Today, I am reading and commenting on Romans 15-16.

Today’s passage begins with Paul writing that the strong should bear with the failings of the weak.  He is restating what he wrote at the beginning of chapter 14, that we should accept the one whose faith is weak without quarreling over “disputable matters.”  With that context, Paul tells us that we should please our neighbors for their own good so that we might build them up in their faith.  We should accept one another just as Christ accepts us.  We should serve each other.  Paul also writes in his conclusion that we should watch out for those who cause divisions and keep away from them.  So, we should not argue over disputable matters and stay away from those who do.  Further, we should bear with and serve those whose weak faith leads them to follow certain rituals designed to remind them of their faith.  Our purpose in doing so is to build them up in their faith so that they can serve God better.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I have created a Patreon page for those who would like to support me in writing these blog posts every day: https://patreon.com/AttilaSoldus

Today, I am reading and commenting on Romans 11-14.

Many use the rejection of Jesus by Jews, which Paul references here, as an excuse to be hostile to Jews. or are hostile to Jews for other reasons.  Paul warns against that in today’s passage, reminding us that God chose them as His people.  Paul repeatedly tells us that we should not think of ourselves as better than others.  Here he warns us that while the rejection of Jesus by Jews opened the way for Gentiles to be welcomed into the family of God, Gentiles should not think that makes them better than those Jews who reject Jesus.  If the rejection of Jesus by some Jews resulted in them being cut off from God so that we could be adopted into His family, then, if we begin to believe that we are entitled to be in God’s family, we can be cut off to make room for them if they turn to Him.  There are other things to be learned from this, but the take away which I want to remind people of today is that there is no room for the followers of Jesus to be hostile to Jews.

In light of what God has done for us, Paul tells us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God.  In doing so, we invite the Holy Spirit to transform us by renewing our minds.  I am not sure I ever noticed that Paul refers to the transformation of our minds as “renewing”.  Renewing means returning it to what it was when it was new, before sin entered our lives.  So, let the Holy Spirit transform your mind, as I strive to let Him transform mine, into the likeness of God.  In light of the fact that it is the Holy Spirit which is transforming us into the likeness of God, not our own effort, we should not take attempt to take credit for our goodness.  We should not think of ourselves as better than others.  Each of us has been given gifts from God so as to fulfill His purposes in this world.  Which means that we also should not think of ourselves as less than others.  Whatever gift God has given us we should diligently employ it to accomplish His purposes in this world.

There is a lot more worth writing about in this passage, but I am going to end with one last thing which Paul writes here: live at peace with everyone, as far as it depends upon you.  Paul is not telling us that we have to live at peace with everyone, just that we should not be the ones who initiate the hostilities.  And, even if someone else initiates hostility with us, we should seek bringing those hostilities to an end.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I have created a Patreon page for those who would like to support me in writing these blog posts every day: https://patreon.com/AttilaSoldus

Today, I am reading and commenting on Romans 8-10.

In today’s passage Paul expands on his commentary about on living by faith.  Here he talks about how we must choose to live either by the Spirit or by the flesh.  If we set our minds on the desires of the flesh then we are living according to the flesh.  On the other hand, if we live according to the Spirit, we will set our minds on the desires of the Spirit.  One of the ways in which the Adversary attempts to draw us back into living according to the flesh is by causing us to focus on the fears of the flesh.  Those fears all too often distract us from pursuing the desires of the Spirit.  That is why we must allow God’s Spirit, which lives within us to pray for us.  We often do not know for what we should pray, but God’s Spirit does and will do so.  Further, Paul tells us some things which will help us resist the distractions of fear which the flesh uses to distract us back into serving its desires.  First, if God is for us, who, or what, can be against us?  Obviously, the problem with taking that to heart is that how can we know that God is for us?  Paul addresses that by reminding us that God loves us and nothing can separate us from His love.  The same power of God which assures us that nothing can overcome us if God is for us assures us that nothing can separate us from His love.  Paul gives us a list of things which he is convinced cannot separate us from God’s love: trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword, death nor life, angels nor demons, neither height or depth, nor anything else in all creation.  None of these things can separate us from God’s love, neither in the present nor in the future.

