IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Ok, so this month started out really well for me, but once again I failed to complete one per day. You will only be required to complete 13 blogs for February. I will push harder in March. Check the "reward trip" page for date and cost of the reward trip. We have tickets already, so be sure to let me know whether or not you can go.

Faith Comes By Hearing

• Read: Romans 10:13-21
• Memorize: 10:17

A man attended our church for a while, his name was Fred. Fred had earned a reputation around town for disrupting church services and Bible studies; he even boasted about getting "kicked out of nearly every church in town" on his first Sunday with us. We welcomed him with open arms and thought, surely those other people just didn't have enough grace to put up with a troublesome old man. We soon found our limits...

Fred's sinister gift was to take a verse, apart from its context, and twist it into something that it was never intended to mean. One of his favorite verses to distort was Romans 10:17. "Faith comes by hearing," he would say, "and hearing by the word of God, so we have to read the Bible out loud or it is of no profit to us - never read the Bible silently." The youth group began to call him "the Fredinator" and when he pulled stunts like this, we would say that you have been "Fredinated".

God's Word written down in the Bible is hugely important, that is true, but the "hearing" that Paul speaks of is not a decibel level, but a response level. (If Fred was right, then what happens to deaf people, who can't "hear" the Word?) Where Fred was wrong was his understanding of the meaning of this verse, and subsequently misapplication of the principle.

Context is key to a right understanding, so let's look at the rest of this chapter: Paul is writing about the Jewish people, who had the facts, but misunderstood the meaning. The pharisees in particular could quote whole sections of the Old Testament, but didn't have true righteousness because they pursued it by works instead of faith. In response to this error, Paul says, faith comes by "hearing" the Word of God. This isn't the kind of hearing that you use when your mom tells you to do something and you let the instruction go in one ear and out the other, but a hearing that is accompanied by comprehension, and which results in action; in this case the result is believing by faith.

Jesus sent us all to testify to the truth so that others may hear, understand, believe and call on the Lord to be saved. Don't be a "fredinator"; speak the truth of God's Word, in proper context and accompanied by a life of holiness that stems from true faith.

Comment:

1. What was the major error of the "fredinator"?
2. Explain what "hearing" means in this passage.
   

Misplaced Zeal

Read: Romans 10:1-12
Memorize: Romans 10:9

Zeal is like enthusiasm, and where enthusiasm about righteousness is concerned, nobody throughout history has matched that of the pharisees. If you have listened to many sermons, then right now you're thinking "wait, weren't they the ultimate in unrighteousness?" Yes, that's correct, but the irony of the pharisees is that they achieved the ultimate in unrighteousness by pursuing righteousness the wrong way.

Think about those words that Paul wrote in the beginning of Romans 10, and remember that he was a pharisee, and a good one at that. Paul knew that the pharisees were zealous because he witnessed it first hand, he even had such overpowering zeal that he killed followers of Christ in an attempt to defend the truth. How unfortunate that his zeal, and that of the pharisees whom he left behind was not based on knowledge.

The pharisees were smart, and very well educated, so when Paul says that their zeal was not based on knowledge, he isn't saying that they were unaware of the facts, but rather that they didn't have the right ones. The first five books of the Old Testament are full of rules and commands from God, but in focusing too much on the rules, they missed the heart of God.

Since the beginning of time God has wanted us to have faith; to believe in him with all of our heart and to trust him in all things. The pharisees missed this and tried to earn righteousness on their own. The problem is that the law wasn't given to make us righteous, but to show us how unrighteous we are. The righteousness that comes from God to us is Christ's righteousness, transferred by faith. This is made available to us through believing in our hearts and confessing with our mouths.*

Believe, confess, receive God's righteousness through Christ by faith.

Comment:

1. What is the danger of zeal?
2. How can zeal help us?

*The phrasing in verse 10 can be confusing, so here's a clarification: verse 10 tells us that believing and confessing go together, not that each one is responsible for a different part of saving us. Here is an example of this that may be helpful: "Broccoli nourishes me and green beans give me strength." In this sentence I am trying to tell you of the benefits of both broccoli and green beans. I am not saying that broccoli fails to give me strength, nor that green beans are not nourishing, but that both contribute to my physical health. So let's bring this back to believing and confessing. Both work together in sincere faith, you cannot separate either one.

Jacob I Loved, But Esau I Hated

• Read: Romans 9:1-33
• Memorize: 9:16

God's sovereignty in election is a tough topic to master. It seems in our minds unfair that God would only save some and not others, so we reason that maybe God just lets everyone have their choice. This doesn't solve any dilemmas; it just creates bigger ones. If everyone has a choice and salvation is within their control, then what in the world is Paul talking about in Romans 9?

