Daily Tony
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Matthew 18 I want you to know before we get to my thoughts on this chapter that I will not be sending out these morning devotionals next week. I am on vacation, so,for disappearing on you. I encourage you to keep reading though. Next week is chapter 19-23 Speaking of forgiveness, Matthew 18 is a foundational passage from Jesus on this very subject. Forgiveness, both giving it and receiving it, is central to Christianity. Let me ask you a question: ? I wonder if we sometimes use the word too easily or in a trite manner; like I did above when I asked forgiveness for not sending out emails next week; is that really an offense that requires forgiveness? Think about the following statement: ! Here is what I mean; to forgive someone an offense against you is to say to them: “Is that not what Christ did for us? Jesus is telling us in Matthew 18 that the depths of our personal sins were so great, yet he forgave us; therefore, how is it possible that we would consider not forgiving other people whose sins against us are considerably less offensive? Now here are two more things I want you to think about today. § § Please give me your thoughts on these questions, they are not hypothetical, the answer to them is at heart of Christianity and deeply affects our everyday relationships.
Matthew 17 In this chapter we see the story of the Transfiguration, where Jesus is transformed into his glorified body for a brief time. Peter, James, and John witness this amazing event, not to mention they get to see Moses and Elijah, arguably the two greatest Prophets in Israel’s history. This experience is capped off when the voice of the Father comes out of heaven that repeats the same statement that was heard at Jesus baptism “.” But this time God adds the words “.” Which could also be translated as “” The only response that Peter, James and John were capable of is fear. Oh, how that experience must have boosted their faith; or did it? The very next story records Jesus frustration with the disciples for not having enough faith to cast out a demon. Jesus rebukes them with the harsh statement: “(v:17). After this Jesus tells them in verses 22-23 what is ahead for him: “.” Now the response of the disciples is “.” This chapter is a rollercoaster of emotions for the disciples: at the voice from heaven, being , to being over Jesus soon-to-come death. What they seemed to have missed is Jesus statement “.” As we finish Matthew over the next 2 weeks, pay attention to the emotional swings of the disciples as they experience and witness the trial, brutal beating, and death of their Master; all the while missing His teaching that He will rise again.
Matthew 16 There is so much in this chapter to meditate on this morning. I have decided to pick verse 24-26 for me to think on all day; I encourage you to do the same. MATT. 16:24-6 In verse 24 Jesus gives three commands (i.e., imperatives) to the person who “” Jesus; they must , , and . Ponder on each one today as you go through your day. These are not optional according to Jesus; they are the heart of what it means to be His disciple. So, what does it look like for you and I to . . . . . . and Please give me some feedback on this one.
Matthew 15 Jesus was a master at deflecting criticism and potential conflict. As we read through Matthew, notice how often Jesus answers a question with a question. Then notice how often his critics do not answer the question he threw back at them. In this case, the Pharisee’s confront Jesus with the hyper-critical observation that his disciples did not wash their hands before eating. This “” probably stems from Exodus 30:18-21. In that passage the priests, after sacrificing an animal at the altar in the Tabernacle courtyard, were required to wash their hands in the bronze laver before entering the Holy Place. Over time, this requirement for the was transferred to all the people to wash before eating, not simply as “hygienic best practice” but as a law. Jesus would have nothing to do with this distortion of God’s Law. He comes back at them with verse 3 “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? The commandment he is referring to was the fact that the 5thcommandment required a person take care of their aging parents. The Pharisees weren’t fulfilling that commandment, but rather they were claiming that they had dedicated their possession to God, so therefore, they couldn’t give it to their parents (see Luke 7:9-13 for more details on this “tradition” of the Elders called ). This causes Jesus to proclaim the following quote from Isaiah: MATT. 15:8-9 “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” So, what is the lesson for us? Let’s examine our “traditions” (especially if we are judging others for not keeping them) to see if they arise from God’s Word or from our own reasoning. I, for one, never want to hear Jesus say the words of verses 8-9 to me.
