Stay Far Away

The last chapter of Romans is mostly shout outs from Paul. However, towards the end he does give some final advice to the church. Stay away from people who cause divisions through false teaching. Good advice. Notice that he doesn't say sit around and argue with them and try to persuade them with the truth. Nope, he says get away from them. Divisive people aren't to be messed around with, especially when they are causing division based on false doctrine. Of course, that means you have to have a good handle on what the truth really is, otherwise you won't be able to tell! So pay attention, really listen to what people are saying, false teaching is dangerous and those people aren't to be trifled with.

I think that today we are so concerned about being inclusive and tolerant that we often let things slide that we shouldn't let slide. Can we just get back to calling evil evil? Can we just get back to calling false teaching false teaching? I think we may find that it is far better to just call things what they are than to let them slide in the name of tolerance. Is it any wonder that God isn't blessing our churches the way He did in the New Testament? Paul would have kicked these people out immediately. But we don't want to upset anyone so we have meetings to talk about how we can persuade this person without actually saying they did anything wrong. Well I don't know about anyone else but I'm tired of it. I'm tired of pretending that things that aren't ok are ok. I'm tired of sitting by and letting things I know to be wrong continue to be done so that no one will get upset.

Maybe it's time we took a cue from Jesus and started turning over a few tables.

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What now?

Paul says that those who are strong must take care of those who are sensitive. I can't just live to make ourselves happy. I have to be willing to help others. This is what it means to be a spiritual parent. It is my job to take care of those who are growing in their faith. Your faith can't be about you, truthfully it was never about you to start with! Even Christ didn't live for Himself while He was on earth, so what makes me think that I can?

It is my job to make sure that the message of Jesus is being spread to people who haven't heard it before. That might mean setting aside some of the things I want to do. It might even mean setting aside things that are good in order to do what is best.

I am learning this with Micah everyday. It really is amazing, God's design for the church and God's design for the family are perfect parallels. Life is no longer about what I want, it is about taking care of Abi and Micah. Similarly, my life in Christ is first and foremost about pleasing Him and growing closer to Him. Then it is about helping others come to know Him more! It really has very little to do with me and what I want to do. The funny thing is, the closer I get to Christ, the more I want to do what He wants me to do anyway! My desires are becoming aligned with His desires. Just like I don't think of it has work to take care of Abi and Micah (I love doing that!), my desire to please Christ by helping others is growing.

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Arguments

Don't argue over stupid things. That is the basic point of this chapter. Do your best to get along with everyone in the church so that the cause of Christ can be advanced. Don't let things like what day church happens or is it ok to eat meat distract you from the mission. If you think it is wrong to eat meat (the Bible doesn't say that btw), then don't eat meat! It's not that hard! That being said, don't argue with people who do eat meat and cause a disruption in the church. Also, if you ow that someone thinks it is wrong to eat meat, don't eat a baconator in front of them! You are being childish and looking for a fight.

The big idea here is we have more important things to do than argue over silly things. We have a mission to spread the saving news of Christ to the world. We can't do that if we spend all of our time arguing over things that don't make any difference in the end. Obviously we need to address sin as it arises within the church (and it will). But there is a big difference between a husband cheating on his wife and whether or not the children's wing should be painted blue or red.

Living peacefully with everyone is hard enough without getting hung up on things that don't matter. Choose your battles wisely, and don't do things that you know will cause other people to struggle. Just because it isn't a sin doesn't mean it is wise. Words to live by...

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Transformed

If it's true that Jesus came and died on the cross to save us, then we have a major debt. We can't keep living the same way we've always lived, we at least owe Him that right? Paul actually says that we should stop trying to imitate the world and be 'transformed' into something new. Sounds exciting, but what does that really look like?

It's not exactly Optimus Prime kind of stuff, but truth be told it will have more impact on the world if we actually live it out! We are supposed to take an honest look at ourselves, not being conceited. We should figure out what our gifts are and use those to the glory of God. God doesn't want everyone to be a preacher, but if that is your gift you better use it! If your gift is serving, teaching, encouraging, whatever it is God can and wants to use you to do great things!

