Tag Archives: Romans

The Road Through Romans: Ashamed How?

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We continue with our discussion through Paul’s Letter to the Romans, verse by verse. Today we reach one of the most famous portions of the letter. In Romans 1:16,17 Paul writes,

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

We are going to camp right here for a few days if you don’t mind because there is a lot I do not want to miss.

If you have missed any of our previous discussions they can be found on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

Paul has already discussed that he is obligated to bring the gospel to the Greeks and the barbarians because of a debt he owes them which is actually a debt he owes to God the Son, Jesus. That said he takes things a step further when he says, “I am not ashamed” of the gospel.

We have all been obligated to do things we would rather not do, things that we are forced by some higher power to do that make us almost ashamed, things like: taking your little brother to the movie with your friends because mom says so, dancing the Polka with your little sister in front of the relatives because Gramma thinks you are as good as the dancers on Lawrence Welk or taking your third cousin to the prom because your Dad owes Uncle Innunzio money.

I bet you’re getting the picture here. There is a world of difference between being obligated to do a thing and being unashamed to do it. Paul is letting his readers know that not only is he obligated to do this thing called preaching the gospel he is unashamed to do it. He is glad to do it no matter the consequences. He would choose it even if he was not obliged because he loves God and because whatever anyone else may think Paul is genuinely sold on the concept that the gospel works. Paul is not some used car salesmen playing a numbers game to please the boss man. Paul is a true believer.

I’m a New Englander. I really get the concept of obligation. Duty is practically my nick name. I cut my teeth on the Protestant work ethic and I come from a long line of work-a-holics.  I can put in more than an honest day’s labor. But that alone doesn’t cut it for God. It’s the attitude that is the key. You see, no amount of work can make up for doubting “your product” and to be honest sometimes it is doubt that fuels my work. I wonder sometimes if Jesus is really going to show up and so I work extra hard at being a back up savior in case the REAL ONE doesn’t come through. Can anybody out there relate?

This is a problem that I have had to work through for many years. I am getting better at remembering I am not the Savior nor am I responsible to prove that Jesus is. My only job is to proclaim that He is Savior and Jesus takes it from there. Anything else is just me being ashamed and doubtful that the gospel will really work.

I suppose being ashamed of the gospel can come out in a lot of ways. Have you ever struggled with it? IF so what did that struggle look like?

The Road Through Romans: The Holy Obligation

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We are continuing our discussion through the Book of Romans today and we are moving on to verses 14 and 15 of chapter 1 which reads,

I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.

I am interested in the word right at the beginning of the verse, “obligated”. What does Paul mean when he says he is obligated?

I am also interested in who Paul is indebted to. He is indebted to the Greeks and the barbarians; that is the people of Greece and all the  Gentiles beyond the influence of the Roman empire.

Why is Paul indebted to all these people? Is it because they have been so nice to him?

By the time Paul writes his letter to the Romans he has been stoned by the Ephesians, whipped and unjustly imprisoned by the Philippians, sued by the Corinthians and unjustly arrested by the Jews who also plotted to assassinate him. The debt he owes cannot be one of gratitude.

Could he be talking about a cultural obligation. Is he saying “The Greeks have created western culture! They are so awesome I feel obligated to them!”?

Nah! Paul was a Jew a Pharisee even associating with Gentiles was something frowned upon, never mind considering their culture as something to be admired and feel indebted to them about.

So what did he owe the Greeks and barbarians, money?  I am being totally tongue-in-cheek.

The word “obligated” here is the word, opheiletēs. It refers to a person who owes someone else a debt. It refers to someone who has wronged another and must make amends.

Had Paul somehow wronged the Greeks and Barbarians? No he was not a debtor to any of them strictly speaking. The debt Paul owed was to God. It was a debt he could never pay back. Jesus had taken Paul’s sin and paid for it with His life and Paul owed Jesus, God the Son, an eternal debt of gratitude.

God had transferred Paul’s debt to the Greeks and the Barbarians. Paul owed them the right to hear the gospel not because he owed them but because he owed God.

Every Christian today  owes that same debt to God. God has done the same thing with us that he did with Paul. God has transferred the debt to those people around us. You see God needs nothing from us but they do. They need to hear the message of salvation from us. We owe it to them not because of who they are but because of who God is.

Sharing the triuth we know is an obligation not an option. It is a duty not a choice.

