http://www.esvbible.org/Romans+14/
It is important to welcome people who have weak faith, maybe especially so. Be careful, however, not to argue with them over simple differences in opinion. So often, especially in the US, we get caught up in denomination, and what the differences in our denominations mean. We can never stray to a church outside of our denomination and we are cold and hostile to those who were not raised in our denomination. This way of treating other people is wrong because it does not come from love. If we all love God and believe in the sacrifice of Christ, then we should all love each other even if we disagree. Some Christians may believe in ceremonies such as not eating meat or making one day holier than the others. As far as not eating meat, Paul writes that God revealed to Him there is nothing evil about any type of food. The person who eats all types of food does it in praise because He blesses the food before God then eats it. There is nothing wrong with not eating certain types of food because the person still blesses the food before eating it. The person who does not eat certain foods, however, has the weaker faith because he is putting stock in something other than pure faith in Jesus Christ. It is still up to those with stronger faith not to cause others to stumble, so if it will make someone stumble to see you eat meat, do not eat meat in their presence. Never intentionally cause someone to stumble because that is a terrible thing to do against someone you are supposed to love. Also, never let anyone tell you something you believe to be good is evil. If you believe something, go for it as long is it does not go against anything God or the Bible says. The person who follows what they believe is better than the one who believes something that doesn't act on it because that second person does not act on faith. Anything not done in faith is done in sin. It is right to avoid eating or drinking anything that causes other Christians to have doubts regardless of the fact that it is not wrong to eat or drink any certain types of food or drink. The Kingdom of Heaven is not made up of what we eat and drink. It's made up of God's approval, peace, and the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. That sort of joy you feel when you know you've done something that pleases God. That feeling of knowing you are so deeply in love with God and He reciprocates those feelings times a billion. Every person has to make their own decisions regarding faith. We don't live or die to honor ourselves. We live and die to honor God because we belong to Him. Christ died and came back to life to be Lord of the living and the dead. You can never escape Him in all of eternity. You are called upon to honor Him with your life and death. Therefore, we all belong to the Lord as His servants, and it's not up to us to criticize someone else's servant. The Lord will discipline and teach them what is right in these nearly meaningless choices.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Romans 13
http://www.esvbible.org/Romans+13/
God puts the governments in place. God is all powerful. He is in charge of everything. Nothing happens that surprises Him or throws Him off. This is especially important to realize now, around election time. People get so caught up in their party winning that they can lose sight of regardless about what happens, God is still in charge. Obey the government that is over you. If you resist the government, you resist God. Furthermore, if you resist the government, you will be punished because God has given the government that power. People who do the right thing don't need to fear the government. People who do what is wrong should fear the government. The government serves God, even if it doesn't know it. This is also why you should pay your taxes. Pay what you owe.
The most important thing we can do is love others. If we love others, we fulfill Moses' Teachings because all of the commandments can be summed up in love. If we love others, we won't do anything to hurt them. We are closer to the time of salvation now than when we came believers, and we march forward even now. Rid yourselves of what is dark, and take up the weapons of the light. Give up the things of our sinful natures.
God puts the governments in place. God is all powerful. He is in charge of everything. Nothing happens that surprises Him or throws Him off. This is especially important to realize now, around election time. People get so caught up in their party winning that they can lose sight of regardless about what happens, God is still in charge. Obey the government that is over you. If you resist the government, you resist God. Furthermore, if you resist the government, you will be punished because God has given the government that power. People who do the right thing don't need to fear the government. People who do what is wrong should fear the government. The government serves God, even if it doesn't know it. This is also why you should pay your taxes. Pay what you owe.
