SOULJournal

Romans 15

 ^1-2 Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, "How can I help?"

It is my experience in my years in the church that those who are "strong" very rarely lend a hand to those who falter but instead spend a lot of time critiqueing those who are struggling.  I love the way that Petersen puts it..."strength is for service, not status."  The truth is most mature Christians spend less time in serving others and more in saying things like, "We have put in our time."  The last few days as I have been reading through Romans I realize how far short we fall as people of God when it comes to loving one another, laying down our rights and putting others above ourselves.  We use our strength for exalting ourselves above others instead of serving one another.  We take all the grace and love that God gives us and never pass it on.  That needs to stop.  Paul challenges us  that we who have been the recipients of God's grace should be the first to show grace to others especially those who belong to the family of God.  My challenge is like yesterday's...What would happen if we the family at DSC started to treat each other with the kind of love, grace and mercy Paul is talking about?  What would that kind of reputation do for us in helping us fulfill our mission of multiplying Christ-followers everywhere?

Romans 14

 ¹⁹ Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

If we have experienced the love and grace of God then we should be bearers of that love and grace.  It seems in the church that we tend to be just the opposite.  We hardly ever treat each other with love and grace but we actually draw lines in the sand and create rivalries.  "I believe this and everyone who does not believe it is not my friend."  Paul tells us that we need to make every effort to build each other up.  It goes back to loving one another and desiring only God's best for them.  I believe there is lots of room there for teaching the younger, immature brother but really Paul is say are we willing to lay down our "rights" for the sake of unity in the fellowship of believers?  Are we willing to put others above ourselves?  And if we do, we find that the world will see a completely different approach to life than they are accustomed to and it will point them to Christ.  

I wonder what could happen if we at DSC lived this way?  Choosing to lay down our rights and to put others above ourselves.  What would be the outcome if we made every effort to do what leads to peace and building each other up?  What if we chose to really love like Christ?  Let's give it a try.

Romans 13

 ⁸ Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.

What would it look like for us to truly love people?  Love that is not based on what they have done, who they are, what we can gain from them?  

What keeps us from loving like that?  Jesus demonstrated that kind of love and now we are called to love like He loves.  Let us love others as God loves us for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.

Romans 12

Paul divided several of his letters into two major sections, a doctrinal portion and a practical one. He followed that pattern in this epistle too, though the doctrinal part is more than twice as long as the practical. 

As he concludes the doctrinal part he now applies this doctrine to practical living.  The first application he makes regarding the mercy of God in the redemption of men, is that they should devote themselves to God as a living sacrifice, and be conformed to his will and not to the customs of the world, vv. 1, 2. 

The second is, that they should be humble, and not allow the diversity of their gifts to destroy the sense of their unity as one body in Christ, vv. 3-5. These various gifts were to be exercised, not for selfish purposes, but in a manner consistent with their nature and design; diligently, without partiality, and kindly, vv. 6-8.

 

Romans 11

In chapters 9-11 Paul talks about  God's righteousness has been shown in Israel's rejection of Jesus and rebelling against God, and then in God's choosing and turning to the Gentiles in grace.  In this chapter Paul talks about the restoration of Israel. 

 This chapter consists of two parts, verses 1-10, and 11-36. In the former the apostle teaches that the rejection of the jews was not total. There was a remnant, and perhaps a much larger remnant than many might suppose, excepted, although the mass of the nation, agreeably to the predictions of the prophets, was cast off, verses 1-10. In the latter, he shows that this rejection is not final. In the first place, the restoration of the jews is a desirable and probable event, verses 11-24. In the second, it is one which god has determined to bring to pass, verses 25-32. The chapter closes with a sublime declaration of the unsearchable wisdom of god, manifested in all his dealings with men, verses 33-36.

(Commentary on the Epistle of Romans Charles Hodge)

 

Romans 10

 ¹ Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. ² For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. ³ Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. ⁴ Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

Two thoughts this morning…

The behavior of the Jews points us to the fact that not all zeal for God and religion is necessarily godly zeal.  Case in point is the crusades.  Done in the name of God but not godly in any way.  Or even the persecution of the Christians by the Jews - full of religious zeal but not godly by any means.  True passion and zeal for God, a true desire to worship God by easily be determined by its effects.  Does it produce self-righteousness or humility?  Is love for others evident or is it producing a critical attitude?  Does it lead to self-denial or to self-gratification?  Does it manifest itself in prayer for others or in boasting?  Paul tells us that zeal for God should be based on the proper knowledge.  We need to take time to truly search and understand God's Word so that when we are zealous for Him it will be in its proper context.

