Unity As You Follow Christ

• Read: Romans 15:1-13
• Memorize: Romans 15:5-6

It's been a while since I've written a blog, so I had to go back and review chapter 14 to get context. You may want to do the same. Paul discussed the importance of giving up our rights in order to accommodate the needs and even the weaknesses of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul continues this line of thinking in chapter 15, but follows it through to the logical conclusion of unity in the body.

Many popular church leaders have embraced the ecumenical movement, which tries to get many denominations and even religions to work together. Their argument is for "unity", which they hope to attain by ignoring differences in doctrine or conviction. This understanding of unity is flawed and results in chaos within the group. God absolutely desires unity among believers, and Paul teaches this regularly, but he also teaches how we are to be unified.

In verse 1, Paul reiterates that we should "bear with the failings of the weak". This however should not result in ignoring false doctrine, but by holding firmly to truth. Paul prays that God would give a spirit of unity as the Romans followed Christ Jesus. (vs. 5) The emphasis is on the unifying factor, which is Christ himself. Paul brings up the same thing in his letter to the Ephesians, when he says that our unity in the faith is accomplished through complete knowledge of the Son. (Eph 4:13) Let me give a sports example:

In basketball, teams run plays in order to work together. The team works in complete unity when everyone knows what the play is and runs it properly. Now if a team ever took the ecumenical approach to basketball, then the coach might instruct the players to do whatever they want and to just ignore the teammates who are trying to run different, even conflicting plays. If a team ever took that approach, then their chaos would result in disaster. In the same way, the church must avoid the chaos of everybody believing and teaching and living out conflicting ideas, and pursue unity by gaining a right understanding of Jesus Christ.

Make every effort to build the body of Christ into unity by knowing Christ more and teaching others the truths that you learn.

Comment:

1. How does Paul instruct us to accomplish unity in the church?
2. How can you personally take part in this?
   

Love Gives Up Rights

• Read: Romans 14:1-23
• Memorize: Romans 14:22
  

At first glance this chapter seems to be an odd insertion about vegetarians, but look closer at the text. The issue at hand is not meat or vegetables, but rather using our freedom to serve others. This is a continuation of the discussion of love in Chapter 13. (see 14:15) If we love our brothers and sisters in Christ, then we won't offend them by standing up for our rights. Paul gave examples of this that were clear to first century Christians, but they are a little confusing to us, so I will present to you a couple of twenty first century examples.

A few years back a friend of mine heard that Jack In The Box had given money to an homosexual group. To my friend, eating at Jack In The Box was supporting homosexuality, so she stayed far away. I understood the principle from 1 Corinthians 10:25 and surrounding verses* to free us from this burden on our consciences. If we truly could not purchase goods from businesses that use their proceeds for ungodly causes, then we would be extremely limited in where we shop. (In Red Bluff, I think that I can count on one hand the number of business that do things God's way.)

I could have stood up for my right, and told my friend she was wrong, pushing her to eat at Jack in the Box, but instead I was very careful not to offend her. I did not talk about eating there when she was around and I made sure that if I got food from Jack in the Box that I disposed of the packaging before I would see her. I didn't want my exercise of freedom to be a stumbling block for her. We should love our brothers and sisters in Christ by giving up our rights so that their consciences are not offended. We can and should teach the truth to strengthen their faith, but at the same time we must protect their purity by abstaining from anything that their consciences say is wrong.

Comment:

1. Why should we give up our rights to accommodate someone who is weaker in their fatih?
2. What is another modern example, real or hypothetical (made up), of someone giving up his rights for someone else?
   

*Check out 1 Corinthians 10:23-33 for Paul's discussion on this topic and ask if you have any questions.

The Love Debt

• Read: Romans 13:8-14; 5:5
• Memorize: Romans 13:8

Let no debt remain outstanding is a great financial principle to live by. That isn't to say that we should never borrow money, but rather that when we do borrow, we should make payments to the lender as agreed. This follows right along with verse 7 which instructs us to "give to everyone what you owe him", whether taxes, honor or loan payments.

Now without going into a detailed study on borrowing and lending in the Bible, let me give you some wise advice. As far as it is up to you, never borrow money for consumable items. This means that you should not run up a credit card debt for movie tickets, fast food or clothes. If you borrow money for a consumable, (something that gets used up) then you'll soon find yourself owing money on an item that you don't even have anymore.

Financial principles aside, Paul was most interested in the spiritual aspect of this principle. Let no debt remain outstanding in the spiritual realm. Our first and heaviest debt is the debt of the guilt of our sin. We cannot ever pay this off, which is why we must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and trust him to set that account right. The second debt is the continuing debt of love.

