Day 210: Romans 12:1-21

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” - Romans 12:21 ESV

In our reading for today, Paul lays out his solution for changing the world. There are so many in our world today who aren't shy about telling us about their own plans for a preferred future. If we would just subscribe to a particular political party or start using a certain product or lose fifteen pounds or sell our souls to sports or gain more education, then we could start living the good life.

The systems we have subscribed to that promise to change our lives (and our world) continue to come up short.

Instead, in this chapter, we see these words — sacrifice, worship, transformation, discernment, grace, sobriety, faith, body, giftedness, rejoicing, serving, encouragement, generosity, mercy, love, honor, hope, hospitality, blessing, harmony, humility, peaceably, and goodness.

Paul really believed that this was how he and his fellow first-century disciples of Jesus were going to change the Roman world.

And they did.

Actually, Jesus did.

It is, of course, a process God is bringing about in us (sanctification). It will take some time, but this is how we will help bring about lasting change in this fallen world. It is the kind of change that will carry on throughout eternity.

"This is not merely prudential; it is the way God himself has proceeded against his enemies (cf. 5:8). The mercy of God (to which Paul appealed at the beginning of this chapter, v. 1) will triumph over the rebellion and disobedience of men (11:32); the mercy of those on whom God has had mercy may similarly prove victorious." - Barrett, C. K. (1991). The Epistle to the Romans (Rev. ed., p. 223)

Day 209: 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 must not forget that 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.” - Sproul, R. C. (1994). The Gospel of God: An Exposition of Romans (p. 193)

We may look at history (all that has happened up to today) and think we have a good grasp of 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) to every human being on earth. To the Jews first and then to the nations (Gentiles).

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

Day 208: 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 share.

• 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 was used 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.

Craig Keener makes a great observation from this passage as he writes, "In 10:14–17 Paul recognizes that to call on Jesus presupposed access to the gospel message (the 'word of faith,' 10:8)." - Keener, C. S. (2009). Romans (p. 128)

Yes, God has chosen you to be someone else's access to His message of eternal life in Jesus. What an amazing honor and responsibility we, as Jesus' Church, have!

Day 207: 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 that is set before us.

But we must know that God will not save us on our own terms. We will not be a part of the new heaven and the new earth (Revelation 21:1-8) because of 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, which is the ultimate dependence on Him.

The fantastic thing about verses 9 and 10 of this chapter is we realize that the process of salvation starts deep within us (belief) and then manifests with us speaking it unashamedly (confession). In its most basic form, being a Christian is trusting that Jesus is more than enough and then taking it public in every way.

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

Day 206: Romans 9:1-24

“God chooses people according to his own purposes.” - Romans 9:11 NLT

No chapter in the New Testament is more widely debated than this one. It is the pride of Calvinists and the cringe of Arminianists. (If you don’t know what those terms mean, consider yourself lucky.)  Much of those discussions are predicated on the fact that we can begin to wrap our minds 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.” - Witherington, B., III, & Hyatt, D. (2004). Paul’s Letter to the Romans (pp. 253–254)

Jacob (Israel) wasn't selected because of his ethics. A basic reading of the Jacob and Esau narrative makes that clear. The family of Abraham was chosen not to become eternally exclusive but to reach the nations (see Genesis 12:3).

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 around the world are given the opportunity to be saved by Jesus.

"The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD who takes delight in his journey." - Psalm 37:23 BSB

"The covenant did not include a promise of individual salvation for all Jews; it was limited to God’s special use of the nation of Israel as the conduit for bringing Christ into the world." - Cottrell, J. (1996). Romans (Vol. 2, Ro 9:11)

Day 205: Romans 8:26-39

“'No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For 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.” - Romans 8: 37-39 ESV

It is interesting to point out that the very thing (awful circumstances) that drives so many people (in the United States) away from faith in Jesus is the very thing that Paul chooses to affirm God's unrelenting love for us.

I'm sure Paul could have created a theology that could have placed the blame on something external or coincidental, but instead, he shows us that no circumstance can keep us from the love of God. In fact, these are times when God's love is most manifest.

The word for separate that Paul uses is χωρίζω chōrizō, and it can also be translated as leave, depart, or divorce. 

Even if trials leave us broken down on the side of the road, God's love is right there to get us back up again. A recurring theme in the Bible is clear among the giants of faith: Their lives were difficult. And not just an "I got called in for jury duty" difficulty, but a kind of difficulty that put their lives in danger.

Many places in the world are still, to this day, facing the same kind of persecution, and in most of these places, Christianity is thriving as a result.

May we not let fear cause us to step around hardship. Let us step through with the strongest power in the universe: God's love in Christ Jesus our Lord.