Here is where it gets hard. It says "Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them." It is hard to love some people. But the truth is Jesus died for everyone, and I am just as much of a sinner as the next person. It is my job to love people. It is actually counterintuitive. How can you really love someone if it is your job to love them? Is it really love? That is where the transformation has to take place. Only Jesus can change your heart. When we love people, we take care of them, we celebrate with them, we cry with them, we welcome them even when it is inconvenient. Only after we have been transformed can we get rid of the urge to seek revenge and give that to God.

We are supposed to do our best to live at peace with everyone. Easier said than done right? This transformation is a daily process. It is a daily decision to live for Jesus. Simple, but not easy.

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Grandma won't Save You

From the beginning God chose the Israelite nation to be His people. He chose them to be the people through whom Jesus would come. That means it is through them that salvation came to the planet. Therefore they are special. All that being said, it is not being an Israelite that saves you. Just because you are an Israelite doesn't mean you will be saved. This was (and still is) a common thought among the Jewish people. Paul makes a pretty convincing argument that not all of the Jews throughout the Old Testament were chosen by God, so why would we think that it is any different now? He pretty much sums it up by saying God can choose whoever He wants, because He is God.

As for the rest of us (who aren't Jewish), we were simply out of luck until Jesus came. Now we have the opportunity through faith in Jesus to be made right with God. However it is still easy for us to have the same entitlement mentality that the Jewish people Paul was writing to had. Many times we think because we come from a good family who has gone to church all their lives, and because we went to church when we were little that we are fine. Never mind that we have not made a single disciple in our lifetime! My grandma was a saint!

So what? Big deal. That has nothing to do with you. This is the message Paul is trying to get across in this passage. A relationship with God is now available to everyone, but it is based on what YOU are doing, and it has nothing to do with your family. For some of us that is a comforting thing, for others it is really scary. It means I need to take a look at my life, and find out if I'm really following Jesus, or if I'm relying on my family to get me to heaven. There is only one way into heaven, and it has nothing to do with my grandma.

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Life in the Spirit

There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus! Isn't it great when a passage starts like that? How is that even possible though? I'm such a screw up surely that can't be true. If we were living under the law, that statement wouldn't be in the Bible. The law was powerless to save. Don't get me wrong, the law is perfect, I am the problem. I keep breaking the law, and the law in and of itself can't forgive me. All it can do is point it that I'm terrible. That is why we needed Jesus to come so badly! He came and lived a perfect life. He kept every law from the day He was born until the day He died! That is why His sacrifice for our sins worked. You see, if God is just, then sin has to be punished. But punishing one sinner for the sins of others sinners doesn't really work now does it? In order for it to really be a sacrifice, it would have to be someone who didn't deserve the punishment. That is why Jesus had to come and live a perfect life. If He had sinned while He was here on earth, there could have been no sacrifice. He would have deserved death, just like I do.

Now, in light of His sacrifice, I can be forgiven! That means that I am free from the law, I am free from sin and from death! Not physical death mind you, that was the punishment on all creation for Adam's sin in the garden. I still sin today, and even though God forgives me, I still have to pay that price for Adam's sin and for my own sin. But I don't have to die spiritually, which is by far the bigger deal!

Because I am free from sin, I don't have to let it control me anymore! I know that is much easier said than done, and I still sin everyday, but now I don't belong to sin. Now I can choose to live by the Spirit of God who lives in me. I can choose to glorify God with my life. The Spirit of God helps me in my daily fight against the sin that still wants to control my life. Because of this, I can look forward to the day when Christ returns! Before I was set free, that was going to be a scary day of death and judgement. Now it will be a day for a party! Now there is nothing that can separate me from the love of Jesus. Not sin, not other people, not even death. Praise God!