 Paul also says in verses 9 and 10, If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 

If I understand this correctly then two things are necessary for salvation:  belief in Jesus as Savior and Lord and there must also be a public confession.  That public confession is the willingness to identify with Christ in the everyday moments of our lives.  So am I wrong in saying that those who are ashamed or afraid to acknowledge Christ before men cannot expect to be saved?  And if that is true then there may be a lot of undercover Christians who need to check in on this.  Thoughts?

 

Romans 9

GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS REVEALED IN SOVEREIGN CHOICE
The Bible Knowledge Commentary 

Paul here discussed God’s sovereign choice because of a practical problem. The Jews gloried in the fact that as Israelites they were God’s Chosen People. But now in God’s program of salvation in the church, Jewish involvement was decreasing while Gentile participation was becoming dominant. Had God, then, abandoned the Jewish people? This is ultimately explained by God’s sovereign choice, a principle which has always been in operation even within the Chosen People of Israel and between Israel and other nations. Now this principle operates in God’s purposes for Israel and the church and in His dealings with Jews and Gentiles within the church.

God’s Righteousness Revealed in Sovereign Choice (chaps. 9-11)

A. God’s sovereign choice enunciated (9:1-29)

1. Israel’s privileges (9:1-5)
2. The choice illustrated (9:6-18)
3. The choice explained (9:19-29)

B. God’s sovereign choice applied (9:30-10:21)

1. Israel’s stumbling (9:30-10:4)
2. God’s gracious offer (10:5-15)
3. Israel’s rejection (10:16-21)

C. God’s sovereign choice fulfilled (chap. 11)

1. In election of grace (11:1-10)
2. In Gentiles (11:11-24)
3. In Israel’s salvation (11:25-32)
4. To God’s glory and praise (11:33-36)

 

Romans 8

Paul just gives it to us straight up…here is some good news to make your day, nah forget your day, this news makes your life.  "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death." 

Those of us who are in Christ Jesus are safe, freed from the law.  We are now children of God: chosen, called and justified.  We are now recipients of His unchanging love.  All the law's demands have been fulfilled in and through Christ and now we children of God and as such heirs.  I am God's chosen child.  Now that is good news.

 

Romans 7

Paul tells us that just as a woman, in order to be married to a second husband, must first be freed from her former one, so the Christian, in order to be united to Christ, and to live in in righteousness, must first be freed from the law.

We don't have to be free from the law because the law is somehow evil.  The law is really the God's declaration of what is required of us but the law does not have the ability to change the state of our hearts.  It is simply the standard for living.  What the law does is convict us of sin, showing us our wrongdoing but what it cannot do is secure the destruction of sin in our lives.  The only way that sin can be destroyed in our lives is by the grace of God through Christ Jesus.

 

Romans 6

¹ What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ² By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? ³ Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

How do you feel about the person who says, "I'm not going to work so that I can give the government a chance to show their generosity?"  or what would be your response if someone says, "The reason I do nothing is so that people can see your work ethic."  We would see it for what it is, wont we?  A cop-out.  We would not stand for such hypocrisy.  Yet I wonder how often we do the same with God?  Because we know His grace will abound we decide to disobey because we can ask for His forgiveness.  Paul's tone suggests that he is stunned that people would even think this way.  How could we who have experienced grace want to go back to the prison of sin?  Unthinkable!

He reminds us today that "our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—  because anyone who has died has been set free from sin."  What he is saying is not that it is impossible for Christ-followers to sin but that it is stupid for Christ-followers to sin.

What does the prison of sin have that you desire?
Do you miss the guilt?
Do you miss the dishonesty?
Are you longing for the rejection and pain that you once had before Christ saved you?
Why would you want to go back to the prison of sin?  Would'nt you rather start a new life in a new land of freedom?