Romans 12:10-11 - 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; 11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
Message: I am to never be selfish in my love toward others, but always focused on serving the Lord with all of my heart.
Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome.
What the Lord is Saying:
Here Paul gets a little more specific about the act of love. Verse 9 was more of a general statement about how are love should not be two-faced and we should abhor what is evil and cling to what is good.
Intimate, brotherly love
The Be devoted in verse 10 was added by the translators. The original Greek manuscript stated, in the love of brethren to one another kindly affectioned. And so the phrase, "kindly affectioned" has been changed to read be devoted. It is the Greek word philostorgos where philo is friend and storgos is natural love or tender affection. Storge speaks of instinctive affection, like that which parents and children feel toward one another. Paul is making a case that the love that we have toward one another should be intimate and a sort of family love. Family love is not based upon attraction or the condition of a person or how desirable they are. It is a love in spite of how any one loves or thinks. Our love toward one another is because we are family.
Verse 4 speaks of the fact that we are members of one Body. We have gifts that differ, but we are of the same body. Verse 3 states that we are not to think more highly of ourselves.
Christianity brought about a radical change in relationships because now, people of all different types and backgrounds, were forged together as one in the Body of Christ. It didn't matter where the person was from, what part of the country, whether Jew or Gentile, whether circumcised or not, whether chosen by God or not, whether slave or freeman. We are not brought together because of our performance. We are brought together because of Christ grafting us in.
This is the type of love that should make us distinctive to the world. We must be careful to always show our love to the sinner.
Outdo one another in showing honor
Honor is from the Greek word time or tio. It means to pay honor or respect. It is to show genuine appreciation or admiration to another person. It is others focused. Each person, in Christ, is to take the lead in showing appreciation and value in putting others first. How different is this view of people. We have a tendency to be so me focused.
Driving home last night, once again, I was thinking about the entertainment age in which we live in. Entertainment is selfish. It is self-seeking and wanting to bring excitement and retreat and rest to ourselves. It brings enjoyment. It is selfish. Sure, we can do this in a community setting where we all jointly our satisfying ourselves together.
But, in showing honor or paying respect to others our focus is not at all on ourselves.
Danger: We are lazy
Then in verse 11, Paul brings home the tendency of each of us. We each have a tendency to be lazy and to be self-seeking in our time. We are to practice being a servant.
I think one reason we have such a difficult time with this is, in our lives, the marketing message, is to get us to buy something, to have something for ourselves. It is focused on us and what the message tells us we need. And this pervades our lives continually. This is a message that attacks us throughout the day. And its focus over and over is on us. I think as we read God's word, and think about how the Spirit dwells in us, and that we are so weak to doing the things of God, that we must think about how we are trained continually by the world. Jesus calls us to be in the world, but not of the world. And we need His help. We need His strength. We need His guidance. We need His constant intervention in our lives if we are going to have the power to withstand the schemes of the enemy.
We are prone to be lazy and to be persistently lagging behind in this laziness.
Fervent in Spirit
Fervent is the Greek word Zeo and it means to bubble or boil. It can be viewed positively and negatively. One to have passion, one to have rage. It is to be enthusiastic (Petra "On Fire") or excited. It is a person that is so passionate about their tasks that they can hardly contain their excitement.
Rather than being lazy, I am to boil over in my zeal and desire in my spirit.
Serving the Lord
This is the reason I do what I do. This is the reason that I am to be devoted to one another in brotherly loves and to outdo one another in showing honor and lifting other people up, other than myself. The reason I do all of these things is because I am serving the Lord. The reason I do all things is my focus on the Lord and giving the Lord glory. It is not for my own selfish ambition or personal gain. I don't do it to make myself look better in other people's eyes or even in God's eyes. My goal in doing this is serving the Lord. My good works are not a condition for my salvation, they are a response to the great thing God has done in saving me. This is why I give God all the glory for all the deeds of my life.
A servant is a slave and a slave always does what the master wants him to do. Be a slave.
Promise: God's Holy Spirit does not work apart from the Word He inspired, and zeal that transgresses His revelation is not godly zeal. -- September 15, 2014 Tabletalk
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Romans 12:9 - Genuine Goodness and Love
Romans 12:9 - Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.
Message: We love based upon the Love given to us by God.
Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome.
What the Lord is Saying:
Leading up
In Romans 5, it spoke of God's love pouring out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit (5:5). And Christ dying for us was a demonstration of God's love (5:8) toward us. Nothing, in our lives, can separate us from the love of Christ (8:35). And we can conquer things because of His Love (8:37). Nothing in life can separate us from the Love of God (8:39). This is our example of love. It is poured out or freely given. It is sacrificing, so it is not self-seeking. It is unconditional. It is not based upon a condition or act or performance of another person. And love gives us the power to accomplish anything. No matter what we ever will do or have done or currently are doing, that love is always there for us. There could be no greater example of love.
The message of this chapter has been on love. The previous three verses focused on gifts that we as believers in Christ, of the church, are to make sure we recognize that we have and we are serving these gifts to others in our lives. We are part of the body of Christ. We are unique and we are members of one another. We are to present ourselves to God and not be conformed to the ways of the world. The ways of the world are often self-seeking. They are selfish. They are about focusing on self. But, our mind is to be renewed each day to this act of looking outside of ourselves, to others.
Love
Now, in verse 9, we are to understand that in this service, in this sacrifice, it it to be a genuine love. It is not to be two-faced or about multiple selfish motives. The goal is not to get something, but it is to give something.
There was a break from verse 8 to verse 9. Verse 8 ended the description of the gifts. Verse 9 is not a gift, but it is a command to every believer. I am reminded of my children and when they have done something wrong, we tell them to shake hands or say you are sorry or hug your sister. In that moment, they are angry and upset and we are forcing their hand on being loving. They are in a state where they don't want to be loving and yet we are forcing them to love. This clearly is not what Paul is speaking about here. This love is not to be forced or based upon being coerced.
This verse must be the hallmark idea or feeling of all that we do in Christ as we serve others. In everything that we do, we do it with genuine love toward others. We are not trying to get the award or get the recognition or get the payback or a return. I am always amazed by those preachers that stand up and say, "if you will do this for God, then you will get something incredible in return." That is not the sentiment here. Our focus is not on ourselves. Our love is to be genuine and again, in no way, to be self seeking.
This is hard because so much in our life is focused on pleasing ourselves and getting things for ourselves. "Everybody is working for the weekend" was the popular song by Loverboy as I was in middle school. And it reminds me of what I see often at work. The work week begins with one goal in mind, the end of the week and the weekend so that we can have "me" time. And I often here at work about the great retirement that we have. So, beyond each day, every month and year is inching ourselves towards getting out and getting a retirement. But, I am to love my work and the fact that through it I get to help people and serve them.
