Romans 5:1-11

Dear RTB’ers,

Another sentence with faith and grace together: Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand… (v. 2). That pairing is probably much more common than I had realized.

Another oft-quoted verse, regularly used in sharing our faith: …but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (v. 8) Our sins, His death. The prelude to that verse is also strong: For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die… (v. 7). Thinking of one person or a group of people or entire armies dying for a good cause, being here in Europe, reminders of WWII are everywhere. Yesterday one of my Ukrainian students corrected me. Earlier in my lecture I had mentioned the USSR, the former Soviet Union. Then in a later comment about Germany’s “eastern front” in WWII, I noted that “Russia” deserved a lot of the credit for defeating Hitler because of how they withstood him on that “Russian front”. After class this young lady clarified to me that it was the USSR, the Soviet Union, including the Ukrainian SSR, not Russia alone that defeated Germany. I stood corrected. Much of the fighting between the Soviet Union and Germany was on Ukrainian soil. Good Ukrainian men died.

Suffering…(v. 3) More to say on that in a later post.

And so much more in these verses…! C’mon, y’all, weigh in!!

Blessings!

Romans 4:16-25

Dear RTB’ers,

More history and theology today, with Paul (seemingly, to me) repeating his few main points. A different item popped out to me, however – the words “faith” and “grace” in the same sentence: That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring… (v. 16). How common is it that faith and grace appear in the same sentence? Probably the most famous Bible verse where they appear together is Ephesians 2:8a: For  by grace you have been saved through faith. I will leave it to you to look up the rest of that verse, plus Ephesians 2:9 since people typically quote 8 and 9 together. And while you’re at it, give a look to Ephesians 2:10 also, which tends to get ignored when people quote Ephesians 2:8-9. Interesting!

Sorry, folks, nothing earth-shattering today!

Blessings!

Romans 4:1-15

Dear RTB’ers,

Paul makes a strong case that Abraham was found righteous by faith while he was still uncircumcised. That is, Abraham did nothing (works) to earn God’s granting righteousness to him, only that he believed. Then Paul makes the case for Abraham being the father of both the Jews (the circumcised) and the Gentiles (the uncircumcised). One verse says it all: He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well. (v. 11) I believe that is the essence of today’s reading.

Blessings!

Romans 3:21-31

Dear RTB’ers,

Summarizing yesterday’s reading (and my post), one of the more oft-quoted verses in all of Scripture, especially in the context of sharing one’s faith: …for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God… (v. 23, formally known as Romans 3:23), one of the first memory verses for believers in evangelical denominations.

Verse 23 is meant to establish our guilt. Verse 24 then gives us “a way out”: …being justified … through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus… – Jesus is our “way out”, our ONLY “way out”! Essentially Paul lays out the essence of our Christian faith in these two verses: …for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus… Paul then adds another thirteen chapters to help us understand what he means in these two verses. We read on!

Blessings!

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See also: December 10 (2023) / Romans 1-4

Romans 3:1-20

Dear RTB’ers,

None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. (vv. 10-12) Paul, the universalist? In this case, yes. Everybody, all, the entirety of humanity – you and me included. No, not one. Not even one!!

Except for Jesus…

Blessings!

Romans 2:17-29

Dear RTB’ers,

For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter…

Romans 2:28-29a

Paul is talking to Jews in today’s reading, even though most of the people in Rome who will receive this letter are Gentiles. He is comparing Jews and Gentiles, by focusing on what he knows as an educated Jew – well trained as a rabbi before meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus. For me, today’s key verse is 27: Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. The Jews had received from the Lord both the sign (circumcision) and the word (the Law). The Gentiles had nothing except their idols and temples to the Greek and Roman gods. But Paul is saying that these Gentiles (who may even worship strange gods) could put the Jews to shame by their behavior: So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? (v. 26) Not knowing the Law, these Gentile unbelievers keep the spirit of the Law. And in that sense, the Gentiles are better off than the Jews who behave self-righteously. It’s a lesson we all need to keep in mind.

Enjoy!