Matthew 14 Chapter 14 is packed with significant events in Jesus life: the unjust death of John the Baptist, the feeding of the 5,000, and the famous story of Jesus walking on water. But on my first reading through I missed something that caught my eye on the second reading; Jesus tries twice to get away for some personal privacy. After Jesus hears about John being executed, Matt. 14:13 tells us“.” Then later in the chapter after he had fed the 5,000, he dismissed the crowds and sent the disciples across the lake. Verse 23 then says “.” I have never really given a great deal of thought to Jesus’ private life, which includes his life of prayer. If you are like me, then let’s meditate today on Jesus’ need to be alone. He needed to be alone to mourn his cousin John’s death; Jesus was truly like you and me in this way. Let’s meditate on Jesus need to be alone to pray after his wildly successful miracle of feeding 5,000 ‘men’ (remember that number did not include women and children, so it could have easily been twice that many). If Jesus needed personal alone time to grieve and to pray, what does that teach us about our needs? How much alone time do you take to talk with God about the things in your life?
Matt 13 Matthew 13 presents one parable after another. Some of these parables are hard to understand as Jesus disciples also experienced. In this chapter we have the Parable of the Sower which is one of Jesus most famous and popular. I think maybe a better name for it would be the parable of the . The sower and the seed are consistent; it is the soil that changes. In today’s reading I want us to think a little harder about the first soil: the hard packed soil along the road. It is from this soil that Satan snatches away the truth and the hope of the Gospel from the hearts of the hearers. In Matthew 13:19 it says that the devil “snatches away what has been sown in his heart. In the parallel passage in Luke 8:12 it says I want to put these two together and ask a question for us to think about. Matthew says they don’t understand it. The Greek word for understand is . One Greek dictionary defines this word as “Then Luke says that the Evil One takes it away from their heart . A lack of understanding allows Satan to rob their motivation to believe. If they understood it better, then is it possible that Satan couldn’t snatch it away? So, here is my question: Should we not learn to present the Gospel in a compelling way so that people want to appropriately think through the ramifications of what Christ has done for them which then minimizes the possibility that Satan cannot snatch it away? Is this a reasonable application for us today? Your thoughts?
Matt 12 In this chapter, Jesus repeats a phrase he used in Chapter 9 when he was confronted by the religious leaders. MATT. 12:7And if you had known what this means, ‘,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. In Matthew 9:13, the context was the religious leaders’ criticism of Jesus for eating with sinners and tax collectors. Jesus instructed them to in that context was “” In chapter 12 Jesus is being criticized for allowing his disciples to pick grain on the Sabbath because they were hungry (picking grain was considered work). Jesus repeats the phrase “,” but precedes that by saying Evidently, they didn’t bother to go and learn what it meant.The phrase comes from Hosea 6:6 and the complete verse is as follows: “ I suggest to you that the application Jesus is trying to communicate to these leaders is this: GOD IS MORE CONCERNED WITH THAN WITH THEIR OBEDIENCE TO THE RULES. God cares deeply for his rules, but rules are for people, people were not created for the rules. To desire the would inevitably result in caring for His people. But when our highest motive is rule-keeping and is void of concern for the people for whom God made the rules, we have completely missed the point. Now, please don’t misinterpret me, I am not saying that God’s commands are not important. They are, but like the story in Matthew 12 where Jesus healed the man with the withered hand; The Sabbath restrictions of not working were not designed to stop acts of compassion for the hurting. What are Your thoughts?
Matt 11 I want us to continue thinking about the high call of discipleship that Jesus demanded in Matthew 10. In today’s reading we see that those who are opposed to our faith will find fault no matter what. Matthew 11:18-19 states: Jesus point in this passage tells us what we already know; some people will criticize us no matter what we do. We have to have thick skin when this criticism comes upon us. Though it hurts, if we know our motive behind our actions is to honor God and help lead others to maturity, then we can endure anything that is thrown at us. The last statement: “Wisdom is vindicated by her deeds” is a peculiar proverbial saying. What exactly does it mean? In this context I will let Michael J. Williams explain his thoughts: (Taken from his Commentary on Matthew in the The NIV Application Commentary). Therefore, it is God’s praise we seek, not man’s. This way of living will honor God and eventually be honored by God (it will be ); So, let’s stay the course in living a life to honor him and not to be men-pleasers.