Abhor evil, cling to good
Then, I think, here is a sort of separate thought. We are to hate evil. This is becoming harder and harder because the line between good and evil is becoming much more blurry. And as we begin to hate things that we view as evil, society now sees those same things as being practically good and so the Christian is then viewed as intolerant.
And yet we are called to not simply hate. The Greek word for hate is stugeo, but this word is apostugeo. It is used in the New Testament only in this verse. It is a continual vigilance to separate ourselves from that which is evil. Yes, it is to hate, but then it is to not want to be near it. We must daily surrender to the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. We don't possess the power on our own to stay away from evil. We will have victory's and we will be defeated at times. Thankfully, our standard is not perfection, though we strive for this.
Because we are abhorring what is evil, we cling to what is good. Cling is the Greek word kollao. In the same way that evil is expressed by having a complete hatred toward evil, good here literally means to glue, cement, join or fasten together. Just like abhor, cling is in the present tense which means this is to mark the believer's daily lifestyle. And once again, we are unable to do this on our own, we must daily surrender ourselves to the Holy Spirit, the one that speaks the truth of Jesus and His life in our lives.
The most familiar use of the word kollao (cling) in the New Testament is taught about the husband and wife relationship, that when one gets married, they leave their father and mother and cling together, the man clings to his wife, and the two become one flesh (Matthew 19:5).
We really must daily evaluate the connections we have made with the World and what it is offering to us. We must be very careful, even in our churches, whether we have brought into the church ideas and notions and beliefs from the outside world and are now calling them Christian. We must pray each day, "Lord, I want to be careful. I think of the great words of Psalm 139:23-24, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." This should be our daily cry to God. And then as we surrender to Him, we pray for a willingness in ourselves to accept what God has provided. For the Christian, we surrender to the Lord, realizing that often we have trained ourselves over time to be close to the things of the world, so as God shows us the right way, we are to pray that He gives us strength to accept what He provides.
Promise: Because love is one of God's attributes, any understanding of what it means to be made in His image and to live in a way that pleases Him must take into love into account.
Message: We love based upon the Love given to us by God.
Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome.
What the Lord is Saying:
Leading up
In Romans 5, it spoke of God's love pouring out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit (5:5). And Christ dying for us was a demonstration of God's love (5:8) toward us. Nothing, in our lives, can separate us from the love of Christ (8:35). And we can conquer things because of His Love (8:37). Nothing in life can separate us from the Love of God (8:39). This is our example of love. It is poured out or freely given. It is sacrificing, so it is not self-seeking. It is unconditional. It is not based upon a condition or act or performance of another person. And love gives us the power to accomplish anything. No matter what we ever will do or have done or currently are doing, that love is always there for us. There could be no greater example of love.
The message of this chapter has been on love. The previous three verses focused on gifts that we as believers in Christ, of the church, are to make sure we recognize that we have and we are serving these gifts to others in our lives. We are part of the body of Christ. We are unique and we are members of one another. We are to present ourselves to God and not be conformed to the ways of the world. The ways of the world are often self-seeking. They are selfish. They are about focusing on self. But, our mind is to be renewed each day to this act of looking outside of ourselves, to others.
Love
Now, in verse 9, we are to understand that in this service, in this sacrifice, it it to be a genuine love. It is not to be two-faced or about multiple selfish motives. The goal is not to get something, but it is to give something.
There was a break from verse 8 to verse 9. Verse 8 ended the description of the gifts. Verse 9 is not a gift, but it is a command to every believer. I am reminded of my children and when they have done something wrong, we tell them to shake hands or say you are sorry or hug your sister. In that moment, they are angry and upset and we are forcing their hand on being loving. They are in a state where they don't want to be loving and yet we are forcing them to love. This clearly is not what Paul is speaking about here. This love is not to be forced or based upon being coerced.
This verse must be the hallmark idea or feeling of all that we do in Christ as we serve others. In everything that we do, we do it with genuine love toward others. We are not trying to get the award or get the recognition or get the payback or a return. I am always amazed by those preachers that stand up and say, "if you will do this for God, then you will get something incredible in return." That is not the sentiment here. Our focus is not on ourselves. Our love is to be genuine and again, in no way, to be self seeking.
This is hard because so much in our life is focused on pleasing ourselves and getting things for ourselves. "Everybody is working for the weekend" was the popular song by Loverboy as I was in middle school. And it reminds me of what I see often at work. The work week begins with one goal in mind, the end of the week and the weekend so that we can have "me" time. And I often here at work about the great retirement that we have. So, beyond each day, every month and year is inching ourselves towards getting out and getting a retirement. But, I am to love my work and the fact that through it I get to help people and serve them.
Abhor evil, cling to good
Then, I think, here is a sort of separate thought. We are to hate evil. This is becoming harder and harder because the line between good and evil is becoming much more blurry. And as we begin to hate things that we view as evil, society now sees those same things as being practically good and so the Christian is then viewed as intolerant.
And yet we are called to not simply hate. The Greek word for hate is stugeo, but this word is apostugeo. It is used in the New Testament only in this verse. It is a continual vigilance to separate ourselves from that which is evil. Yes, it is to hate, but then it is to not want to be near it. We must daily surrender to the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. We don't possess the power on our own to stay away from evil. We will have victory's and we will be defeated at times. Thankfully, our standard is not perfection, though we strive for this.
Because we are abhorring what is evil, we cling to what is good. Cling is the Greek word kollao. In the same way that evil is expressed by having a complete hatred toward evil, good here literally means to glue, cement, join or fasten together. Just like abhor, cling is in the present tense which means this is to mark the believer's daily lifestyle. And once again, we are unable to do this on our own, we must daily surrender ourselves to the Holy Spirit, the one that speaks the truth of Jesus and His life in our lives.
The most familiar use of the word kollao (cling) in the New Testament is taught about the husband and wife relationship, that when one gets married, they leave their father and mother and cling together, the man clings to his wife, and the two become one flesh (Matthew 19:5).
We really must daily evaluate the connections we have made with the World and what it is offering to us. We must be very careful, even in our churches, whether we have brought into the church ideas and notions and beliefs from the outside world and are now calling them Christian. We must pray each day, "Lord, I want to be careful. I think of the great words of Psalm 139:23-24, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." This should be our daily cry to God. And then as we surrender to Him, we pray for a willingness in ourselves to accept what God has provided. For the Christian, we surrender to the Lord, realizing that often we have trained ourselves over time to be close to the things of the world, so as God shows us the right way, we are to pray that He gives us strength to accept what He provides.
