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 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 212: 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 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!

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)