:: in.a.mirror.dimly ::

Continuing my meditations on the book of Romans…

At the end of this epistle Paul gives a fascinating role call of his friends and partners in ministry who supported him financially and spiritually. There are accounts of financial gifts, friends who risked their lives for each other, those who worked hard, and those who shared their homes. Many suffered for Christ in prison or through material loss.

In this microcosm of the early church we see models of Christian discipleship at work, the practical unity of the church in daily life, and the costs of following Christ. Whatever the problems addressed in this epistle, we can see that God’s Spirit prompted many to live extraordinary lives as disciples.

As a final word, Paul warned them about those who cause divisions or diverge from apostolic teaching. The divisive and incorrect are serving their own agendas for their own glory. Paul knows the Romans are on the right track, but desires to keep them pure and innocent.

There is a stark contrast that we should notice between those honored by Paul and those who serve themselves. Paul notes those who have risked their money, reputation, and safety for the sake of the Gospel and for fellow believers.

Even so, God will soon crush Satan as they struggle through hard times. They are reminded that Paul and his many friends stand united with them in both suffering and in the power of God.

Paul ends with a massive theological statement that essentially sums up God saving and sanctifying power and plan. In God’s wisdom the Jews and Gentiles have been saved in Christ according to God’s plan that was hidden and mysterious for many generations. This plan that was first mentioned by the prophets has now been fully revealed in Christ.

Continuing my meditations on the book of Romans…

After providing instructions on Christian conduct and asking the Romans to commit to build one another up, Paul continues to instruct the Romans on living in Christian love and unity. Though love and unity are generated by the power of the Holy Spirit through Christ, Paul makes it clear that the Romans have an important role to play.

Christ bore the insults directed to God, much like David in the Psalm quoted, and laid down his life for others. The Romans who have clear consciences and can live by faith without extra limitations in unimportant matters should seek the best for their neighbors and build them up. the goal isn’t winning the argument but remaining confident and selfless, encouraging one another.

There is a balance between God’s work and the Romans’ calling to accept one another. Only God can help them to endure and to remain united with one mind and voice. And much like Christ’s obedience to do God’s work, they are to be servants among one another. In the unifying of Jew and Gentile there are lessons to learn about blessing others above themselves.

After so many strong words in this letter, Paul shares his hope in God and his hope that the goodness of God at work in the Romans will help them live holy lives together. Paul only speaks of Christ’s work and his calling in Christ, aiming to fulfill his duty to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. It is by God’s power that he has spread this message far and wide.

However, in fulfilling his spiritual ministry with words, signs, and wonders, Paul also desires to carry material blessings from Gentiles to the Jews in Jerusalem, even if it puts him in harm’s way. he asks them to join in prayer for his safety and for an audience that will gladly receive the Gentile churches’ gifts.

Continuing my meditations on the book of Romans…

Obedience to God is the foundation for all obedience to government, and so the order of allegiances is established here. Living in peace and obeying laws seems to be the focus—a balance where God comes first but law and order are still maintained. Rather than providing a blueprint for all Christian involvement in government, this passage addresses extremist who may use their allegiance to the Kingdom of God to justify revolt or the violation of laws.

We dare not take Paul’s command to submit to authorities as a tacit endorsement of all governments or all governmental policies. At the same time, Christians must wrestle with the necessity of obeying governmental authorities while committing to challenge injustice and immorality in their governments.

For the Romans, who are told to love one another with affection, honoring one another, they are once again reminded to love their neighbors as they would themselves. This seems to also satisfy the obedience required under the government, if not with all people.

Paul’s final reason for living in righteousness is the expectation of God’s coming salvation. Time is running out, so stay in step with God, living in his light rather than the darkness of evil deeds. Instead of letting their sinful natures control their minds, they are told to let Christ take control. he will lead them to righteousness and goodness.

Putting on the Lord Jesus Christ carries the sense of playing a role or assuming a part. Left to their own devices the Romans may leave debts outstanding, fail to love one another, or live in slavery to their immoral desires. In claiming their identity under the Lordship of Christ they are choosing to live in God’s light, which will soon come to define all of time and space. By putting on Christ they are claiming the resurrection power he has over sin as explained in Romans 6-8.

Whether in public or in Christian community the Romans should not let financial, relational, or sinful debts remain. They have a new identity in Christ. 

