Tag: Understanding the New Testament

Digging in Deeper: Romans 1:19-20

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“…since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I love engaging with optical illusions. I especially like the kind where you can’t see something at first, but then, when your brain has wrapped itself fully around what’s really there, you can’t not see it. Sometimes it takes a little work to get to the place where you can really see—and sometimes you need help from someone else who can already see to adjust your mind and eyes accordingly—but that moment when you finally get it is always a pretty sweet one. Thinking about it, the world is kind of like an optical illusion. It looks one way at first glance, but once you see what really is, you just about can’t not see it anymore. This is where Paul goes next. Let’s join him.

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Morning Musing: Romans 1:18

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“For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth…” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Did you ever do anything you knew was wrong when you did it, but then never faced any consequences for it? My guess is that you felt pretty good then, at least initially. You felt like you had gotten away with something. Maybe it started to convince yourself that it wasn’t really all that wrong of a thing as you first thought. Perhaps it led to your doing it again…and again…until you finally did get caught. And when you finally did get caught it was bad. Worse even than what it likely would have been had you gotten caught in the beginning. What you needed that first time you did it was a bit of wrath directed your way. Wrath is not a bad thing. It also happens to be an attribute of God. It is, in fact, the first attribute of God Paul mentions after introducing the Gospel to us. Let’s talk about what it is and why it matters.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 1:16-17

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“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the ironic secrets of good writing is that it takes longer to write shorter pieces than it does longer ones. It’s easy to dump a bunch of words out on a page. Pairing those down to the point that you have just the right words takes longer. The same goes with explaining a large and complicated idea. Boiling things down to few words that are clear and compelling takes work. With that in mind, these two verses from Paul must have taken a lot of work. This is one of the clearest, most direct statements of the Gospel ever written. Let’s talk about it.

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Morning Musing: Romans 1:11-12

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“For I want very much to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, that is, to be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Cultural Christianity was a real thing in this country for much of the 20th century and into the 21st. If you wanted to be someone, you had to be an active member of a church. Preferably a Mainline Denominational church, and the closer it was located to the center of town, the better. Gradually, though, the active member part was dropped in favor of merely an association with a church. Today, even that is mostly gone. The church really isn’t seen as a necessity anymore culturally, and that cultural trend is bleeding into the church itself. So, why does the church matter? Let’s talk about that as we continue Paul’s greeting to the Roman believers today.

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Morning Musing: Romans 1:8-10

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“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because the news of your faith is being reported in all the world. God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in telling the good news about his Son — that I constantly mention you, always asking in my prayers that if it is somehow in God’s will, I may now at last succeed in coming to you.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

On rare occasions I have the opportunity to preach somewhere other than my church. When this happens, I don’t approach the message the same way as I do with the people I know and preach to every week. Instead, I try to stay more generalized in my focus and encouraging in my tone. No one wants to get scolded by a stranger. Paul had never visited the church in Rome. As a result, he didn’t approach them with quite the same familiarity as he did the church in Corinth that he had planted and spent nearly two years pastoring. Today, tomorrow, and Monday, let’s take a look at how Paul greeted these people he had never met.

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