Why It’s Foolish to Keep On Sinning While Thinking “God Will Forgive Me Anyway”

/in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Romans 6:1-11.  Let’s go!

Romans 6:1-4 (NIV)
1  What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?
2  By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
3  Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

On verses 1-4:  Earlier in Romans 5:20-21, Paul explained that when our sin (or our awareness of our sin) increased with our understanding of God’s law, God’s grace increased all the more to cover all of our sins. 

Read more

Adam’s Sin < Jesus’ Sacrifice

/in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Romans 5:12-21.  The key to reading and understanding this passage is to read it slowly, verse by verse.  So that’s what we’re going to do.  In this case we’re going to look at the ESV translation of this passage because I think it’s a little easier to understand than the NIV.  Let’s go!

Romans 5:12 (ESV)
12  Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
 
On verse 12:  Starting here in Romans 5:12, Paul begins to describe some of the problems that came about because Adam in Genesis 3 broke God’s command.  The first problem is that sin entered the world (“sin came into the world”) and affected us all.  The second problem is that, as a consequence of sin, humanity became subject to death.  By “death” Paul means not only physical death, but spiritual death (i.e. total separation from God).  Since Adam sinned, these remain two of humanity’s biggest problems: sin and death.

Read more

Do You Know How Blessed You Are in Jesus?

/in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Romans 5:1-11.  Let’s go!

Romans 5:1 (NIV)
1  Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
 
On verse 1:  Paul has spent the past chapter and a half (Romans 3:21-4:25) declaring the good news that God has made it possible for all people to be justified (that is, declared righteous in God’s sight) by faith in Jesus Christ.  Now in Romans 5 Paul begins to describe some of the benefits that we experience because we are justified by faith.  The first benefit we experience “since we have been justified through faith” is that we have peace with God.  In other words, our relationship with God is not filled with insecurity where we worry whether or not we have done enough to earn God’s approval.  Instead, we have peace with God knowing that Jesus Christ has done it all for us.  Also,  we have peace with God in that our relationship with God is not one of animosity but peace.  For we were once enemies of God, but now through Jesus’ blood we have become His family, His friends.  The first benefit of justification by faith is peace with God.

Read more

What God-Pleasing Faith Looks Like

/in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Romans 4:17-25.  Let’s go!

Romans 4:17 (NIV)
17  As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed–the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.
 
On verse 17:  God called Abraham a father of many nations (Genesis 17:5) even when Abraham and Sarah had no success bearing even a single child.  God specializes in doing the impossible and speaking the possible out of impossible situations.  That’s why Paul calls him “the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.” 

Romans 4:18 (NIV)
18  Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

Read more

Who’s Your Daddy?

/in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Romans 4:9-16.  Let’s go!

Romans 4:9-12 (NIV)
9  Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.
10  Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!
11  And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.
12  And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
 
Verses 9-12:  To show that righteousness by faith is a gift that God makes available to everyone and not only to Jews, Paul goes back to the example of Abraham.  Paul notes that Abraham received his righteousness by faith before he was circumcised (v10).  In this way, Abraham is a father of faith (that is, a great example and a forerunner of what it looks like to receive righteousness by faith) for all of us who are not circumcised, i.e. who do not come from a Jewish background (v11). 

Read more

You Are Righteous Because of Jesus

/in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Romans 3:21-31.  Let’s go!

Romans 3:21-24 (NIV)
21  But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
22  This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24  and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
 
On verses 21-24:  In the Bible, to be “righteous” means to be blameless, acceptable and worthy in God’s eyes to be in His presence because we are holy like He is.  In Romans 3:9-20 Paul explained that we could never be righteous by trying to obey God’s laws.  That’s because no matter how hard we try, we will never meet God’s perfect standard.  Because of our sin, we are separated from God’s holy presence.  As Romans 3:23 says, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. 

Read more

No One Is Good Except Jesus

/in /by

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.

Read more

You’re Entrusted with Treasure

/in /by

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?

Read more

It Depends on Your Heart

/in /by

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:

Read more

Look in the Mirror before You Preach to Your Neighbor

/in /by

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.

Read more