Archive for month: August, 2022

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Romans 3:9-20.  Let’s go!

Romans 3:9a (NIV)
9  What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all!…

On verse 9:  Given Paul’s Jewish heritage and his international upbringing outside of Jerusalem, Paul has the unique ability to relate to and identify with both Jews as well as Gentiles.  So after talking to the Jewish Christians in Rome and warning them not to take their rich spiritual heritage for granted (Romans 2:17-3:8), Paul in verse 9 speaks to the Gentiles and says, “What shall we conclude then?  Are we any better?”  Paul is using his unique shape to serve God (“shape” meaning his Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality and Experiences).

Likewise, you are uniquely shaped to serve God.  There is not a single aspect of your background, your experiences, your gift set or your personality that God accidentally allowed.  Rather you are a custom-made creation built for the glory of God.  God wants to use you just the way that He shaped you to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Romans 3:1-8.  Let’s go!

Romans 3:1-4 (NIV)
1  What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision?
2  Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.
3  What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness?
4  Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.”
 
On verses 1-4:  Just prior to this, in Romans 2:25-29, Paul said that a person’s circumcision means very little if that person’s heart is not set on living for God.  But here Paul clarifies that this does not mean that the concept of Jewish circumcision itself has no value, or that being Jewish has no value.  What can we learn from this?

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Romans 2:25-29.  Let’s go!
 
Romans 2:25-29 (NIV)
25  Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised.
26  If those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised?
27  The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.
28  A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.
29  No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.

On verses 25-29:  Here Paul is speaking to his fellow Jewish Christians in Rome about circumcision.  To those who might take pride in the fact that they were circumcised and who saw their circumcision as evidence of a close relationship with God, Paul clarifies that:

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Romans 2:17-24.  Let’s go!

Romans 2:17-24 (NIV)
17  Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God;
18  if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law;
19  if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark,
20  an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth–
21  you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?
22  You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
23  You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?
24  As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

On verses 17-24:  To paraphrase Paul’s warning to the Christians in Rome, if you want to be a teacher of God’s laws, you must make sure that you yourself are keeping them.  Otherwise, you’ll be a hypocrite.  Paul’s warning wasn’t just for those who formally preach and teach God’s Word in church, but for all those who saw themselves as mature believers or who had been exposed to the Scriptures for a long time.  What can we learn from this?  The primary measure of spiritual maturity is not how much of God’s Word you know, but how much of God’s Word you live out.