Promise: Because love is one of God's attributes, any understanding of what it means to be made in His image and to live in a way that pleases Him must take into love into account.
Monday, February 23, 2015
Romans 12:6-8 - Using our Gifts
Romans 12:6-8 -6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; 7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
Message: Using the gifts God has given us
Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome.
What the Lord is Saying:
Background
I have arrived here at the application part of Romans. Paul has presented the gospel. He has shown the Jews that they are all under sin and that man is accountable to God. There is no special heritage or special position of the Jew that will then make him/her acceptable to God. Yes, he is called, but his response to that calling isn't conditioned upon whether God has been faithful in calling them. And God's faithfulness isn't called into question because of the Jew's non-responsiveness. God is faithful, no matter what. He provided His Son as a substitution for us. And by trusting in Christ, God transfers or imputes God's righteousness to us. And so we have peace with God now. We have the same faith that our forefathers had. We have the same faith that Abraham and David had. Times have changed but God's ways have not. God calls and chooses people for Himself. Righteousness in our lives is faith based righteousness. It is not works based righteousness. Israel has been hardened. They do reject God, but there is a remnant coming.
Therefore, we are to present ourselves daily to God. I am not to be conformed to this world. I am transformed by God through the renewing of my mind. I am set apart for His service. But, let it be clear that the gift of grace and faith I have received is all because of God and not because of me. God gives us a measure of faith. He gives us what we need to sustain Him in our daily lives.
Exercise our Gifts
God has given each of His people gifts. Those gifts are to lie dormant. We are to use them. They are to be exercised in our life. Paul lists several gifts here: prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, mercy.
A spiritual gift is a means that the Holy Spirit provides to all His disciples to minister to the Body of Christ (the Church).
We each have a gift and we are to exercise that gift. Exercise is a practice that is to be done with consistency in order to be effective to our person. And since our gifts are to be used to minister to others, our gifts are to be exercised regularly in order to have a benefit on others. I know this because of the experience I have exercising physically or participating in a sport. The more I exercise or the more I practice, the more a product results. There is a very small marginal effect when a work out once a week or practice once a week but if it is more consistent it is more beneficial.
It is a gift. Often at Christmas time, when we are giving gifts, the receiver of the gift can at times unwrap their gift and then set it aside with "o thanks." We have a danger in gifts not meeting our expectations but we also have a danger with receiving a gift and then not using it. One Christmas, when I was in middle school, my mom got a gift for me for Christmas. My mom took her time to select gifts. She has always been thoughtful in selecting gifts. This particular Christmas she got me a science kit. It wasn't a very expensive item, but it was varied with many different parts. I think it had a plastic microscope and it has chemistry like parts to it. It looked kind of cool when I opened it, but I don't think I ever really used it. It kind of makes me sad that I didn't give it a try after I know my mom took time picking it out. Maybe she thought that it might result in something I enjoy and would one day even be a profession I would do. I'm sure she wasn't necessarily directing me in a certain direction but given me an opportunity to test those waters.
Maybe we try doing certain gifts that are not the ones God has given us. But, maybe the gift that God has given us we aren't doing anything with at all. We are so busy pleasing ourselves that we are forgetting the impact God wants us to have on others.
Different Gifts
God has also given us different gifts. We have been given grace, but our gifts are different. Our gifts have been given by God and God is fair. The gift that I have should not then result in me having pride about it or personal praise. I am not to think of myself as more special or significant or important than others because of the gift.
Paul lists these gifts:
Prophecy - propheteia from pro = before or forth + phemi = to say or tell. It is to speak to someone or tell someone something in the future or based upon the past. Is the meaning here, regarding a gift, someone that speaks about future events that have not occurred? I think we must be careful to distinguish each gift from another. The popular explanation of the prophet is one that foretells future events. They also interpret divine thoughts or words. The prophet has an intimate relationship with the Lord and thereby clearly communicates the message of God. But, it is important to see that the prophet is not going to contradict the word of God or God's previous words. I Corinthians 13:8 gives the idea that the gifts of prophecy will be done away with, at some time. And so since the scripture is complete, the need for a prophet has ceased. It is replaced with a teacher that explains the scriptures.
Service - diakonia is probably derived from dioko when means to be a follower of a person or attach oneself to a person. This is practical service. It is providing services, often of a humble or menial state It is mundane duties such as waiting on tables or caring for household needs. It is to have a servants heart. It is the ability to see things that need to be done and then to do them. This person is often not looking for any credit in the work that is done. In Greek life, diakonia is not very honorable or highly sought after. It is degrading. And so a person that goes to school and gets advanced learning and education does not generally do this with the goal of serving others, but to be served.
Teaches - didasko from dao is to know or teach. It is to provide instructions with the goal of understanding. It is systematic in its training. It is repeated. John MacArthur says it is the ability to pass on truth in a systematic progression so that someone receives it, implements it, and a change of behavior takes place. The prophet declares, but the teacher seeks to have the hearer understand completely.
Exhorts - parakaleo from para or side of, alongside, beside and kaleo a call. To come alongside calling. It is coupled with teaching. We receive good instruction and then we need encouragement or help in accomplishing or applying the teaching. This is Paul's point by somewhat repeating the gift after he introduces it. "He who exhorts, in his exhortation." If you have the gift of encouragement then exercise encouragement toward others. Phillips calls this the stimulating of faith in others. Exhortation is to encourage people to practice what they have been taught.
Giving - this is not the usual word for giving, didomi, but it is metadidomi which takes on the adding meaning of sharing or imparting what is one's own. Paul used this in Romans 1:11 when he said he would give and impart some spiritual gift to them. All believers are expected to give as they have been given, but some people, and it doesn't matter their economic status (it could be they are rich or poor) have the extra attitude in their heart to freely given what is theirs. There is never an ulterior motive when these people give.
Leads - proistemi or before, over a place, stand. This is one who is standing over or before. This is to preside over people or direct, conduct, govern, superintend. So, this is a separate gift to being a teacher and a separate gift as the teacher is focused on educated the hearer in order to bring to understanding. To lead is to take over the direction of people. It is to be a protector or guardian and to give aid, assist, to care for or to be active in helping. It is an administrator. It is the gift of standing before a group of people and saying, "This is what we are going to do." And this gift is carried out with diligence or spoude which is eagerness, earnestness, willingness, or zeal. It is the attitude of doing something hurriedly and with intensity.
Mercy - eleeo or to show mercy, compassion, or help. This is not simply to express a feeling for the misfortunes of others, but it is more active to remove those miseries. This person has the resources and the action of helping to remove or lessen a person's afflictions. This person knows the right attitude. We are each called to be merciful toward others, but some people have a special gift and are not following a command, but their heart. And this gift is carried out with cheerfulness or happiness or gladness. It is coming alongside another person with empathy and a gladness in helping.
