Tag: Following Jesus

Morning Musing: Romans 14:10-12

Leave a comment

“But you, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will give praise to God.’ So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Christians have often been accused of being judgmental. Sometimes this label has been well-earned. Other times it results simply from our inviting people to live in God’s kingdom with its ethic of righteousness instead of the world. The teachings of the New Testament on judgment can be confusing. Sometimes we’re told to judge, sometimes we’re told not to judge. Let’s explore what Paul has to say here and talk about how to get judgment right as followers of Jesus.

Read the rest…

Morning Musing: Romans 14:2-3

Leave a comment

“One person believes he may eat anything, while one who is weak eats only vegetables. One who eats must not look down on one who does not eat, and one who does not eat must not judge one who does, because God has accepted him.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Yesterday we introduced the idea of struggles to get along in the body of Christ because of differences of opinion over non-essential matters of the faith. Well, that wasn’t exactly the language we used, but that was the issue all the same. Paul’s counsel then was that we should receive one another as we are, weaknesses and all, without getting into needless and unhelpful arguments about issues on which differences of opinion are okay to have. The freedom we have available to us in Christ is vast, and if we are going to get along well in the church, we have to learn to respect that freedom. As Paul continues into chapter 14, he gets a little more specific about the particular shape of this issue in the Roman church. Let’s take a look.

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Romans 13:13-14

Leave a comment

“Let us walk with decency, as in the daytime: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Do you remember getting left home alone for the first time as a kid? The sense of freedom—at least for a short time—was exhilarating. The only thing that could dampen that joy was a to do list from your parents. The freedom was really a test to determine how trustworthy you were. Eventually they were going to return. When they did, you wanted to be caught doing the right things so you could enjoy even more freedom. Last time, we reflected on Paul’s emphasis on the nearness of Jesus’ return and what that means for how we should be living our lives. In this next part to conclude the chapter, Paul gets more specific on what that looks like. Let’s take a look.

Read the rest…

Redeeming the Broken

4 Comments

Interruptions are part of life. For the last couple of weeks in our teaching series, When Life Gets in the Way, we have been talking about the kinds of interruptions God’s plans can bring to our lives and what to do in those times. But what about when our interruptions are the cause of our own, sinful choices. What then? Today we are going to explore the story of a Bible “hero” whose choice to sin seems like it should have derailed all of God’s plans for his life. But it didn’t. Let’s talk about why and what that might mean for us.

Redeeming the Broken

People are different. Now, you can take that statement in several different ways, but what I mean is that we’re not like the rest of creation. When Moses was poetically describing the creation process, when he got to the part where God made people, he presented it differently than all the other aspects of creation. He changed the poetic pattern, which would have been a major tipoff that something was different. He said this: “So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.” In bearing God’s image—His personal characteristics, not His divine ones—God made us distinct from the rest of creation. 

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Romans 13:11-12

Leave a comment

“Besides this, since you know the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is nearly over, and the day is near; so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I don’t like to put things off. My preference is generally to work ahead of whatever the schedule happens to be. That way I can sit and relax until it’s time to get started. Some people, on the other hand, work best under pressure. Admittedly, though, when I have a quick approaching due date, I can be remarkably productive. There’s something about an impending deadline that spurs us into action. No one wants to be caught unprepared when the moment of testing arrives. A sense of urgency can result in a whole lot of positive action. Here, near the end of Romans 13, Paul puts a bit of a sense of urgency on our faith. Let’s talk about why the return of Christ matters and what it means.

Read the rest…