Let's start with our title, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." We need to understand that God loves all of his creation and is not willing that any of them should perish. (2 Pet 3:9) This hate that is mentioned of Esau, is a comparative term. Instead of a negative feeling toward Esau, it was a preference toward Jacob. This same concept comes into play in Jesus discussion of discipleship when he tells us that we have to hate our parents to follow him. (Lk 14:26)

This helps with the hated part, but we're still left with the fact that God chose Jacob to fulfill his plans before either of the brothers was born. This means that it really had absolutely nothing to do with either Jacob nor Esau. The lesson Paul is teaching us through this example is that God chooses who he will save. This choice of God's is not based in any way on our heritage, actions, nor even desires. We can't even want to be saved until God shows us mercy.

The next question that comes to my mind is, why do we have to share the gospel if God chooses to whom he will show mercy. The answer is: because God commanded me to. I am God's willing instrument. If he chooses to use me - great, but if he doesn't, well that's fine too. And since I don't know who God might use me to bring to salvation, I preach to everyone as if they are the ones chosen by God.

How is this whole thing fair? We aren't the first ones to have that question and God's answer remains the same: "who are you, O man, to talk back to God?" There are just some things that, in his wisdom, God chose not to reveal to us. God tells us that "will give to each person according to what he has done" (Romans 2:6) and yet that "it does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy." (Romans 9:16) How do these work together. We will just have to trust God on that one.

Comment:

1. Explain the statement "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."
2. What struggles do you have with trusting God about something that doesn't seem to make sense?
   

God Works It All For Good

Read: Romans 8:28-39
Memorize: Romans 8:28

At a summer camp in 2001, I had a camper who went by the nickname "Goat". Perhaps he got the name for being stubborn because he made me look sheepish when he asked me a question after a passionate explanation of Romans 8:28.

I had come up with a story to illustrate the idea of everything working out for good that went something along the lines of: there was a boy who got cancer and had to battle through the treatments before succumbing to it's attacks, but before he passed on, the kid had a chance to witness to a nurse and she was saved. "That's great for the nurse", said Goat, "but that really sucks for the kid; how did it work for his good?" Goat was asking a fair question, and one that stumped me back then, but I have since come to know the answer as I have come to understand God's word more adequately.

The key to interpreting any portion of scripture is to use context (the verses before and after) to understand the right meaning. In Romans 8, God makes the promise to all who have been called according to his purpose (believers), that he will work everything out for their good. So what does that good look like? Verse 29 gives us a great insight: "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son."

The great good that everything works toward is the good of making us more like Jesus. Sometimes it means we have to suffer as he suffered and sometimes it means that we receive the blessings of answered prayers, but always it means that the circumstances of our lives are coordinated by the a master planner to make us Christlike - to the end of bringing God glory. For all of us who love God, there can be no greater good.

Comment:

1. What kind of people would think that it is good to become more like Jesus, even if it means going through suffering?
2. Have you ever gone through a difficult situation in which, at first, you could not see how God was working for good? What was it?
3. Looking back on that situation, can you now see a little bit of how God was working?
   

Controlled By The Spirit

• Read: Romans 8:1-27
• Memorize: Romans 8:1-2
  

"Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you." And if the Spirit of God does not live in you, then you don't know God and will not enter his presence at the end of this life. Remember that this isn't to say that we will be perfect, but rather to say that the Holy Spirit living inside of us necessarily produces actions that please God.

Have you ever tried to cover the top of a flashlight with your hand at night time? The light comes through, not matter what you do; it leaks out between your fingers or even sometimes right through your skin, making your finger glow red like E.T.'s* When we have the Holy Spirit inside of us we can't keep blocked up even if we wanted to. And when we live in accordance with the Spirit, it is a demonstration that our minds desire the things of the Spirit. And when our minds are controlled by the Spirit,we have true life and true peace and true hope.

This hope we have is not based on something that can be proven, otherwise it would be fact. Neither does it contradict all of the evidence, for then it would be fantasy. Instead, we have a confidence in God, who we know is faithful and trustworthy, that he will keep his promise to renew our bodies and take us to be with him in the same way that he has already kept his earlier promises to redeem us from our sin and offer us reconciliation with our Father.

Comment:

1. Why is it hard to wait patiently for heaven? What makes it easier to wait?
2. How is the life characterized of a mind that is controlled by the Spirit?
   

