Tag: Faith

Digging in Deeper: Romans 9:1-5

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“I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience testifies to me through the Holy Spirit—that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the benefit of my brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple service, and the promises. The ancestors are theirs, and from them, by physical descent,  came the Christ, who is God over all, praised forever. Amen.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever known someone who had every opportunity in the world, and yet couldn’t manage to accomplish any of the best things they had the potential to do? That’s an experience that ranges from frustrating to maddening. In some particularly egregious circumstances it can be downright depressing. As we begin our look at Romans 9 today, we find Paul starting a new section. The next three chapters of Paul’s letter answer a question that has been nagging at us over the last few verses. What about Israel? Let’s dive in here and see what Paul has to say about God’s plans for Israel in light of the Gospel.

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Digging in Deeper: Reflections on Freedom

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About a dozen years ago, author and speaker, Os Guinness, wrote book entitled A Free People’s Suicide. Guinness is British by birth, but is a careful student and passionate fan of American life and culture. He is also a committed Christian whose thinking on matters of Christian worldview and apologetics are worth engaging for those interested in learning and growing in their faith and its application to the broader culture. 

In any event, the book is a kind of love letter to the United States. The freedom we have available to us in our nation is unlike anything that exists anywhere else in the world. No other nation has a constitution that is quite like ours. There’s a reason that our Constitution has been in place and operational longer than any other national constitution in the world. Other nations have copied what we have, usually badly, but no one has ever proposed something that gave people a greater experience of ordered liberty than what we have here. 

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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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Morning Musing: Romans 8:31-32

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“What, then, are we to say about these things?  If God is for us, who is against us? He did not even spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything?” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Over the last few weeks, we have walked with Paul as he has laid out some of the glories of the Gospel. He has talked about our freedom from condemnation in Christ. He has celebrated the presence of the Spirit in us. He has boasted of our adoption as children into God’s family. He has marveled at the access through prayer we have of God—with His help, no less. Most recently he has declared with wonder God’s ability to bring good to our lives regardless of the circumstances we face. Here at the end, through a series of three key questions, Paul ponders some of the implications of all these wonderful truths. Let’s take a look at each of them in turn.

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Morning Musing: Romans 8:19-22

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“For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Things in this world are not the way they should be. That’s something every religion acknowledges in one way or another. It’s not just that we’re broken, though. The problem extends to the whole world. Creation itself is broken. Creation itself needs to be restored and set right again. Believe it or not, this is part of the Gospel. Let’s take a look here as Paul explains that creation is looking forward to our redemption as much as we are.

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