Matthew 10 is about full-on, 100% commitment to being a disciple of Jesus. It is filled with stark contrasts about that commitment. Verses 32-33 state emphatically if we confess Jesus before men, He will confess us before the Father. But if we deny Him before men, then He will deny us before the Father. That is a no-holds barred discipleship demand. In verse 37-38 is another one that slaps us awake if we are slipping into complacency. If this wasn’t already difficult enough, compare the parallel passage in Luke14:26-27. Matthew’s version is easier to swallow, Luke’s seems harsh and in your face. We can assume one of two things about the change of wording: Jesus said similar things on two different occasions one of the Gospel writers changed the wording for the purposes of his audience. I think that latter is the case. Jesus loved to use hyperbole (i.e., exaggeration) to make his point. Luke is probably the original saying of Jesus but Matthew interpreted the hyperbole for his readers (“hate your parents” means “don’t love them more than me”). However you chose to interpret the difficulty of these verses, it demonstrates for us that . Following Jesus (i.e., discipleship) is a high and sometimes difficult calling. It demands our all! What are your thoughts?
Matt 9 I wonder what would happen in our community if we took the last verses of this chapter and made them our calling. MATT. 9:36-38 Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” Meditate on this these thoughts for a moment. God is deeply concerned about lost people. There are not enough people taking the message of the Gospel to these lost people. We should pray that God sends more people into the throng of hurting, lost people. This raises a huge question in my mind though. Why do I need to pray for God to do this? If he has compassion on the lost, why doesn’t he just send out workers without our prayers? I don’t have a comprehensive answer to my question, but part of the answer is that God primarily works through his Church to accomplish His Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). We, the people of God, are His instrument to take the good news to the lost; both those close to us and those far away. In light of this truth, prayer is a huge part of evangelism. Maybe we could reword the verses above as follows: “
Matt 8 After Jesus finishes his sermon on the mount, for the next two chapters he does one miracle after another. One of the highlighted themes in these chapters is the emphasis on the faith of the recipients of these miracles. A non-Jewish Roman Centurion is praised for his faith. Conversely, the disciples are harshly criticized for not trusting Jesus in the midst of the storm. [i.e., His disciples] Jesus even accuses them of being cowards. The Greek word for cowards is , it is only used 2 other times in the NT (Mark 8:26 and Revelation 21:8). It refers to a fear that comes from being or . , most of which do not match the intensity of the ones in this chapter? Would we be praised for our trust in Jesus or would he (dare I say . . .) call us cowards? Every trial brings a flood of emotions, concerns, and even fears. Jesus is patient as we work through these trials, but as we work through our trials we need to purge our minds of lies that we are believing and replace them with truth. The truth is that Jesus is with us every step of the way and nothing happens to us that doesn’t go through his loving hands first.
MATT 6 Matthew 6 contains a very familiar passage that we all must give thought to. I wonder if living in Incline Village makes our minds run to applying this to the wealthy among us as opposed to applying it to our own lives. As we know, we can all fall into the trap of materialism no matter our income level. Everyone has a “treasure” that controls their heart. Let’s do our best today to meditate on 6:33 which is below and let us pray this verse for ourselves and for the people God has called us to minister to.
Matt 7 The first verses of chapter 7 might be some of the most quoted verses in the NT; when I say quoted, I mean that we quote them to others . . . sometime in a rebuking manner. MATT. 7:1-2 As I said, these verses in Matthew are quoted very often in our culture, which is becoming increasingly oversensitive to every possible issue. We can’t seem to have a long conversation with someone and not be in fear of offending them. This verse is sometimes thrown out to stop any potential offensive speech. But I wonder if we misinterpret these verses? I want us to think about the difference between and . I believe this passage is condemning the latter, but we must do the former. We have to make judgments (i.e., wise decisions) about situations and people everyday. In fact this passage tells us we can make judgments we have done some serious self examination of our own lives (see 7:3-5). Notice what 7:6 tells us to do: Jesus is not talking about actual dogs and pigs is He? No! He is talking about evil people who can hurt you. We must identify these people in our lives. We must make judgments about them so that we don’t give them power in our lives and in the lives of those we love. So, my belief is that we must make judgments every day regarding people, but we must never have a judgmental attitude. One is practicing wisdom, the other stems from arrogance and self-righteousness. The latter is dishonoring to people and to our God. What are your thoughts?