So, we are to get to the task and understand our gifts and then work them out in our lives. I think of myself and mercy is something I know I have in part, but I also see myself being a leader and exhorting people or encouraging them to believe. I want to teach, but I am most focused on helping people believe.
Promise: Recognize your gift and work it out, for the glory of God. He has promised to use it. We are valued in Christ.
Message: Using the gifts God has given us
Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome.
What the Lord is Saying:
Background
I have arrived here at the application part of Romans. Paul has presented the gospel. He has shown the Jews that they are all under sin and that man is accountable to God. There is no special heritage or special position of the Jew that will then make him/her acceptable to God. Yes, he is called, but his response to that calling isn't conditioned upon whether God has been faithful in calling them. And God's faithfulness isn't called into question because of the Jew's non-responsiveness. God is faithful, no matter what. He provided His Son as a substitution for us. And by trusting in Christ, God transfers or imputes God's righteousness to us. And so we have peace with God now. We have the same faith that our forefathers had. We have the same faith that Abraham and David had. Times have changed but God's ways have not. God calls and chooses people for Himself. Righteousness in our lives is faith based righteousness. It is not works based righteousness. Israel has been hardened. They do reject God, but there is a remnant coming.
Therefore, we are to present ourselves daily to God. I am not to be conformed to this world. I am transformed by God through the renewing of my mind. I am set apart for His service. But, let it be clear that the gift of grace and faith I have received is all because of God and not because of me. God gives us a measure of faith. He gives us what we need to sustain Him in our daily lives.
Exercise our Gifts
God has given each of His people gifts. Those gifts are to lie dormant. We are to use them. They are to be exercised in our life. Paul lists several gifts here: prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, mercy.
A spiritual gift is a means that the Holy Spirit provides to all His disciples to minister to the Body of Christ (the Church).
We each have a gift and we are to exercise that gift. Exercise is a practice that is to be done with consistency in order to be effective to our person. And since our gifts are to be used to minister to others, our gifts are to be exercised regularly in order to have a benefit on others. I know this because of the experience I have exercising physically or participating in a sport. The more I exercise or the more I practice, the more a product results. There is a very small marginal effect when a work out once a week or practice once a week but if it is more consistent it is more beneficial.
It is a gift. Often at Christmas time, when we are giving gifts, the receiver of the gift can at times unwrap their gift and then set it aside with "o thanks." We have a danger in gifts not meeting our expectations but we also have a danger with receiving a gift and then not using it. One Christmas, when I was in middle school, my mom got a gift for me for Christmas. My mom took her time to select gifts. She has always been thoughtful in selecting gifts. This particular Christmas she got me a science kit. It wasn't a very expensive item, but it was varied with many different parts. I think it had a plastic microscope and it has chemistry like parts to it. It looked kind of cool when I opened it, but I don't think I ever really used it. It kind of makes me sad that I didn't give it a try after I know my mom took time picking it out. Maybe she thought that it might result in something I enjoy and would one day even be a profession I would do. I'm sure she wasn't necessarily directing me in a certain direction but given me an opportunity to test those waters.
Maybe we try doing certain gifts that are not the ones God has given us. But, maybe the gift that God has given us we aren't doing anything with at all. We are so busy pleasing ourselves that we are forgetting the impact God wants us to have on others.
Different Gifts
God has also given us different gifts. We have been given grace, but our gifts are different. Our gifts have been given by God and God is fair. The gift that I have should not then result in me having pride about it or personal praise. I am not to think of myself as more special or significant or important than others because of the gift.
Paul lists these gifts:
- prophecy - according to the proportion of his faith
- service - in his serving
- he who teachers - in his teaching
- he who exhorts - in his exhortation
- he who gives - with liberality
- he who leads - with diligence
- he who shows mercy - with cheerfulness
Prophecy - propheteia from pro = before or forth + phemi = to say or tell. It is to speak to someone or tell someone something in the future or based upon the past. Is the meaning here, regarding a gift, someone that speaks about future events that have not occurred? I think we must be careful to distinguish each gift from another. The popular explanation of the prophet is one that foretells future events. They also interpret divine thoughts or words. The prophet has an intimate relationship with the Lord and thereby clearly communicates the message of God. But, it is important to see that the prophet is not going to contradict the word of God or God's previous words. I Corinthians 13:8 gives the idea that the gifts of prophecy will be done away with, at some time. And so since the scripture is complete, the need for a prophet has ceased. It is replaced with a teacher that explains the scriptures.
Service - diakonia is probably derived from dioko when means to be a follower of a person or attach oneself to a person. This is practical service. It is providing services, often of a humble or menial state It is mundane duties such as waiting on tables or caring for household needs. It is to have a servants heart. It is the ability to see things that need to be done and then to do them. This person is often not looking for any credit in the work that is done. In Greek life, diakonia is not very honorable or highly sought after. It is degrading. And so a person that goes to school and gets advanced learning and education does not generally do this with the goal of serving others, but to be served.
Teaches - didasko from dao is to know or teach. It is to provide instructions with the goal of understanding. It is systematic in its training. It is repeated. John MacArthur says it is the ability to pass on truth in a systematic progression so that someone receives it, implements it, and a change of behavior takes place. The prophet declares, but the teacher seeks to have the hearer understand completely.
Exhorts - parakaleo from para or side of, alongside, beside and kaleo a call. To come alongside calling. It is coupled with teaching. We receive good instruction and then we need encouragement or help in accomplishing or applying the teaching. This is Paul's point by somewhat repeating the gift after he introduces it. "He who exhorts, in his exhortation." If you have the gift of encouragement then exercise encouragement toward others. Phillips calls this the stimulating of faith in others. Exhortation is to encourage people to practice what they have been taught.
Giving - this is not the usual word for giving, didomi, but it is metadidomi which takes on the adding meaning of sharing or imparting what is one's own. Paul used this in Romans 1:11 when he said he would give and impart some spiritual gift to them. All believers are expected to give as they have been given, but some people, and it doesn't matter their economic status (it could be they are rich or poor) have the extra attitude in their heart to freely given what is theirs. There is never an ulterior motive when these people give.
Leads - proistemi or before, over a place, stand. This is one who is standing over or before. This is to preside over people or direct, conduct, govern, superintend. So, this is a separate gift to being a teacher and a separate gift as the teacher is focused on educated the hearer in order to bring to understanding. To lead is to take over the direction of people. It is to be a protector or guardian and to give aid, assist, to care for or to be active in helping. It is an administrator. It is the gift of standing before a group of people and saying, "This is what we are going to do." And this gift is carried out with diligence or spoude which is eagerness, earnestness, willingness, or zeal. It is the attitude of doing something hurriedly and with intensity.
