Pondering Romans 8:1-4

Posted on by Shay Reyner

Book-of-RomansMany 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

Brick #20 – 2 Corinthians 5:17

Posted on by Shay Reyner

Untitled design“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

This is one of the very first verses that I memorized as a young Christian. It is a great verse. Here’s why:

If anyone – The new life that this verse talks about is not for a select few. It is not for the privileged. It is available for anyone and everyone. But that doesn’t mean that EVERYONE is a new creation. It is a conditional promise. If. “If” is one of those BIG little words. “IF anyone is in Christ…” What does it mean to be “in Christ”.

In Christ – It is almost overwhelming to understand all that is true for those who are in Christ.

  1. In Christ Jesus you were given grace before the world was created. 2 Timothy 1:9, “He gave us grace in Christ Jesus before the ages began.”
  2. In Christ Jesus you were chosen by God before creation. Ephesians 1:4, “God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.”
  3. In Christ Jesus you are loved by God with an inseparable love. Romans 8:38–39, “I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
  4. In Christ Jesus you were redeemed and forgiven for all your sins. Ephesians 1:7, “In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses.”
  5. In Christ Jesus you are justified before God and the righteousness of God in Christ is imputed to you. 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake God made Christ to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
  6. In Christ Jesus you have been seated in the heavenly places even while he lived on earth. Ephesians 2:6, “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
  7. In Christ Jesus all the promises of God are Yes for you. 2 Corinthians 1:20, “All the promises of God find their Yes in Christ.”
  8. In Christ Jesus you are being sanctified and made holy. 1 Corinthians 1:2, “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus.”
  9. In Christ Jesus everything you really needed will be supplied. Philippians 4:19, “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
  10. In Christ Jesus the peace of God will guard your heart and mind. Philippians 4:7, “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
  11. In Christ Jesus you have eternal life. Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
  12. And in Christ Jesus you will be raised from the dead at the coming of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:22, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” All those united to Adam in the first humanity die. All those united to Christ in the new humanity rise to live again.

(this last part copied from THIS  Desiring God blog post)

Why this verse is foundational – When we begin to understand what it means to be “in Christ” then we can begin to understand what this new life is really all about. Too many believers don’t understand, and thus, though they have been made new they continue to act in the same old way. it would be like a poor man inheriting $10,000,000 but continuing to live as if he were still destitute. It doesn’t make sense.

Pondering Extras for Romans 7:7-25

Posted on by Shay Reyner

PonderingExtrasD. L. Moody once said…

“When I was converted, I made this mistake: I thought the battle was already mine, the victory already won, the crown already in my grasp. I thought the old things had passed away, that all things had become new, and that my old corrupt nature, the old life, was gone. But I found out, after serving Christ for a few months, that conversion was only like enlisting in the army–that there was a battle on hand.”

In Our Daily Bread we read about how we can’t but He can – A young boy was at the barbershop for a haircut. The room was filled with cigar smoke. The lad pinched his nose and exclaimed, “Who’s been smoking in here!”

The barber sheepishly confessed, “I have.”

The boy responded, “Don’t you know it’s not good for you?”

“I know,” the barber replied. “I’ve tried to quit a thousand times but I just can’t.”

The boy commented, “I understand. I’ve tried to stop sucking my thumb, but I can’t quit either!”

Those two remind me of the way believers sometimes feel about their struggle with sins of the flesh. Paul summed it up well by crying out,

“O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24).

His spiritual battle might have left him in despair if he had not found the solution. Following his agonizing question, he declared with triumph,

“I thank God — through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Ro 7:25)

Are you struggling to break some stubborn habit? Like Paul, you can be an overcomer. If you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, victory is possible through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Confidently affirm with Paul,

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Php 4:13)

Pondering Romans 7:7-25

Posted on by Shay Reyner

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

Brick #19 – Acts 1:8

Posted on by Shay Reyner

Untitled design“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8

What does “power from the Holy Spirit” look like in the life of a believer? How do you know if you are experiencing His power. Here are a few thoughts…

Courage that overcomes fear (see Acts 4:8 and 13) – I have heard it said that courage is NOT the absence of fear but rather doing that which we fear. This is what the Holy Spirit enables us to do. To boldly speak up even when it scares us. To take on a challenge even when it is out of our comfort zone. To step out in faith even when we know that there are risks involved.

Overflowing joy (see Ephesians 5:18-20) – When the Holy Spirit fills us with power there is an inexplicable joy that wells up within us. There is a song in our heart that has to be sung. There is praise and thanksgiving that has to shared. Joy is a powerful mark of a believer – mainly because there are so few outside of Christ who genuinely seem to be content and at peace with what the world has proffered them.

A vigorous grasp of God’s love (see Ephesians 3:16-19) – A Holy Spirit empowered believer understands and grasps the full extent of the love of Christ. He grasps what it cost God to send His Son to the cross. He grasps what the wrath of God would be upon his life were it not for God’s propitiating love. He grasps what knowing God’s love  calls him to. It is a powerful thing to understand the love of God.

Endurance and patience ( see Colossians 1:11) – This world is not always a nice place to live in. People are not always easy to put up with. Sometimes life is just plain sucky. The Spirit’s power is emphatically manifest when believers  deal with whatever life throws at them with grace and integrity and gritty fortitude. The ability to persevere in this way is nothing less than a demonstration of the Spirit’s dynamic strength in a believer.

These are certainly not the only marks of The Holy Spirit’s power in believers. But it is a good place to start thinking about whether you are experiencing power in your life from on high. And to start thinking about if not, why not?