"Nothing in the course of time, nor in the expanses of space, nothing in the whole universe can sever the children of God from their Father’s love, secured to them in Christ." - Bruce, F. F. (1985). Romans (Vol. 6, p. 181)

Day 204: 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 to sigh, complain, or moan. Nida and Louw, in their Greek Lexicon, explain 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 nearly 2000 years have also been sighing over the state of our world and longing for renewal.

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

In light of the context of Romans 8, maybe you're groaning today because you're not where you want to be personally. Keep in mind that you are a child of God, adopted into his family. We aren't to groan because we've lost hope. We are to "sigh, complain, or moan" because we know that what is to come (heaven) is better than anything we can experience here.

When Jesus returns, he will make all things right. Check out the following verse for another reminder:  "Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." - 1 John 3: 2 NIV

Day 203: Romans 7:14-25, 8:1-8

“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. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” - Romans 8:5-6 ESV

When we became Christians, many of us assumed our battles with sin would immediately subside. I mean, now that Jesus has cleansed the depths of who we are from all sin and shame, shouldn't we be completely free from its power? This is such a complicated topic, and in our reading today Paul decides to throw himself in there as an example. Such a bold move.

The point he seems to be driving home repeatedly is that our identity and our status with God remain secure as we continue to trust in Jesus for salvation.

But we do have this thing called "the flesh." The temptations and the cravings for that which is terrible for us continue. So, we have a decision to make. Will we choose to set our minds on the flesh or the things of the Spirit? By simply reading this devotional today, you've made an act of defiance against your flesh. You are choosing to flood your mind with truth from the hand of God.

It may not always feel victorious as we battle day-to-day against our desires, but may we continue to allow God to match our lives to the inward change that has already taken place.

Our preference is set: Spirit led.

"...to be determined by the Spirit is to have one’s gaze focused upon that which cannot be seen, upon that invisible Other who alone gives meaning and authority to existence." - Barrett, C. K. (1991). The Epistle to the Romans (Rev. ed., p. 148)

Day 202: Romans 7:1-13

“I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.” - Romans 7:9-11

The Bible is very clear about us being fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139). So much care went into God forming us to be who we are. Though we were born into this wicked world, we were not born wicked. We do, because of the sin of Adam (go back and read Romans 5:12-19), have an inclination to evil, and this is when our flesh starts to war against us (come back for tomorrow's reading!).

There is a moment in everyone's life (the age varies) when we learn what is right and what is wrong. God's standards activate our consciences. Even if we know nothing about God, we know that what we've done is wrong. Guilt, shame, and their effects start to set in; and when the guilt and shame are ignored, we die spiritually. This is what sin does to us. It kills us by using God’s standards (law) against us.

Jack Cottrell says it so well:  "But Paul makes one thing very clear: the real culprit is sin, not the law. Sin is personified as a formidable and powerful enemy who attacks us and kills us. The law is only the instrument used by sin to accomplish this awful deed. Thus sin, not the law, is the true source of death." - Cottrell, J. (1996). Romans (Vol. 1, Ro 7:11)

I remember this happening when I was ten years old. I knew I had done wrong in God's eyes. It was heavy on my young heart. I was convinced I needed to be saved. I was ready to accept Jesus' free gift of salvation and to be reborn into His family (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Is this heavy upon you or someone close to you right now? 

We may do well to go back into Acts and re-read what Ananias told Paul (also remember our reading from yesterday):  "And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name." - Acts 22:16

Only Jesus can set right what our sin made wrong.

Day 201: Romans 6:1-23

“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” - Romans‬ ‭6:5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

What kind of death do you want to die?

What kind of life do you want to live?

This chapter in Romans answers so many questions that we ask as we start to live this Christian life. The main one is: “How many sins can I commit and still be good to go for eternal life?”

Much of this confusion comes from a lack of knowledge about what is actually happening to us at our baptisms. When we are baptized, we aren’t performing an ancient rite of passage for believers. We are dying. We are resurrecting. We are joining in the act of Jesus during the first century when He was killed, buried, and raised.

Enslaved to sin?

That’s who we used to be. That person is dead and gone. We're new. We're set free. We don’t have to live a life according to our weaknesses or lusts. Jesus has given us a new life.

Our flesh still wants it, though. This is why it is so crucial for us to remember the day we confess Jesus as Lord and Savior, to remember the day we were buried and raised out of the waters of baptism. We are bound to forget. Jesus won’t let you forget as you stay focused on Him. We won’t let you forget either, as your Christian family.

This is not only our current status, but it will be our eternal experience as well.

"So he says, 'We were buried into his—i.e., Christ’s—death; that is, by the power of the Holy Spirit we were made to delve down deeply into the meaning of that marvelous death. In fact, so deeply did we, with heart and mind, bury ourselves into it that we began to see its glorious meaning for our lives. Therefore we reject and loathe the terrible wicked slogan, Let us continue to live in sin in order that grace may increase.'" - Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001) Romans (Vols. 12–13, p. 196)