*If you haven't seen the movie E.T., then ask your parents about his glowing finger. They'll understand, and maybe make sure you watch that American classic.

The Do-Do Passage

• Read: Romans 7:1-25
• Memorize: You Choose a verse, then comment what you chose and why.
  

The law has no authority over those of us who have been set free, and yet there is a battle inside of us that continues throughout our lives. Before God saves us we are enslaved to sin because our nature determines that we only want what is wrong, or that we want what is right for the wrong reasons, which makes it wrong. In other words, we never have the desire to please God. But at salvation we are given a new nature that wants to do what is right, but the old habits still remain. It is no longer a question of authority, but it remains a battle of priority.

In junior high I had a track coach that told me how to train and gave me a schedule of workouts to do each day. When I wanted to prepare for competing on the college level, I went back to that coach and asked him what I should do. Instead of giving me a new training regiment, he gave me magazines, pamphlets and other information that would allow me to come up with my own plan for getting in shape. I had a hard time with this because I was used to my coach telling me what to do, and I wanted him to continue in this role, but he recognized that I was no longer under his authority, and urged me to continue in growth as an athlete.

There were ongoing difficulties as I stepped out into the new world of training myself, and I kept having the temptation of running back to my coach and the old ways of being told what to do. We can draw a parallel to our spiritual lives in that our old nature, like the coach, told us what to do and we had to do it; but now with the new nature we are free to make wise decisions on our own. We will continue to have the struggle of wanting to go back to the way it was and to embrace sin, but God pushes us along in becoming more and more conformed into the image of his Son.

The struggle will never go away completely in this life, but rest assured that the more you do the right thing, even when you are tempted to do what is wrong, the more you will find it easy to continue in what is right.

Comment:

1. Explain the phrase "For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."
2. What memory verse did you choose, and why?
   

Go On Sinning?

• Read: Romans 5:20-6:23
• Memorize: Romans 6:4

One of the beautiful aspects of God's grace is that it is enough to cover all of our sins. The more we sin, the more grace is extended to us. Each display of this marvelous grace brings God more glory as he is seen mighty and just, yet gentle and compassionate. Every time a sinner is brought back into a right relationship with the Father, God is held up in higher honor than before. In light of that truth, the Christians in Rome had a good question, should we keep sinning, so that God can show more grace?

Absolutely not! Different translations take different approaches in trying to bring across the extreme emphasis of Paul's statement: "By no means!" NIV, "May it never be!" NASB, "God forbid." KJV, "Certainly not" AMP. Rarely is there such variety in renderings as in Romans 6:2 and the reason for the contrast here is that we don't have a direct word that can express "no" as emphatically as Paul intended it. God's grace extended to sinners is marvelous and we certainly want him to receive glory for it, yet from his children, God desires obedience. He would rather that we obey him in the first place because this obedience is a great demonstration of his power working through us, as well as an expression of our love to him

In being saved, God takes away our sin and gives us his righteousness. We should understand it as a symbolic parallel to Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. In the same way that Jesus died, so we also should consider the part of us that desires sin to be dead; in the same way that Jesus was buried, so we put our past wrongs behind us; and in the same way that he rose victorious over sin, so we too should live out this new life of freedom from the bonds of sin.

This isn't to say that we won't struggle with sin as believers, but rather that sin is no longer our master - we are free to obey, so we choose obedience. This is why we should "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." and offer ourselves to God as instruments for righteousness to be used for his glory.

Comment:

1. Which brings God more glory and why: to sin and repent, or to just obey?
2. What does it mean to say that we have been freed from sin?
   

While We Were Still Sinners

• Read: Romans 5:1-19
• Memorize: Romans 5:8

Our humanity dictates that it is easier to be kind to people who are kind to us and it's easier to be friends with someone who we enjoy spending time with. Fortunately for us, God is greater than our limited expressions of love and he both challenges and empowers us to rise to his level.

When Jesus walked the earth he faced mockery and derision for associating with the poor, crippled, outcasts and the worst of sinners. More than associate with them, Jesus became a friend to sinners. (Matthew 7:34) The amazing thing is that he took action to show love in the middle of attacks, to the very ones who were accusing and attempting to trap him. The standard of his love is this, "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

God did not wait until we got it right, or repented or even recognized that we were wrong. He reached out to his enemies - us. There is no middle ground with God, if you are not for God, you are against him, and so we were in our rebellion and sin. The tradition of the Jewish Rabbis was to love your friends, but hate your enemies. Jesus raised the bar in practice and instruction to "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:43-48)

It's a good thing that Jesus was a man because that allowed him to sympathize with our weaknesses and to understand the struggle we have with sin. But it's a better thing that he is God because that allows him to reach out to us while we are powerless to do anything about our sin. God saves his enemies and makes them to be at peace with him. Let's follow that example in loving people who don't deserve it, for then we will show that we are children of God who reflect the Father's love to the world.

