Possessions Make Us Fools
Nobody wants to talk about their finances. It’s uncomfortable and the lines are vague. What is too much? What is not enough? Am I a terrible person for owning a car? The difficulty often lies in that so much of this is a heart issue. Whether you have millions or nothing, your finances may not be sanctified. Whatever you have, what is it for? Is it for God’s use or for your own personal security? Are you a reservoir for your money (holding more and more of it) or a conduit (stewarding resources from God to generously pass it along for His glory)?
Spiritual Living II
After being presented with the death and resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday, this section of Romans 8 presents us with two ways to live: life in the flesh and life in the Spirit. One life leads to death and the other leads to life and joy in Jesus. One is marked by self-justification and self-expression while the other is life directed toward and directed by Jesus, putting to death the sinful passions of the flesh.
Easter Sunday
What is of first importance? That Christ died, was buried, and was raised from the dead. The fact that Christ was raised is one of the most controversial claims of our faith, it is one of the most difficult doctrines for us to apply to our lives beyond merely agreeing that it happened, and it is the linchpin on which the whole of Christianity hangs. So…did it happen? If so, what does that mean for our everyday lives?
Spiritual Living I
One of the most difficult passages in Scripture to truly believe, Romans 8 declares the truth that despite our deep rooted sin that we war against daily, there is no condemnation for us and we are safe in Christ. We were brought before the judge guilty and condemned, but the judge has declared us “Not Guilty”. We are righteous in Him and freed to walk in the spirit.
At War with Our Sin
It’s said that Romans 7 is one of the easiest chapters to believe, but one of the hardest to enjoy. Why is that? Paul identifies with the ongoing war we have with our sin, describing it as a “body of death” chained to us. We are wretched people who, despite a desire to do what is right, are wholly incapable of obedience to the God. But there is hope, thanks be to Christ Jesus, and we are not left in despair because whether we are having our best day or our worst, because God’s satisfaction with us and love for us isn’t rooted in our progress, but in Jesus.
Freed from Sin
Returning to Romans, we begin a new series on Sanctification asking: “If grace is good and I get more grace when I sin, shouldn’t I sin more so that grace may abound?” Paul’s answer both reveals how ridiculous it is and goes deeper to show us more of the nature of our salvation. We didn’t just have the guilt of our sin removed, but the person enslaved to sin was killed with Christ and we were raised to a new life in Him. Sin is no longer our slave-master! Yet, rather than present ourselves to God and righteousness, we choose the chains and present ourselves to our old master.
Justification’s Foundation
In this ending to chapter 5, Paul addresses the hypothetical question of how the gift of one man, Jesus, apply to so many of us by comparing and contrasting Jesus and Adam. While answering this question, Paul again shows humanity at its worst—its head bringing sin itself into Creation. But for all of the sin and rebellion of Adam, bringing condemnation to all of humanity, Christ’s gift much more is good and powerful. And for our own sins on top of Adam’s, again, much more is Christ’s gift good and powerful for our salvation.
Justification’s Fruit
Justification brings us peace with God, access to God’s grace, and hope in God’s glory and in these things we can rejoice. But how do we actually experience this justification and how do we rejoice? We rejoice in our sufferings, not because suffering itself is a good thing, but because, as Paul lays out, suffering strengthens our hope as we see God’s glory poured out on us and the Holy Spirit at work within us. Inthat we rejoice.
Justification Proved III
We’ve spent the past few weeks talking about justification through faith, but how does that faith actually apply? We see this radical faith lived out in the beliefs that guide our actions. Because we have faith in God, we can be assured that we have been justified by Christ’s righteousness. Because we have faith in and cling to the God who is perfectly faithful, we can live in the freedom that He will do what He promised to do, to make us righteous and bring what is dead to life.
Justification Proved I
At Romans 4, we start 6 weeks of grappling with the idea of justification. Christian justification sits at the foundation of salvation and sits in opposition to all other religions and worldviews. Only the justification found in the cross breaks the bondage of justification by our own works that we have always saddled ourselves with. David found that he couldn’t cover his sin on his own and Abraham was unable to covenant with God, but through God’s own work, their faith was counted to them as righteousness.