Continuing my meditations on the book of Romans…

With a clear picture of salvation and God’s historic plan of redemption into the present in place, this letter moves into more practical matters, namely how to live holy lives as God’s people. It is good for the Romans to know they should count themselves dead to sin, alive to Christ, and empowered in the Holy Spirit, but what does this look like on a day to day basis?

The answer is a daily offering of themselves to God, becoming living sacrifices that are surrendered to God but still able to live obedient, holy lives. This is a difficult matter, as it’s easy to make pleasing one’s self the primary goal of each day. However, Paul reminds his readers that Christ has done as much for them and that such a commitment will allow God to renew their minds. This will lead to the kind of holy lives that he says they should be living. In addition, God will make his will known to them.

The result of this will be holy living where the believers can use their gifts in service to others. Even with these gifts in use, the Romans are reminded not to judge themselves according to their usefulness or magnificence of their gifts. Their measure for themselves is directly tied to their faith.

This strikes me as a good check on whether believers are seeking first God’s Kingdom and offering themselves to God daily for direction. Faith is the means by which such steps are taken, believing that God can direct and empower his people to live in holiness and obedience.

With these things in mind, Paul adds on a series of commands and pleas for right living among the believers in Rome. They are called to a counterintuitive and countercultural lifestyle of self-sacrifice and love that is simply not possible for those who have failed to offer themselves to God as helpless, God-dependent sacrifices. The power of self interest must be laid down before God in order to love neighbors, provide for them, and to meet enemies with prayers and blessings.

Continuing my meditations on the book of Romans…

Though the majority of the Jews rejected Jesus as Messiah and the promise of God has been extended to Gentiles, the Lord has not rejected his people. He has saved a remnant. They are saved by God’s free and undeserved kindness. Many Jews have been seeking God’s favor, but his kindness is not based on merit, but rather God’s purposes in election. Only those enabled by God could respond to him.

In God’s plan to make salvation available to all people, he appointed Paul to carry the Gospel to them. However, even that calling aimed to spark jealousy among the Jews. God had not forgotten them.

God isn’t done with the Jewish people, as their lineage from Abraham is still important. Paul is hopeful for the day of salvation still coming for the Jewish people.

Since salvation comes by God’s mercy and the cutting off of some Jewish branches, Paul warns the Gentiles from thinking too highly of themselves. They should fear the possibility of falling away. God is kind to those who continue to trust in his kindness, but he is also severe to those who disobey.

God is both severe and kind, patient and decisive, cutting off and preserving. It would seem every time the Jews and Gentiles thought they had God’s plan figured out, Paul revealed new aspects of it that would seem to smash all systematizing. God has a plan and purpose in election, humans make choices they are responsible for, and those in Christ are both safe from sin and in danger of choosing to fall away.

The appropriate response to God comes at the end of this chapter: worship. Hold the truth we know about God out there, but celebrate God and the mercy that comes through the salvation offered by Christ. The last thing God needs is to be twisted and misrepresented by finite humans.

Worship is the place for humanity, whether always part of God’s plan or an addition grafted in.

Continuing my series of meditations on the book of Romans…

Paul continues to explain the mysteries of Jews and Gentiles being in Christ, the place of the Jewish people now that Jesus is the Messiah, and the nature of salvation in Christ. Instead of keeping the law, ascending to heaven, or descending to hell, God has made salvation within easy reach. It’s on our lips as a confession that Jesus is the risen Lord.

When comparing the marks of God’s covenant people now with the marks of God’s covenant people before Christ, Paul makes the nature of salvation simple to grasp: believing in one’s heart gives right standing before God. Confessing with one’s mouth brings about salvation.

This is God’s plan for all people now, and Paul wanted to emphasize its simplicity and access. This is something for the Romans to meditate on and to share. In fact, God has been moving in this direction for quite some time. Through a series of OT passages Paul proved that the Jewish rejection of their Messiah was foretold long ago.

The problem isn’t that messengers failed to go out or that God didn’t communicate with his people. The Jewish people looked for God, but with the wrong zeal and expectations, missing God’s real plan when it was revealed. In fact, the biblical proficiency of the Jewish people should give all followers of Jesus pause today. If they could miss God’s plan after essentially having the Bible memorized, there is more to being God’s people than study and knowledge.

The expectations of the Jewish people prevented them from accepting God’s salvation. Ironically, the people without knowledge or expectations received the Gospel message. God showed himself to them, hoping that this transfer of the Gospel to the Gentiles would call the Jews back. The people who should have been demonstrating God’s work among the Gentiles switched roles because of their unbelief.