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From Death to Life

If God's grace is seen more clearly when we sin, should we sin more so His grace can be seen more clearly? It's kind of a stupid thought really, but that is how Paul begins Romans 6. Then he says 'of course not!' When we were baptized into Jesus, we were buried with Him. At that moment we died, just like Christ died. But we were also raised with Him into a new life, free from the bondage of sin. Now we are able to live a new life, physically and spiritually! Since we have died with Jesus, we will be raised with Him. In other words, when we died (in baptism), our sins were crucified with Christ and no longer have power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin! Baptism is a picture of Jesus' death in our lives. Since Jesus was raised from the dead and will never die again, we too can have faith that we have been raised, set free from the power of sin and death, and are now truly alive through the power of God. If our old self has died, we should no longer give in to our sinful desires. We don't have to do that anymore, we have been set free! Our lives should be used to glorify God. True, we are no longer slaves to sin. However, Paul says that we are slaves to whatever we choose to obey. So, if you have chosen to obey Jesus, well...what do you think that means? I don't really like the slavery analogy very much, but the it holds true. There are really only two choices. I can obey my sinful nature, which results in eternity in hell. The alternative is to obey God, which results in eternal life. The choice is mine to make. Romans 6:23- "The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."

How to be Made Right with God

I love this chapter so much. First Paul talks about how humans act. Most of us wouldn't give our lives for anyone, even if they were good. We certainly wouldn't give our lives for bad people, or people that hate us. But that is exactly what Jesus did. He gave His life on the cross for you and for me. I know most of us wouldn't say that we've ever really hated God, but when we sin, it's pretty much spitting in His face.

Sin was first introduced into the world through Adam and Eve, and the consequence was death. Since then, everyone who has ever lived has sinned, and therefore suffers death as well (I know there are a couple of people who were taken to heaven and didn't die, can anyone name them?). But physical death isn't the only thing that we have to worry about. In fact, it is spiritual death that is much scarier, because it results in being separated from God forever. When Jesus came, He lived a perfect life and died for all the things we've done wrong, He made it possible for us to gain forgiveness. He made it possible for us to escape death, not physical death, but spiritual death. Only now do we have the chance to spend eternity with God.

I know that leads to several interesting questions, was His death retroactive? What about the people who died before He came? They had to follow the law and make the sacrifices, but Jesus' death changed everything for everyone! I'm glad that God makes the call of who has eternal life, but I'm also glad that I can be sure of my standing with Him because now my standing with Him has everything to do with Jesus' perfection!

So how are we made right with God? Through faith in Jesus and the sacrifice that He made. We believe, repent (or turn away from) the wrong things we have done, confess His name in front of others, are baptized, and live our lives for Him. Simple...but not easy.

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By Faith

Thank goodness our standing with God is based on faith and not our obedience to the law. Many Jews believed you could only be a Christian if you were circumcised and then started following the law. Paul was trying to knock that out. He says that Abraham, that father of the Jewish nation, was accepted by God long before he was circumcised! Why was he accepted? Because of his faith! Therefore Abraham is the spiritual father of both the Jews and the Gentiles.

We really have to choose between trying to come to God by our obedience to the law and coming to God in faith. If we can perfectly obey the law, then we really don't need faith or forgiveness, because we will have earned our way into heaven, much like we earn our paycheck from work. The problem is, if you break the law even once you've blown it. The other problem is we all break the law every day! So we are in desperate need of forgiveness! A relationship with God isn't something that we've earned or even deserve.

This is the whole reason Jesus came! To take our punishment for breaking the law and make it possible for us to have a relationship with God based on faith. That is why His coming was such good news! There is only one way to be forgiven, through the death of Jesus. Faith is something that is available to all people. Therefore, a relationship with God isn't just for a select few, but something that is open to everyone. That is good news!