The most important thing we can do is love others. If we love others, we fulfill Moses' Teachings because all of the commandments can be summed up in love. If we love others, we won't do anything to hurt them. We are closer to the time of salvation now than when we came believers, and we march forward even now. Rid yourselves of what is dark, and take up the weapons of the light. Give up the things of our sinful natures.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Romans 12
http://www.esvbible.org/Romans+12/
In light of everything in this letter, Paul says it's clear that the truest way of worship is to offer your bodies as living sacrifices to please God. We do this by not living like the rest of the people in the world. Not that we are weirdos but that we hold ourselves to a higher standard. Don't let this way of acting lead you to think higher of yourself than you should. Instead, use good judgement for what God tells you to do. A body has many different parts that do different things but they are all connected and come together so that we can go through life. In the same way, Christians are many different people, but through faith in the One True God, we are all connected in the body of Christ. God gave us different Spiritual Gifts and we therefore are important to different aspects of the body of Christ in a specific way. God will use us in those ways. We use a foot in the way a foot is supposed to be used. In the same way, God uses people with the gift of teaching to teach. He uses people with the gift of giving to give, and the person with the gift of serving to serve. If He did not grant you a certain gift, do not fear, He will not make your primary purpose something like that. For example, someone without the gift of giving will not find their primary purpose in funding missionaries. But we are all called to give in some capacity. You do not use a foot as an elbow, and in the same way, God does not use you primarily where your gift does not match. Always love others sincerely and hate evil. Be a family with other believers, especially those around you, Don't be lazy in devotion. Be happy and patient. Pray ceaselessly. Share your relationship with God. Be hospitable. Bless those who persecute you and don't curse them. Live harmoniously. Be empathetic. Don't think you are smarter than you are. Don't be arrogant. Don't repay evil with evil. Live in peace with everyone as much as you can. Don't take revenge. It is God's place alone to take revenge. If you show kindness to your enemies, you will make them feel guilty. Don't let evil conquer you but conquer evil with good.
In light of everything in this letter, Paul says it's clear that the truest way of worship is to offer your bodies as living sacrifices to please God. We do this by not living like the rest of the people in the world. Not that we are weirdos but that we hold ourselves to a higher standard. Don't let this way of acting lead you to think higher of yourself than you should. Instead, use good judgement for what God tells you to do. A body has many different parts that do different things but they are all connected and come together so that we can go through life. In the same way, Christians are many different people, but through faith in the One True God, we are all connected in the body of Christ. God gave us different Spiritual Gifts and we therefore are important to different aspects of the body of Christ in a specific way. God will use us in those ways. We use a foot in the way a foot is supposed to be used. In the same way, God uses people with the gift of teaching to teach. He uses people with the gift of giving to give, and the person with the gift of serving to serve. If He did not grant you a certain gift, do not fear, He will not make your primary purpose something like that. For example, someone without the gift of giving will not find their primary purpose in funding missionaries. But we are all called to give in some capacity. You do not use a foot as an elbow, and in the same way, God does not use you primarily where your gift does not match. Always love others sincerely and hate evil. Be a family with other believers, especially those around you, Don't be lazy in devotion. Be happy and patient. Pray ceaselessly. Share your relationship with God. Be hospitable. Bless those who persecute you and don't curse them. Live harmoniously. Be empathetic. Don't think you are smarter than you are. Don't be arrogant. Don't repay evil with evil. Live in peace with everyone as much as you can. Don't take revenge. It is God's place alone to take revenge. If you show kindness to your enemies, you will make them feel guilty. Don't let evil conquer you but conquer evil with good.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Romans 11
http://www.esvbible.org/Romans+11/
God has not rejected the Jewish people. He does not reject anyone. Just think of it like this: there are Jewish people who come to know Christ. Paul and all of the other Apostles were Jewish. Israel, and Jewish people by extension, have never fully achieved what they have striven for. Only those on which God has bestowed His kindness can achieve salvation. And you don't get God's kindness by anything you do because if you did, it wouldn't be kindness. The fall of Jewish people made the world rich because it helped open salvation to the non-Jewish. If the Jewish people return to Jesus, the world will be richer. If God is the root of an olive tree, then the branches are holy by extension. For a while, the branches were Israel, but God cut those off who did not believe and grafted the gentiles on who do believe. He can just as easily cur anyone off who does not continue to believe. If Jewish people start to believe, they can easily be grafted back onto the tree. We cannot become arrogant in being one that has received God's approval because the branches of the olive tree did not graft themselves onto the tree. The make had to do it for them. After all, who knows how God thinks? Who has anything to offer Him that He doesn't already have? Who can give Him something that He will have to pay back? God uses us because He loves us, not because He needs us.
