Tag: The Gospel

Morning Musing: Romans 8:2

Leave a comment

“…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.

Read the rest…

Morning Musing: Romans 8:1

Leave a comment

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus…” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Here we come at last to the place toward which everything we have talked about so far has been aiming. Here we find Paul’s magnum opus. If all of Romans is Paul’s best work, chapter 8 here is the brightest jewel in the crown. We have spent several weeks working through the hard news of the Gospel. Sin is messy stuff to say the very least. But grace is bigger. Grace is better. Starting with today and this incredible declaration of freedom in Christ, let’s explore with Paul some of the wonderful implications of what God has done for us in Christ and what makes the Gospel such very good news.

Read the rest…

Morning Musing: Romans 6:21-22

Leave a comment

“So what fruit was produced then from the things you are now ashamed of? The outcome of those things is death. But now, since you have been set free from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification—and the outcome is eternal life!” (CSB – Read the chapter)

When Dr. Phil was doing his regular, daytime talk show, one of the lines he became famous for was a simple question: How’s that working for you? People would come to him with complaints about their lives, and he would lead them to tell him about the things they were doing. What were their patterns? What kind of choices were they making? Then he would ask his question: How’s that working for you? His point was that the outcomes we experience in life are the result of the choices we make. The path we are walking determines the destination to which we are heading. Paul would seem to agree. Let’s look at what he says next.

Read the rest…

Morning Musing: Romans 6:6-11

Leave a comment

“For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over him. For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

As you read through Romans 6, Paul repeats himself. He makes one basic point and then drives it into our heads almost relentlessly. The reason for this is simple: This stuff is crucial to understand if we are going to properly understand the Gospel. And the point he makes is one we have talked about before. Apart from Christ, we are slaves to sin. In Christ, we are free. Let’s explore this with Paul here a little further.

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: 2 Corinthians 3:12

1 Comment

“Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

A few weeks ago I was in the Lego Store with my family and saw their Bumblebee set. I’m not talking about the bug. I’m talking about the Transformer, great warrior, and loyal friend of Optimus Prime. It may be one of the cooler sets I’ve built because it actually transforms from a VW Bug to a robot. It’s sitting on my desk in robot mode now, but I switch it up every now and then just for fun. I love Transformers. I also love cartoons. Because of this, I was most excited to see the new Transformers movie, Transformers One. I didn’t get to catch it in theaters because life, but I finally got to watch it recently. Let’s talk about it.

Read the rest…