Tag: Grace

Morning Musing: Romans 11:6

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“Now if by grace, then it is not by works; otherwise grace ceases to be grace.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

This verse really goes with the last section. I could have kept it all together, but what Paul says right here is important enough that I felt like it needed to be treated individually. It’s important enough that Paul actually dedicated most of an entire letter to exploring and unpacking it (that would be Galatians). We won’t spend quite that much time on it today, but let’s take at least a couple of minutes to talk about the clearest statement Paul may have ever written on this absolutely essential Gospel concept.

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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 8:18

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“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I don’t get sore throats anymore. Not often anyway. And on the rare occasion that I do get one, it’s typically not very bad, and it hardly phases me. This wasn’t always the case. I used to get them fairly frequently. I still remember suffering a bout of mono in high school which featured what was quite literally the worst sore throat of my life. None had been that bad before, and none since have come close to it. Part of the reason none have been that bad since is because that one gave me perspective. Perspective is a powerful thing in the midst of a hard season because it allows us to see beyond the immediate to something bigger than that. One of the blessings of the Gospel is the gift of perspective. Let’s take a look at one of the ways that can be particularly helpful.

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Morning Musing: Romans 8:2

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“…because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

In Paul’s letter to the churches in the region of Galatia (modern-day southern Turkey), he speaks at length about the freedom we have in Christ. But what exactly are we freed from? We know from the marvelous declaration Paul makes at the beginning of the chapter that we are freed from condemnation. Here, Paul spells out in a bit more detail what that means. Let’s talk about following Jesus and real freedom.

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Morning Musing: Romans 7:12-13

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“So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good. Therefore, did what is good become death to me? Absolutely not! But sin, in order to be recognized as sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment, sin might become sinful beyond measure.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I love a good mystery story. I tend to let myself get taken into the story such that I’m fully along for the ride. I rarely figure the best ones out until right at the end, which, in a really good mystery, should always be the case. One of the best I’ve ever seen is the movie, The Usual Suspects, starring Kevin Spacey. Spacey plays a criminal who, after being arrested, convinces the police with an elaborate—and entirely false—story that he is innocent even though he was the mastermind behind the whole thing. One of the best lines from the movie is a quote attributed to a 19th century French poet and essayist, Charles Baudelaire. “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” When we become convinced that evil isn’t really evil, that sin isn’t really a thing, we find ourselves able to justify all sorts of things. Law serves as the only effective restraint when we walk that path. Sin, though, is bad enough stuff it can corrupt even that. Let’s talk a bit more today about the relationship of sin and the law.

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