SUNDAY (LIVE) - September 6, 2026 | UNASHAMED: Romans 3:1-4 - Oracles of God

Sep 06, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Stewarding God’s Word as Sacred Trust

The Jews preserved Scripture with meticulous care across centuries, yet human faithfulness doesn’t validate God’s Word—His truth stands firm even when we falter. Scripture’s power isn’t measured by human outcomes but by its divine origin. Like ancient scribes copying texts with precision, believers today are called to handle God’s Word with reverence, not as a tool for personal gain but as a revelation of His character. The Bible’s authority remains unshaken by human failure, for God’s promises hinge on His nature, not our obedience. Trusting Scripture means anchoring to its unchanging truth even when life feels unstable. [48:06]

“What advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar.”
(Romans 3:1–4, ESV)

Reflection: When have you doubted God’s Word because of human failure? How might His faithfulness transcend your disappointment?

Day 2: The Bible’s Purpose: God’s Glory, Not Our Felt Needs

Scripture isn’t a self-help manual for achieving wealth, power, or personal success. It’s a revelation of God’s majesty, written to magnify His name, not ours. Drinking from the polluted well of “felt needs” theology leaves souls sickened, but pure Scripture redirects worship to the One who acts “for His name’s sake.” Like sheep unaware of their dependence, we’re called to stop centering our desires and fixate on the Shepherd’s glory. Every story, law, and psalm ultimately points to God’s redemptive mission, not human exceptionalism. [53:37]

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”
(Psalm 23:1–3, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you treated the Bible as a tool for your goals? How might shifting focus to God’s glory change your approach?

Day 3: From Guardian to Christ: The Law’s True Purpose

The Old Testament wasn’t meant to produce moral heroes but to expose humanity’s universal need for grace. Like a pedagogos guiding a child to school, the law’s strictures led Israel—and us—to Christ. Abraham’s lies, David’s sin, and Moses’ anger all testify: no human effort achieves righteousness. The law’s shadows fade in the light of Jesus, the true Hero who fulfills every requirement. Clinging to rules over redemption misses the point—the guardian’s job ends when faith begins. [08:51]

“So the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.”
(Galatians 3:24–25, ESV)

Reflection: Do you still rely on “rule-keeping” to feel righteous? How does Christ’s fulfillment free you from performance?

Day 4: Whatever You Do: The Call to God-Centered Living

Marriage, work, parenting—every arena of life exists to showcase God’s glory, not our comfort. A job becomes worship when done “heartily as unto the Lord.” Parenting shifts from chasing cultural approval to shaping image-bearers. Even mundane acts like eating or drinking gain eternal weight when done for His renown. This liberating focus dismantles selfishness, replacing anxiety with purpose. Life stops circling the drain of self-interest when true north is Christ’s supremacy. [17:57]

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
(1 Corinthians 10:31, ESV)

Reflection: What mundane task feels empty? How could doing it for God’s glory transform your perspective?

Day 5: True North: Fixing Our Eyes on Christ’s Glory

Like hikers lost in woods needing a mountain to orient them, believers thrive by fixing their gaze on Jesus. Communion reminds us that life’s meaning flows from His sacrifice, not our achievements. Oregon Duck fandom’s transient thrill pales beside the eternal weight of participating in God’s kingdom. Church isn’t about perfect attendance but becoming “Jesus people” caught up in His story. Peace comes not from solving problems but surrendering to the Author who writes redemption into every chaos. [23:33]

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”
(Isaiah 26:3, ESV)

Reflection: What distractions compete for your gaze? How might fixing your eyes on Christ recalibrate your peace?

Sermon Summary

Paul’s question in Romans 3 starts with the Jew’s advantage: Israel was entrusted with the very oracles of God. Paul’s question also presses on the hard objection: if God’s word is so right and powerful, why were so many faithless? God’s faithfulness does not fail because people fail. The plague underneath pagan rebellion, self-righteousness, religious effort, and good-church-person behavior is sin, with its one hundred percent infection rate and fatality rate.

The Bible is not about making people the center of the universe. The felt-needs version of Scripture turns God into a genie, the Bible into a code book, and life into one long attempt to control everything around the self. The self becomes like a dog chasing its tail, running circles because it has nothing higher, bigger, or more transcendent to live for. God’s glory gives true north, like a mountain that keeps a lost person from circling through the woods until death.

God acts for his name’s sake. Deuteronomy, Psalms, Ezekiel, and Isaiah refuse the idea that God chose, saved, restored, and restrained wrath because people were varsity, awesome, or deserving. God loves because God loves. God is not blessed to have sinful, rebellious people on his team; people are blessed beyond measure to be picked up by holy hands.

