“Who died and made you queen?”

That was a question I heard growing up when I was acting way too full of myself. When I was convinced that I was the entitled one, the loved one, the cute one, the smart one…name your most desired response of others to your presence.

Paul spent a whole chapter on this prideful issue in his letters to the Christians in Rome, many of whom were Jewish and convinced they were kings of the hill. Yes, it was true. The Jews, God’s chosen people, had the same tendency toward pride that so many church-goers today display.

Chapter 3 is Paul’s admonition to “get your attitude straight.” Know who you are–a sinner. God gave us the law in order for us to see that we couldn’t possibly fulfill the righteousness necessary to be in His presence. And then with great sacrifice, God–in grace and agape love–made a relationship between Him and His people possible.

There are many categories that could be listed in an informational table of this chapter, including: the Law, faith, and human arguments. I chose to focus on only two:

• GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE & OTHERS. It is very easy to see the progression of Paul’s argument (discussion) as he lays it out very logically.
• GOD. I got to the end of this list and was bowled over by God’s love for the people He created.

Graph the information in a way that makes the message understandable for you.

God’s timing can be pretty amazing. Sometimes things line up in such a way as to give you a three-fold message, by which I mean you hear the same things three times in succession. And in Biblical terms the number 3 was used to put a divine stamp of completion or fulfillment on the subject. Romans 3 was the third repetition (in 24 hours) of a message God wanted me to pay attention to. In what way did the Word of God speak to you?

When you are taking notes, can a doodle help you to remember what you learned? It’s true for all of us in varying degrees, but for us visual learners, it’s a great pnemonic tool. Draw or choose a picture that will make the lessonse of Romans 3 stick like super glue in your mind and spirit.