Mercy - eleeo or to show mercy, compassion, or help. This is not simply to express a feeling for the misfortunes of others, but it is more active to remove those miseries. This person has the resources and the action of helping to remove or lessen a person's afflictions. This person knows the right attitude. We are each called to be merciful toward others, but some people have a special gift and are not following a command, but their heart. And this gift is carried out with cheerfulness or happiness or gladness. It is coming alongside another person with empathy and a gladness in helping.
So, we are to get to the task and understand our gifts and then work them out in our lives. I think of myself and mercy is something I know I have in part, but I also see myself being a leader and exhorting people or encouraging them to believe. I want to teach, but I am most focused on helping people believe.
Promise: Recognize your gift and work it out, for the glory of God. He has promised to use it. We are valued in Christ.
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Romans 12:3-5 - The Sober Judgment of the Members
Romans 12:3-5 - 3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. 4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
Message: Our response to being transformed: A sound mind
Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome.
What the Lord is Saying:
Don't think more highly of oneself
Because of grace, and because I have a renewed mind, I am to realize that my condition in Christ is not due to my own special doing. Grace is a gift. Ephesians 2:8 says, "it is by grace you have been saved." Now here in Romans 12:3 is a similar message, "for through the grace given to me." Therefore, I need to be very careful not to think of myself, and my position in Christ, as something that I have earned or even deserve. Paul previously spoke out against the Jewish people. Paul spoke against the Jews declaration that it was their heritage or their lineage or their circumcision or their handling of the Scriptures, that then gave them some sort of special exemption before God. That because of these things anything God prescribed they did not necessarily have to adhere to. Yes, they were God's chosen people but this did not mean that they did not have to submit and surrender to Him.
This is a very difficult practice in life. I think it is very difficult for the Christian to see himself as higher than others either in the faith or out of the faith. As Christians, we are called to live in the world and yet not be of the world. The world sees this and sees how we separate ourselves from the world and therefore, they think we are making ourselves out to be better than anything in the world.
I think this is such a hard line to draw. Take the issue of homosexuality. The Christian, evangelical church has clearly put forth that homosexuality is a sin. Much has been made of this because the focus of homosexual activists is to conform people to the view that homosexuality is not only okay, but people are born like this. And therefore, any message that is contrary to this is viewed as narrow. And then when the Christian states disagreement in this, they are said to be judging these people. And there is also the feeling that the Christian sees there way as superior. And then suddenly the Christian looks at themselves as more highly positioned than those that don't agree with their ways.
With the issue of homosexuality there are huge problems on both sides of the fence.
I was speaking to my atheist friend recently and thought that my focus and position before him should be expressed that I don't believe I am any better than him. I need to believe and think that I don't think of myself as being any better than him. Sure, I might think I am better off for eternity, but I can't for a moment let it seep in that I think I am more of a person than he is.
A measure of faith
Now this is interesting because I wonder if we do think that faith is something we bring to the table with God. That I am saved by my faith through the grace of God. And therefore, God is somehow waiting for me to have faith in him. I think that is an application of this verse. God has allotted to each a measure of faith. He provides us with the faith that we need. He allows the temptation, but also provides the way out. He is the hand of providence in our life. In no way does he only have a certain amount of faith and I get one piece, but rather faith is allotted or given to me.
But, also faith has been given, now what will I do with it? And what stands out about me is the influence of faith on my minds. I am so quick to judge myself by the tangible things I have. I often thing, "Wow, I am glad God has placed me here rather than there." Is that because I feel blessed here and I wouldn't feel blessed if he had placed me in a hut in Africa with no running water, toilet, or refrigerator? Therefore, is my faith really in God or is it more in the creature comforts that I find all around me. Do I really have a faith in things?
So faith has been measured to me, but what have I done with it? How is that I really live by faith?
Members of the Body of Christ
Paul takes this message of being no better than anyone else and presents the Body of Christ. And i should see that what he is saying is no one person in the Body is better or more of a significant part than another member. I believe I have sometimes placed certain people like a lead pastor or elder above others in the church, but the body, whether it be a nursery worker, a person maintaining the church, a greeter, a teacher, all carry some level within the Body of Christ. In addition, "we are members one of another" and so there is a connection between all of us and what we are doing in the Body.
Sometimes I think the church really struggles with this as it differentiates between the work of paid staff and non-paid staff. Paid staff becomes the leaders that direct the flock and the non-paid staff become the support. There is just a danger in having ourselves look no different from the world where the ones getting made are making the decisions for the ones not getting paid.
As in many areas of scripture, we need to "be careful." We must be careful in how we apply this scripture, making sure the application is not just a mirror of the application in our worldly professions.
Promise: There are no disctinctions when it comes to our signifcance in the church and before God (Galatians 3:27-29) - Tabletalk, September 10, 2014
Message: Our response to being transformed: A sound mind
Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome.
What the Lord is Saying:
Don't think more highly of oneself
Because of grace, and because I have a renewed mind, I am to realize that my condition in Christ is not due to my own special doing. Grace is a gift. Ephesians 2:8 says, "it is by grace you have been saved." Now here in Romans 12:3 is a similar message, "for through the grace given to me." Therefore, I need to be very careful not to think of myself, and my position in Christ, as something that I have earned or even deserve. Paul previously spoke out against the Jewish people. Paul spoke against the Jews declaration that it was their heritage or their lineage or their circumcision or their handling of the Scriptures, that then gave them some sort of special exemption before God. That because of these things anything God prescribed they did not necessarily have to adhere to. Yes, they were God's chosen people but this did not mean that they did not have to submit and surrender to Him.
This is a very difficult practice in life. I think it is very difficult for the Christian to see himself as higher than others either in the faith or out of the faith. As Christians, we are called to live in the world and yet not be of the world. The world sees this and sees how we separate ourselves from the world and therefore, they think we are making ourselves out to be better than anything in the world.
I think this is such a hard line to draw. Take the issue of homosexuality. The Christian, evangelical church has clearly put forth that homosexuality is a sin. Much has been made of this because the focus of homosexual activists is to conform people to the view that homosexuality is not only okay, but people are born like this. And therefore, any message that is contrary to this is viewed as narrow. And then when the Christian states disagreement in this, they are said to be judging these people. And there is also the feeling that the Christian sees there way as superior. And then suddenly the Christian looks at themselves as more highly positioned than those that don't agree with their ways.
With the issue of homosexuality there are huge problems on both sides of the fence.