The Old Testament is not a handbook for becoming moral, nor is it a collection of spotless heroes. David, Moses, Abraham, Esther, and every other so-called hero carry enough wreckage to show that no human being can save anybody. The law functions as a guardian, a pedagogos, taking the child to the destination until Christ comes. The law exposes the need for someone better than David, greater than Moses, and more faithful than Abraham: Jesus Christ alone.

The Bible tells one big story: God with us. God is the good and generous Creator in Eden; God is the Redeemer who rushes toward repentant sinners after the fall; God is the Savior in Jesus Christ, who lived rightly, suffered fully, died for sinners, rose again, and now rules the universe; God will be face to face with his people in consummation. Christ is the one hero in Scripture.

Paul’s call in 1 Corinthians 10:31 gives the practical center: whatever happens, eating, drinking, marriage, work, parenting, and every ordinary thing can be done for God’s glory. Jesus makes people into more than good church people. Jesus makes them into Jesus people, freed from exhausting self-salvation and caught up in something bigger and better than themselves. Communion fixes the eyes again on Christ’s broken body, shed blood, finished work, forgiveness, and new-covenant righteousness by faith.

Key Takeaways

1. The Bible is about God The self makes a miserable center because it cannot provide purpose, direction, or lasting joy. God’s glory gives life a fixed point outside shifting feelings, personal success, and the demand to control everybody else. The soul begins to move when it stops asking how God can serve its little kingdom and starts asking how every part of life can display his glory. [60:55]
2. The law brings sinners to Christ The Old Testament does not create heroes to imitate or moral ladders to climb. The flaws of its greatest figures expose the need for a Savior no flawed human can provide. The law does its job when it brings the sinner to justification by faith in Jesus Christ alone. [68:17]
3. God acts for his name’s sake God’s mercy does not rest on human greatness, usefulness, or religious performance. God loves because he loves, saves because he is faithful, and preserves his people for the honor of his own name. That truth humbles pride while giving real security, because God’s faithfulness is stronger than human inconsistency. [57:53]
4. Everything can bring God glory Marriage, work, parenting, and ordinary responsibilities become different when God’s glory becomes the goal. A hard job can become a witness when it is done heartily unto the Lord, and parenting can become image-bearing rather than a search for approval. God’s glory turns daily life from a private project into participation in his kingdom.

## [77:39]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[42:42] - Romans 3 and the Oracles of God
[43:53] - Sin’s Universal Problem
[45:59] - Why Keep the Old Testament?
[48:30] - When God’s Word Seems Fruitless
[49:35] - The Bible Is Not About Me
[53:37] - God Acts for His Name’s Sake
[60:55] - True North Beyond the Self
[64:11] - The Bible Is Not Moralism
[67:54] - The Law as Guardian to Christ
[71:07] - Good Church People or Jesus People
[73:55] - God With Us: The Bible’s Story
[77:18] - Whatever You Do for God’s Glory
[81:36] - Caught Up in the Greatness of Jesus
[83:54] - Communion and the New Covenant

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Romans 3:1–4
“Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, ‘That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.’” [42:57]

1 Corinthians 10:31
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” [01:17:28]

Galatians 3:24
“So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.” [01:08:01]

Deuteronomy 7:6–8
“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” [53:53]

Psalm 23:1–3
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” [55:00]

Observation questions

In Romans 3:1–4, what two things does Paul hold together: Israel’s advantage in receiving God’s Word and the reality that some were unfaithful? [48:30]
What reasons does Deuteronomy 7:6–8 specifically give for God’s choice and love of Israel, and what reasons does it clearly rule out?
In Psalm 23:1–3, what does the Shepherd do for his sheep, and what final phrase gives the ultimate reason for his leading?
According to Galatians 3:24, what was the law meant to do, and where was it meant to bring people? [01:08:13]

Interpretation questions

Romans 3 says that human faithlessness does not nullify God’s faithfulness. How does that truth help a believer understand seasons when God’s Word seems ignored, rejected, or slow to bear visible fruit? [48:30]
Deuteronomy 7 says that God set his love on Israel not because they were numerous or impressive, but because he loves and keeps his promise. How does this protect a believer from both pride when life is going well and despair when personal performance is weak? [54:46]
If the law is a guardian that brings sinners to Christ for justification by faith, what is the difference between reading the Old Testament to become merely more moral and reading it to see the need for Jesus? [01:09:41]
Psalm 23 says that God leads his people in righteousness “for his name’s sake.” How can God’s concern for his own glory become good news and security for people who know their own inconsistency? [57:38]

