Romans 3:13-18

Romans 3:13-18 - Daily Devotion - 18 June 2026 St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park 13 “Their throats are open graves;their tongues practice deceit.”“The venom of vipers is on their lips.”14 “Their mouths are fullof cursing and bitterness.”15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;16 ruin and misery lie in their wake,17 and the way of peace theyhave not known.”18 “There is no fear of Godbefore their eyes.”REFLECTIONSWritten by Omar DewanHow does this passage make you feel?We're in the middle of Romans 3 and for me, it's painting a really bleak and depressing picture. Yesterday Paul quoted Psalm 14, which says there is no one who is righteous or does good. Now he adds more passages from the Psalms and Isaiah which make it even worse. Not only is he teaching that humanity has turned away from God and does not do good, verses 13-18 today say that all people are dead in their sins, prone to ruin and misery, and quick to put each other to death.What hope is there for us? I get a similar feeling of hopelessness when I read about the wars and terrible rulers of the world today. I wonder how peace could possibly come about, when leaders jostle for power and act out of their own self-interest – being quick to shed innocent blood. It feels like there's no resolution in sight for the wars in Ukraine, Palestine and Iran – it’s frustrating and really saddening. And unfortunately, this is a cycle that has repeated throughout history and I expect will continue until Christ returns.Thankfully, as Christians we know that the story doesn’t end here. As we’ll see in the rest of Romans 3, God enters our chaotic world through Jesus to give humanity the gift of righteousness. Through Jesus we can have relationship with God and bring our requests and petitions to Him. So while we may be powerless to stop what’s happening on the other side of the world, take a moment with me to pray boldly to our great and powerful God, asking that He would bring a swift end to the shedding of blood; that a way to permanent peace would be found; and that world leaders would come to fear the Lord. ABOUT THE AUTHOROmar is a member of our Fairfield Morning congregation.