If you have missed any of our previous discussions on the Book of Romans they can be found on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

The Road Through Romans: When Man Plans and God Laughs

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Today we are moving into a whole new realm with our discussion on Romans. For those of you who missed it we just completed a five part series on the gifts of the Spirit using Romans 1:11,12 as our spring board. Those discussions can be found on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

Today we will begin moving on to Romans 1:13,

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,d that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

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There are many words I would use to describe Paul. One of those words is not Fly-by-the -seat- of- your -pants. By his own admission in verse 13 Paul was a planner. By his own admission also in verse 13, some of his plans were “prevented” from coming to pass.

Who or what prevented Paul’s plans from coming to pass? Was it the people? Was it lack of money? Was it Paul’s physical condition? Was it the Devil? Was it Jesus? The answer to those questions is: Yes, maybe, probably, assuredly and ultimately absolutely (in that order).

People can get in the way of our plans for sure and for certain.

Money is always an issue when we are trying to walk out the plans we make.

As far as physical condition goes, the older I get the more this becomes a consideration in what I do for Jesus or how I do it for Him in the very least.

The Devil, He sniffs out my plans on a regular basis and always try to put the old kibosh on anything that would benefit me or God’s kingdom.

But ultimately God is in charge of my plans. Sometimes he allows people, money, my physical state and even the Devil to be used as tools to direct and guide me in the way I should go. Everything and I do mean everything is just an implement in His hand to get me going in the direction I need to head in.

Sometimes when I plan a thing (even what I consider a very good thing) I can almost hear God laughing as He puts his own countermeasures in place to change or modify my course. Have you ever been there? Are you there right now?  Don’t despair. Have faith that God is on your side (Read This).

Jesus is pulling for you to succeed and sometimes that means He has to mess with your plans because they aren’t exactly going to get you where you need to go. So stop being angry with God if He seems to be laughing at your plans. Choose to laugh with Him and accept that the course he is charting for you will take you exactly where you need to go even if it is a little different than the course you had planned.

The Road Through Romans: The Thing About Spiritual Gifts Pt. 5

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I know this post was expected four days ago but it got holidelayed (see what I did there?). Today we are moving on from Romans 1:11 to Romans 1:12. We are however continuing our discussion regarding the Gift of the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

If you have missed any of our previous discussion on spiritual gifts you can find them on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

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Romans 1:11,12 reads,  “I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— — that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.”

Whatever you may believe about the spiritual gifts: how they come upon a person, when they come upon a person or what the first evidence of their arrival is there is one thing that cannot be questioned; That is the purpose of those gifts.

The purpose of the gifts of the Spirit is to encourage those who experience them  in the faith. The purpose of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is to strengthen the force of love in the lives of those who are baptized.

Paul says in effect that the reason he longs to impart the spiritual gift to the Romans is so that they and he may be built up in their mutual faith.

The baptism in the Holy Spirit must make a palpable difference in the lives of those who are baptized. It should also make a powerful difference in the lives of those around the one baptized otherwise the baptism is all for nothing.

In 1 Corinthinas 13:1-3 Paul says it this way,  If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

The long and the short of it is that  a person can be baptized in the Spirit and still miss the point. The gifts: tongues, interpretation of tongues, prophecy, healing, working of miracles…all of these things are just the method, not the point. If the gifts are manifested but they do not increase the three things which will last forever (faith, hope and love) then it is all just so much useless noise and wasted energy.

I don’t know about you but I have no time or energy to waste! I must let the baptism in the Holy Spirit drive me deeper into faith, hope and love!

Road Through Romans: The Thing About Spiritual Gifts 4

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We have been discussing the baptism in the Holy Spirit in relationship to Romans 1:11 “I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—”

If you need to play catch up you can do that on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

The question I want to discuss today is this, If the baptism in the Holy Spirit is such an important part of the Christian experience, how does one obtain it?”

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is a gift, a promise. In one sense there is nothing we can do to obtain it. Jesus said, “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49

According to this, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit and He clothes us with the Holy Spirit (baptizes us). Our job or part according to Acts chapter 1:4 is to wait for it, to put ourselves in a resting position focused on Christ until He baptizes us.

In my own experience I waited for two weeks. I spent time every day waiting quietly before the Lord, worshiping both at the church altar and at my bedside. I believed that it could happen and one day when I was worshiping I felt this great emotional swelling from the pit of my stomach. I can’t say why exactly but I knew this was it. I opened my mouth and began to speak words that came to mind. They were not English words. I don’t know what they were but I knew the experience was changing me. The feeling in the pit of my stomach just grew stronger and brighter and I was filled with a new certainty a deeper certainty of the reality of Jesus.

