Day 217: 1 Corinthians 1:18-30, 2:1-5

“He has used our foolish preaching to save all who believe.” - 1 Corinthians 1:21 NLT

It has been the desire of the church for the past 100 years to keep up with the “progress” that has happened in the culture around us. The industrial revolution paved the way for so many advances in technology and inundated us with more information than at any time in human history.

Yet the advantage of living in today’s world is that we can see in many ways we are no better off morally than we were 100 years ago. Racism. Hatred. Disregard for Jesus. Oppression of the weak. Disdain for authority. Progress hasn’t given us all that it promised. Our efficiency isn't making us any happier.

This is Paul’s refrain to the church in Corinth as we read this passage today. He didn’t come with manipulative speech or grandeur. He came with one anthem, “Jesus Christ and his death on the cross.” (2:2)

We will not be tapping into the power of God with new, flashy mediums to reach the masses.

The power is in Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, then resurrected. This is an old, foolish message to many in our world today, but as gospel artist Vashawn Mitchel sings it so well, "His blood still works." May we always choose faithful over flashy.

"Here he does not contrast trusting with working, but he emphasizes that salvation comes through believing what is proclaimed, even if the message heralded seems foolish to the hearers. The foolish message, which includes both form and content, is that salvation comes through Jesus the crucified one." - Schreiner, T. R. (2018). 1 Corinthians (E. J. Schnabel, Ed.; Vol. 7, p. 69)

Day 216: 1 Corinthians 1:1-17

“I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.” - 1 Corinthians‬ ‭1:10‬ NLT

One of the most destructive tools the Devil uses against the church is division. When we are divided, there can be no progress. 

Notice the language Paul uses:

“live in...”

“let there...”

We see in these that the challenge to see unity come to the church is one that we can choose. 

God has already given us what we need to get along. The church in Corinth had a myriad of issues they needed to work through, but if they didn't get this right, there could be no starting line for progress.

One of the reasons unity isn’t always achieved is due to a deep-down desire to prove a point. We want to be right. I mean, how will we get individual credit if the entire church is edified? You probably won’t.

Leon Morris says it well, “The use of party cries always tends to deepen and perpetuate division, and Paul calls for their abandonment.”

We don’t come to church to prove a point. We come to church to seek a Savior... together.

Day 215: Romans 16:10-27

“For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” - Romans‬ ‭16:19-20‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We have to start today’s post with this quote from Jack Cottrell's commentary on Romans: “The power that wins this victory is God’s power; he is the one who actually crushes Satan. But the enemy is crushed under our feet, i.e., in our own experience. The word for crush (συντρίβω, syntribō) is very strong; it means shatter, smash, crush, leaving no doubt as to who is the winner in this battle."

Don’t you love the way that God includes us in the crushing of Satan? God doesn’t need us to defeat him. In reality, He’s the one who disarmed him by the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The final book in the Bible also reveals that there will be a final smashing of Satan:  "And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever." - Revelation 20:10 NIV

Still, when we look around our world today, we seem to be “shattering” each other instead of our enemy, the Devil. This is something we have to start getting right for the sake of our witness and also our unity as believers.

God, flood us with your grace and peace. May we recognize who our enemy is (not each other) and how we will win the victory. In Jesus' name, we pray, Amen.

Day 214: Romans 15:23-33, 16:1-9

“Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me.” - Romans‬ ‭16:7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Christianity never has, nor will it ever, been a one-person show. From the very beginning of his ministry efforts for Christ’s name, Paul was adamant about the importance of having a team.

With the increasing development of technology, we have all been sold on the idea that we can go at this life by ourselves. Still, labor-saving devices haven't made the journey any sweeter, meaningful, or sustainable. It's only in working side by side with others that we really start to experience these three.

Jesus' followers have also, from the start, led the way on equality as they worked as a team. Men and women aren’t working in separate camps in this movement. Phoebe, Priscilla, Junia, and Mary — working alongside Paul, Aquila, Silas, and Andronicus.

All that God is calling us to do is going to require everyone to join in. This is going to take time and a lot of communication, but it is going to be worth every second.

Cooperation also means so much because it is a foreshadowing of heaven, where “we will be with the Lord forever.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

“The open door, the open hand and the open heart are characteristics of the Christian life.” - William Barclay

"...from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love." - Ephesians 4:16 NASB

Day 213: 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 (hope) can also be 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 and encouraging of all people, because we live in constant anticipation that God is taking history toward restoration through Jesus Christ.

It 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 great expectation of what God will do next. This isn't just something we are having to wait for at the culminating return of Christ; this is also a joy we can start to experience right now.

“The title ‘the God of hope’ is perhaps suggested by the mention of ‘hope’ at the end of the immediately preceding quotation from Isaiah 11:10. Cf. 14:17, where peace and joy are blessings of the kingdom of God. Because ‘the God of hope’ gives his children hope in himself, they may enjoy these blessings now." - Bruce, F. F. (1985). Romans: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 6, p. 257)

Day 212: Romans 14:1-23

“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 ESV

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 always lives in recognition that our lives impact others. There is a ripple effect that happens with each decision we make, positively or negatively affecting many people for years to come.

So the idea of “let me live my life, and I’ll let you live yours” as a Christian is incorrect.

Ultimately, we live our lives to please Jesus; but we also are considerate of others in order to fully please our Lord and to help other Jesus followers grow.

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 behavior (and our own) doesn’t matter.

Jesus expects 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)." - Keener, C. S. (2009). Romans (p. 169)

The Christian life is one of freedom and consideration.

We will definitely need help from the Holy Spirit for this important work.

Day 211: Romans 13:1-14

“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” - Romans 13:8-10 ESV

On the heels of speaking about honoring the pagan Roman authorities and paying taxes, Paul lays down this classic teaching that has Jesus all over it (see Mark 12:31). Even going way back into Leviticus 19:9-18, we see the origin of "love your neighbor as yourself.” What the Christians were doing was taking this command from Moses to another level.

Again, Jesus led the way with his teaching about the Good Samaritan, challenging us all to consider the unlikely souls as being our neighbors as well (Luke 10:25-37).

How we treat others is evidence of what we really believe about God. If we see our Creator as an all-loving Father seeking our good amid a broken world, we will feel loved. If we feel loved and supported and challenged by the One who spoke everything into existence, we will, in turn, love Him.

If we truly love God, the compassion of His Son, Jesus, will become our own.

I love how Jack Cottrell comments about verse nine: “The main point, though, is not self-love, however pure, but a love that embodies an equally deep concern for the well-being of others.” - Cottrell, J. (1996). Romans (Vol. 2, Ro 13:9)

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!