Category: Morning Musings

Morning Musing: Romans 10:1-3

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“Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God concerning them is for their salvation. I can testify about them that they have zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. Since they are ignorant of the righteousness of God and attempted to establish their own righteousness, they have not submitted to God’s righteousness.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the most entertaining, but also frustrating experiences in life is having an argument with a toddler who is convinced she’s right when she’s really not. That little girl will passionately defend her position to the ground. It’s cute, really. The problem, of course, is that she doesn’t know what she is talking about. She has zeal, but insufficient knowledge. Knowing something with a lot of passion and even confidence doesn’t count for much when you’re still wrong. As Paul continues talking about Israel and the church here, he says one of those groups was in that position. Let’s talk about which one and why.

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Morning Musing: Romans 9:30-33

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“What should we say then? Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained righteousness—namely the righteousness that comes from faith. But Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not achieved the righteousness of the law. Why is that? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. As it is written, ‘Look, I am putting a stone in Zion to stumble over and a rock to trip over, and the one who believes on him will not be put to shame.’” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the dangers of successfully creating a church where everyone feels welcome is that anyone starts to come. And, when anyone starts coming, you never know who might be there. They might generally fit the mold, or they might shatter it, leaving the group trying to figure out hours to successfully integrate someone new. But what happens when so many new people who don’t fit the mold start to come that the entire mold starts to be remolded? Well, usually a church split. But sometimes all the new people connect because they’ve bought into the vision at about the same time that the old people have moved on from it. That’s the story of the church from the beginning. Let’s talk about it as we wrap up chapter 9 today.

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Morning Musing: Romans 9:14-18

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“What should we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not! For he tells Moses, ‘I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.’ So then, it does not depend on human will or effort but on God who shows mercy. For the Scripture tells Pharaoh, ‘I raised you up for this reason so that I may display my power in you and that my name may be proclaimed in the whole earth.’ So then, he has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy and he hardens whom he wants to harden.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the great theological debates within the church over the centuries is the question of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. Where’s the line? How do those two things go together? Do they go together? Which one should get emphasized more and which one less? Can you emphasize both equally and still be intellectually consistent? The real challenge here is actually not the debate itself, but the fact that the Scriptures seem to hold both ideas in tension and they don’t resolve it. Some passages seem to point pretty clearly in one direction. Some passages point in the other direction. Here’s one that points toward the sovereignty side of the equation. Let’s take a few minutes to examine what Paul is saying and what he’s not saying.

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Morning Musing: Romans 8:35-39

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“Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Insecurity is a terrible weight to bear. The feeling that we are not enough on our own can be a debilitating one. The person carrying that load begins to search for anything that will assure them otherwise. When they find something that seems to fit the bill, they’ll do just about anything to keep that feeling coming. The God who reveals Himself in the pages of the Scriptures is perfect in every way. He is unapproachable in holiness. He is unequaled in righteousness. It’s easy for us to convince ourselves we aren’t good enough for Him; that we will never merit His love. The Gospel says otherwise. Let’s talk about it.

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Morning Musing: Romans 8:33-34

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“Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever been accused of something? Were you guilty of the thing you were accused of? If not, how did you defend yourself? If so, what did you do about it? Trying to defend or otherwise clear our name when it has been soiled somehow is no small task. It is made all the more difficult when we are trying to do it on our own. Well, as followers of Jesus, Paul says, we are not alone. Today, let’s take a look with Paul at another of the incredible blessings of the Gospel.

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