There are many misconceptions about tongues:

Some think that talking in tongues is a sign of being out of control. Not so. When I speak in tongues I am aware of what I am doing. I can start and stop at will. Many times now I even understand what I am praying about in the foreign tongue. I can even control the volume and the timing of  it. Not being able to control tongues is actually a sign of inner carnality.

Some would say that tongues is a sign that you have arrived and are on a higher spiritual plane than other believers. Nothing could be further from the truth. Tongues is a manifestation of the Spirit but does not indicate a person’s actual level of sanctification. The baptism in the Spirit can lead a person deeper into spirituality but only if that person allows the Spirit to move beyond the display of tongues into the work of inner sanctification. Many choose to stop at the side show and go no further. They allow themselves to be satisfied with making people think they are spiritually superior rather than actually growing in the things of the Spirit.

Tongues according to Paul in 1 Corinthians is the least of all the gifts. I consider it the gateway to the other gifts and a passage way to a higher level of sanctification. I need to go through the gate to get to what Paul calls the greatest gifts 1 Corinthians 13. If I choose to go through the gate and then hang out at the gate though I accomplish little (and believe me there are plenty of tongue talkers hanging out at the gates).

My goal in receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit was not to talk in tongues but to become strong in the Lord and the power of His might and that thought will lead us on to tomorrow’s discussion in Romans 1:12

I know some of my thoughts are controversial even among conservative Christians. That’s Ok. Feel free to comment and share your thoughts on Holy Spirit.

The Road Through Romans: The Thing About Spiritual Gifts…

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We are continuing today our discussion through the Book of Romans. We’ll be spending at least another day in Romans 1:11 because there is a bit more I have to say on the subject of spiritual gifts.

Paul wrote,

 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—Romans 1:11 NIV

I suppose most of you don’t know this but I wasn’t always a Christian. I wasn’t raised in a Christian home. My parents were agnostics influenced by the early New Age movement. In my pre-teen and early teen years I was an avowed pagan. I wouldn’t have called myself wiccan, exactly, but I did spend time channeling spirits and talking to “angels”.  I tried astral projection and did have a few out of body experiences.

It was more than a flight of fancy. I experienced real power in my pagan practices. I craved power. I craved strength because, God knows, I wasn’t finding those things in my earthly experience.

My initial decision to attend church was actually at the insistence of one of my spirit guides. I think I was supposed to make some kind of scene in the church and disrupt the service. That didn’t happen. I remember walking in the door and being hit with the presence of the most amazing love I had ever experienced. I was overwhelmed by it actually. It wasn’t the preaching that did it. I could hardly understand the Pastor who was from Trinidad. It wasn’t the music. There really wasn’t any. The piano player only knew “Jesus Loves Me” So she would get up and clap to any song that wasn’t that.  And the I didn’t experience love because the people were wicked friendly or anything. It was New England after all. There was one lady in the congregation who prophesied just about every week. She was so mean when she did it,the Pastor eventually asked her to stop and when she wouldn’t he had to kick her out of the church.

The love came through the people from God as a spiritual gift to me. It was an atmosphere they created more than an action they practiced. It wasn’t what they did that brought the love. It was was Who dwelt in them that caused me to experience it, as I sat in the church service and heard the people worship. It was a gift imparted.

For the first time in my life, love was becoming a force stronger than every other spirit I had ever experienced. In its presence the voices in my head were silenced and I was left powerless in its wake.

BUT

Then I learned that this power, this love, wanted to dwell inside me and strengthen me for life.

One of the reasons I became a Christian was because I became convinced that no other power in the universe could match this God of love I was experiencing. I wanted to align myself with that kind of power. It was not a question of me accepting Christ. I knew He was bigger than me and bigger than all the other spirits I had been entertaining. It was a question of Him accepting me. The question I had to toy with once I acknowledged that God was God and there was no other was, “would He accept me?”

He did! The spiritual gift of salvation was imparted to me the very  day I asked.  I will go on from here to speak about the impartation of the Spirit called the baptism of the Holy Spirit tomorrow, but first…

why don’t you take a bit and tell me about your own experience of meeting God.

If you have missed any of our discussions through Romans they can be found on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE

The Road Through Romans: What Makes Us Strong

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“I’m sorry,” I said to the woman sitting before me in my office.

“Our benevolence fund is empty. I don’t have any money to give you but we can pray about the need and I know God will help.”