MATTHEW 5 Matthew 5-7 records the famous sermon by Jesus called the Sermon on the Mount. It contains many of Jesus’ famous sayings some of us would say that this sermon contains some of our favorite passages. There is one thing in chapter 5 that I want to point out to you to help you understand Jesus teaching on the Law. Chapter 5 is mostly about refuting the Pharisees’ teachings and interpretations of the Law. Verse 17 says that Jesus did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it (see also Romans 8:3-4 if you care to). In 5:21 he starts using the repeated phrase “.” The “” part is Jesus repeating the distorted teachings of the Law by the Pharisee, while the “” is Jesus’correct interpretation and application of the Law (he can do this since he is the author of it). In verse 20 Jesus drops the bombshell on his disciples that assuredly would tick off the Pharisees if they were listening. Imagine what the disciples were thinking at this moment: “” After explaining how these charlatan leaders have misinterpreted God’s good Law, Jesus drops another bombshell on his listeners. Jesus really ups the ante with these words. To summarize, Jesus is saying How is that possible, how can we be perfect as God is perfect? I believe that Jesus is referring to the OT maxim, “” (see Lev. 11:45-46 and it is repeated in the NT in 1 Peter 1:16). This is the standard by which we live; God’s righteousness, not man’s. But here is the good news, . That is what he meant in Matthew 5:17-20 (not one thing will pass from the Law ). Now you must read Romans 8:1-4. Christ has fulfilled the Law for you. He has been righteous for you; and He has given you His righteousness. We read that in the book of Romans; that is what it means to be justified by faith. Now the goal is to honor God by living the righteous life that He died and rose again to give us.
Matthew 4 The Temptation of Jesus is a very familiar story but I wonder if we have read over it with a sense of familiarity that has caused us to not give it the significance that it deserves. Do you think that maybe we have a tendency to downplay the temptation of Jesus. We tend to think “.” Let’s not go there so fast. Remember that Jesus was fully God fully man. Though ultimately a mystery, we should not minimize Jesus’ humanity so as to think that temptation did not affect him. Hebrews 4:15 says that he was tempted just as we are yet without sin; he understands our temptations and can help us in our time of need. How could he understand and help us if the temptation was no big deal to him? Matt. 4:11informs that after the temptationIf you believe the temptation was no big deal to Jesus, then why did angels have to minister to him when it was over? The only other time Scripture tells us that angels had to minister to Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:43) and we know at that he was at that time (Matt 26:38). Give some thought to the following question: __ __ This concept represents another conundrum in the mystery that is called the incarnation. How can God become fully human and be like us? This isn’t simply an intellectual problem. It is that but significantly more. Our Savior understands what it means to be tempted because he was tempted by Tempter himself. He knows what it is like to fight sin and win. We can run to him for help, so let’s do just that. I want to invite you to come to Monday Night Dinner tonight, not only will the food be great, but we will also have a Q & A after the dinner and discuss things like this. See you tonight.
Matthew 3 Good morning, I hope you Friday is starting well. In our reading in Matthew 3 this morning what struck me was John the Baptists teachings on repentance. He first states in 3:2 “.” Then it appears that he is surprised when he sees the Pharisees who came to be baptized by him. In his suspicion he admonishes them: MATT. 3:8 Evidently John suspected that these men were not sincere in their repentance. In light of this, let’s apply this to ourselves. The Greek words for repentance (both the verb and the noun) occur 56 times in the NT. It is not an uncommon theme. I think we have to ask the following questions of ourselves: __ __ Please share your thoughts with me.
Matthew 2 has the memorable story of the Magi. Since it is so familiar, I wonder of we have given much thought to the oddity of it. Think about the following two things: __ __ The Gospel of Matthew uses this story to foreshadow that Israel, for the most part, will reject their Messiah (as Herod did) and the Gospel is to be sent to “all nations” (i.e., Gentiles which the Magi represent. See Matthew 28:18-20 for this commissioning). Another interesting thing to notice is how Matthew uses worship to open and close his Gospel. These pagan astrologers worship the baby Jesus and then the Gospel closes with the disciple worshiping the resurrected Lord (28:17) just before He sends into the world to proclaim the good news. That begs the question: What should our response be to him??? Hmm!
