Sunday, August 31, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Paul's Practical Advice
I enjoyed reading Romans 12. He gives us practical advice for living the Christian life. In verse 1, he tells us to present our bodies a living sacrifice. He doesn't say we need to give our lives. Most Christians do not need to give their lives for their faith. However, he does say that we should be a living sacrifice. Our entire lives need to be a sacrifice to God. He goes on through the rest of the chapter and instructs us how to do that. First, we should not be conformed to this world. In other words, the Christian needs to be different. We must show that we are a Christian by our words and actions. The meaning of the word Christian is "little Christ." People should be able to tell that we are like Christ. Next, he tells us that we should not be proud. Instead, we should think soberly and exercise the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given to us. Just as each part of our body works together and fills its place well, so the members of the church should work together. No one should covet a different position or feel proud or inferior because of the position they fill. He also tells us to display true love to each other. One way to do that is to prefer others before ourselves. This runs counter to human nature and can be very difficult, but it is the Christian way. The next several verses tell us that we should be industrious, hopeful, patient, prayerful, and hospitable. Paul even tells us to bless those that curse us. No one but a true Christian has the power to do something like that. We as Christians should live peaceably with everyone as much as possible. We should not seek revenge. Instead we should help even our enemies when we have opportunity. In that way we can avoid being overcome with evil and instead overcome evil with good
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Romans 11
In this chapter, Paul explains how the Gentiles were brought into the family of God. In the Old Testament times, the Jews were God's chosen people and very few Gentiles became a part of God's family. However, the Jews rejected God and turned their backs on Him. So, God extended the opportunity of salvation to all mankind. Many Gentiles were accepting salvation and joining the new church of God. As Paul illustrates it here, they were wild olive branches that were grafted into the good olive tree. The original branches were cut off because they did not bear fruit. However, Paul warns the Gentiles (the wild olive branches) not to boast against the branches that were cut off. If they boasted, they to might be cut off. We, as Gentiles, have been blessed because of the Jews' unbelief. However, we should desire that they might be saved. They are still God's chosen people and we should be reaching out to them in any way possible. We should also be thanking God that He has made a provision for us to be saved.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Establishing Our Own Righteousness
In Romans 10, Paul talks about the Jews who were not saved. He had a deep desire that they might be saved. They were very zealous in their religion. They followed it to the letter. Yet, it did not save them because it was their own righteousness. They were ignorant of God's righteousness. So, they had to establish their own.
We can be that way too sometimes. Maybe we tend to think that the Bible way is too hard. Or, maybe it's too simple. Perhaps, we are just unwilling to submit to its teachings. It could even be that we begin following the teachings of a man instead of the Bible. Whatever the reason, we establish our own righteousness. We may be ever so zealous in this righteousness that we've concocted on our own, but God is not pleased with us. We cannot be saved on our own. We can only be saved through Jesus Christ and His righteousness. Nothing that we do on our own can save us.
Lord, help us to depend on You. Help us to accept Your wonderful plan of salvation instead of trying to establish our own righteousness. Help us to put our zeal into Your service. Forgive us when we try to take our own way. Gently remind us that Your righteousness is the only true righteousness.