Mission Faithwalk

Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they  may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal  is not based on knowledge.   Since they did not know the righteousness of God and ought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.  Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. (Romans 10:1-4)           Five hundred years ago, Martin Luther nailed ninety-five theses to a door. As I understand it, they were all rejections of wrong teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. I’m not Martin Luther and my main disagreements aren’t with the Roman Catholic Church (though I have disagreements with them, too.) Today’s passage brings to mind two problems with most general faith.         The first is “It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere.” The Jews were and are sincere. They have suffered for their

What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. As it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble   and a rock that makes them fall,    and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame . (Romans 9:30-33)           I come back to one of my favorite arguments about God. One of the reasons I am so certain He exists is because He is the only god whose offer of salvation is not based on works. God is the god who doesn’t abide by man’s rules. This is the mistake that the Jews have made. They misunderstood the Law, seeking their salvation in it. Everything about the Jewish culture as prescribed by the Law is beautiful, sometimes in savage ways, but it

  What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory—   even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?   As he says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people;     and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,” and, “In the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’     there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’” Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea,     only the remnant will be saved.   For the Lord will carry out     his sentence on earth with speed and finality.” It is just as Isaiah said previously: “Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants, we would have become lik

It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?” But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? (Romans 9:16-21)           In Esther, Mordecai asks her, “ And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14) God raised up Pharaoh to display His power in him and so his name might be proclaimed in all the earth. He called Job, Mose

Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac.   Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”            What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,     and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”   It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.   For Scripture that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Therefore, God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. (Romans 9:10-18) Some look at this passage in terms of predestination and free will. Even before Esau and Jacob were born, God had already chosen. He created them. He chose their personalities, and then He j

  It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.   Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”   In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.” (Romans 9:6-9)             Did you know that Abraham had 8 children? You might be able to name two: Ishmael and Isaac. He also had Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. Ishmael was the son of Hagar. Isaac was the son of Sarah. The other six were the sons of Keturah. (Genesis 25:1-4) Abraham cared for his other children, but Isaac was the heir even though he wasn’t the eldest. God promised to bless both Isaac and Ishmael, but God would work out His plan thr

  I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit—   I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, and the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised. Amen. (Romans 9:1-5)                 How do you feel about the Jews? They’re an oppressed people. They have been an oppressed people for most of their history. In Paul’s day, they were oppressed by Rome, but I don’t think this is the cause of Paul’s distress. I suspect Paul’s main reason for the distress being described is his feeling that his people were rejecting Christianity and being left behind. It was his heart’s desire for the

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?   As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long;     we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.   For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39) It’s easy to think that if God loves us, we shouldn’t face trouble or hardship. Life should be straight-forward, easy, and under control. Persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, and sword just don’t fit in the picture. It’s an old idea. What goes around, comes around. Karma. If bad things are happening in your life, it must be because you deserve it. Job had friends who insi

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?   Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us . (Romans 8:31-34)           If God is for us, who can be against us? The world, the flesh, and the devil, that’s who. Or, at least, the devil, since the other two are more “what” than “who.” In fact, they not only can be, they are. However, if God is for us, ultimately, what does it matter who or what is against us? It might seem like a big deal to us now, but God is God. There’s no question about who wins in the end. I know, it always feels like it matters.          He who did not spare is own Son…how will he n

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30)           All things are good? No. All things produce good for those who love God. All things work out for good for those who are called according to His purpose. To understand what Paul said, we need to understand what Paul meant by “good.” A good screwdriver drives screws. A good book communicates what it is meant to in a way that people understand and appreciate. A good person is someone who does the things that people are meant to do with a positive attitude. Good things do what they are designed to do. What is that?           Good things cause us to be conformed to the image