Matthew 1 Matthew 1 presents the all too familiar story of the announcement to Joseph regarding the miraculous conception of Jesus. You can imagine what was going through Joseph’s mind when Mary tearfully tried to convince him that she had never been with another man, but the angel Gabriel told her that God’s Spirit would miraculously cause her to be pregnant with God’s Son. What man in his right mind would buy that far-fetched excuse? If I were Joseph, I would tell Mary “I am not going to believe you unless that angel appears to me and tells me the same thing.” Of course, I would not believe that it would actually happen. But it turns out the far-fetched excuse was actually true. Joseph hears these mind-blowing words from the angel: You might remember from the sermon at Christmas time that the name Jesus in Hebrew is . It is a contraction of two Hebrew words: + . Jesus very name gives us his IDENTITY: He is Yahweh, God himself is with us as Isaiah predicted. His name also gives us his MISSION: He has come to save us from our sins. The Gospel of Matthew is not ambiguous about who this baby is. This chapter starts off with the mind-blowing story about how God became man. Joseph then steps into an incredible journey; he marries his beloved Mary and begins to raise the God-Man as his own. Wow! You can’t make this stuff up.
Romans 16 Well, we finished Romans, Congratulations. In this last chapter, Paul sent greetings and kind words to many people in Rome that he knew. It is interesting that even though Paul had never been to Rome, he knew so many people. Evidently, many people traveled there from the east. I thought we could do do a 30,000 ft flyover of Romans to see what Paul emphasized for these people that he cares so much for. CHAPTER 1presents the theme of this book: “.” Paul will then define this Gospel for the next 8 chapters. CHAPTER 1:18-3:18. A very long section that drives home the painful fact that all humans, no matter their ethnic origin (Jews or gentiles), are condemned due to their sin. They are hopeless if God doesn’t step in. CHAPTER 3:19-4:25. This section has one simple but profound truth taught: Justification before God is based on Faith in Jesus Christ, not based on the works of the Law of Moses. Paul offers proof is this fact with the life of Abraham. He was justified by faith 500 years before the Law was given. He is the Father of all who believe, whether they are Jewish or gentile. CHAPTER 5. This chapter presents a mind-blowing truth; don’t miss it. It answers the question “how did God save me by faith and not works?” It is called “.” Adam’s sin was imputed to me; I became a sinner because I was “in Adam.” My sin was imputed to Christ and he died on the cross for me due to His love for me. Then, the crescendo is this: Christ righteousness was imputed to me so that I might reign in life with him. This can all be wrapped up under the heading of the Grace of God. Now isn’t that beautiful? CHAPTER 6. Since I died, was buried, and then was raised with Christ, I now have the power to live a new life. I must reckon myself dead to sin and alive to God. Paul instructs each of us to put off sinful behaviors and put on righteous behavior. ROMANS 7. In spite of being made alive, there is still a battle that wages that we cannot ignore; the battle wages in our bodies and our minds. It can be overwhelming, especially when we choose to go back to the old way of life and allow sin to reign in us. Who will deliver us from this dead body? ROMANS 8. One of the most glorious chapters in the Bible. It starts off with the declaration that You will never be condemned if you believe in Jesus Christ. The chapter ends with the glorious fact that God will never abandon you either. You are secure in His love that comes through Christ Jesus. ROMANS 9-11. Paul spends a great deal of time to explain that God has not abandoned His people Israel. There is a time coming, after the fulness of the gentiles comes in, that the remnant of Israel will be saved. God is faithful to his promises to Israel. ROMANS 12-15. Paul explains the manifold applications to our daily lives that flow from this glorious Gospel. While Salvation is by faith and not works, a genuine faith will result in a life that works; those works can be summed up with “love one another.” Well, that is the book of Romans in a nutshell, I hope you were edified by reading this book with me. We now move on to Matthew.
