Today’s reading: Romans 15:1-22

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” - Rom‬ans 15:13‬‬‬ ESV

Again and again, Paul uses the Greek word elpis to express what living the Christian life is like for ALL who have saving faith in Jesus. Elpis is literally translated as “expectation” or “to look forward with confidence to that which is good and beneficial.” (Louw, Nida)

This means that no matter the circumstances we face today, we have good reason to get out of bed and face whatever awaits us. The Christian should be the most positive encouraging of all people.

It really started with the writing of the Old Testament documents (15:4) and it came to fullness in the Good News. Let’s lift up our eyes with expectation of what God may do next.

L. Keck insightfully comments, “By coming back to this theme, Paul draws a thread through the entire letter and shows that in Scripture God has indeed promised in advance the gospel for all humanity (1:2).”

Today’s reading: Romans 14

“While we live, we live to please the Lord. And when we die, we go to be with the Lord. So in life and in death, we belong to the Lord.” - Romans 14:8

The epitome of naivety is found in thinking that the way we live our lives has little or no effect on anyone else. The best life God wants us to live doesn’t act like our lives don’t have an effect on others. There is a ripple effect that happens with each decision we make.

So the idea of “let me live my life, and I’ll let you live yours” is an illusion.

Ultimately we live our lives to please Jesus, but we also are considerate of others in order to fully please our Lord.

Romans 14 walks the line of...

1) not wanting to try and control each other’s behavior, and 2) not wanting to act like their (and our own) behavior doesn’t matter.

Jesus expects for every action we make to be made in faith (14:23).

“Because Paul is concerned about those weak in faith (14:1), the doubters (14:23), he advises the “strong” not only to avoid terminally tripping them up in their faith (14:13) but to actively support them (15:1).” - C.S. Keener

Today’s reading: Romans 13

“...the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.” - Romans 13:11

One of the most interesting things about this chapter in Romans is that Paul starts with the small picture of governing authorities, then he backs way up to show the Roman church the big picture.

There are many reasons not to riot against the government or refuse to pay taxes, but the main reason is that we are to look much further down the road. With heaven in view, we can put everything else in its proper place.

Paul was putting the craziest of all the Caesars, Nero, into proper perspective. Nero wasn’t worthy of respect. He was using Christians as torches to line the streets of Rome at night. He would later blame Christians for the burning of Rome. How is that a picture of God’s servant?

This is why reading the end of chapter 13 brings it all together. When we “put on the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ,” we put ourselves in a position to change the world.

Today’s reading: Romans 12

“For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” - Romans‬ ‭12:4-5‬ ‭ESV

Reading through Romans 12 in one sitting gives off one resounding theme:

“I win when we win.”

William Barclay wrote the following about this passage, “Paul is here saying that we must accept ourselves; and, even if we find that the contribution we have to offer will be unseen, without praise and without prominence, we must make it, certain that it is essential and that without it the world and the Church can never be what they are meant to be.”

Do you view yourself like this in the body of Christ? Do you genuinely believe what you have to offer is indispensable to the church?

One thing that might be helpful for you today is to go down through the seven gifts mentioned in 12:6-8. Which of them best resonates with you?

God doesn’t need us, but we do need each other. All of us matter.

Today’s reading: Romans 11:13-36

“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” - Romans‬ ‭11:36‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Paul ends this chapter with a flood of the profession of the greatness of God. It seems that we sometimes fall into the lie that if we had enough time to think, we could figure God out — satisfying our intellects with complete clarity on the workings of his plan.

We serve an all-intelligent God.

R.C. Sproul says it well, “It is not some commonplace conclusion that anybody could figure out just by looking at the fact that certain Jews and Gentiles are being converted. No, God has a plan, a plan that is startling and fantastic.”

We may look at history (all that has happened up to today) and think we have a good grasp on what God was doing in each generation. Yet we probably don’t know 2% of God’s intention.

What we do know is this:

God is kind.

God desires to show mercy (compassion).

We can trust him with everything. He is never uncertain. Let’s step into that today.

