisfied. Mercy is magnified.

And you? You walk out free.

Who does that? Who both judges and justifies?

Only God.

Only grace.

You were guilty. But Jesus stood in.

You were condemned. Now you are called righteous—because the Judge took your sentence and gave you His Son.

And that changes everything.

Jesus Gave Himself for Me

What have you given Him?

Romans Chapter 7: Is God’s law bad?

Our chapter today clarifies a key misconception in the Christian world: how we ought to look at the law. Some Christians go to the extent of describing the law as something Christians ought to avoid, justifying this with what Romans 6:14 instructs: “you are not under law but under grace”. Given this current outcome of being “under grace”, some even think that God made a mistake instituting His law in the Old Testament in the first place. This misconception is particularly driven by the common phrase “law vs grace”, which pits them against each other. When we take a closer look at Romans 7, we will see this is not to be so. Knowing that he was writing “to those who knew the law” (Romans 7:1), Paul set out to correct misconceptions about the law. What did Paul write about the law? How should we understand what the law is? 1. The law is not sin. “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not!” (Romans 7:7a) The law does not fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). It is not something God wishes to distance Himself away from. 2. The law sets the righteous standards of God, so that through it we understand what sin is, and by contrast, what God’s holiness is. ‘ I would not have known sin except through the law . For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”’ (Romans 7:7b) Elsewhere, the Bible states, “ the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” (Galatians 3:24) The law helps us—and the Jews—to know Jesus Christ and His holiness, that we can believe in Him and follow Him. 3. The law is not evil, wicked, or sinful. In fact, it is holy and good. “Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.” (Romans 7:12) The law is “what is good” (Romans 7:13). And again, “the law is spiritual” (Romans 7:14). Seeing how many times Paul reiterated this fact, it’s clear that he strongly believed in this. 4. God intended the law to bring life, but our sinful nature causes us to die instead. “Did that which is good [the law], then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good , in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.” (Romans 7:13 ESV) “For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.” (Romans 7:5) The problem is sin. 5. Without the law, sin cannot exist. “ For apart from the law sin was dead .” (Romans 7:8b) Without the law, sin cannot exist, because there are no righteous standards for one to fall short of. Yet we cannot destroy the law just because we want to get rid of sin (Matthew 5:17-18). Without absolute standards of righteousness instituted by God, how then will we know if Christ is good, or if someone is evil? All this might make us feel drab and hopeless, especially if we’re currently fighting against sin that we are struggling to overcome in our lives. But Paul speaks to our struggle, especially through the narrative frame his chapter takes. The chapter begins with the analogy of marriage. Through her husband’s death, a woman is free from the law of her husband. Likewise, through the death of Jesus Christ, we are free from the law, yet still called to be righteous, for we must “bear fruit to God” (Romans 7:4), At the chapter’s end, Paul personalizes that analogy into his own statement of faith, where he sees his victory over sin: “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25) Truly, our God has a marvelous plan beyond our imagination. He prepared the law to teach us God’s holiness and lead us to Jesus while executing just judgment on the wicked (1 Timothy 1:9). At the same time, knowing our weaknesses, He sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from a sinful nature we cannot flee on our own, so that we can still be saved (John 3:16). What can we do next? If you have not done so, repent and have your sins forgiven by (Acts 2:38). Allow Jesus to work in your heart and circumcise it. This journey of victory over sin is a lifelong one where we keep God’s commandments, love Him with all our hearts and souls, and walk by the power of His grace (Romans 7:6; Romans 2:25-29; Deuteronomy 30:6).

John Chapter 5 - The Life-Giving Scriptures

Do you search the Scriptures? Did you find Christ in them?

Is Footwashing necessary for salvation?

Although Footwashing isn't commonly practised for salvation in many Christian churches, we believe that the Bible points us to its necessity.

Ezekiel Chapters 40-41

From Chapter 40, it marks the start of the vision shown to Ezekiel of a new temple that is to be built in Jerusalem. Did your eyes glaze over as you read the 2 chapters? Imagine you were Ezekiel and you were told to pay close attention to everything that he was being shown and then go and tell the people everything he had seen. 4 And the man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and fix your mind on everything I show you; for you were brought here so that I might show them to you. Declare to the house of Israel everything you see.” ~ Ezekiel 40:4 ~ What follows is Ezekiel being first led to see the Eastern Gateway of the Temple, then the Outer Court, Northern and Southern Gateway to the Temple, Gateways to the Inner Courts, where the sacrifices were made, the chambers for the priests and singers. And then, very careful recordings of the dimensions of the different parts of the temple were specified and recorded down. Why do you think this was done? Being a person who is not very detail oriented, I cannot quite understand the need for all the exact measurements to be spelled out. What’s wrong if the measurements are out by an inch or two? Then it struck me. God cares for His people so much that He does not want to leave any stone unturned for His people. In our daily lives many things happen - big or small. Some are blessings and some are trials. Some are good things, some are bad. God is interested in us, His People. Even to the most minute detail! And He has given us specific instructions in His Holy Word for many areas of our life. The question is, do our eyes glaze over the Words from the Bible. Or do we, like Ezekiel, listen carefully and then tell it to others? Last night I had a dream and in that dream, I had a very big pain in my leg and could not figure it out. And for some reason, a Deacon of the church was examining me as if he was a doctor. And then after he diagnose that there was some issue with my leg (could not remember what was said), his conclusion was this… “This is why you need to get better and after that, go out and preach the Gospel!” Tears welled up as I recall this and am writing this now. Was this a rebuke? Areminder? A warning? An admonishment? An encouragement? God through His infinite wisdom. Mercy and grace has given us all the details (truth) of Salvation. Should we not go and tell others about it so that they also know of it? And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. ~ Mark 16:15-16 ~ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ~ Romans 1:16 ~ Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. ~ 2 Timothy 4:2 ~ May we be interested in all the little details that God reveals to us and after listening carefully to it, tell it to others as well.

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