Up until now, Paul has focused on God’s sovereignty, but now we shift to the responsibilities we as humans have in response to God’s mercy and sovereignty. This week, read Romans 9:30-10:4 and journal through the following questions.
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Last week, we came to the conclusion that God shows mercy to whom He wills and it is not something we can earn in our own efforts. And for some, that can be a bit disheartening, leading us to ask, “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist His will?” (Romans 9:19).
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Have you ever witnessed someone who seems to have it all, waste their life away? Someone who has been given every opportunity, been loved and encouraged unconditionally, and yet, they reject it all and seem to be going nowhere. That’s how Paul saw the Israelites: they were God’s chosen people, but when the Messiah came to them, they rejected Him. Why? Why did God allow it to happen? How does God choose who is saved and who isn’t? Or is salvation our choice? That’s what we’re going to study this week.
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What is love and how do we know if it is lasting? I have asked myself this question for years. It has been present in the back of my mind starting with my broken family when I was a teenager and continuing through my many broken relationships and deaths of family members and friends over the years.
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If you’ve ever doubted your salvation or if God still loves you after you’ve sinned again or fallen away yet again, this week’s study is for you. But it is also a good reminder for all Christians that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.
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Romans 8:28-30 is often used to support the doctrine of predestination, which is one of the fundamental characteristics of the Calvinist Christian view. Predestination is the belief that God does not just know all who will be saved, but ordains (decides) who will be saved. The people who will be saved are called the “elect”.
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We’ve all been in waiting seasons, when you’re somewhere you maybe no longer want to be, dreaming of someday. Or maybe you’re content with where you are, but your heart also longs for a different season, whether that’s a new job, graduating college, moving, falling in love, healing, starting a family, or becoming a mother. That feeling of longing and eagerly expecting something is what this week’s study is about.
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Homosexuality. This is a topic very close to my heart. God granted me the privilege of building friendships within a gay theatre community. I was able to talk to many men and hear their hearts and struggles. God granted me the privilege of an unusual friendship with a Christian young man (not a part of the theatre ) walking the journey of finding his sexuality in Christ and surrendering his sexual tendencies to Christ.
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Being adopted into someone’s family is life changing. In the Roman times, a childless couple could adopt a son, making him their heir. This was a deliberate decision a father would make to have someone carry on his name and inherit his estate. As a result, the child’s old debts would be canceled, he would receive a new name, he would be set to inherit all of his father’s wealth, and his father would become responsible and liable for the son.
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Someone once pointed out something interesting about this passage of Scripture. Shiphrah and Puah are mentioned by name. The King of Egypt is not. Do you know why?
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This week’s study focuses on two parallel lives, the root of each stemming from either living according to the flesh or according to the Spirit. Whatever you live according to is determined by what you set your mind on: the things of the flesh or the things of the Spirit. To set your mind is more than just thinking about something though, but instead, it implies a deeper focus on something - to become preoccupied with it, to let your attention and imagination be captured by something.
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We’ve all experienced that sinking feeling when you’ve messed up yet again and did the thing you told God you wouldn’t do anymore. You know you shouldn’t have, and for a while, you did so good, but then a hard day or something triggers you and the flesh wins out. And in that moment, the enemy will tell you that you’re the only one like that; like everyone else has it figured out but you’re the only one constantly struggling. Yet, here we have Apostle Paul saying, “For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” So, if a man like that struggled with this too, where do we find the hope? Let’s study that this week.
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Up to now, Paul has repeatedly talked about how we don’t live by the law anymore. Such teaching had the same reaction back then that many Christians do today: religious rules are bad, so we don’t need the law anymore. Such thinking then leads to wanting to live however we please. So, where does the law fit into a Christian’s life? Let’s study that this week.
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This week, Paul brings in another analogy to explain our relationship to God and sin: marriage. Let’s study how Paul connects these things.
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Paul makes a big statement in this week’s passage: you’re either slave God or sin. In today’s world of a watered down Gospel, some people may try to tell you that there’s a middle ground: that you can live as you please without being a slave to God or to sin. Let’s study what the Bible has to say about this.
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In law school, one of the first things you learn is that it is just as important to know opposing counsel’s arguments and case law as it is your own. You need to anticipate their every possible defense and know every piece of law that could support the other side’s argument.
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Dying eggs. Baking a ham and whipping up fluffy salads. Picking out the finest pastel dress from your closet and maybe a matching hat. Hiding those eggs for little kiddos to find (or maybe just your friends). Picking up some chocolate bunnies and sugar-coated marshmallow chickies to nibble on for weeks to come. Despite their fun and entertainment, the accessories of Easter can take a lot of work and attention. It is easy to get wrapped up in all of these activities and forget what Easter is.
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This week, we’re going to get to the heart of the Gospel that for many continues to be a paradox: how could the death of one man provide salvation to an entire world?
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One of the questions that drives many people away from God is a variation of: “Why does God allow suffering?” Because our human mind doesn’t understand why a good God would allow bad things to happen, especially to those who are called His. The last few weeks, we’ve been talking about righteousness and justification. This week, we begin to dig deeper into the fruit of what it means to be justified before God and what type of character is produced through suffering.
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As someone who loves the water, the baptismal brought familiar comforts. The gentle pressure of the water hugged me and wrapped the robe around my body and legs. I submerged into the silence and emerged to the words, “raised to walk in newness of life.”
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