Comment:

1. Why is it so hard to love enemies?
2. Why would God want us to love them anyway?
3. Why are you thankful that God loved you while you were still his enemy?
   

You Can't Earn A Gift

• Read: Romans 4:1-25
• Memorize: Romans 4:25

Circumcision was and is a major source of pride for Jewish men. They would tell you that in order to get to heaven that a man has to be circumcised. Paul (a Jewish man who was circumcised) tells us a different story in Romans chapter 4. If there is anything Jewish men take more pride in than circumcision it is their forefather, Abraham, so Paul goes right to the source in countering their error.

Paul says that there are two problems with requiring circumcision for salvation:

1. If we do any kind of work, then salvation becomes a wage, or payment that God owes to us, and it is no longer a gift.
2. Abraham was credited with (or given) righteousness prior to becoming circumcised.

So if Abraham, the greatest of the Jewish ancestors, could be freely given a righteousness that was not his own, apart from circumcision or any work, then so can we. And God makes it clear that nobody besides Jesus could earn his own righteousness, that's why we need Jesus to offer his to us as a free gift.

Now when Abraham was alive, Jesus hadn't died yet, but Abraham believed God and had faith that he would fulfill his promises to give descendants and ultimately a descendant that would crush Satan and redeem his people from sin. This same faith that Abraham had for future events we can have for past events because Jesus has come and has conquered sin by living perfectly, dying voluntarily and rising in power. So "The words 'it was credited to him' were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification."

Comment:

1. What are the two problems with requiring circumcision to be saved?
2. Why is it important for us to understand the meaning of the words "it was credited to him as righteousness"?
   

The Purpose Of The Law

• Read: Romans 3:1-31
• Memorize: Romans 3:23-24

If you worked your way through January’s blogs, then you know that the readings this month are longer. I am pushing myself and so am pushing you as well. I hope to cover all of Romans in 20 blogs, which means I only get to split four chapters in half. So stick with me and let’s see if we can meet this challenge.

Nobody can become righteous and get to heaven by obeying the law that God revealed in the Old Testament, so why is it even there? What use is following God’s rules if they don’t get us anything? Paul gives us insight into this issue as he answers this very question, when it was asked by the Christians in Rome. Technically a person could earn his way to heaven by perfectly following the law, but the problem is that because we are born with a sin nature, we are born violating God’s law. It’s kind of like me telling you that I’ll give you a snickers bar if you jumped from the floor and touched the ceiling of our church building (12 ft high). Technically you could earn the candy bar, but realistically it’s impossible because of who you are.*

So what is the purpose of the law? To show us God’s standard so that we can understand that we are not righteous and that we have fallen short of God’s glory. It’s only when we realize that we can’t achieve righteousness on our own that we seek a savior who can give us his righteousness. This righteousness from God comes by faith in Jesus Christ, and offers us a justification by grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Comment:

1. In your own words, why did God inspire Moses to write down his law?
2. Why do you think that it was so hard for the Roman Christians in Paul’s time and many people today to accept Christ’s righteousness?

*There could possibly be a person who could jump and touch a 12 ft ceiling if they were really tall and good at jumping, the same applies to God’s law… there could be a person who could earn righteousness by perfectly obeying it if he was NOT born with a sin nature. Do you know of anyone like this? (Hint: Jesus was born sinless and lived perfectly to earn the righteousness that he offers us in trade for our sin.)

What Are You Doing?

• Read: Romans 2:1-29
• Memorize: Romans 2:6

"God will give to each person according to what he has done." At first glance this sounds an awful lot like saying that we can only get to heaven if we do enough good things. But the proper way to interpret the Bible is to use the clear passages to help us understand those that are more vague. In this case let's consider Ephesians 2:8-9, which says that our works can't save us. Let's also consider that Paul addressed his letter to "all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints".

Those who are "called to be saints" are those who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and are saved. The question in understanding chapter two is what is the cause and what is the effect? Think about a child, let's call him Billy, who recognizes that every time he gets cut, his mommy puts a bandaid on it. Billy begins to fear bandaids because he makes the connection that bandaids and cuts go together, so the bandaids must be the cause of the cuts. We can understand the situation better than Billy can, and see that his mommy puts a bandaid on because he has a cut. The bandaid is response to being cut.