I remember she was wearing a blue sweat jacket. Her hair was pulled back into a pony tail and her face wore a mix of weariness and anger that comes with living long in the shadow of despair.

“No. If you can’t give me money there’s no point in praying.” She returned flatly.

Today we are discussing Romans 1:11 in our conversation through Romans. Pick up previous bits of our chatter on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE

In Romans 1:11 Paul writes,

I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— Romans 1:11

I wish I could say that the story above was a one time deal. I wish I could say that I have only ever had to turn one person away without providing the need. I cannot say that because the need is always greater than the cash supply. Someone always walks in the door after the last turkey is given away or the last gift card is handed out. Someone’s oil tank always runs dry just after we have helped someone else pay off the rent bill and we have to say with the apostle, “Silver and gold have I none but such as I have give I thee.” Acts 3:6

The truth is though, it is when the silver and gold run out that the Christian life…church life really gets exciting. The power of the church has never been in its fiscal solvency or its financial prosperity. The power of the church is found in its ability to impart spiritual blessings.

Spiritual blessings change lives from the inside out. In the end that is what we really need. We need the inside out change more than we need the rent payment or the lights kept on. We need the power of God transforming our souls more than we need our next meal. If we come to live in kings palaces but our souls are lost what have we really accomplished? On the other hand Christ’s promise is this, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:33,34

What I long to give people is a spiritual blessing. Our culture may not value such a thing but then our culture does not share many values with Christ or his apostles anymore. I decided long ago I would throw my lot in with the Jesus instead of the world. His way of spiritual blessing ultimately opens the door to meeting all the other needs men might have.

 

 

The Road Through Romans: Is Your Road God’s Road?

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“God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.” Romans 1:9,10

We all have wants, desires and dreams. The first question is how many of those wants desires and dreams are  what God wants, desires and dreams for us?

Paul’s pathway was entirely committed to the Lord’s design for His life. He wanted to go to Rome but only if God made a way. For those who don’t know the story, God did answer Paul’s prayer. He did go to Rome…in chains!

So the second question I would put to you is if your wants, desires and dreams do end up being God’s wants, desires and dreams for you will you still want, desire and dream them even if there is some pain in the realization of them?

There is always a cost for life’s God dreams. Will you pay it?

 

 

 

The Road Through Romans: Constantly

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100_5431We have been working our way through the first Chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans. If you have missed any of our discussions thus far you can find them on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

The verses we will be dealing with today are Romans 1:9,10

God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.

I want to spend a bit of time talking about Paul’s prayer life today.

Paul tells the Romans that he constantly remembers them in prayer. The word constantly is the word adialeiptōs which means Paul is praying for the Roman church incessantly.

The idea of incessant prayer is a familiar one in Paul’s life. Paul was a mighty apostle of the church. He was a prolific writer, an effective communicator, an able administrator and a wonderful pastor; But above all Paul was an outstanding PRAY-ER.

Listen to these words from some of his other letters:

“We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1Thess. 1:2,3

Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe 1:Thess. 2:13

We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Col. 1:3

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[f] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.  Eph. 1:15-17

Paul’s desire, though, was not just to be a powerful prayer warrior in his own right. He expected that every Christian would be like him. His command  to the churches was that, like him they should, 17 Pray without ceasing. 1 Thess. 5:17

If Paul in his day needed to be a man who prayed without ceasing, how much more do we the Christians upon whom the end of the age has come need to be men and women of unceasing prayer?

What must you eliminate from your life so that you can spend more time in prayer?

The Road Through Romans: From the Inside Out

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We have been discussing the Book of Romans over the last several weeks and we have made it to verse 9 of chapter 1.

God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you.

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Paul makes a statement. He says he lives for God in his Spirit and out of that flows the work of preaching the gospel of God’s Son. Paul’s Christian work flows from the passion of his heart for God.

Somewhere along the line many of us have lost the truth that Christianity starts on the inside and works its way out.

We blame so much of our behavior on others. “If my sister didn’t do this then I wouldn’t do that.”

“If my father was nicer I wouldn’t be like this.”

” If my husband weren’t such a jerk I’d…”

But Jesus said, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Luke 6:45

It is what is in our own hearts that makes us good or evil not what is going on outside of them. We may not be able to control the world or the people in it but with Christ’s help we can control our responses.

What do you need to let God change on the inside so that you can live more for Christ on the outside?

If you have missed any of our discussions through Romans they can be found on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.