Robert Mounce has a commentary on Romans that I (Mandy) got in college for my class with Dr. Basilious. It's proven to be a concise and insightful resource which is why I'm going through it again.
In Romans 1:18-20 we read about how God has made himself known, through general revelation, to the whole world. Anthropologists say they have not discovered a people group that do not worship some divine being (Mounce). It's astonishing that everyone in the whole world seems to attest to something higher than themselves. "Atheism is not a natural state" Mounce says. I've met atheists and discussed at length how they can deny any God. And yet, God explains how they can live in denial. They suppress the truth, willingly, by surrounding themselves with godlessness. I ask myself-who would do that? Even atheists must have contemplated the idea of a higher power, they must feel that turning inside as they consider the consequences if they're wrong. Yet then I realize how easy this free fall into unbelief can be.
I remember a professor urging us to set up "fences" in our life to protect us from falling eventually into a pit of sin. Maicol and I more fondly refer to these as "buzzstrips" since driving all over the country reminds us of the important and yet subtle purpose! Walking over a fence won't kill you and driving over a buzzstrip won't either, but it gets you one step closer. But here's the kicker. As a child, did you ever walk over a fence you weren't supposed to? Trespass in a restricted area? Did God strike you dead? Did the police find out immediately and arrest you? Probably not. And therefore, trespassing isn't so dangerous anymore.
I remember my boss telling me to write something that wasn't exactly true - actually it was just a huge lie. I did it because he told me to. And I really struggled wondering what would happen if my bigger boss asked me about it. Then I justified it because I had a defense - my boss told me to do it! The sting of conviction faded. And it became easier and easier to slide, until one day I realized, I wouldn't have the courage to tell the truth because I didn't want to lose the reputation I had among my professional peers.
So much for "always tell the truth" - I didn't suffer immediate consequences. But eventually I realized I had surrounded my thoughts with godless rationale and thinking. So who would deny God? People who step over one little fence and ignore the burning conviction, over and over. People who make a mistake but don't have the courage to fix it. People who know if they told the truth about who they are, and what they've done - they'll face more pain of rejection than just keeping the guilt suppressed.
We need to have boundaries and buzztrips to guide us along through life. On the other hand, our buzzstrips shouldn't make other observers suppress their guilt because they know we'd never accept them much less understand them. We let people around us believe that we're so "together" and they "know" they can never measure up.
The Pharisees exemplified this concept flawlessly. They lived careful, deliberate lives. They had rules for how to pray, what to eat, and where to walk. They got angry with Jesus for "working" on the Sabbath because he harvested food for his friends that were hungry. The Pharisees were safe in this carefully constructed box of a world that supposedly kept them out of harm's way. They were the teachers, the respected, the "godly" elites. What's fascinating is they made these rules on their own and they lost sight of the purpose in the first place! If God ordained the Sabbath as a day of rest, they would rather their friends starve and hunger than break the rule?! The purpose of a "buzzstrip" is to let us know real danger is on the other side. My professor in college suggested this - if we set up in our lives multiple barriers to protect us from sin, and we live by them, and we love, by them, and we set the example with these "rules" what message do we send those who don't do this? We confuse them!
The world is full of danger. This is Satan's playground and he is doing a wonderful job wreaking havoc. We must be careful not to step over so many fences that the scare of real danger fades and eventually we step over that last fence that lands us in a deep pit of sin and regret. The more we compromise, the less it stings, until one day you go over tat last buzzstrip and end up head on with a tree. It happens so fast. So many affairs-the adulterer always says: "it happened so fast". Yes we must protect ourselves. And yet, we must have the courage like Paul to love our weaker brother. To set aside our fences when they keep people from knowing our true, Creator God! When people view me as so "godly" that they can't strike up a conversation with me, I need to re-adjust. When I don't reach out to someone in need because I need to go to Bible Study? Yes, I know you will disagree with some of this because each of us have a God given mind to make our own choices, under our own circumstances. The Pharisees all lived by the law and Jesus condemned them for it. Yet Jesus who did love God and honor him, served his brothers, his friends, instead of resting. I thank God that when I was in need someone left her own Sunday School class for many months so she could sit with me during that time and teach me about an awesome, forgiving Savior named Jesus Christ.