God has not rejected the Jewish people. He does not reject anyone. Just think of it like this: there are Jewish people who come to know Christ. Paul and all of the other Apostles were Jewish. Israel, and Jewish people by extension, have never fully achieved what they have striven for. Only those on which God has bestowed His kindness can achieve salvation. And you don't get God's kindness by anything you do because if you did, it wouldn't be kindness. The fall of Jewish people made the world rich because it helped open salvation to the non-Jewish. If the Jewish people return to Jesus, the world will be richer. If God is the root of an olive tree, then the branches are holy by extension. For a while, the branches were Israel, but God cut those off who did not believe and grafted the gentiles on who do believe. He can just as easily cur anyone off who does not continue to believe. If Jewish people start to believe, they can easily be grafted back onto the tree. We cannot become arrogant in being one that has received God's approval because the branches of the olive tree did not graft themselves onto the tree. The make had to do it for them. After all, who knows how God thinks? Who has anything to offer Him that He doesn't already have? Who can give Him something that He will have to pay back? God uses us because He loves us, not because He needs us.
Romans 10
http://www.esvbible.org/Romans+10/
Paul says that he prays for the Jewish people to be saved. It's hard for some of them to accept the message of Christ. Before Christ, they were God's chosen people. They had to follow Moses' Laws to prove that they were worthy of God's approval. It's easy to look at things retrospectively. Moses spoke of faith being the true way to receive God's approval. Scripture even says that the message of faith is near to you and on your lips. It is natural for us to seek God because no one comes into this world as a hopeless case for God. God seeks after the hearts of those who don't know Him. We want this salvation, and we all, at some point or another, come close to proclaiming it and sometimes even succeed. All you have to do to be saved is believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and God raised Him to life from death. By declaring your faith, you are saved because Scriptures say that you cannot be ashamed if you have faith. There is no difference in any people because there is one God that all people must receive approval from to come to true life. Anyone who calls on Jesus' name will be saved; however, if they do not believe in Jesus' name, how can they be saved? How can they believe if they have not heard what He has to say? This is also why it is important to have quiet time with God and to study the Word. Read the whole Bible all the way through, so you know what God is all about. That's what I'm working on. How can they hear if no one tells them the message? How can people tell the Good News if no one sends them? We need missionaries to go out into the world and teach people about the one, true way to Heaven, and those missionaries need environments that foster a growing relationship with Jesus to send them out and teach others how to achieve a similar relationship in their own personal way. At the same time, the message has already gone out through the world because of the Holy Spirit. Scripture says that God is found by those who are not looking and revealed to those who weren't asking. Meaning something similar to what Jesus taught, which is that He came for those who know they are sinners.
Paul says that he prays for the Jewish people to be saved. It's hard for some of them to accept the message of Christ. Before Christ, they were God's chosen people. They had to follow Moses' Laws to prove that they were worthy of God's approval. It's easy to look at things retrospectively. Moses spoke of faith being the true way to receive God's approval. Scripture even says that the message of faith is near to you and on your lips. It is natural for us to seek God because no one comes into this world as a hopeless case for God. God seeks after the hearts of those who don't know Him. We want this salvation, and we all, at some point or another, come close to proclaiming it and sometimes even succeed. All you have to do to be saved is believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and God raised Him to life from death. By declaring your faith, you are saved because Scriptures say that you cannot be ashamed if you have faith. There is no difference in any people because there is one God that all people must receive approval from to come to true life. Anyone who calls on Jesus' name will be saved; however, if they do not believe in Jesus' name, how can they be saved? How can they believe if they have not heard what He has to say? This is also why it is important to have quiet time with God and to study the Word. Read the whole Bible all the way through, so you know what God is all about. That's what I'm working on. How can they hear if no one tells them the message? How can people tell the Good News if no one sends them? We need missionaries to go out into the world and teach people about the one, true way to Heaven, and those missionaries need environments that foster a growing relationship with Jesus to send them out and teach others how to achieve a similar relationship in their own personal way. At the same time, the message has already gone out through the world because of the Holy Spirit. Scripture says that God is found by those who are not looking and revealed to those who weren't asking. Meaning something similar to what Jesus taught, which is that He came for those who know they are sinners.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Romans 9
http://www.esvbible.org/Romans+9/
Paul says that he wishes, after living as a Christian, that things could go back to the way they were before when the Jewish people were automatically God's children through the first covenant. Life would be so much easier on him, since he was born Jewish. Now, God's children are those He chooses, and He choses those who put their faith in His Son Jesus. God gave Abraham a son in his old age when it shouldn't have been possible. When Isaac had his sons by Rebekah, God told Rebekah that her older son would serve the younger son. God made this so because He wanted to show that His plans are always dominant. In those times, the oldest son was the most important, but God wanted to say that the way humans thought things should be did not matter to Him. The Jewish people all came from that younger son, Jacob, so God proved He can choose who He wants. God made you in the exact way that you are supposed to be. Don't come to Him and point out things that aren't the way they're supposed to be. How can the created talk back to the creator. God can refine you, but He has made you how you are supposed to be.
