Have you ever had an autopsy performed on yourself? Silly question… of course not! If you are reading this article then you are still around, still alive, and haven’t needed an autopsy. We have to first die before an autopsy, right? An autopsy is something we perform on the dead to try to figure out what happened to them. Why did they die? We often learn from autopsy’s how to help others who suffer from the same disease. This is not exactly a pleasant conversation, it’ pretty morbid actually, but it certainly is very common and plays a necessary role.
This coming Sunday I will be teaching out of Romans again in our series this year called “The Gospel Truth.” Last Sunday I taught about one of the hardest topics there is and that is the depth of our sin. You might want me to move on quickly from this subject so that we can get to the good part — to the part where there is hope. Trust me, we will get there. But for at least the first 3 chapters of Romans we are over and over again faced with the morbid subject of the total depravity of each one of us. The simple but very profound truth is that we cannot understand the power of the gospel until we come to grasp horrible state we all found ourselves in, that is the total depth of our sin.
As you prepare for your time of worship and teaching at LifeWay this Sunday I would ask that you read Romans 3:9-20 to begin to contemplate this profound truth. The way I see this is that God is telling us that we must take a spiritual autopsy on ourselves. Let me warn you, it’s not pretty nor pleasant. But please note that the gospel becomes so incredible only when we understand how dead we really are. If the depravity of our lives were not real then there is no need for the gospel, no need for a Savior.
Reminder of how to continue to grow in your understanding of the Gospel Truth:
- READ: Read Romans 3:9-20 before Sunday
- MEDITATE: Make Romans part of our slow and deliberate devotional reading. Concentrate these days on Romans 1-3
- WRITE: Write the book of Romans by hand. To this point you should be completing Romans chapter 1. Begin working soon on Romans 2.
- DISCUSS: Be with others in study conversations about Romans.
See you Sunday morning.