As Paul completes his commentary about righteousness being given to us by God through our faith in Jesus, he discusses his desire that all of the people of Israel would accept salvation through that faith.  He desires for this to happen with all that he has, to the point that he is willing to be separated from God for all eternity if that is the price required.  However, he points out that, when it comes to salvation, there is no difference between Jew and Gentile.  God is Lord of all and will bless everyone who calls upon His Name.  Paul then tells us something which we should all take to heart.  First, Paul tells us that no one can call upon God unless they first believe in Him.  Second, no one will believe in God unless they had heard about Him.  Next, Paul points out that no one will hear about God unless someone preaches to them.  Finally, no one will preach about God unless they are sent to do so.  So, there is place for all of us in that.  Those of us who are not yet called by God to preach should do what we  can to support, and to send forth, those who have been so called.  Those who have been sent forth to preach about God to those who do not know Him should do so with all that they are.  Those who hear about God should believe in Him.  Those that believe in Him should call on His Name.  Which brings us back to the beginning.  I want to note that all of us should be prepared to preach about God when the opportunity presents itself.  Not only prepared, but we should seek those opportunities in the activities to which God has called us.  At the end of Matthew Jesus gave His disciples the Great Commission.  Paul reiterates here that we should all follow that command to go and make disciples of Him in all nations, whether that is the one we are in, or another nation.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I have created a Patreon page for those who would like to support me in writing these blog posts every day: https://patreon.com/AttilaSoldus

Today, I am reading and commenting on Romans 4-7.

Today’s passage begins with Paul telling us that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.  He goes on to explain that God justifies the ungodly.  Abraham was credited as righteous before God gave him the command to be circumcised, so clearly Abraham’s righteousness was not the result of him obeying God’s command.  Rather it was a result of his faith.  However, because God had made him righteous, Abraham followed the command of God.  Abraham became the father of many nations and all who believe are heirs to the righteousness which God credited to him.  While we were powerless to do God because we were enslaved to sin, Jesus died for us to free us from that sin.  As we were slaves to sin, let us now be slaves to righteousness.  If we continue to sin, we become slaves once more to sin, which leads to our death.  On the other hand if we enslave ourselves to righteousness, we will do the works of righteousness, which leads to eternal life.  Yet, as Paul points out, as much as we desire in our own will to do good, we all too often end up doing wrong.  It is only by putting our faith in Christ and turning control of our lives over to the Holy Spirit that we can overcome the desires of this body to sin.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I have created a Patreon page for those who would like to support me in writing these blog posts every day: https://patreon.com/AttilaSoldus

Today, I am reading and commenting on Romans 1-3.

After greeting the Believers in Rome, Paul begins his letter to them by saying that he would like to see them so that he could impart to them some spiritual gift which would make them strong.  Then, realizing that this implies that he is somehow better than they are, he says that he hopes that they and he would be mutually encouraged.  This reflects an important element of our interaction with other Believers.  We need to recognize that we have much to learn from others, even from those who have only entered into a relationship with God very recently.  Paul actually shows us why that is true as he begins to get into the meat of what he wants to write, even though that is not the point he is making when he writes it.  Paul writes that God has made plain to everyone that which may be known about Him.  So, even those who until recently were far from God, know much about Him, more than they realize.  On the other side, we need to realize that when Paul says about people that they suppress the truth by their wickedness, that applies to us to at least some degree.  To varying degrees we all suppress what God has revealed to us about Himself in order to excuse our wickedness, even if only to ourselves.  Those who persistently seek to do good, will receive glory, and honor, and eternal life, while those who are self-seeking and reject the truth will receive anger and wrath.

If you (and I) rely on your knowledge of God’s law and will, but break His law and fail to follow His will, you(I) dishonor Him.  Each of us must ask themselves, “Is God’s name blasphemed because of me?”  It is not by relying on written code, or even a set of unwritten rules, that we enter into a relationship with God and gain eternal life.  Instead it is by allowing His Spirit to transform us into a better reflection of who He is.  It is not by following a set of rules, it is not by our actions, that we will be declared righteous.  Rather, God grants righteousness to all who put their faith in Jesus.  As a result, none of us can boast that we are better than anyone else.  Also, this does not mean that God’s Law and His will are irrelevant for us.  The fact that God grants us righteousness through our faith does not mean that His Law and will are nullified.  Instead, we are made better able to fulfill and follow His Law and will by our faith.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I have created a Patreon page for those who would like to support me in writing these blog posts every day: https://patreon.com/AttilaSoldus