Goodbye and greet everyone! We know so little about most of the people mentioned by Paul in his final greetings. For me, there was one line that stood out because it connected to me personally. You need a little history. My parents divorced when I was in the fifth grade. My brother and I lived … Continue reading Romans 16. →

Another way of saying "love your neighbor as yourself" -- "Let each of us please his neighbor for his good to build him up." (v.15:2) A sound way to live in unity as urged by Paul.

This post is a little out of sequence -- was busy late last week. What Paul writes in this chapter reminds me of one of the truisms of my youth. He says,  5 One person regards one day holier than other days, and another regards them all alike. Each must be fully convinced in his own … Continue reading Romans 14. →

If you ever had any doubts about Paul's understanding of Jesus' teaching, this certainly should put those to rest. 8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not covet,” (and if there … Continue reading Romans 13. →

After all the theology, after all the reasoning, Paul lets fly with the consequences of this theology and reasoning ... "present your bodies as a living sacrifice -- alive, holy, and pleasing to God." The rest of this chapter describes what that looks like in all kinds of detail. This is a chapter to read … Continue reading Romans 12. →

It's hard to tell if there was some kind of issue between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians that leads to Paul's exposition in chapter 11 of his letter to the church in Rome. Did the gentiles consider themselves superior in some way, so that Paul was led to describe the rejection of Christ by most … Continue reading Romans 11. →

Of the Israelites, Paul says, 3 For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes. Roman 10:3,4 The "end of the law" might be … Continue reading Romans 10. →

In the midst of his glorying in the good that God works for those who believe in him, Paul has to deal with the state of Israel. Paul is a Jew, through and through. But he sees that gentiles are putting their faith in Jesus at a much larger rate than Jews. What does this … Continue reading Romans 9. →

Paul leaves his own personal feelings of shortcomings in chapter 7, to state some truths about what a relationship with Christ actually means. One of these truths is that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. Hooray! In Paul's moment in time as he writes this letter, he's suffering. "For we know that … Continue reading Romans 8. →

After the triumphant declaration Paul makes in chapter 6, that we are no longer slaves to sin, but should be slaves to God's righteousness, he then confesses that in spite of that truth, he still wrestles with sin. We see ourselves in his autobiographical confession. The gist of what Paul says, I think, is that … Continue reading Romans 7. →