Application questions

Where are you most tempted to make life revolve around yourself—your comfort, schedule, reputation, marriage, children, work, or unmet expectations? What might change this week if God’s glory, rather than your own needs, became the “true north” in that area? [01:01:20]
Is there an area where you have treated the Bible like a code book for getting the outcome you want from God? What would it look like to come to Scripture first to know God, trust Christ, and live for his glory instead? [01:10:36]
“Good church person” behavior can look faithful on the outside while leaving a person exhausted inside. Are there ways you have been relying on religious effort, knowledge, or appearance rather than resting in justification by faith in Jesus Christ alone? [01:12:42]
Think of a Bible character you admire. How does that person’s weakness or failure point beyond them to the need for a better Savior? How does seeing Jesus as the one true hero change the way you read that story? [01:09:41]
What is one ordinary responsibility this week—eating with others, work, caring for children, serving a spouse, school, or a difficult conversation—that you could intentionally do for the glory of God? What specific action would make that visible? [01:17:45]
If work is ultimately an opportunity to bring God glory, how might that change your attitude in a job, task, or relationship that feels frustrating right now? What would it mean to do that work heartily unto the Lord? [01:19:26]
Communion fixes the eyes on Christ’s broken body, shed blood, forgiveness, and finished work. What accusation, shame, anxiety, or self-salvation effort do you need to bring again to Jesus and his finished work? [01:31:08]

Sermon Clips

46s

#WorkForGod

“How about work? What's work about? Making money? Making a name for yourself? Getting more stuff? Nothing wrong with any of that. But what's the ultimate goal of work? Do whatever you do for the glory of God. That if I look at work that way, I don't care what crummy job you might have. I don't care how terrible that job is. If you're saying, my job, number one priority over this job is to go there and bring God glory. It will transform your job. You will do it heartily as unto the Lord, and it will be a witness to other people. Bro, why are you so happy? This job stinks. You'll be an evangelist just by doing that because no one does that.”

28s

#PurposeOverSelf

“You'll circle and circle and circle till you die because you don't have something transcendent, something bigger, something to focus on that's outside of yourself. That's what happens when you start saying, the bible's not about me. It's about God. It's about his kingdom. It's about his glory. It's about him. The byproduct then is purpose and vision and movement and joy. That's what happens.”

56s

#FindTrueNorth

“But when the goal is God, when the goal is his name's sake, something changes in you. You've got true north now. You've got purpose. You've got something. Have you ever been in the woods and been lost? Before there was GPS, before there was any kind of directions? What's the one thing you should do if you're in the woods and you're lost? Find something that's higher than you. A big tall mountain and just say, I'm gonna walk toward that mountain. I'm gonna walk toward that thing that I can see. It's higher. If not, what will happen to you? You'll do these gigantic circles, and you don't even know it. You'll circle and circle and circle till you die because you don't have something transcendent, something bigger, something to focus on that's outside of yourself. That's what happens when you start saying, the bible's not about me. It's about God. It's about his kingdom. It's about his glory. It's about him.”

28s

#GodsTool

“But when I realized, no, I'm just a dirty tool, a shovel, picked up by holy hands. God will use me in whatever way he's gonna choose to use me. I'll offer him my simple five loaves and two fish, and he can take them and multiply them know how freeing that is? You know how joyful that is? Because it's not about me. I stopped looking at myself in the I stopped it's not mean about my best life now. It's, God, how can I bring you glory? That's what it's about.”

40s

#BeJesusPeople

“Not about me, not about my thing. This is about God's glory, that I'm participating in his kingdom, and it's bigger and better and more transcendent than you can ever imagine. I wanna make Jesus so beautiful to you that you get caught up in him, that you know him, that you're they're not we're not good church people. We are Jesus people because when you do that, the rest is easy. You wanna bring him glory. You want your life to represent him well. Everything is preschool. Everything is a guardian to get us to that justification by faith in Jesus Christ alone, and it transforms you.”

35s

#GodWithUs

“I want you to be Jesus people. So what is the what is the bible then? If it's not heroes of the faith, morals, if it's not about me, if it's not a roadmap for my life, if it's not what is the bible about? Here's what the Bible is about. In my humble opinion, the Bible is about one thing, God with Emmanuel. That's what the Bible is about. And it breaks down into four chapters of God with us. Chapter one is God in creation.”