I was speaking to my atheist friend recently and thought that my focus and position before him should be expressed that I don't believe I am any better than him. I need to believe and think that I don't think of myself as being any better than him. Sure, I might think I am better off for eternity, but I can't for a moment let it seep in that I think I am more of a person than he is.
A measure of faith
Now this is interesting because I wonder if we do think that faith is something we bring to the table with God. That I am saved by my faith through the grace of God. And therefore, God is somehow waiting for me to have faith in him. I think that is an application of this verse. God has allotted to each a measure of faith. He provides us with the faith that we need. He allows the temptation, but also provides the way out. He is the hand of providence in our life. In no way does he only have a certain amount of faith and I get one piece, but rather faith is allotted or given to me.
But, also faith has been given, now what will I do with it? And what stands out about me is the influence of faith on my minds. I am so quick to judge myself by the tangible things I have. I often thing, "Wow, I am glad God has placed me here rather than there." Is that because I feel blessed here and I wouldn't feel blessed if he had placed me in a hut in Africa with no running water, toilet, or refrigerator? Therefore, is my faith really in God or is it more in the creature comforts that I find all around me. Do I really have a faith in things?
So faith has been measured to me, but what have I done with it? How is that I really live by faith?
Members of the Body of Christ
Paul takes this message of being no better than anyone else and presents the Body of Christ. And i should see that what he is saying is no one person in the Body is better or more of a significant part than another member. I believe I have sometimes placed certain people like a lead pastor or elder above others in the church, but the body, whether it be a nursery worker, a person maintaining the church, a greeter, a teacher, all carry some level within the Body of Christ. In addition, "we are members one of another" and so there is a connection between all of us and what we are doing in the Body.
Sometimes I think the church really struggles with this as it differentiates between the work of paid staff and non-paid staff. Paid staff becomes the leaders that direct the flock and the non-paid staff become the support. There is just a danger in having ourselves look no different from the world where the ones getting made are making the decisions for the ones not getting paid.
As in many areas of scripture, we need to "be careful." We must be careful in how we apply this scripture, making sure the application is not just a mirror of the application in our worldly professions.
Promise: There are no disctinctions when it comes to our signifcance in the church and before God (Galatians 3:27-29) - Tabletalk, September 10, 2014
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Romans 12:2 - Renewing Your Mind
Romans 12:2 - And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Message: We are transformed by the renewing of our minds.
Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome.
What the Lord is Saying:
In light of the salvation that we have received, by the mercy of God and the grace of God, through faith, we are to daily present ourselves as a living and holy sacrifice, in ways that are acceptable to God. This is our spiritual service of worship to God. We surrender to God and submit to His will and live out His commandments with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.
Do not be conformed
This is the hallmark of the Christian's life and really what God expects of every person, that they are not to be conformed to anything beyond Christ and His word and His commandments.
Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
You can have the world
But Give me Jesus
This should be our daily heart cry. This should be what our heart sings every day.
Exodus 23:2 - You shall not follow a multitude in doing evil.
Deuteronomy 18:9 - When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations.
2 Corinthians 6:14 - Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?
To this world
More specifically, we are not to be conformed to this world. When Jesus was tempted, it was the devil that brought him to a mountain top to show him the kingdoms of the world. Matthew 4:8, "Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory;" The devil offered to Jesus the authority of the world as a gift from him (Luke 4:6). And in 2 Corinthians 4:4 it says, "in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."
It is clear that the devil is the god of this world. I am just not sure this is apparent enough in our thinking. I am not sure we really realize the significance of this in our everyday life. I think Satan is so good at making the Christian think that a couple of visits to the church weekly are enough for us. And he is so good at making us think that a quick prayer of repentance, one time, is all we need to be secure in God's kingdom. And then this allows us to continue to roam around in the world as we desire, continually sampling from the things of this world. And that's just with Christians. But, it almost seems like Christians are who he is luring the most. I don't believe Satan can possess a Christian. But, I definitely think the Christan can be lured away. I only say this because of what I see in my own life.
I think of stalwarts of the faith like Martin Luther, George Whitefield, and Charles Spurgeon and think about the volumes that wrote or the volumes they did and then These men did so much for the faith. They wrote so much and preached so much and yet, they lacked all of the creature comforts we have of this day. They didn't have computers, but very primitive communication. Everything took more time and yet how did they do so much? It is just amazing. Whitefield died at age 55. Spurgeon died at 57. Luther was 62. Those aren't long lives. And yet they were so productive. I just marvel at the distractions we have in this world.
I am reading the book Gospel right now by JD Greear and it really speaks of the importance of the Gospel message in our everyday life. It is not natural for us to live a life of faith-righteousness, but rather works-righteousness is natural. And so it is so important that daily we go to the Gospel and find our security in the gospel.
I understand this message; this sentiment; this belief, but, I don't live it consistently because I am so trained in the things of the world continually that I just don't know how to really separate myself from its ways. Technology in the form of electronics has really created a distraction in our lives. This really started with the visual box--television--that came upon us in the fifties. I think the moment our eyes had something to look at, we would be hard pressed to get ourselves trained away from anything else. The TV replaced the radio which replaced the book. The book and TV remain supplemented by the radio. Then the computer came to really augment the TV as well as now the mobile phone. And if that wasn't enough, we had to make the computer more portable with the tablet (iPad). TV and Radio started out being nightly sources of entertainment, but then moved to all day. In the 80s cable TV came on board and suddenly we had multiple channels and 24 hour news and sports. Shows were originally on broadcast TV only, then it moved to another channel and now it is on pay only channels as well as streaming services like Amazon. And if TV watching wasn't enough, we brought video games through the TV, the computer, the tablet, the phone. We have so many different ways and forms of entertainment seeping through out life. And we brand it all as okay and good.
It is just such a huge part of our life and it seems to be getting larger and larger. Recently, as a household we dropped our cable bill, to help save $50 per month, and went with the antennae. I think there were some adjustments to our viewing habits, but I have noticed something interesting. For the most part, we are just changing what we are looking at, which means we are changing what is acceptable. Yes, we have less choices, but we are still viewing at the same level as we were before. In fact, I am actually viewing more because recently an old movie channel was added to the antennae lineup and I have access to old movies in ways I haven't in the past. However, I continue to be concerned about what my children are accessing as we do have Netflix and Netflix streaming is available and the content on there is actually not that great, as far as clean entertainment.
Last night, sitting down, not feeling very well, and just wanting to rest, I wanted to watch a movie. One of the services we have now is FeelN, a streaming service backed by Hallmark providing family friendly content. They don't have a huge catalog, but I have noticed I am never disappointed with anything I watch. And yet because I have the option of Amazon Prime and Netflix, I sometimes revert to searching for entertainment through those sources. My concern is whether or not I end up choosing media that really is filled with content that would never be viewed in a church setting. Just like cable TV, once we have availability, does it possibly open us up to content that we justify in our viewing by saying, it is not that bad? Should that be the calling card for determining if we watch something? Whether it is not that bad?
