Maybe you remember Daniel Penny, who restrained a wild man who went crazy on a New York subway and threatened to kill people.
The military veteran was never thanked, but rather he was put on trial by a justice system that apparently can’t tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys.
Or Laken Riley who was assaulted and killed in Athens, Ga., by an illegal immigrant who’d stalked her for several days before the murder.
He’d been arrested and released several times by those same folks who have trouble with the difference between good and evil.
And, it keeps getting worse. A man set a woman on fire in a New York subway car, and nobody stepped up to help her. Remember Daniel Penny?
We live in a world overrun by evil and the effects of evil — sin!
“And so, God has given those people over to do the filthy things their hearts desire, and they do shameful things with each other. They exchange the truth about God for a lie; they worship and serve what God has created instead of the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever!
— Romans 1: 24-25
Amen! Praise God, there is a pattern in Romans!
The first step toward God is justification found in Romans 1-8. Justification is God’s forgiveness and our repentance.
It’s the starting point of our new life in Jesus Christ!
The second step toward God is salvation which appears in Romans 9-11. Salvation is God’s leading and our growing obedience — our growing trust!
And the third and final step toward God is sanctification is found in Romans 12-16. Sanctification is God’s image and our growing maturity When we talk about our Christian faith, we say, “We’re in this together” and now we’re talking about sin and the same thing holds true: “We’re in this together.”
It seems both righteousness and sin are each contagious. My mama said, “If you lie down with dogs, you’ll get up with fleas!”
But what happens if you spend time with God’s people in Bible study or church?
Then, like a newborn baby, we grow and mature in our faith!
Charles “Buddy” Whatley is a retired United Methodist pastor serving Dawson Street Methodist Church in Thomasville, Ga. With wife, Mary Ella, they are missionaries to the Navajo Reservation.
