Romans 8:18-39 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good… (v. 28a) My Study Bible also offers a second translation for the second half of this verse: …God works all things together for good… Either translation supports the notion that when we pray for particular situations or outcomes, …
Author Archives: Fred
September 26 / Romans 8:1-17
Romans 8:1-17 If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (v. 11) Most of us would like to interpret this verse as God promising eternal life …
September 25 / Romans 7:1-25
Romans 7:1-25 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. (vv. 22-23) Particularly in these two verses, but also throughout the …
September 24 / Romans 6:1-23
Romans 6:1-23 In verse 16b Paul contrasts sin and obedience, …you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness, making them almost opposites. Since the clear opposite of obedience is disobedience, by extension we see that sin equals disobedience. That is, …
September 23 / Romans 5:1-21
Romans 5:1-21 Much more… This phrase (and its similarities) occurs six times in today’s reading (Rom. 5:9, 10, 11, 15, 17, 20). Paul is really emphasizing the extent of Jesus’ sacrifice as so much greater than mankind’s sin. I’m imagining Paul (or any preacher) speaking these words out loud. Each occurrence of this phrase suggests …
September 22 / Romans 4:1-25
Romans 4:1-25 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” (v. 3, quoting Genesis 15:6) My Study Bible had this to say as a comment on this verse: “Abraham had kept no law, rendered no service, and performed no ritual that earned credit to his account …
September 21 / Romans 3:1-31
Romans 3:1-31 I’ve always thought of Romans 3 as one of the more difficult chapters in all of Paul’s epistles. But last year we read it in three readings and I was able to break it down more than I could with just a quick read. I would encourage you to read my comments from …
September 20 / Romans 2:1-29
Romans 2:1-29 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? (v. 4) The first half of this verse reminds me of our pastor back in Richmond whom Carol and I heard say one Sunday morning in a …
September 19 / Romans 1:1-32
Romans 1:1-32 Homosexuality is an issue that the church has been dealing with for some 2,000 years, as Paul writes in today’s reading: For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men …
September 18 / II Cor. 7:2-16, 13:11-14
II Corinthians 7:2-16, 13:11-14 So today we finish our reorganized readings of II Corinthians. Reading in a different order has helped my understanding, but there’s still so much of it swimming in my head that I find myself confused as to what we have read. And if II Corinthians is, in fact, parts from three …