To not be conformed to the world, I think, should mean that even our viewing habits are not likened to the world's viewing habits.
Now, back to the message, which is "Do not be conformed to the world." Those words are almost hard to read and think about and mediate on. Why? Because I love the things of the world. It is what I've known and where I've been trained. And it is becoming more and more a dominant force in our life. And to think, Paul saw this temptation back in his day. It is so hard to imagine the extent of what Paul saw in the 1st century. And yet, I believe, that this calls to evidence more that God did inspire the writing of his text because God stood outside of time and saw the importance of this message throughout time. Maybe it seems more applicable today, twenty centuries later, but there have always been distractions. The gospel message and sharing that with others was needed and prominent even in Paul's day. The first chapter of Romans speaks of the encouragement Paul gained from the church at Rome because they were sharing the faith.
But be transformed
I know I am taking this passage slow and probably spending way too much time on it, but it is actually an amazing passage of contrast from my normal life. Its message is really foundational and revolutionary to our lives. Here with this word, "but be" means that when one is not conformed to this world, there is an alternative. There is another way. There is another way we are to be training ourselves daily (I Timothy 4:7-8).
The word transformed is in the passive voice. Active voice would mean that I am needing to do something in order to accomplish the transformation. But, here the word is passive, so an outside force is making its mark on me, transforming me. "Do not be conformed" is active, "but be transformed" is passive. The Spirit will transform us.
This is in the imperative mood which means I have responsibility. What I need to do is turn from sin and then make myself available or able to be molded. I do have a responsibility and that is to avail myself to the work of the Spirit in me. I think this is a very important step and part of the process. We have a responsibility daily in our lives. We can't just live our lives the way we see fit because as we do we will be conformed to this world. We must stop and present ourselves as a sacrifice to Him. "Lord, Here I am." "Lord, I come to You." "Lord, I surrender to You." "Lord, I present myself to You." "Lord, I want You in me."
In addition, transformed in in the present tense, so it is not a past event, but an ongoing event in our lives. Each day, I am to present myself to the Lord and each day He will make a change in me.
By the renewing of your mind
This is the result of surrendering to the Lord and being transformed, my mind is renewed. I become something different than what I was in the past.
This newness and this difference is not simply a condition that is then on par with what I was in the past, before being in Christ. It is superior.
My mind is what determines my action, my decisions, my choices, my living life. The mind needs to be renewed. The mind can be molded. That is incredible. We often are baffled by the evil that is present in people's lives, in the world. We are baffled as to how people think. That someone could work in adult films or be a stripper day in and day out. That someone could have a business of sex trafficking. That someone could be in the business of selling drugs. That someone could be in the business of gambling. And this verse throws a bright light on us and reminds us that our mind is to be renewed, so if it isn't renewed, it is trained by the one that is over this world. We are not to be conformed to this world and yet for those not in Christ, conforming to the world is natural and encouraged.
I read yesterday from JD Greear's book, Gospel, "The tragedy is that if you are spiritually blind you have no idea that you are missing anything at all." What a compelling and truthful statement. When the mind is not renewed and we are blind at seeing the things of the Gospel, Truth, God, we are living a life that we think is right. I dare to say that the majority of the people in the world seem to be living in this blind darkness.
so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect
So, here is the sequence. The Christian does not conform to the world but is transformed, by surrendering to the Lord, and the Spirit transforms us. This renews our mind. For what purpose? Because this is the will of God. We are daily transformed. God is transforming us to prove God's will. His will is good and acceptable and perfect. And our lives are to be a perfect reflection of who He is.
This is the crowning verse of the Christian. We are God's representation on this earth and our lives are meant to reflect who He is. Our lives should resemble Him.
Recently, I have been encouraged by something. I've always wanted to stand out and several people lately have actually told me that my walk with God is something that they admire. I don't believe they are elevating me, but I do think that they see God in me. My life does reflect Him. And He gets the praise for that, not me.
Promise: Trust in the Lord and He will make your paths straight.
Message: We are transformed by the renewing of our minds.
Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome.
What the Lord is Saying:
In light of the salvation that we have received, by the mercy of God and the grace of God, through faith, we are to daily present ourselves as a living and holy sacrifice, in ways that are acceptable to God. This is our spiritual service of worship to God. We surrender to God and submit to His will and live out His commandments with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.
Do not be conformed
This is the hallmark of the Christian's life and really what God expects of every person, that they are not to be conformed to anything beyond Christ and His word and His commandments.
Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
You can have the world
But Give me Jesus
This should be our daily heart cry. This should be what our heart sings every day.
Exodus 23:2 - You shall not follow a multitude in doing evil.
Deuteronomy 18:9 - When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations.
2 Corinthians 6:14 - Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?
To this world
More specifically, we are not to be conformed to this world. When Jesus was tempted, it was the devil that brought him to a mountain top to show him the kingdoms of the world. Matthew 4:8, "Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory;" The devil offered to Jesus the authority of the world as a gift from him (Luke 4:6). And in 2 Corinthians 4:4 it says, "in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."
It is clear that the devil is the god of this world. I am just not sure this is apparent enough in our thinking. I am not sure we really realize the significance of this in our everyday life. I think Satan is so good at making the Christian think that a couple of visits to the church weekly are enough for us. And he is so good at making us think that a quick prayer of repentance, one time, is all we need to be secure in God's kingdom. And then this allows us to continue to roam around in the world as we desire, continually sampling from the things of this world. And that's just with Christians. But, it almost seems like Christians are who he is luring the most. I don't believe Satan can possess a Christian. But, I definitely think the Christan can be lured away. I only say this because of what I see in my own life.
I think of stalwarts of the faith like Martin Luther, George Whitefield, and Charles Spurgeon and think about the volumes that wrote or the volumes they did and then These men did so much for the faith. They wrote so much and preached so much and yet, they lacked all of the creature comforts we have of this day. They didn't have computers, but very primitive communication. Everything took more time and yet how did they do so much? It is just amazing. Whitefield died at age 55. Spurgeon died at 57. Luther was 62. Those aren't long lives. And yet they were so productive. I just marvel at the distractions we have in this world.
I am reading the book Gospel right now by JD Greear and it really speaks of the importance of the Gospel message in our everyday life. It is not natural for us to live a life of faith-righteousness, but rather works-righteousness is natural. And so it is so important that daily we go to the Gospel and find our security in the gospel.
