Category: Digging in Deeper

Digging in Deeper: 1 Timothy 1:1-2

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“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our savior and of Christ Jesus our hope: To Timothy, my true son in the faith. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Young people need old people. Sometimes they’re fully conscious of it. Sometimes they’re not, but the need is so pressing they are drawn to them anyway. More specifically, young men need older men and young women need older women. Young people need models and mentors they can look up to for wisdom and direction, for encouragement and even for correction at times. When they find someone like this with whom they connect, the bond that forms can be incredibly strong. A couple of weeks ago I wrote a mid-season review of the HBO-Max series, The Penguin, about the rise of the classic Batman villain. Since then, I’ve finished the series. I don’t often come back to a single season of a series more than once, but this one really stuck with me. Let’s talk about the church, being a mentor, and why The Penguin was both great and terrible.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 3:27-31

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“Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By one of works? No, on the contrary, by a law of faith. For we conclude that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then nullify the law through faith? Absolutely not!  On the contrary, we uphold the law.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

We are naturally drawn to the concept of equality. Now, we often confuse equality for fairness because fairness is easier to get our minds and selfish hearts around. Small children don’t complain, “That’s not equal!” They complain, “That’s not fair.” But whether we are thinking in terms of fairness or equality, we have to clarify which end of the process is getting our attention. When it comes to salvation, the God who saves us is just. As a result, He has created a path way to salvation that is perfectly fair and equal for all people. Let’s talk about what this means, how it works, and why it’s such a good thing.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 3:21-24

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“But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Everything has been building to this. For six weeks now, we have been working through Paul’s indictment of sin and sinners. It’s been eye-opening and bruising. Paul doesn’t let anyone escape the conclusion that everybody’s guilty. He even reemphasizes it here. But into this mess of guilt and sin, God offers us a way out. This is the good news. We may all be lawbreakers in one form or another (but not degree; we are all lawbreakers of the same degree because there’s only one degree), but God has provided a way out that doesn’t involve our keeping the law. Let’s start talking about this very good news.

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Digging in Deeper: Ephesians 4:26-27

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“‘Be angry and do not sin.’ Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, and don’t give the devil an opportunity.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Anger is a challenging emotion. It is also a masking emotion. Anger can serve as an easy emotional substitute for whatever it is we are actually feeling. Often we don’t or can’t put word to what our actual emotional state is, and because anger is easier to both understand and express, we just let that take over. Sometimes anger is the right emotional response to a particular situation. More often it probably is not. But in spite of the good that can come from righteous and proper anger – anger over injustice, for instance – when anger gets in the driver’s seat of our lives, it can cause all sorts of chaos. I’m thinking about anger this morning because that complicated emotion lies at the heart of the newest Marvel offering. Let’s talk about Captain America: Brave New World.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 3:9-18

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“What then? Are we any better off? Not at all! For we have already charged that both Jews  and Greeks are all under sin, as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues. Vipers’ venom is under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and wretchedness are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

The Gospel is good news. But before it’s good news, it’s hard news. In our journey through Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, we are almost to where the great apostle starts to unpack the good news. For the last few weeks, though, it’s pretty much been all hard news. We’ve got two last stops to make on Paul’s journey through the hard news. The next one is a kind of summary that offers a final setup to the good news. This one, though, is where Paul finally lands with both feet on the hard news and doesn’t hold back. Brace yourself. This one is tough.

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