Paul's point is that you can love God as much as you want, and he will still deserve more love; you will continue to owe him. The greatest expression of love for God is to love others, so we can love other people as much as we want and there will still be a need for more. We cannot love God too much and fortunately he gives us a never ending supply of love, which he pours into us by his Holy Spirit. (Rom 5:5) Rest in the embrace of God's love and as he fills you with it, don't bottle it up, but let it overflow freely into the lives of others.

Comment:

1. Why can't we ever pay off the debt of love?
2. How can we have enough love to continually "pay the debt" of love?
   

Submit To Governing Authorities

• Read: Romans 13:1-7
• Memorize: Romans 13:1

This is a hard command to stomach. We don't like to be told what to do and we tend to cite all of the injustice and corruption in our government as excuse for disregarding the laws of the land, but God tells us to submit to our governing authorities because HE has put them in their position of power.

Now it's true that government are entrusted with the task of ruling wisely by upholding the righteous and punishing the wicked. The ideal situation is when the government holds no fear for people who do good, but that is not necessarily the case now, and that was definitely not the case then.

First Jesus paid his taxes to the oppressive Roman government that had taken over the Jews, then Paul, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote this chapter of Romans. The current leadership of Rome was not good or just or fair; in fact the emperor Nero treated Christians harshly, to the point that he burned them alive just for refusing to deny their Lord. I think that you can see that Paul's government was less than ideal, yet he still commands the Roman Christians to submit to their governing authorities because God has instituted them.

Why would God establish someone as wicked as Nero or Hitler or Osama Bin Ladin? Why would God establish someone as our president who endorses abortion and frequently makes decisions that oppose the teaching of the Bible? I can't answer that. That is part of God's plan that I just don't understand all of the time. So what do we do when those governing officials tell us to do something against God's word? I can answer that.

The authority of governing officials extends only to the extent that they are under the authority of God. In other words, any law that goes against God's law must be disobeyed. At the same time, any laws that do not go against God's law should be submitted to. We don't disregard all of the rules of our government because some are wrong, but only disobey the actual wrong rules. For instance, we cannot disregard the speed limit if the government tells us not to speak the gospel.

If ever you are in doubt, submit to your governing authorities; because it is a fearful position to be in rebellion against what God has established.

Comment:

1. Why is it important to submit to our governing authorities?
2. What should we do when the government makes a law that is unbiblical?
   

Love Must Be Sincere

• Read: Romans 12:9-21
• Memorize: Romans 12:9

The most famous biblical chapter on love is 1 Corinthians 13; but just as important, and perhaps even more practical, is the latter half of Romans 12. The first sentence of verse 9 serves as an introduction of sorts by stating what should be an obvious truth - "Love must be sincere."

You won't find many people who would argue with the point that true love must be sincere, so why does Paul waste his time to bring up such a simple idea about which nobody disagrees? Think about the context; the first half of chapter 12 talks about the idea of a living sacrifice, so it is fair to consider this an extension of that discussion. Here's how the two topics come together: When we offer up ourselves as living sacrifices we make a commitment to follow the commandment that sums up all of God's commandments, which is to love God, then love people. Now this love, which is the practical outworking of a living sacrifice, must be sincere.

This brings us full-circle to our first question, why bring this up if everybody knows it and everybody agrees with it? The ultimate answer is this: we agree with our words, but we disagree with our actions. This is why Paul finishes out chapter 12 with an exposition of sincere love, which should be the defining characteristic of a life offered to God.

Love that is sincerely lived out must hate anything that opposes God, but at the same time love the very people who create and do those things. This sincere love for others, must be a preferential love that blesses enemies and cares for friends. This sincere love must tenderheartedly share in the sorrow of others, and eventually bring them to shared rejoicing. This sincere love must be humble and enthusiastic about enduring hardship and persecution that comes as a consequence of living faithfully. This sincere love will overcome evil with good.

So I will say the obvious; love sincerely. Better yet, live sincerely... so that God's love is manifest to the world.

Comment:

1. Why is sincere love easier to promise than to live out?
2. Come up with a specific, practical way that you can love sincerely today. Type it here, then go do it!
   

Living Sacrifice

• Read: Roman 12:1-8
• Memorize: Romans 12:1

Only priests can interact with God and only priests can offer sacrifices to him. This was true in the Old Testament, and it remains true today. In the Old Testament, only a select few from the tribe of Levi, and specifically from the family of Aaron, could serve as priests; now all believers have the privilege of serving as a priest, (1 Pet 2:5,9) which allows us to pray directly to God, to fellowship with him and to offer sacrifices. In the Old Testament, priests offered sacrifices to ask forgiveness for sin, sacrifices to pay the penalty for the sin and also free will offerings of thanksgiving. In the New Testament we have four types of sacrifice to offer: the sacrifice of giving, the sacrifice of praise, (Heb 13:15-16) the sacrifice of proclaiming the gospel, (Rom 15:14-16) and finally the living sacrifice.