Today’s reading: Romans 10:14-21, 11:1-12

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?” - Romans‬ ‭10:14-15‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Here we get an inside look at Paul’s strategy for spreading the gospel all across the Mediterranean. Below, you’ll see it reversed to give us a picture of how we can apply it to our outreach to those who haven’t yet decided to follow Jesus.

Sent >> We can see a picture of this in Acts 13:1-4, where Paul and Barnabas were commissioned by the church in Antioch. The local church is meant to be a launching point for us. This is the equipping.

Go >> This is the obedient journey. Sometimes you’ll be going to class or work. Sometimes you might be going overseas. Sometimes you’ll be going to a family gathering.

Tell them >> This is the Ethiopian standing next to the chariot, just before he said something. He had to listen, and then he had to “share Jesus with him” (Acts 8:26-40).

Hear >> This is fleshed out in Romans 10:17. When we tell, they hear. Some people hear for years before they start to trust Jesus. Be patient, as you tell.

Believe >> This is the threshold that causes the most noise in heaven, “When one sinner repents.” (Luke 15:7) Acts 16 gives us a great example of this, as the Philippians Jailer and his house believe and are baptized.

Call >> This is a term that is used since all the way back in Genesis 4:26. This happens when we first believe (Acts 22:16), but it also is supposed to happen for the rest of our lives.

This all starts with us investing in our local churches and allowing them to help send us out to make an eternal difference.

Today’s reading: Romans 9:25-33, 10:1-13

 “For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Instead, they are clinging to their own way of getting right with God...” - Romans 10:3 NLT

Our mantra as a society is found right in this verse. Our culture, and even our economy, is predicated on everyone getting to do things their own way. This freedom in our country is actually good. We should have the right to accept or reject any message.

But we must know that God will not save us on our own terms. We will not be a part of the new heavens and the new earth in due part to our independence. God is not impressed by our own ideas — he actually gave us the ability to think.

We will be saved by faith in Jesus Christ.

The fantastic thing about verses 9 and 10 of this chapter is that we see that the process of salvation starts deep within us (belief) and then manifests with us speaking it unashamedly (confession).

“The first step towards obtaining the righteousness of God is to renounce our own.” - John Calvin

Today’s reading: Romans 9:1-24

“God chooses according to his own plan.” - Romans 9:11

No chapter in the New Testament is more wildly debated than this one. It is the pride of Calvinists and the cringe of Arminianists. (If you don’t know what those terms are, consider yourself lucky.) Much of those discussions are predicated on the fact that we can start to get our mind around the vastness of God’s intellect and plan. Which we cannot.

Ben Witherington helps us with this passage as a whole when he comments, “The quoted verse, then, may speak of God’s elective purposes, but the concern is with roles they are to play in history, not their personal eternal destiny. So when Paul speaks of Israel, his concern is with the history of God’s choices and historical purposes, not the history of a race.”

God has always worked within big picture history to bring about his plan. History is not random; it is intentional.

He does this to ensure that all individuals in their nations are given the opportunity to be saved by Jesus.

Today’s reading: Romans 8:26-39

“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death?” - Romans 8:35

A question that many ask of God is, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Well, Paul addressed the second part of that question in 3:10, and the rest of it is discussed here at the end of chapter 8.

God’s love is steady, even when our circumstances are not. The list above is about as intense as it gets. Every one of those scenarios has the potential to paralyze us with fear.

What Jesus desires for us to do is to cling to the reality of his love for us amid trouble. His love was proven when he went to the cross, and it was made permanent by his resurrection. Every day God desires to make us more confident of his love for us.

Jesus tore down every obstacle to save and secure us.

Oh, and by the way, he also gave us the Holy Spirit to pray for us in our distress. (8:26)

Today’s reading: Romans 8:9-25

“...all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.” - Romans‬ ‭8:22-23‬

We all identify with the word “groan” that is found in these verses. It is the Greek word stenazō, and it can also be translated as sigh, complain, or moan. Nida and Louw say that the word expresses, “to groan or sigh as the result of deep concern or stress.”

Are you feeling that “concern or stress” as you take a look at our world today? You are not alone. Christians for 2000 years have also been sighing over the state of our world, and longed for renewal.

We have the Holy Spirit now, but we will one day experience our “full rights.”

Come, Lord Jesus.