October 10, 2021 | Romans 10:14-21 |
God is just and righteous and He has revealed Himself to all of us through the glory of His creation and He has a plan for the good news about Jesus to be proclaimed to the whole world too.
In chapter 10 of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he described how God had given Israel every opportunity to hear the gospel and respond by faith, yet only a remnant of them had believed. We can be part of God’s plan to give everyone an opportunity to respond to the gospel.
October 3, 2021 | Romans 10:1-13 |
How have you responded to God’s plan for our salvation, for making us right with Him? Many of us are like the Jews of Paul’s day. We believe that we can be good enough to please God. You can knock on most doors in this city and ask people to answer, “If you died today and stood before a holy God and He asked, ‘Why should I let you into My heaven?’ What would you say?” Most will answer, “I tried to be a good person.” They think they can climb into heaven by their own self-effort, their own “trying to be good.” Or they think it’s by be religious: “I go to church/synagogue/mosque.”
Yet, the Bible teaches that we can only receive God’s salvation through faith in Christ alone. However, even this triggers our flesh. We hate being told there is only one way to do a thing. In chapter 10 of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he explained why Israel had failed to receive God’s salvation because they had sought to establish their own by keeping the law, rather than placing their faith in Christ alone. We can see why God’s salvation can only be received through faith in Christ alone.
September 26, 2021 | Romans 9:14-33 |
Perhaps you’ve heard people question God’s justice and goodness. Questions like: If God is good, why is there evil in the world? If God is just, why does He allow suffering? If God is truly loving, why would He send anyone to hell? If God is fair, why is faith in Jesus the only way to be made right with Him? Aren’t there many paths to pleasing God? What about the person who has never heard? Many see these and other questions as reasons not to believe in God’s existence or to believe in some man-made version of Him instead.
Have you questioned God’s justice and goodness? Or have you learned that your arms are too short to box with God? In chapter 9 of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he dealt with the question “Is God unjust?” The Spirit inspired Paul to answer that God’s justice is beyond question. We can understand that God’s justice is beyond question.
September 19, 2021 | Romans 9:1-13 |
“Has the Word of God failed?” Or putting it in the present, “Can the Word of God fail?” Or making it more personal, “Will God’s Word fail for me?” How do you answer that? Now I know you good Christians are answering it with, “No, no way, not ever! God’s Word cannot, will not ever fail!” Yet, we live like it will. We try to earn our way to pleasing God, though His Word says salvation is a free gift. We doubt our salvation, though His Word says that we can be assured that nothing can separate us from His love in Christ Jesus.
What if you could rest and live in the knowledge that God’s Word never fails? In chapter 9 of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he expressed his great sorrow that the vast majority of his Jewish brothers had rejected Jesus as the Messiah. Yet, he was convinced that God’s Word had not failed.
August 2, 2021
THE CHURCH IS THE PEOPLE NOT THE STEEPLE In Paul’s letter to the Roman believers, he gave greetings to the church that met in the home of Aquila and Priscilla. In those days there were no church buildings, so the church met in homes or in public meeting facilities, such as the Hall of Tyrannus
August 1, 2021
DO YOU HAVE OVERFLOWING HOPE? What is this “overflowing hope” and how can we obtain it? It is Christian hope. This is different from the hope we express as a wish. When we say, “I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow,” we are expressing a wish without any promise of fulfillment. But Christian hope is like
July 30, 2021
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “PUT ON” CHRIST? First, isn’t there the necessity of putting off our old clothes? Certainly, this is what the Word teaches us. Some of the articles of the old clothes are listed by Paul where he teaches us to “put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out
July 29, 2021
LOVE AND HONOR: MARKS OF THE NEW LIFE IN CHRIST In Romans 12, Paul described how those who have offered their bodies as a living sacrifice and have received a transformed mind that knows God’s will, should live with each other. In verse 10, Paul gave two marks of how people with this new heart
July 28, 2021
ALL THINGS ARE FROM, THROUGH, AND TO GOD! Paul’s benediction at the end of Romans 11 is all encompassing. It declares that all things come “from” God, for He is the Creator. All things exist “through” God, for He is the Sustainer. All things are made for God’s glory, for creation displays His “invisible attributes,
July 27, 2021
GOD IS NOT FINISHED WITH ISRAEL The apostle Paul asked the question, “Has God rejected His people?” He immediately answered, “Absolutely not!” (Rom. 11:1). He reminded his readers that he himself was Jewish and so was an elect remnant of Israel that had believed. Yet it was true that the vast majority of Jews had