Why this verse is foundational: “Will God ever ask you to do something you are not able to do? The answer is yes–all the time! It must be that way, for God’s glory and kingdom. If we function according to our ability alone, we get the glory; if we function according to the power of the Spirit within us, God gets the glory. He wants to reveal Himself to a watching world.”
― Henry T. Blackaby

Pondering Extras on Romans 7:1-6

Posted on by Shay Reyner

PonderingExtrasA prayer by John MacArthur on this passage:

“Father, we’re thankful tonight that we’ve been able to look into Your Law, say with the psalmist, “O how I love Your Law.” These are just basic, simple, foundational understandings, but so important for us. And for many of us through the years these are well-known truths, how important they are for those that are new in the faith, or those that have been unclear or untaught. We thank You for the greatness of our salvation and the full deliverance that is provided for us in Christ, deliverance from the law. We thank You at the same time that we’ve been delivered from the threat that it holds over the sinner. We have not been delivered from its goodness, its righteousness, its holiness, its spirituality, its blessings, its potential for…for fruitfulness, but rather we have been placed in a position by Your grace to be free from punishment by the Law and free to fulfill it by Your Spirit. We desire to be obedient and thereby to grow in sanctification to follow the path of Christ, consistently being made more and more like Him who perfectly obeys You. That is our desire. Sanctify us by Your Word and may we be useful to You in bringing honor to Christ, we pray in His name. Amen.”

Pondering Romans 7:1-6

Posted on by Shay Reyner

Book-of-RomansOr 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

Brick #18 – Joshua 1:8

Posted on by Shay Reyner

Untitled design“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:8 (ESV)

Believers for the most part tend to be New Testament people. That’s where we spend the bulk of our time. But there is so much meat in the Older Testament. Joshua 1:8 is one of those “choice” verses that you would miss if you steer clear of the O.T.

I want to be successful, don’t you? But success from God’s perspective looks different than success from the world’s perspective. Success according to the Scripture looks like this: Finding out what it is that God wants you to do, and then doing it! So success may or may not mean making a lot of money. It may or may not include being prominent. It may or may not mean living the “American dream.”

This verse gives us a few clues as to how to be successful in God’s eyes:

1) Reading and intentionally thinking about God’s Word needs to be a priority. This is what “meditating” is. It is not a far eastern Hindu type practice while sitting in the lotus position. It is being INTENTIONAL to ponder God’s Word. Ponder it quietly before the Lord and then ponder it out loud with other people. Think about it and talk about it – whenever you get a chance to.

2) But success is more than thinking about God’s Word – it is INTENTIONALLY putting God’s Word into practice. Doing what it says! Joshua 1:8 echoes what James says in the N.T. “Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves; do what it says.” (James 1:22).

Hearing the Word of God and then doing it… this is God’s formula for a successful and prosperous life.

Why this BRICK is foundational: Jesus says it better than me…

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matthew 7:24-27)

Pondering Extras for Romans 6:15-23

Posted on by Shay Reyner

PonderingExtrasAccording to tradition, this is how an Eskimo hunter kills a wolf. First, the Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. He then adds layer after layer of blood until the blade is completely concealed by the frozen blood.

Next, the hunter fixes his knife in the ground with the blade up. When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait, he licks it, tasting the fresh frozen blood. He begins to lick faster, more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare. Feverishly now, harder and harder, the wolf licks the blade in the cold Arctic night. His craving for blood becomes so great that the wolf does not notice the razor-sharp sting of the naked blade on his own tongue. Nor does he recognize the instant when his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his own warm blood. His carnivorous appetite continues to crave more until in the morning light, the wolf is found dead in the snow!

Don’t be fooled by the temptations of sin. Like the wolf, we can get away with it for a while. Eventually, however, its true character is revealed. Sin leads to death and destruction. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”. (Romans 6:23)

Pondering Romans 6:15-23

Posted on by Shay Reyner

Click HERE to read the passage.

We often make decisions by taking a “what’s in it for me” approach. As Paul pleads with us here in Romans 6 to live for Christ, he makes his appeal to our human nature – “…because you are weak in your natural selves.” His argument essentially goes like this:  Even when you think selfishly, the pros greatly outweigh the cons when it comes to living for Christ. No matter how you look at it, it is to your great benefit to give yourself wholeheartedly to Him. (vs 19-23)

So what are some of these benefits?

  • We are no longer enslaved to sin
  • We have been gifted eternal life – which has both a future and present component
  • Our sins are forgiven – we don’t have to live guilt-ridden lives
  • We are loved in a way that is almost incomprehensible
  • Our lives now have significance and purpose
  • We have the assurance of God’s presence
  • We have the promise of peace in the midst of the most daunting of circumstances
  • We are promised divine guidance through the Holy Spirit who dwells within us
  • We have access to the very throne room of God
  • We are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy
  • We can live our lives fueled by hope especially when facing heartache and despair
  • We are given a family made up of likeminded brothers and sisters

The list could go on and on. In fact, I’d love for those of you reading this to add some other benefits that you have experienced as you live for Christ.

When I was in college someone asked me: “If you found out that this Christianity thing was all a bunch of hokum what would you do?” My reply went something like this: “I would still live as if it were true because of all the ways that my life is better as a result of my faith.” Christianity is a good news/good news kind of deal. Not only does it work in real everyday life, but it also just so happens to be TRUE!

Next Week’s Passage: Romans 7:1-6
Memory Verses: Romans 8:1-13