Redemption In the Law
by Michael Doyle

In God's love, like a symphony
The Book of Romans feeds the community
Complete in its fullness and integrity
It teaches history and theology

Prodigals are welcomed to this story
As we reveal the depth of God's glory
Knees are bowed and tongues are in confession
Giving no quarter to Satan as we live in revelation

Broken patterns fill so many lives
Separating families and husbands from wives
Unvarnished, the challenges sincerely encourage
Filling our souls with much-needed courage

Redemption, as you may recall
Is the grace that shields us all
Faith is gifted for us to share
As this holy relationship is laid bare

The Law calls out the nature of our sin
But it is taught with the love of our friend
Consciousness brings to life what we need to know
And through these truths, we learn to grow

The law defines and openly detects
It is the love of God that corrects
Examined from bottom to top
Knowing our missed marks puts these on the spot

Moral, ceremonial, and civil are the laws
Moral laws are what we apply and recall
We find out that our bad reveals God's good
It is this foundation that must be understood

Which is worse - sins of commission or omission
It's hard to say with any real sense of precision
Ask Jonah to define this for me, and you
You'll see that what you don't do is as bad as what you do

Circles of knowing others require room for knowing
Each layer has its way of intimately showing
Our enemies are the world, our flesh, and the adversary
Each of us must understand this with full integrity

If we weren't that bad, God wouldn't be that good
This is the central truth openly understood
But even in our understanding, we continue to sin
Such is the way of all women and, of course, men

Like layers of an onion that we peel
The bitter truth is seen at the core we reveal
It brings us first to our justification
Before we receive our moment of sanctification

Glorification makes our heavenly pursuit done
As we freely live with God, the Spirit, and the Son
Presently, we live in the world, although it's broken
Most hide our hurts through words unspoken

The best disinfection is pure sunlight 
Revealing the light of truth in the darkest night
We realize our need for God in our full cognition
Surrendering to God in our full recognition

Surrendering to God brings our best victory
This is the truth of all of mankind's history
Gratitude walks us into our holy salvation
This is the sweetest sense of our fascination

(c) April 6, 2025   Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved