Ok so some of you are going to be put off by this post because I talk about tattoos. And that’s ok. You can read it for what it is (way more than a tattoo post). Or just scroll on past and ignore it. Either way it’s up to you.

I’m kind of a tattoo guy. Not the whole cover my face and have a full sleeve kind of tattoo guy because that’s just not me. I do have a couple tattoos and I love them. But there’s one phrase that I think would make a perfect tattoo that would raise a lot of good questions!

This week in church we talked about a bible verse from Romans 3. It’s the whole section that really shaped how many churches function today. The section talks about three key topics that are pretty churchy. I’ll unpack each of these three topics, then I’ll tell you more about the tattoo idea!

The three ideas that really jump off the pages of Romans 3 are justified, redeemed and propitiation. Yeah the last one is a doozy, so don’t worry about pronouncing it because I even have a hard time with it most days.

Justified

Justified is a key understanding found in the Bible. Justified or justification is a term indicating a declared condition. It’s not a process. That’s a huge point to understand. Being justified isn’t something that happens over time. It’s not like you’re slowly justified by something you do or something someone else does to you. Being justified happens when God declares it. And that happened on the cross. When Jesus died on the cross and paid for the sins of the world, God was able to declare mankind justified.

Now before we get all weirded out by this idea, I’m not saying that everyone is going to be in heaven. Not everyone wants to let God’s declaration be for them. Some people would like to have control over their circumstance. They don’t want to rely on someone else so they reject this innocent verdict. It’s kind of like being on trial for a crime and the judge hammering the gavel declaring you innocent, but you turning and saying Nah I’m good. I’ll just serve my jail time anyway. I don’t like handouts from anyone. Who would do that!?!? No one that’s who!

So being justified is God saying you’re innocent. Not because you did good or walked through some process, but because what Jesus did was good enough and complete enough to pay your debt for you.

Redeemed

Redeemed is the second word. This word is one we kind of know but minimally at best. Back in the day, people used to get a newspaper on Sunday mornings. In that newspaper was a stack of ads and sale fliers and coupons. People would cut the coupons and then take them to grocery stores to get discounts on goods they buy everyday. Those coupons had one purpose and could only be used at grocery stores. You’d give the coupon to the cashier and redeem it for a discount.

The little piece of paper has no value at the bank or hardware store. They literally could only be used for one thing. It cost the merchant money but saved you money. Being redeemed is similar. Jesus went to the cross and died in our place. His death was redeemed for our life. God accepted Jesus’ death just like the grocery clerk accepts the coupon.

Propitiation

Now this final word is hard to pronounce and sounds funny but it’s not that hard to understand. Sin makes God angry. He does not like sin at all. Sin requires that some payment is made. This word means that which serves as an instrument for regaining goodwill of a deity. To put that in normal human speak it means that God was angry but accepted Jesus’ death as our substitute allowing us to be in his good graces.

The Old Testament was filled sacrifices of lambs and goats and all that fun stuff. It was a pretty gross thought if I’m being totally honest. But the Bible says that God isn’t happy with the blood of all these animals. Instead a once for all sacrifice was needed. Enter Jesus who died for us and paid our price to set us free.

Ok so when you put all three of these together you’re left with a pretty cool phrase that will serve as our coolest tattoo ever idea. The phrase is best when it’s spelled out in Latin Simul Iustus Et Peccator. For those of you who don’t know Latin, the phrase means Simultaneously Justified while at the same time being a Sinner.

That is so very cool because it means we didn’t have to say some magic formula or wave a wand or be perfect or anything to get God to love us. God loves us without condition. And he loves us when we’re still a mess. He has declared us justified without any work on our part. Now, even though we’re sinners, we’re also adopted into God’s family and loved by him and declared right because of Jesus.

Coolest tattoo ever. Made right by Jesus, even though I’m a hot mess. That’s the gist of Simul Iustus Et Peccator.

One thing I see a lot of in the world is a unnecessary division between the church and the world. It’s pretty heartbreaking actually. A huge part of the problem is how the church has handled matters we disagree with over time. I’ve said for years that the world knows the church more by what it’s against than what it’s for.

We, and yes I include myself in this assessment, have spent far too much time with fingers pointing condemning, or at least speaking down about how people live their lives. That action is terrible. This lifestyle is wrong. They’re in an unholy place. How dare they do that action to that person. And the list goes on.

Before we get too far down the road here, it’s important to make sure you don’t hear something that’s not being said. I’m in no way saying we can’t differentiate between right and wrong. I’m also not saying we can’t call out a wrong when we see it. But there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it, and that’s the point of this week’s post.

Last week we asked the question why is the world the way it is. This week we turn the coin over and instead of looking at the world, we address the church. Paul does this really well in Romans 2. While looking at the world at the end of chapter one, he then turns and essentially says but you’re no better.

Ouch! That one hurts a bit. We’re no better. It was directed to the Jewish Christians and the Roman Christians of Paul’s day, but that message is transferrable to the 21st Century Christian Church as well. We’re no better.

Paul says in the first few verses of chapter two, and I’m paraphrasing here, How can you judge the world when you’re not following the rules yourself? That puts you in a really bad place to put it mildly. You can’t judge the world, then do the same, or similar, thing that you just condemned!

How about that one! We condemn the movements in the world around sexual preference, while not condemning the man who gives significantly to the church for having an affair. We look the other way when someone wins the lottery and gives the proceeds to the church, but frown upon people who gamble. We say abortion is wrong, but speak ill of our neighbor and call them derogatory names just because they look different.

You see the point of the whole thing here is that we know better. We don’t have an excuse either. If the world doesn’t have an excuse because God revealed himself in all of creation, then we don’t have any excuse either because we have God revealed to us in his Word. Significantly more clear evidence of God’s power and grace yet we ignore it so we don’t have to do the hard task of loving someone caught in a mess.

Paul will say numerous times in a variety of ways that all mankind has sinned and all mankind is therefore under the same judgment. If all sinned and if the wages of sin (all sin) is death, then all deserve death for the sins they’ve committed. Not just the people who’ve done the big things, whatever those big things are.

Look I get it. It’s hard to see things the way the Bible talks about it. Everyone is on the same playing field. Everyone is on level ground and just because I go to church doesn’t make me any better than someone who doesn’t. This is a huge misconception in the world.

The devil knows he can’t take a believer out of God’s hands. He can’t change their salvation as it were. But he can sterilize them and make them not live like they’ve received the grace needed to change their entire life.

Paul here is driving to the understanding that whether we’re in the church or outside the church, we’re guilty of missing the mark when it comes to fulfilling the law. If all sin and all fall short of the glory of God, and if the wages of all sin is death, then that means the death of Jesus can be applied to everyone. Unfortunately not everyone wants Jesus’ life and death applied to them. Some want to DIY their salvation. Some think they can do it themselves. And this is what leaves the world in such a messed up place.

When the church tries to look down its nose at the world around it just because they look and act different, it sterilizes the faith of the church. And when the church is sterile, it can’t grow and flourish.

Paul is addressing the church in Rome but I think he’s talking about us today as well. We’re without excuse when we condemn someone else and do a very similar thing. We’re without excuse when we rely on the grace of God but don’t give it to those around us. We’re without excuse when we beg God for mercy but don’t show it to others.

The point is we’re no better. But we’re all in need of God’s grace and lucky for us, while we were still messed up in our sins Jesus died for us…all of us.