Category: Pondering Romans

You can click HERE to read the passage.

Wow! Talk about having a heart for people to know Christ. Paul is saying that he is willing to give up his own salvation if only his Jewish kinsmen would believe and be saved. And this is incredibly remarkable when you recall how much knowing Christ means to Paul. In Philippians 3:8-10 Paul says, “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him…. I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His suffering….

Knowing Jesus was EVERYTHING to Paul – and yet he was willing to give it up if the Jewish people would turn from their sin and find Life in Christ.

Reading and pondering this passage make me realize how little I care for the salvation of others. I am selfish in my salvation. I don’t pray for people to turn to Christ like I should. I don’t cry over people going to hell. I don’t plead with friends and family to turn from their wickedness and embrace Christ.

“Lord, would You change me and more and more give me a heart for people like Paul had for the Jews. I confess my apathy towards evangelism. I confess my indifference for people who die without Christ. I confess that my heart is cold. I need your Spirit to bring the passionate heat of revival to my passiveness and listlessness when it comes to sharing the gospel.”

Next Week’s Passage: Romans 9:6-32
Memory Verses: Romans 8:1-23

Click HERE to read the passage.

As I was pondering this passage I found myself thinking about the extravagance of God’s love. What do I mean by extravagance? God went above and beyond what He should have done. He should have condemned us and poured out His wrath upon us but instead He chose to display His love in an astounding way. He sent His Son to woo us back to Himself. My pondering of this turned into a prayer – which went like this…

Baruch ata Adonai. Blessed are You Lord. You have lavished upon me a love that I have yet to understand. It is a love that overpowers my sin, my failure, my worries, my helplessness, my apathy. You continue to love me no matter what because of the magnanimous work of Christ on the cross.

More and more would You, by Your Spirit, enable me to grasp how long and wide and high and deep is the love of Christ that I may experience the fulness of knowing You. More and more would You root me in Your nourishing love so that I may grow and enjoy the vitality of my relationship with You. More and more would You draw me into Your passionate embrace that I may incarnate that same love to the people around me.

I am grateful that because of Your great love I am “more than a conqueror.” I am grateful that because of Your great love that NOTHING can ever separate me from You. I am grateful that You went above and beyond and demonstrated Your love in that while I was still a sinner, Christ died for me.

Next Week’s Passage: Romans 9:1-5
Memory Verses: Romans 8:1-22

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.30 And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30)

This passage, probably more than any other as far as I am concerned, epitomizes the free choice/predestination dialogue. I am going to settle that debate once and for all in this post.

Does the Bible say that we have freedom to choose to believe in God or not? Yes! Note verse 28: “…for those who love God…” Love involves choice. I choose every day whether or not I will love God. I choose every day whether or not I will love my wife. I choose every day whether or not I will love my kids. No one is making me love. I love by my own freedom of choice. The Bible absolutely affirms freedom of choice. I choose to love God and place my faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross – therefore, I am saved from condemnation and damnation.

Does the Bible say that we are predestined by God to be saved?  In other words, did He choose me to believe? Yes! Note verse 29: “…those whom He foreknew He also predestined…” I am one of God’s chosen ones. It was His choice that I be saved. He chose me before the beginning of creation to reign with Him in eternity. The Bible absolutely affirms predestination. His choice, not mine!

But are not these two affirmations saying two different things? How can they both be true? I’ll say two things about this:

1) If we were able to explain everything about God and our faith then we would not have a great and awe-inspiring God. We must leave room for mystery and trust that one day God will make that which is unclear to be incredibly clear.

2) The best explanation for this for my puny mind goes like this. From man’s perspective we have complete freedom of choice. From God’s perspective He is the One who does the choosing. Imagine yourself preparing to enter Heaven’s Gate. There is a sign over the gate that says, “Everyone who believes in the Lord shall be saved!”  (Our choice) After you enter you turn around and notice a sign on the other side of the gate that says, “Chosen before the creation of the world.”  (God’s choice) It all depends on your perspective – from this side of heaven or the other side.

You will hear lots of arguments these days about this subject. I choose to say what the Bible says – both are true, even if I can’t completely understand how.

Next Week’s Passage: Romans 8:31-39
Memory Verses: Romans 8:1-21

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27

I love these verses for several reasons…

1) Like the verse says, I do not know what to pray as I ought.

2) I feel very weak and inadequate as a pray-er.

So I take great comfort in the fact that the Spirit can do what I cannot.  I liken it to an experience that I had several years ago. I was in Haiti preaching one Sunday morning and my good friend Pastor Leon Dorleans was interpreting for me. I would say a short little sentence (perhaps 30 seconds worth) and then he would translate my English into Haitian Creole – but he would take about 2 minutes to do so and would add emotion and inflection and passion to what I said. I soon realized that he was saying what I said but he was saying it so much better – and in a way that those who were listening wanted to hear and respond to.

This is what the Spirit does. He takes my weak and ineffectual prayers and translates them in a way that God wants hear and respond to.

I do not have to be the best pray-er that ever lived. But I do need to make sure that I am living by the Spirit and not according to my sinful nature. If I do the former I will be a super(natural) pray-er. If I do the latter I will continue to be weak and anemic in my praying.