Paul quotes the prophets, who wrote hundreds of years before Jesus that those who were not the chosen ones will become God's children, and although the descendants of Abraham are as numerous as the grains of sand on the shore, few of them will be saved in the end. Many of those who have found salvation through Christ are non-Jewish people who weren't looking to please God. But they found that they needed to place their faith in Jesus. Many of the Jewish people looked to please God by obeying Moses' Laws, but the corrupt nature keeps them from doing so, and they did so instead of placing their faith in Christ.
Paul says that he wishes, after living as a Christian, that things could go back to the way they were before when the Jewish people were automatically God's children through the first covenant. Life would be so much easier on him, since he was born Jewish. Now, God's children are those He chooses, and He choses those who put their faith in His Son Jesus. God gave Abraham a son in his old age when it shouldn't have been possible. When Isaac had his sons by Rebekah, God told Rebekah that her older son would serve the younger son. God made this so because He wanted to show that His plans are always dominant. In those times, the oldest son was the most important, but God wanted to say that the way humans thought things should be did not matter to Him. The Jewish people all came from that younger son, Jacob, so God proved He can choose who He wants. God made you in the exact way that you are supposed to be. Don't come to Him and point out things that aren't the way they're supposed to be. How can the created talk back to the creator. God can refine you, but He has made you how you are supposed to be.
Paul quotes the prophets, who wrote hundreds of years before Jesus that those who were not the chosen ones will become God's children, and although the descendants of Abraham are as numerous as the grains of sand on the shore, few of them will be saved in the end. Many of those who have found salvation through Christ are non-Jewish people who weren't looking to please God. But they found that they needed to place their faith in Jesus. Many of the Jewish people looked to please God by obeying Moses' Laws, but the corrupt nature keeps them from doing so, and they did so instead of placing their faith in Christ.
Romans 8
http://www.esvbible.org/Romans+8/
Those of us who are believers are marked differently by God. Having the Holy Spirit in us frees us from sin and death. We, as humans, cannot live up to God's standards because of the way our nature is. The only way to reconcile this was for God to send Jesus to Earth as a human and take our corruption as His own. God condemned our corrupt and sinful nature without having to condemn us; therefore we do not live by the corrupt nature but by the spiritual nature. When we live in our Spiritual nature, we can meet God's standards because God's Spirit cannot go against God. People who live by the corrupt nature have that attitude because they cannot accept what God tells them. They cannot live in the way in which He has called them. This life ultimately leads to death. Those who live in the Spiritual nature will find life and peace. If the Holy Spirit lives in you, you live under the Spiritual nature. If you find your desires line up more and more with what you know God wants for you instead of what the world says is okay or what you want for you, the Holy Spirit lives in you. If you struggle with sin instead of coming to terms with what you're doing remorselessly, then the Holy Spirit is in you. It is possible for you to cast out the Holy Spirit and once again live by your corrupt nature, but if you do, you head back down the path that leads to death. Remember, it is not by force we have the Holy Spirit, like a slave might receive a sentence. We received it as an adoption by God to be His children. As His children, we will share the same inheritance that Christ received, everlasting life.