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God is Faithful

The Law is hard to obey, in fact it is impossible. The purpose of the law is to show us how much we need Jesus. Paul tells the Jews that they are a special people in that they were given the law and no one else was given it. They were the people God chose to have a relationship with first! But then he warns them not to get too big headed, because the law does not save. God is the only God there is, and therefore He is God of all. Through Jesus He opened the door to have a relationship with the entire world. Through Jesus we all have the opportunity to be saved! But first we have to realize that we are all equally guilty of sin.

Like the Jews, sometimes I have a tendency to think that I am...shall we say...less sinful than other people. The Bible is very clear, everyone sins, therefore everyone deserves death. The good news is that everyone has the chance for life in Jesus. This is the good news of the gospel! Jesus came for everyone, not just for Jews, and not just for me! I would do well to remember that as I go about making disciples. I don't get to choose who deserves to hear about Jesus. The truth of the matter is, that I didn't deserve to hear about Jesus! How can I keep this news to myself.

God is and has always been faithful. Jesus took my punishment for breaking the law. I have been
set free from the law! Praise God.

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What Really Counts

Paul says in Romans 2 that the Jews shouldn't condemn people for sinning, because they are just as bad! You see, the Jews thought they were going to heaven because they were Jews. So they tried to obey the law, but they figured they were safe either way. Paul is explaining that being right with God has nothing to do with who your grandma is or even what she did. It has everything to do with YOUR relationship with Jesus. There will be a day when God's patience runs out, and the world will be judged. But when that happens it won't be based on whether or not your family has a history of following God. The only thing that will matter for you is whether or not you did! This would have shaken the Jews who read it, and it causes me to take a look at myself today. I have a great family, but I can't rely on my mom or dad to get me into heaven.

He also says that they (the Jews) think they are special because they have the law and can tell other people how God wants them to live. While that may be true, the problem was that they weren't following it themselves! Having the law doesn't do you any good if you don't follow it! Just like knowing about God doesn't do you any good unless you are a follower. It really comes down to relationship. I know a lot about Michael Jordan, but we aren't having lunch today. That is how my relationship with God is sometimes. It doesn't do me any good to be able to quote a ton of scripture, to go to church, even to teach others about Him if I'm not spending time with Him myself on a regular basis.

To paraphrase Paul: You are not a Christian just because your parents were Christian and you grew up in church. No, the true Christian is the one whose heart is right with God.

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New Year, Same Goal

As I begin a new year, I thought about what resolution I should make. Instead of losing weight or something like that, I determined that my goal should be one that will actually matter 100 years from now. So my goal is to take my relationship with Christ to the next level. Because the only thing that will matter 100 years from now is whether or not you have a relationship with Jesus. With that in mind, I start the new year off in Romans...

Paul begins with some pleasantries, introducing himself and talking about how he wishes he could come and join them. He wants to come and see them so that he can preach the gospel to them! He says he isn't ashamed of the gospel because it has the power to save everyone, whether they are Jewish or not. This was a big debate in that time, the Jewish people were still not really wanting to be inclusive of Gentiles (non-Jews). Paul says that through faith I Christ, anyone can have a relationship with God, no matter what their family tree looks like.

He then goes on to say that no one has an excuse for not believing in God. Even if they haven't heard about God directly, they have seen all the things He has made. In spite of that, most of the world doesn't believe, and so God gave them over to their sinful desires. People chose to worship idols rather than the true God, and so He just let them. This has lead to all kinds of problems as we can see. However it tells us something about God: He won't make you love or worship Him. It is a choice that you have been given and only you can make. God wants everyone to love Him, but if we don't get a choice in the matter, then it can't be love.

The question I have to ask myself is this: What am I substituting for God? What things in my life am I worshiping instead of Him? It might be the iPad that I'm typing this on, it might be the tv, it might be my son or my wife! At least in my life it isn't a statue that I bow down to worship, but it can be reply easy to substitute time with God with a bunch of other things that just seem more pressing at the time.

In 2013 it is my goal to worship and serve the Creator rather than the created things. Pray for me.

Enjoy the Journey,
Elliott