Romans 15 As we are getting close to the end of Romans; I want to point out something that jumped out at me this morning. One reason we are reading the Scriptures daily is expressed clearly in verse 14: Scripture, i.e., God’s true words to His people, will bring us so that we might have . Hope has been a thread woven throughout Romans (5:2-5, 8:20-25). Life can be tough, but we can have great hope if we allow Scripture to wash our minds of the lies of the world and replace it with His eternal truth. Paul continues with this theme of the hope we have in Christ; reading the Scriptures reminds us of the joy and peace that comes from trusting in God. Verse 13 boldly states“ This joy and peace results in increased hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. I suggest you read the chapter again and notice how effortlessly Paul brings all three members of the Trinity into his closing exhortation. It reminds me of 2 Corinthians 13:13
Romans 14 This chapter speaks to the area of Christian freedom and my thoughts will be a little longer today. What I mean by freedom is that there are some areas of life that God has not commanded specifics for our behavior so we must make our decision on what is right or wrong for us and those we are in relationship with. The problem comes when Christians disagree and offend each other. In this passage two areas are highlighted, and . Remember the early church was a mixture of Jews and gentiles. Jews had strict dietary laws from the OT and keeping the Sabbath (i.e., Saturday) was essential. The gentiles did not have these customs drilled into them and God did not carry them over into the New Covenant. So Christians (both Jews and gentiles) are free from those laws, they have been fulfilled in Christ. Paul is very concerned that we do not step on each other in the church of God and bring unnecessary offense to one another. To fully understand this passage I want to bring in information from 1 Corinthians 8-9. There Paul is talking about the same thing but describes people as either “weak believers” or “strong believers.” The weak believer’s conscience tells him/her that they shouldn’t eat meat, but when they see their fellow believer eating meat, they too will be influenced to eat that meat and violate their own conscience and thus sin (1 Cor. 8:7-13). If we are the stronger believer that leads them down that road, we too have sinned according to that passage. So the end result is this: when you know you are with someone who is weaker in their conscience and you know what they struggle with, then limit your freedom so that you do not cause them to participate in your behavior which causes them to stumble. My brother or sister’s well-being should be more important than my freedom or “right” to do as I please. My rights are not more important than my brother or sister’s well-being. I think the passage below is a great reminder of we are. ROM. 14:7-9For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. One more thought. Besides the stronger and weaker believer, there is a third type not mentioned in these chapters; it is the Pharisaical believer. This is the Christians that what is right for him/her . They not only put up rules in their lives that God didn’t make, they want you to submit to them too. This person is self-righteous and legalistic. We are not obligated to curb our freedom for this type of person, they need to be ignored or even rebuked. I pray that we have the wisdom to know the difference between the weaker believer and the Pharisee. What are your thoughts, what are some areas of freedom that other Christians have tried to get you to submit to that you don’t believe were from the Lord?
Romans 13 In our day of political infighting and horrendous government inefficiency and backstabbing that even fiction writers couldn’t make up; we come to Romans 13 where Paul tells us to submit to our government leaders and to pay our taxes. Here is something important to remember, our government leaders are novices compared to Rome’s leaders when it comes to dysfunction and evil. When Paul wrote this letter, Nero was the Emperor. To call him a bad government official would be a major understatement (look him up on Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nero). So, what is our takeaway from this? We must remember that we are functionally citizens of two worlds. At the core of our identity we are citizens of heaven, children of the Kingdom of God that has yet to be fully realized. Practically speaking though, we live in this world and therefore we are citizens of this earthly kingdom in which Satan has great influence. Since we know that God’s kingdom is eternal and this one is temporal, we must place our devotion in God’s kingdom. I believe that to be a mature follower of Christ means that He wants us to be good citizens on this Earth. I believe that when Christians are model citizens here, it actually opens the door to opportunities to advance God’s eternal kingdom. So, my personal practice is “” (Matt. 22:21). Some of us may choose to pursue a life in government or a life that tries to influence government, both are noble callings. But in the end, let’s remember to whom we eternally belong and whom we serve with all our heart, soul, and strength. This results in . . . you guessed it, . . loving our neighbor as ourselves; because as Paul says in Romans 13:10 .