You should notice that none of the four pertain to sin or guilt. That is because Jesus' death on the cross was the once and for all sacrifice which paid for our sin, providing forgiveness. Of the four sacrifices we can give, each of the first three are ongoing sacrifices that we offer over and over, but the living sacrifice is a one time thing. Once we offer our lives to God, we cannot take them back. Once we have offered them though, we have an ongoing responsibility to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. (vs. 2)

Paul must have known that the Roman church would wonder the same thing that we do: what does a living sacrifice look like? How do we do it? He explains that the first part is to humbly recognize that our life is not our own, so it belongs to God. The second part is that however God wants our lives used, that's how we should use them. If God has equipped us to teach or prophesy*, we should teach or prophesy; if he has given us the gift of encouraging or serving, then we should encourage or serve wholeheartedly; and if he has put us in a position where we can give money or meet the needs of others, then we should do that joyfully.

The bottom line is this; if we have offered ourselves as living sacrifices, then our very lives should be lived to benefit others according to our gifts, with the purpose of bringing God glory.

Comment:

1. Why is it important that all believers are priests?
2. What parts of your life are a result of offering yourself as a living sacrifice?
   

*To prophesy means to speak forth truth. Sometimes in the Bible the truth is a prediction of the future, but this gift is the gift of speaking forth the truth as revealed in the Bible. If you want a further study of this, please let me know.

Wild Olive Branches

NOTE: This blog counts for 2.

• Read: Romans 11:1-36
• Memorize: 11:33-36
  

In Bible studies on many of the great stories of men and women of faith who fail at some point. Sometimes I will hear people say "that is so dumb, there's no way I would have made that mistake." Adam ate the fruit, Jacob lied to his father to steal his brother's blessing, Peter lost faith and started to sink, Peter denied Christ three times on the night of Jesus' trial, the disciples all fled and scattered. We might fall into the same trap of arrogant self righteousness if we think that we stand by our own strength. Each of these men failed because they depended on their own strength, they thought they were strong enough; Peter even proclaimed "I will never deny you!" just before saying "I never knew the man." We walk by faith and stand firm by God's mercy, and if we ever forget it, then we will end up like those many before us who thought that they had everything under control...

Romans 11 speaks of Israel's response as a nation to the salvation of God. Because they had much enthusiasm for being "righteous", they rejected the notion that they had need of a savior. Their outer facade of self-righteousness could fool some people, but not the Lord, who knows the hearts of men. And so God rejected the very people that he had chosen and called before the beginning of time. This rejection was based on the unbelief of the nation as a whole, and yet there remained a remnant of individuals who had true faith.

God's call and gifts (vs. 29) are irrevocable, which means that the position of being God's chosen people, and the possession of the great promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob still continues on. These were all based on God's own goodness, a goodness which has not changed despite the rebellion of the nation of Israel. This is also expressed in the idea of God's foreknowledge of Israel. (vs. 2) When Paul says that God foreknew Israel, he means that God actually had a relationship with them before they existed. (Take a moment and wrap your mind around that concept!) This isn't just knowing that they would exist in the future, but actually knowing them.

Israel as a nation was rejected because of unbelief, and the time will come very soon when gentiles as a whole will also be rejected for their unbelief. But even in these times of rejection, God will reserve for himself a remnant of people who truly believe.

We must be careful to maintain our humility because we participate in the blessings of salvation and fellowship with God by his mercy. We are not better than Israel; we have no merit of heart or action to sway God's decision. To emphasis this Paul declares that "if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either." This is not to say that we can be saved, then lose salvation, but rather that gentiles as a whole now enjoy the blessings of God's mercy. It also gives us a grim reminder that God's patience will not endure forever and when the time for judgment comes, all the arrogant self-righteousness in the world will not help any Jew or gentile to avoid the wrath of God's rejection.

Praise God that in his great plan he saw fit to save me, and to graft me into the nourishing root.
"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
"Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?"
"Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?"
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Comment:

1. Is God done with Israel as a nation? (Hint: see verse 1)
2. What is the purpose for Israel's temporary estrangement? (Hint: see verses 11, 19)
   
3. On what basis are gentiles "grafted into the root"?
4. How should we respond to our position of being in God's blessing? Why