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27) What are your weaknesses? Once I start, my list grows. It gets scary. It gives one reason to suspect that I’m worthless. It’s also unrealistic. The focus is in the wrong place. The more important question is what the Spirit thinks are our weaknesses. When does He intercede?           The weakness mentioned in this passage is a weakness of understanding and knowledge. We don’t know what God has in mind. We don’t know how to pray. Based on the number of Bible studies and sermons on the subject, we are anxious about this. Based on the number of times I’ve poured forth my concerns about missing the “exit,” I am definitely anxious about this. Time after time, God

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?   But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently . (Romans 8:22-25)           When do you need hope? We all need hope all the time, but when do you need hope? Obvious answer #1: When you don’t have it. Obvious answer #2: When circumstances are not as you think they should be or look like they will not be as you think they should be. You hope for someone’s arrival when they aren’t there yet. You hope for someone’s good health when there’s a thought it might not be or stay so good. Hope is a response to the comparative negative in our lives, current or imagined. If our lives were w

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.   For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from tis bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. (Romans 8:12-21)            Do people disappoint you? Have you considered that it might be a good thing? I know how I feel when I meet someone who is doing better in life than I am (from my perspective.) “Good for them, but what’s wrong with me?” Can you imagine being around perfect people? All your little flaws glaring, and sure they forgive them and they love you anyway (otherwise they wouldn’t be perfect) but you notice. The other day I had a conversation about Jesus when He walked the earth. He didn’t look like anything special, just you

Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.   The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”   The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.   Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory . (Romans 8:12-17)        If you live according to the flesh, you will die. Every day, you will die a little more, becoming increasingly the immortal horror described by C. S. Lewis. Not a pleasant thought. The alternative is to put to death the misdeeds

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:5-8)   I used to think that the two groups of people described represented Christians and nonchristians. I knew better, but it comforted me to think that way. The truth is that Christians can and do also rely on the flesh. Some years ago, I got this idea (possibly from Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search For Meaning ) that there is a difference between a reaction and a response. A reaction came immediately and without thought. When someone hits that spot and your leg jerks out, that’s a “knee jerk reaction.” A response requires consideration.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,   because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh,   in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4)           Today is another sigh of relief in the letter to the Romans. No condemnation! Freedom! Life! The Spirit! Ah. Of course, there’s always the fine print. There’s always a condition. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus . There is no condemnation for those who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.           This brings me back to my illustration of heading east on I-90 and claiming to

So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. (Romans 7:21-25) Nature v nurture. “I was born this way:” with a natural tendency to sin in whatever way it is I do, whether eating too much, lying, or homosexuality. I have a genetic predisposition to alcoholism, addiction, violence, fear, or whatever they are now claiming is genetic. I have my mother’s face and fear of spiders and my father’s stubborn. As we hear this, some people say, “Hogwash!” and others nod their heads sympathetically. They understand. I do a l

We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree with that the law is good. As it is, is it no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do -- this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but  it is sin living in me that does it. (Romans 7:14-20)           I hate to be out of control, and I feel out of control almost all the time. It’s not quite as bad when my surroundings are a pit chaotic, if I’m not looking for something. What really bothers me is the internal. Much of my internal life either looks like a hurricane is blowing through, or someone’

What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”   But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.   I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.   For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinfu

Do you not know, brothers and sisters—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives?   For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him.   So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.   So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of th

  I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.  What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!  But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:19-23)           Yer either fer us or agin us. North or South. East or West. Up or Down. In or Out. Yin or Yang. Our guest today is the Law of Noncontradiction. One cannot be A and A- in relation to the same thing at the same time. If you are a slave of sin, you are not a slave of righteousness. If you are a

What at then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. (Romans 6:15-18)             I used to think this was the same question Paul asked the other day, but this morning I realize it’s not. Before, the question was, “shall we sin to make God look good”? Now it’s, “shall we sin because we can”? After all, we’re saved, right? Jesus already paid the price for all our sins, so additional sin doesn’t add anything to the price He paid. We’re off the hook.             I know someone who was given money to us