That being said, here is a prayer that I came across by John Piper that seems to be Spirit led. May it embolden your soul to pray in the Spirit as it has mine…

“O Father, how we fear the wasting of our years! Forgive us our love affair with empty things and our little love for You. Make us feel the suicidal faith in innocent idols. Give us fresh freedom from all hollow gems. Grant us to bear the weight of glory and become more like Your Son. In His all-sustaining name we pray. Amen”

Next Week’s Passage: Romans 8:28-30
Memory Verses: Romans 8:1-20

Click HERE to read the passage.

This passage deals with one of my favorite words in the Bible. Hope. I can’t imagine living without hope. Evidently Paul could not either. I see three things in this passage about hope that are worth thinking long and hard about…

Hope enables us to endure suffering (v.18) – I remember when I had a bout with kidney stones thinking to myself, one day this will all be over and I will be better. Hope. I imagine that the pain of childbirth for women is endurable because they know what is on the “otherside.” Hope. Even the disappointments and despair that comes with living in a fallen world is tempered by hope. Hope enables us to endure. When people lose hope, they lose the will to live. The gospel is gloriously good news because it is a gospel of hope!

Hope helps us make sense of “natural disasters” (v. 19-22) – Not that there are natural disasters – more like supernatural disasters. Even things like earthquakes and tsunamis and tornadoes and hurricanes are a call for hope as the creation itself goes through “birthpangs” in anticipation of its liberation from the bondage to decay. The awesome wrath that is manifest through these supernatural disasters are nothing compared to the wrath that will be displayed at the judgment. God allows such things in order to call us to the hope that awaits us in Jesus.

Hope fuels us to live with patience and eagerness (v. 23-25) – Because we are a people of hope we can deal with the things that this life throws at us differently than those who are without hope. We know that God is in control and we know that He is with us and we know that this is NOT where we belong – therefore we can display  the character of God to a world that is clueless when it comes to understanding life.

We will get to this verse in a few chapters but I love what Paul says in Romans 15:13 – ” May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Next Week’s Passage: Romans 8:26-27
Memory Verses: Romans 8:1-19

Click HERE to read the passage

The one verse in this passage that succinctly sums up what Paul is saying is verse 14 – “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”

There are eight “if” statements in these nine verses. Paul is helping his readers to know whether they are indeed believers. He spells out a spiritual litmus test – if these certain things are true then you pass the test and you are children of God. His bottom line is this: If you are led by the Spirit of God then you are a child of God.

We live in a culture where people like to say that they are Christians but not act like they are Christians. People claim to be “saved” if they once upon a time mouthed the words “invite Jesus into my life.” Paul is saying that it is much more than this. Those who are truly children of God are actually led daily by the Spirit of God. What does this mean?

John Piper puts it this way: “It is to be moved by the Spirit to kill sin by trusting in the superior worth of our Father’s love. When you fight sin by trusting in Christ as superior to what sin offers, you are being led by the Spirit.”

So… if you are not growing in holiness, if you are living sinfully and selfishly without regard to God or His Word, if you can sin and not feel the least bit convicted – then be sure that you are NOT a child of God… no matter how many times you might have invited Jesus into your life. Becoming a child of God is not a matter of the mouth and saying a few “magic” words. It is a matter of the heart and a work of transformation that God does when He rescues His children out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Next Week’s Passage: Romans 8:18-25
Memory Verses: Romans 8: 1-17

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on  the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on  the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set  the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is  hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law;  indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. “(ESV)

We have choices to make everyday:

We can choose death or we can choose Life.

We can choose hostility towards God or we can choose peace with God

We can choose to disobey God or we can choose to please Him.

The war that is fought for our hearts  is won or lost in the war room of our mind. The flesh vs. the Spirit. Everyday we make choices as to which of these combatants we are going to arm for war. If we choose to arm our flesh then our flesh will be victorious. If we choose to arm the Spirit then the Spirit will be victorious. If we desire to live according to the Spirit then we MUST think on the things of the Spirit. Purposefully, willfully, ardently – set our minds on the things of the Spirit.

Thinking! It is a lost art. We do not take much time to think. We more often than not let others do our thinking for us. Thinking takes time. It takes solitude. It takes intentionality. Question – when is the last time you took an hour to be quiet and reflect on your life or meditate on what Scripture says or  consider what God is doing around you?

And its not just that we must take the time to think but we must also think about the right things. As Philippians 3 says, things that are noble and true and pure and lovely and admirable. This is why I love pondering passages of Scripture – because it forces me to think with intentionality about the right kind of stuff. And blogging is just my way of thinking out loud.

So as long as we are talking about thinking, take a few minutes and think about these quotes about thinking.

“Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason so few engage in it.” ― Henry Ford

“He who thinks little errs much…” ― Leonardo da Vinci

“We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them” ― Albert Einstein

“Five percent of the people think; ten percent of the people think they think; and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think.” ― Thomas A. Edison

Thinking time is not wasted time. It may very well be the most important time of your week. With that in mind here is another great passage to think on…

Next Week’s Passage: Romans 8:9-17
Memory Verses: Romans 8:1-16

Many people consider Romans to be the jewel of the New Testament. If this is true then Romans 8 is the crown jewel. It is jam packed with theology, doctrine, and practical application. For the next 5-6 weeks this is where we will be pondering. If you have been memorizing and meditating on this chapter along with me this year then you may have a lot to add to the conversation. Please feel free to add your comments to mine. Let’s dig in to this great chapter by looking at verses 1-4.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.2 For the law of  the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (ESV)

(Several years ago when I first started pondering, I blogged about this passage. I am going to repeat those thoughts here because as I re-read them they echoed what jumps off the page at me now)

There are 3 words that scream out at me from this passage. I’m sure there are other words that scream at you from this incredible text. But my 3 words are “set you free” in verse 2. Here’s what that means for me…

I’ve been set free from an enslavement to sin – It’s not that I don’t sin it’s that I don’t have to sin. The power of sin has been broken and I am free not to sin.

I’ve been set free from a fear of death – Because my dad died so young I used to fear death. Now I can stare it down because I know that the best is yet to come.

I’ve been set free from life without purpose – I’m not just aimlessly drifting through life trying to make it from start to finish. My life has purpose as I follow God’s directives and choose to live according to His ways.

I’ve been set free from joyless living – Because of what Christ has accomplished for me on the cross I can live each day with “the joy of the Lord as my strength.” Even in difficulty and desperation there is still joy because He walks with me.

I’ve been set free from meaningless relationships – When you are free in Christ relationships take on a whole new meaning. Instead of trying to take what you can you try to give what you can. Instead of using others, you love others and seek to help them discover how to experience freedom and joy in Christ.

I’ve been set free from oppressive worry – I have never really been a worrier. But I know people who are worriers and it can be very oppressive. Better I think to to be a warrior than a worrier. In Christ we have an arsenal at our disposal to combat worry so that we can experience the peace that freedom in Christ brings.

With freedom as our birthright we can do battle against the enemies that want to destroy our faith and demolish the foundation that we have in Christ. As Braveheart cried out upon his execution, let “FREEDOM” be the clarion call that drives you this week to live out the gospel in real life.

Next Week’s Passage: Romans 8:5-8
Memory Verses: Romans 8:1-15

Click HERE to read the passage.

This passage tells me a lot about myself. It also tells me a lot about the Apostle Paul that I can really appreciate.

Paul was not a “holier-than-thou” Christian – He was a saint. A sinner saved by grace – just like you and I.  Not a super-saint. Not a holy man. Just a man who wanted to know Christ and serve him whole-heartedly. He didn’t ever try to come across as “I’m a better Christian than you.” He wanted to live a holy life but he failed again and again. Just like you and I do.

Paul struggled with sin just like I struggle with sin – And he was man enough to admit it. He was being real. But it was a real struggle. A struggle he faced every day. The life that he wanted to live he found he was not capable of living. He just wasn’t strong enough by himself to overcome the sin that was living inside him. This passage is an indication of the fight he faced but also an indication of a cry for help (v.24)

Paul took his fight with sin seriously – He recognized that he was in a war and he was willing to fight. He was willing to engage the enemy. He was not going to be content with letting sin get the best of him. Too many believers tuck their spiritual tails between their legs and give in without putting up a fight. Paul loved his Savior too much to let that happen. He was willing to “own” his sinful nature. He never used the excuse “The devil made me do it.” And he didn’t let his sinful nature keep him from becoming a Spirit filled, Spirit fueled man. But it was a fight every step of the way.

Paul knew his only hope was Jesus – Verse 25 is the refrain of Paul’s life – and it should be of ours as well – “Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Paul knew what you and I need to learn and re-affirm every day. That it is only through Jesus that we can fight sin. It is only through Jesus that we can come into the presence of God. It is only through Jesus that we can pursue a life of holiness. It is only through Jesus that we can too can be Spirit filled and Spirit fueled. It is only through Jesus that we can experience the joy of the Lord. He is our only hope!

May you be encouraged to fight the good fight this week as you find your hope in the Lord Jesus .

Next Week’s Passage: Romans 8:1-4
Memory Verses: Romans 8:1-15

Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.

4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

Change is hard for a lot of people. People like things to stay the same. Change means adjustments. Change means learning new things. Think about what it must have been like for the Jews who had been used to serving God by obeying the Law. Now all of a sudden Jesus pops on the scene and says “there is a new sheriff in town” and its it’s not the Law – it’s the Spirit. And you’re going to have to learn how to listen to the Spirit. And you’re going to have to get used to this new way of serving God. The old way is now defunct. The new way of the Spirit is going to mean adjustments but once you learn this new way it will produce incredible fruit. You won’t like it at first because it means change, but you will love it once you get used to it.

As I apply this “principle of change” to my life and to our church I can kind of feel what the Jews must have felt. But I also know that even though change is hard, often times change is good. I don’t ever want to get so stuck-in-the-mud that I am not open to change – especially change that will be bodaciously fruitful.

Are you ready for change? Are you ready to change? I hope so, because change is a’coming.

Next Week’s Passage: Romans 7:7-25
Memory Verses: Romans 8:1-14