In Romans 2, Paul can say that those who persist in doing good will inherit eternal life because nobody can do good apart from the power of the Holy Spirit living and working inside. The doing good is not the cause of eternal life, but a response to being saved.

Just in case we get confused in reading this warning against rejecting God's truth, Paul finishes the chapter with a clarification that obedience to the law, circumcision and being ethnically Jewish all have no value if our hearts are not also "circumcised", or set apart to God. Doing good and obeying the law are certainly pleasing to God, but they only lead to eternal life when they are the voluntary response coming from a sincere heart of gratitude for God's amazing grace in freely granting us pardon from the penalty of our sins.

Comment:

1. Why is it important to know that salvation does not depend on our obedience?
2. How does the fact that God will make you give account for all of your actions affect the way you live in response to salvation?
   

When The Wise Become Fools

• Read: Romans 1:18-32
• Memorize: Romans 1:20

From time to time the theoretical discussion comes up regarding the eternal destiny of those people who never hear about God. The fact of the matter, as Paul reveals, is that those theoretical people don't exist. It is true that some people never hear the gospel spoken in words, but they are held responsible nonetheless, because they are given knowledge of God and yet reject it.

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." God makes his existence known by the clear expression of his eternal power and divine nature as revealed in his general revelation - creation. Jesus promises that whoever seeks God will find him. (Matthew 7:7-8) So we are left with the conclusion that all people know that God exists, is powerful and divine. All people have the choice of seeking after that true God, or to exchange the glory of the immortal God for something less.

Most of mankind, even those who have the very words of life spoken to them in addition to the clear revelation of creation, choose their own sinful desires over their loving Creator. The result of this rejection of the true God is an increase in gross sin. Paul lists the abominations that flow out of the lives of these people and we can get caught up in pointing fingers with an "I know someone like that" attitude, until we look carefully with our own lives in view.

Are our lives characterized by continually seeking God, or have we exchanged worship of the Creator for worship of the created thing? Evaluating ourselves by this list is not to determine whether or not we are saved - that is accomplished by grace through faith and irrespective of works. (Ephesians 2:8-9) The benefit in this list is to check ourselves, to see what our focus is and to consider whether we need to seek God more.

Consider, are you full of envy and hate (which Jesus describes as murder in the heart)? Do you tell lies, talk about people behind their back or spread rumors? Do you brag about how great you are or disobey your parents? These are characteristic of those who have rejected God's way and are living according to their own sinful desires. If you see yourself in any of these, ask God for forgiveness and start today to live in light of the glory of God.

Comment:

1. Why will nobody have an excuse when they face God on judgment day?
2. What happens when someone cares more about things than about God?
   

Not Ashamed

• Read: Romans 1:1-17
  
• Memorize: Romans 1:16
  

From the very beginning of his letter to the Romans the Apostle Paul establishes two things: he is called to preach the gospel, and this gospel is regarding Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was descended from David in his humanity, and yet was declared with power to be the Son of God through his resurrection. The word "gospel" literally means "good news" and has several uses in the New Testament, but it is the specific reference to the atoning death and victorious bodily resurrection that Paul discusses from here on out.

It is this gospel (the good news that God became man and earned righteousness when we couldn't, then traded his righteousness for our sin) that Paul is not ashamed of in verse 16. Though it went against the pride of the pharisees, who thought that they could earn their way to heaven, God's mercy is the pride of Paul. Paul recognizes his own unworthiness and in proper humility can boast in the kindness of a just, yet loving and gracious God.

It's basketball season, so here's an illustration from a real life story: A guy I know taught his younger brother to play basketball, they worked hard at it together and each success of the younger brother brought joy to the elder. One day, the younger brother actually beat his sibling in a one-on-one basketball game. We might assume that the older brother would keep this quiet because it makes him look bad to have his 6 year younger sibling beat him, but just the opposite took place. The older brother boasted about his failure because his greatest joy was the success and glory of the younger.

Let's put ourselves into this story. We should have the attitude of the older brother; God's glory is our greatest joy. Because of this, we should have no shame in admitting that our righteousness is from God and not of ourselves. But instead, like Paul, our highest aim should be God's glory; if it is, then we will freely boast of his greatness to everyone around us.

Comment:

1. Why might some people be ashamed to receive Jesus' righteousness?
2. How should our lives be different when we live unashamed of the gospel of Christ?