Any afflictions you suffer from now, you will consider insignificant when you finally get to see the glory of God. We wait for Him to reveal who His children are. This implies that some who claim to be His children do not have the faith they claim to have. In these cases, God does not accept them as His children. Ever since Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, all creation has groaned with the pain sin has cast down upon it. Even we believers continue to groan as we eagerly anticipate Heaven and the time when we will finally be freed from our Earthly bodies. We were saved thinking of this hope. It's not only acceptable but common to accept Christ because you want to go to Heaven. It is later that you find even more reasons to follow Him. You must grow in your faith and not stagnate at that stage. We must keep our hope forward on the things we have yet to see because how can you hope for something you've already seen? The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness because we don't know what to pray for. We don't know what's best for us, but the Holy Spirit is God's Spirit and therefore knows the things God knows. God knows what's best for us. The Holy Spirit intercedes inside of us the way God wants Him to.
All things work together for the good of those who love God. It is a fact that almost all believers know that God has the perfect plan for our lives. His Son is the firstborn among many. If God is for us, nothing can ever stand against us. God could have stopped Jesus from being killed, but He handed Him over to death in order to save all of us. Christ also intercedes for us from the highest position in Heaven, that is why He said that if we ask anything in His name, it shall be done for us. Christ died and came back to life for us. Nothing can separate us from His love.
Those of us who are believers are marked differently by God. Having the Holy Spirit in us frees us from sin and death. We, as humans, cannot live up to God's standards because of the way our nature is. The only way to reconcile this was for God to send Jesus to Earth as a human and take our corruption as His own. God condemned our corrupt and sinful nature without having to condemn us; therefore we do not live by the corrupt nature but by the spiritual nature. When we live in our Spiritual nature, we can meet God's standards because God's Spirit cannot go against God. People who live by the corrupt nature have that attitude because they cannot accept what God tells them. They cannot live in the way in which He has called them. This life ultimately leads to death. Those who live in the Spiritual nature will find life and peace. If the Holy Spirit lives in you, you live under the Spiritual nature. If you find your desires line up more and more with what you know God wants for you instead of what the world says is okay or what you want for you, the Holy Spirit lives in you. If you struggle with sin instead of coming to terms with what you're doing remorselessly, then the Holy Spirit is in you. It is possible for you to cast out the Holy Spirit and once again live by your corrupt nature, but if you do, you head back down the path that leads to death. Remember, it is not by force we have the Holy Spirit, like a slave might receive a sentence. We received it as an adoption by God to be His children. As His children, we will share the same inheritance that Christ received, everlasting life.
Any afflictions you suffer from now, you will consider insignificant when you finally get to see the glory of God. We wait for Him to reveal who His children are. This implies that some who claim to be His children do not have the faith they claim to have. In these cases, God does not accept them as His children. Ever since Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, all creation has groaned with the pain sin has cast down upon it. Even we believers continue to groan as we eagerly anticipate Heaven and the time when we will finally be freed from our Earthly bodies. We were saved thinking of this hope. It's not only acceptable but common to accept Christ because you want to go to Heaven. It is later that you find even more reasons to follow Him. You must grow in your faith and not stagnate at that stage. We must keep our hope forward on the things we have yet to see because how can you hope for something you've already seen? The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness because we don't know what to pray for. We don't know what's best for us, but the Holy Spirit is God's Spirit and therefore knows the things God knows. God knows what's best for us. The Holy Spirit intercedes inside of us the way God wants Him to.
All things work together for the good of those who love God. It is a fact that almost all believers know that God has the perfect plan for our lives. His Son is the firstborn among many. If God is for us, nothing can ever stand against us. God could have stopped Jesus from being killed, but He handed Him over to death in order to save all of us. Christ also intercedes for us from the highest position in Heaven, that is why He said that if we ask anything in His name, it shall be done for us. Christ died and came back to life for us. Nothing can separate us from His love.
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