Romans 12 I have been at Cornerstone Church for almost 30 months now, It has been an incredible journey so far. My intention and hope is to be here for years to come to grow together with you as the people of God, as the people of Jesus. You see, Jesus saved us to be people for his own possession (Titus 2:14). Being the people of God means that we live in relationship as a community. This brings me to our reading in Romans today. Romans 12 is my favorite passage to ask people to read when it comes to interpersonal relationships, especially when there is conflict. This chapter explains so much about how to live together as the . Probably my most quoted section of this chapter since I have been here (and my 23 years at Grace church before this) is verses 16-18: The underlined portion is what I have quoted most. Jesus said in Matt. 5:9 “.” To pursue and live in peace with one another is the epitome of what it means to be a Christian. To refuse or avoid peace is the opposite of what God calls us to be and do. So, I ask you: for your sake, for Cornerstone Church’s sake, for the sake of the honor of God; pursue peace with those you are at odds with. It is not optional, it is an essential aspect to the Gospel.
Romans 11 Today finishes Paul’s complex discourse on God’s plan for Israel. It has many deep truths expressed in it. I believe that a great takeaway from these chapters is a reminder of the character and nature of God. Notice verse 22 below: ROM. 11:22Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. This passage reminds me not to get too smug about my salvation, it is God’s doing and not mine. God is not only a patient, loving God; He is also a just and righteous God who can and will bring “severity” upon His people if He needs to. But a few verses later in 30-31, we see that God desires to show mercy to all, Jews and Gentiles. ROM. 11:30-31For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their (i.e., the Jews) disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. These concepts in this chapter reminds me of the passage in C.S Lewis’ , where the children are talking with Mr. and Mrs. Beaver as the children are learning about Aslan the great lion (who represents Christ). One of the children, Lucy, I think, asks the Beavers if Aslan is safe (i.e., tamed). Mr. Beavers response is “” Let’s remember that our God is not tamed, but He is good, very good to us. Tomorrow, we enter into the application portion of Romans, I am so glad are are still with me after 2 years of reading Scripture together.
Romans 10 In this chapter, Paul continues his concern for Israel and his discussion about why they don’t believe in Jesus. Some might say to Paul, “.” He confidently asserts that is untrue, it is not as though they never heard about Jesus. In the midst of this argument comes the famous verse we hear all the time: ROM. 10:17 (NASB) This has been quoted to mean that we should read or hear the Bible to get saved and increase our faith. While that is a true statement (see 2 Timothy 3:14-17 where Paul says something very similar on which I will preach this coming Sunday), but that is not what Paul is specifically talking about here. He is talking about the verbal proclamation of the gospel Jesus Christ. In Paul’s day, people had to hear the Gospel to be saved; it was not written down yet and even if it was, a majority of people in the Roman empire were illiterate. The Greek term for “” is , which refers to the spoken word; is usually used if the written word is being referenced. See the NET (New English Translation) below as it tries to bring out the nuance of the spoken word, i.e, preaching. ROM. 10:17 Consequently faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached word () of Christ. Now, dont be put off by the word "preaching." It simply means "proclaiming," not standing on stage with a pulpit or screaming at somebody on a street corner. We all preach in different ways. So, in light of this, we need to be in prayer about our role in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus to those with whom we have a relationship.
Romans 9 After Paul’s extended section at the end of chapter 8 on the unfailing love of God for believers, in chapter 9 Paul launches into a three chapter discussion about Israel and its destiny. It is almost as though he is answering an objection his readers may have had: At the end of these 3 chapters, the answer is “absolutely not, God still has a plan for Israel to be saved.” These chapters have a great deal that is puzzling, even disturbing regarding God’s sovereign control over people’s lives. This is especially apparent as he illustrates this principle by using Jacob, Esau, and Pharaoh as examples. However you chose to interpret these chapters, Allow God to be God. What I mean by that is . We don’t tell Him how to be God, that is not a prerogative that we have. At the end of these three chapters is the doxology I have inserted below. Always keep this in mind as you read through chapters 9-11. ROM. 11:33-36 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways! For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen. Our role is to do our best to understand our sovereign God whose judgments are unsearchable and whose ways are unfathomable. But when we don’t understand, we are not to tame Him by changing Him into our image, but rather to join Paul in the doxological worship that acknowledges that He does as He pleases, but what He does is always good.