There is a sadness in Paul’s words here. He sees the zeal and knowledge of his own people, and their tragic rejection of the Messiah. Nevertheless, he places his hope not in their knowledge, but in the power of the Gospel at work in the Gentiles—hoping the Jews will become jealous of God’s favor and turn back to God.

Continuing my series of meditations on the book of Romans…

Paul has established that there is salvation in Christ mediated through the Holy Spirit in chapter 8. Nothing can separate God’s people from his love. However, there may be a wrinkle in his argument here. That is what he aims to set straight.

If Israel could be described as God’s chosen people, how is it that they were separated from God? Shouldn’t the new Jew/Gentile church expect God’s plan to unravel just as it did for the Jews? Romans 9 marks the beginning of Paul’s discussion of the ramifications of Christ’s salvation for the Jewish people, while also explaining the joining of Jews and Gentiles into one people.

Throughout scripture God always reached out to the rest of creation through a chosen tribe or remnant. Abraham had several children, but only one descendant received the promise. In addition, Isaac had twins, but only Jacob received the promise. In other words, being a descendant of Abraham has never meant instant access to God. The children of God are determined according to God’s gracious action.

Though all of Israel may not have responded in faith, God has a plan to fulfill that has not gone off track. God is still working with a remnant as he has in the past. However, just as Abraham was set apart to be a blessing to all nations, there is a calling among God’s chosen people to do the same. We don’t know why God chooses some and not others, but we can rest in two simple truths from elsewhere in scripture.

For starters, God desires that all people should be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4). It’s had to know how to make sense of Romans 9 and the doctrine of election when running into Paul’s letter to Timothy. However, there is a sense in Romans 9 that somehow God’s election sets things into motion that will spread the knowledge of himself and enable him to be merciful. Even Pharaoh was raised up in order to display God’s power throughout the world.

Secondly, when preaching to the Athenians in Acts 17:26-27, Paul says, “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 2God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.” Therefore, God clearly takes a very active role in his creation and orders our world so that we will reach out to him. Even in God’s election and control of circumstances, God also expects humanity to respond to his salvation and allows even the Jewish people to go astray.

Such notions are hard to compute. Our human effort cannot win God’s favor that is freely given to those he chooses. However, God desires all to be saved and reaches out to all, hoping we will respond. Regardless of the exact mechanics, the correct response is obedience to God’s calling, accepting whatever task he sets before us, whether noble or not.

The point of Romans 9 is to put Christians in their place as the vessels of God. On the one hand, there is tremendous freedom in the notion that no one can earn a place in God’s favor. In fact, for those who continue in faith, there is nothing that can separate them from God’s love. Even those who have given themselves over to sin may receive God’s merciful patience and kindness that will hopefully lead them to repentance one day.

It’s easy to get hung up on a detail or lost in the minutiae of salvation and the way God offers righteousness. It is good to meditate on these things. However, it is not good to miss out on God’s salvation when fretting over the particulars. Don’t miss out on the depth and width of God’s mercy and grace, God’s desire to extend salvation to all people, and even the hope that the Jewish people will one day widely accept Jesus as their saving Messiah.

While the Roman Christians trust in Christ as their rock, Paul turns to the application of everything he’s already shared to the Jewish people of his day. He writes that while he is the apostle to the Gentiles and believes Christ has fulfilled the requirements of the law, he shares God’s commitment to the salvation of the Jewish nation.

Continuing my series of meditations on the book of Romans with chapter eight…

There is no condemnation under sin or the law for those who belong to Jesus and live by the power of the Spirit. With this bold statement, Paul has essentially wrapped up his arguments concerning the law and sin.

He has already established that the law itself is not bad. Rather, it is incapable of saving. That is why God initiated the incarnation of Jesus who died and rose in order to destroy sin’s control over humanity and its misuse of the law to bring condemnation. Paul wants the Romans to know they are in right standing before God and the law because the Spirit applies God’s new life to them.

The Holy Spirit now takes center stage in God’s redemptive work.

As the Romans struggle with obedience and sin, Paul explains their conflict between the sinful nature and the Holy Spirit. In vv. 5-17, the Roman church is presented with a choice to allow sin or the Spirit to control their lives. Those who live under the control of the Spirit are able to live in peace, pleasing God through obedience.