Romans 2:1-16

Dear RTB’ers,

We pick up today on the heels of yesterday’s last verse, reflecting back to all the evil practices mentioned in Romans 1:28b-31: …although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them. (v. 1:32) Our reading begins today with Paul still speaking to that same “audience”, those who “do the same” and “also approve of those who practice them”. These people “have no excuse, … every one of you who judges…” (v. 2:1a). Oops. I need to stop reading. Paul is talking to me! I am one person in that audience!! When I judge someone else, I am condemning myself, because I practice the same things. (v. 2:1b) I stand condemned. Period. But thankfully, that’s not the end of the story. Jesus paid that price to free me from that condemnation. And there will come a day when God will judge the secrets of mankind (v. 16b). Again, thankfully Paul closes that verse with “through Christ Jesus”. Without those last three words, we are all condemned! Thank you, Jesus!!

Enjoy!

Romans 1:18-32

Dear RTB’ers,

…that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse. (vv. 19-20) I am in awe of unbelief every time I read these verses. How can people not believe?? Look around, from the macro to the micro, looking through a telescope or a microscope, looking at this created world, how can someone not believe in an infinite mind Creator? I’m stunned at unbelief!

Yes, the beauty of creation…But look at what we’ve accomplished on our own! Paul gives us a good list for examining our own hearts: …God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. (vv. 28b-31) OK, maybe I’ve been kinda good the past couple of weeks. But when I look at Paul’s list and look back on my own life, I cringe. And I know then that I am guilty of evil, that I need a redeemer, that only Jesus can forgive everything from my past. And with all that I can confess, be forgiven, and move on. Thank you, Jesus.

Enjoy!

See also: September 19 (2021) / Romans 1:1-32

Romans 1:1-17

Dear RTB’ers,

I’m back!! Thank you, John, for covering for me these past three weeks during Carol’s and my transition to Slovakia. I loved reading your comments; I could have and should have commented on a number of occasions, but as is common among us, I failed to do so. Also, by way of confession to you all, I did fall behind a number of times during these three weeks. I’m used to being up-to-date every day, but it happens… But now I’m caught up and pushing ahead!!

Welcome to Romans! The first/lead epistle in all of our Christian bibles, probably the epistle more often referenced by scholars and preachers than any other. Commentators suggest that Paul wrote Romans from Corinth during his third missionary journey (Acts 20:2-3). He had never been to Rome and wanted to go there (Rom. 1:10); he finally got his wish, arriving as a prisoner. (See Acts 28, which we read a few months back.)

I have mentioned before that Paul often writes long, wordy sentences, sprinkled generously with adjectival and adverbial phrases and parenthetical expressions. Today’s introductory sentence, the first !!seven verses!! beats them all! But when we get beyond that sentence (and the theology contained therein), we begin to get to the meat of his letter. Today’s reading can be succinctly summarized: I am under obligation … to preach the gospel… (vv. 14-15a) That’s where Paul is headed the next sixteen chapters.

Paul follows up his stated purpose with a personal proclamation: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (v. 16) I’m sure many of you have heard of Josh McDowell, a Christian author (Evidence That Demands a Verdict; More Than a Carpenter, etc.) and popular speaker. Years ago (1976, I believe), in my early born-again years I had the pleasure of serving as his driver when he visited the University of Illinois campus. Back then very few students had cars, but I was older and lived off campus, so it fell very nicely to me to chauffer him. I got to know him better than most and bought ETDAV and asked him to sign it. His signature was “Josh McDowell, Romans 1:16”. I remember that every time I read this verse! Sweet!

So, we continue with Romans for the next four weeks. Enjoy!

Proverbs 31

Take a few minutes to think about how you, deep down, might describe an excellent wife. (Pr. 31:10) Knowing that your perspective has been shaped by a variety of forces — for example, your parents and the home you grew up in, societal shifts and expectations over your lifetime, your own marriage (if applicable), the books you’ve read, both fiction and nonfiction — what qualities would you honestly put forward as exemplary for a married woman, or, for that matter, any woman, married or not? How does your paradigm compare with what we read in Proverbs 31:10-31?

Take some time and honestly consider this. Are you offended by anything here? Are you convicted by anything here? Does anything about your own view need to change? (And yes, I am asking all of us, both men and women.)

See also:

• September 20 (2022) / Proverbs 31:1-9
• September 21 (2022) / Proverbs 31:10-31
• August 25 (2023) / Proverbs 30-31