31s

#NotAboutMe

“And it's actually really good news when you start to read the bible and realize it's not about me. Because when I make life about me, when I make the bible about me, I become the center. And what actually happens is I'm like a dog chasing its tail. I have nothing bigger to live for than me. I have nothing outside of me to live for. It's just all about me. How can I consume this? How can I be more about me? Just me, me, me, me, me. And you never move in life. You're just running circles.”

31s

#RememberJesus

“It's the reason why we do our service the way we do it, by ending in communion. I want the last thing for us to do, the last thing for us to think about, the last thing for us to remember is the great love of Jesus Christ, that he left comfort and glory and perfection and came down and died for me. And we do this in remembrance so our eyes are fixed on him, the author and finisher of faith.”

48s

#JesusOurRedeemer

“Redemption. God was as a savior. Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, comes down, lives the life that we should live, demonstrates how humans were supposed to be as right image bearers of God. Does it perfectly. Goes through every single difficulty that you and I will ever go through. Friends that betray him, friends that deny him, friends that leave him at his most vulnerable time, run over by an empire, run over by religious hypocritical people. Whatever you've gone through, Jesus went through it, lives, to forgive us of our sins, rises again, and is right now seated at the right hand of the father. He runs the universe.”

64s

#NotJustGoodChurch

“I don't wanna be the nice guy telling nice people to act nicer because I don't think that what that's what scripture is about. I don't think that's my job actually. Sometimes I gotta wake people up, shake you, because I think there's a lot of people that are what I call good church people. I just come and be a good church person. I got my bible. I know when to sing. I know when to say, hallelujah. I know when to say amen. I don't wanna raise my hands. I know all these things. I'm trying to be moral. I'm trying to look good, but I'm exhausted. Because ultimately, I'm not being justified by faith alone. I think it's my good churchness that saves me. And I've missed the very goal of the entire Old Testament, which is to push me to justification by faith, to bring me to Jesus Christ, and then the guardian is done.”

74s

#MarriageForGod

“That's my job. That as I become a Jesus person, more and more I should be about God's glory. Not my glory, not my thing, my fiefdom, not my kingdom. I'm about God's glory. So if it's whatever you do is for God's glory, then what is barrage about? My felt needs? She needs to be this for me. What is marriage about then? Is it about God's glory? So I'll have men that come into my office and they'll say this, you know what? I just don't love her anymore. And you know what? I instantly know. You don't understand marriage because it's not about your felt needs, bro. Marriage is about God's glory. How am I bringing God glory by the way that I treat my wife? Am I demonstrating love, forgiveness, acceptance, just like God has done for me? Am I re displaying image bearing well how God has done to me? Am I doing the same thing for my wife in my marriage? Because marriage is ultimately about God's glory. That's what it is.”

47s

#GenerousCreator

“God in creation, it is God with us as the good and generous creator. That God loves us, and he creates this incredible place called Eden, fills it with animals and fruit trees and abundance, and says to Adam and Eve, here you go. Take it. How generous is that? I'm giving this thing to you. Eat of any tree of the garden that you want to. Don't eat of that one. Will kill you. It's poison. That's it. God is a good generous creator. God with us. And it only lasts two chapters. And then you've got chapter part two, which is God with us at the fall. You have the fall. God with us as redeemer.”

41s

#RedeemerRushes

“And if you're very careful in reading the Bible, what you see is this. God as redeemer in the old testament rushes to the repentant sinner. Adam and Eve, man, they blow it. Does God shun them and get rid of them? Uh-uh. What does God do? He comes down, rushes down to them. What have you done? Makes a promise to them, close them, and protects them. That's what God does. You get David who commits adultery and lies and murders the husband. And when he repents, Nathan the prophet instantly says, and God has forgiven you. There's scars from this, no doubt. God's name is gonna be blasphemed from this, but God has forgiven you. God as redeemer.”

28s

#CaughtUpInChrist

“It's not about you. It's for a moment, you get around something bigger and greater than you. And just being around something that's bigger and greater than you creates its own wind. And you get caught up into it, and there's a glory to it that transforms you. That's my job with Jesus. I want you to be caught up in something that's bigger and better than you, so we get our eyes off ourselves.”

50s

#BibleNotSelfHelp

“The Bible's not a roadmap to lie life. That's not what the Bible is. There are maps in the Bible, but they're only gonna help you if you live in The Middle East. And if you follow them, be careful because the guys that did follow them got shipwrecked and crucified. So be careful of following them. So there's all these kind of crazy ideas, and the the bible is taught that it's about me and about God and, you know, what what he wants with me and my best life now, what happens is it trains me in something, and it makes the center of the universe. It makes it so then I start to use the Bible to try to control and to manipulate everything to revolve around me because I am the center of the universe. That is a recipe for misery.”

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