The ramifications for living under God’s Spirit include belonging to Christ, freedom from the control of sin, and the same Resurrection power that brought Christ to life bringing God’s full life to fruition. Living in the freedom and obedience of God’s Spirit means the Roman believers have nothing to fear from God since they are no longer under the condemnation of sin and can consider themselves sons of God.

However, being a son of God is not free from suffering. In fact, being in God’s family requires sharing in the suffering of Christ (v.17).

In fact, life will be difficult for those patiently waiting for God’s glory to be revealed. Even with the Holy Spirit living among them, the Romans will have to wait with the rest of creation, confidently expecting God to give them full rights as his adopted children.

God’s goal for his children is that they bear a family resemblance to Jesus, the first-born son of the family. Therefore, God’s Spirit prays in accordance with God’s will, helping sons and daughters with their struggles against sin. As the Spirit prays, God works everything for the good of those who respond to God’s calling and purpose with love for God. Those who love God can trust they are being supported and carried as they submit to God’s purpose for their lives. For those called by God and known by him, there is struggle and sacrifice, but God is gracious, offering them right standing before God and his glory.

For those in God’s family through the Holy Spirit, there is nothing that can separate them from God’s love. External or internal circumstances have no sway, even in the most dire of situations involving hunger, danger, or death. God’s deep love is for his people, and so no other power or situation can change that.

These are the spiritual realities of the Christian life, and they are worthy of our deepest consideration.

Another meditation in my series on the book of Romans…

If Jesus died to conquer sin while all were still sinners, then Paul reasons Jesus will continue to save those who have been reconciled through his death. The Romans church can boast of Christ’s sacrifice that not only cancelled their debt with God, but also includes them among God’s saved people.

This chapter particularly focuses on the the significance of God’s saving work through Christ that brings us peace with God. The gift of salvation is more generous and powerful than any offense that could separate us from God.

A key illustration involves the sin that Adam brought to the world. Through sin death began to reign, as everyone who followed Adam, also followed into sin and thus into death. However, if one sin brought death, then Christ’s gift of life through his one righteous act conquered sin and death. In this way, Christ is supreme as the one who not only rights past wrongs, but also offers a new way to live.

Unlike God’s gracious gift through Christ, the law was not given to make us right with God, but rather to point out sin. Thus rules and regulations have value within their role sorting right from wrong, but only in the work of Christ on the cross can sin be defeated. Therefore, Christ has both kept and fulfilled the law, making himself superior to sin, death, and the law. Christ has made God both just and the one who justifies.

Therefore, Christ brings us peace with God, and offers us a chance to live free from sin’s power. The details of living new lives apart from sin will be spelled out in chapter six.

This continues my series of meditations on the book of Romans. Today we have chapter three…

Paul has been building an argument for the equality of Jews and Gentiles under sin, but by the end of chapter three he extends this equality into the realm of salvation. For starters though, the Jews and Gentiles are mired sin and separated from God.

In spite of sin that alienates people from God, God is faithful to offer salvation as a gift through Christ. Nevertheless, God’s patient and redemptive acts do not give anyone an excuse to continue sinning. God will fulfill his promise and bring salvation to Jew and Gentile alike, but there is a stern warning that judgment will come to those who persist in sin. Therefore, Paul tells his readers to use the law to become conscious of sin, but to have faith in God for their salvation.

Therefore, whether or not someone has the law, the verdict is the same, but so is the way out. God’s salvation is not dependent on the law or whether or not someone has any kind of religious or ethnic credentials. I’m particularly taken with the thought that God is not only just, but also the one who justifies. God is essentially clearing the path for whoever wants to believe in him rather than setting up standards to be met.

The hard part of the argument for Paul’s listeners must have been  upholding the law by faith and not by observing it. It would seem that the only way to God and the path to obedience is by recognizing one’s complete and utter dependence on God for salvation. However, living by faith does not mean anyone can ignore the law. In fact, faith is the only path to truly obeying it.

That strikes me as an easy lesson to twist. God will judge those who ignore his patience and salvation by continuing to sin, but the way to be made right with God depends on believing in the saving work of Christ and living by faith. One would expect Paul to hammer on obeying the law, but he doesn’t. I can see how some would twist Paul’s arguments into a kind of antinomian Christianity where more sins only draw on more unlimited mercy.

Paul is no doubt challenging this sin-challenged church to be obedient and faithful to God. However, the only lasting way to be made right with God and to remain faithful is through faith in the life-changing work of Christ.

It is this work of Christ that fills up the following chapters in Romans where Paul explains how saving faith need not result in indulgent sinfulness.