Romans 8 Romans 8 is known for so many things. One of them is the Holy Spirit. He is mentioned no less than 20 times in this chapter. I encourage you to re-read what it says about Him. The important thing to encourage you today is that the Spirit gives us life. In light of this, let’s look at the first two verses and the last two verse of this chapter to see a very important aspect of this Life we have in the Spirit. They can be summarized as follows: . The chapter opens with these words: ROM. 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ROM. 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Then it closes with this: ROM. 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, ROM. 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Email me back and tell me some things from Romans 8 that impressed you.
Chapter 7 This chapter is notoriously difficult to interpret and apply. Remember yesterday we read that sin is no longer our master; Paul said that no less than 7 times. But in verse 14 of this chapter, Paul says that he is sold into bondage to sin and he uses the present tense as though it was his current situation (which is what makes it so difficult to interpret with what he said in chapter 6 about our freedom from sin as our master). Then in verse 19 he describes the all too familiar experience of defeat: “.” We can all agree that our lives look that way sometimes, can we not? So which is it? Am I free from bondage to sin or am I still a slave? A lot of ink has been spilled on this question. There are three basic interpretations of this chapter. __ __ I reject the first position. Romans 6 is too clear (along with many other NT passages that establish this truth). The other two interpretations are live options for me, but I can not dogmatically argue either one. Whether I am correct or not, we can all agree that sometimes it feels like verse 19 is the normal Christian life because we have a tendency to give ourselves over to sin, often and sometimes so easily. If you feel defeated by sin and your relationship with the Father feels like a sham because of your choices, rest assured, there is hope. Romans 8 will show us that HE will deliver us fully and finally someday from our sin. In the mean time, remember the overwhelming evidence from chapter 6: you are not a slave to sin; so keep fighting the good fight.
Romans 6 Paul now explains the implications of what it means to be saved from our sin by Grace through Faith. Paul ended chapter 5 with the incredible truth that no matter how horrendous human sin is, God’s grace is greater. If your sin , then God’s grace (that is what the Greek really says). So, he continues in chapter 6 with the glorious implications of this amazing grace: . Paul makes emphatically clear that we have been freed from the controlling power of sin, it is no longer our master. Slowly read through the seven verses below that imply or clearly state that sin no longer has control over us. ROM. 6:6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; ROM. 6:7 for he who has died is freed from sin. ROM. 6:11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. ROM. 6:12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, ROM. 6:14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. ROM. 6:16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someoneslaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? ROM. 6:18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. ROM. 6:22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. Do you believe this utterly amazing truth? Sin is not your master anymore. We are still in the battle, but the war has been won. This truth should cause us to be deeply grateful to God for what He has done for us through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Our only response is to submit ourselves to God to be used by him as instruments of righteousness (Romans 6:13).
Romans 5 There are a multiplicity of truths presented in Romans 5. Up to this point in Romans, Paul has presented an argument to us that all mankind has rebelled against God and is hopelessly lost if left to their own devices. He then demonstrated that redemption from this sin comes only through faith in Jesus Christ, not the Law of Moses. Abraham, born 500 before the Law, was Paul’s poster child for justification by faith and not by works. Paul continues to weave the themes of sin, faith, and grace in this chapter but he introduces a new concept that he has not mentioned yet into his detailed explanation of the Gospel: . In verses 6-10 we have an amazing display of God’s love for us. ROM. 5:6 For while we were still , at the right time Christ died for the . ROM. 5:7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. ROM. 5:8 But , in that while we were yet , Christ died for us. ROM. 5:9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wraththrough Him. ROM. 5:10 For if while we were we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. I want you to notice the words Paul used to describe humanity (i.e., us); notice the progression from bad to worse: V:6 (some translations say “weak”), and V: 8 V:10 of God. Then notice what God did for us and why: V:6 Christ died for us V:8 His death was a V:9 Justified by his blood (i.e., his death) V:10 Reconciled to God by Jesus death What an amazing God we have!! Go back and read Romans 3:12-17, which is probably the most vivid description of the sinful nature of mankind. It could be summarized as “.” That is why Paul calls us “” here in 5:10. But what is God’s attitude for His enemies? He loves them with a dying love. Yes, I said a dying love. Jesus died for us as a demonstration of God’s love. Stop and contemplate that for a moment. What an amazing salvation we have been given!! God loves His enemies so much that He sent His son to dies for their sins in order to save them. What is your response to this incredible Gospel?