I understand this message; this sentiment; this belief, but, I don't live it consistently because I am so trained in the things of the world continually that I just don't know how to really separate myself from its ways. Technology in the form of electronics has really created a distraction in our lives. This really started with the visual box--television--that came upon us in the fifties. I think the moment our eyes had something to look at, we would be hard pressed to get ourselves trained away from anything else. The TV replaced the radio which replaced the book. The book and TV remain supplemented by the radio. Then the computer came to really augment the TV as well as now the mobile phone. And if that wasn't enough, we had to make the computer more portable with the tablet (iPad). TV and Radio started out being nightly sources of entertainment, but then moved to all day. In the 80s cable TV came on board and suddenly we had multiple channels and 24 hour news and sports. Shows were originally on broadcast TV only, then it moved to another channel and now it is on pay only channels as well as streaming services like Amazon. And if TV watching wasn't enough, we brought video games through the TV, the computer, the tablet, the phone. We have so many different ways and forms of entertainment seeping through out life. And we brand it all as okay and good.
It is just such a huge part of our life and it seems to be getting larger and larger. Recently, as a household we dropped our cable bill, to help save $50 per month, and went with the antennae. I think there were some adjustments to our viewing habits, but I have noticed something interesting. For the most part, we are just changing what we are looking at, which means we are changing what is acceptable. Yes, we have less choices, but we are still viewing at the same level as we were before. In fact, I am actually viewing more because recently an old movie channel was added to the antennae lineup and I have access to old movies in ways I haven't in the past. However, I continue to be concerned about what my children are accessing as we do have Netflix and Netflix streaming is available and the content on there is actually not that great, as far as clean entertainment.
Last night, sitting down, not feeling very well, and just wanting to rest, I wanted to watch a movie. One of the services we have now is FeelN, a streaming service backed by Hallmark providing family friendly content. They don't have a huge catalog, but I have noticed I am never disappointed with anything I watch. And yet because I have the option of Amazon Prime and Netflix, I sometimes revert to searching for entertainment through those sources. My concern is whether or not I end up choosing media that really is filled with content that would never be viewed in a church setting. Just like cable TV, once we have availability, does it possibly open us up to content that we justify in our viewing by saying, it is not that bad? Should that be the calling card for determining if we watch something? Whether it is not that bad?
To not be conformed to the world, I think, should mean that even our viewing habits are not likened to the world's viewing habits.
Now, back to the message, which is "Do not be conformed to the world." Those words are almost hard to read and think about and mediate on. Why? Because I love the things of the world. It is what I've known and where I've been trained. And it is becoming more and more a dominant force in our life. And to think, Paul saw this temptation back in his day. It is so hard to imagine the extent of what Paul saw in the 1st century. And yet, I believe, that this calls to evidence more that God did inspire the writing of his text because God stood outside of time and saw the importance of this message throughout time. Maybe it seems more applicable today, twenty centuries later, but there have always been distractions. The gospel message and sharing that with others was needed and prominent even in Paul's day. The first chapter of Romans speaks of the encouragement Paul gained from the church at Rome because they were sharing the faith.
But be transformed
I know I am taking this passage slow and probably spending way too much time on it, but it is actually an amazing passage of contrast from my normal life. Its message is really foundational and revolutionary to our lives. Here with this word, "but be" means that when one is not conformed to this world, there is an alternative. There is another way. There is another way we are to be training ourselves daily (I Timothy 4:7-8).
The word transformed is in the passive voice. Active voice would mean that I am needing to do something in order to accomplish the transformation. But, here the word is passive, so an outside force is making its mark on me, transforming me. "Do not be conformed" is active, "but be transformed" is passive. The Spirit will transform us.
This is in the imperative mood which means I have responsibility. What I need to do is turn from sin and then make myself available or able to be molded. I do have a responsibility and that is to avail myself to the work of the Spirit in me. I think this is a very important step and part of the process. We have a responsibility daily in our lives. We can't just live our lives the way we see fit because as we do we will be conformed to this world. We must stop and present ourselves as a sacrifice to Him. "Lord, Here I am." "Lord, I come to You." "Lord, I surrender to You." "Lord, I present myself to You." "Lord, I want You in me."
In addition, transformed in in the present tense, so it is not a past event, but an ongoing event in our lives. Each day, I am to present myself to the Lord and each day He will make a change in me.
By the renewing of your mind
This is the result of surrendering to the Lord and being transformed, my mind is renewed. I become something different than what I was in the past.
This newness and this difference is not simply a condition that is then on par with what I was in the past, before being in Christ. It is superior.
My mind is what determines my action, my decisions, my choices, my living life. The mind needs to be renewed. The mind can be molded. That is incredible. We often are baffled by the evil that is present in people's lives, in the world. We are baffled as to how people think. That someone could work in adult films or be a stripper day in and day out. That someone could have a business of sex trafficking. That someone could be in the business of selling drugs. That someone could be in the business of gambling. And this verse throws a bright light on us and reminds us that our mind is to be renewed, so if it isn't renewed, it is trained by the one that is over this world. We are not to be conformed to this world and yet for those not in Christ, conforming to the world is natural and encouraged.
I read yesterday from JD Greear's book, Gospel, "The tragedy is that if you are spiritually blind you have no idea that you are missing anything at all." What a compelling and truthful statement. When the mind is not renewed and we are blind at seeing the things of the Gospel, Truth, God, we are living a life that we think is right. I dare to say that the majority of the people in the world seem to be living in this blind darkness.
so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect
So, here is the sequence. The Christian does not conform to the world but is transformed, by surrendering to the Lord, and the Spirit transforms us. This renews our mind. For what purpose? Because this is the will of God. We are daily transformed. God is transforming us to prove God's will. His will is good and acceptable and perfect. And our lives are to be a perfect reflection of who He is.
This is the crowning verse of the Christian. We are God's representation on this earth and our lives are meant to reflect who He is. Our lives should resemble Him.
Recently, I have been encouraged by something. I've always wanted to stand out and several people lately have actually told me that my walk with God is something that they admire. I don't believe they are elevating me, but I do think that they see God in me. My life does reflect Him. And He gets the praise for that, not me.
Promise: Trust in the Lord and He will make your paths straight.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Romans 12:1 - Living Sacrifices
Romans 12:1 - Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
Message: Presenting myself, holy and acceptable to God
Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome.
What the Lord is Saying:
The Set Up
Therefore. As always, we ask what is therefore there for? I think this verse is a break from the previous 11 chapters. I think it is a culmination of everything that has been said. There has been very little commands of personal duty or application. There has instead been a presentation of the condition of man or at times the digression of man away from God. There has been talk as to how many tries to earn value in life and earn God's acceptance. Man has a natural relationship between himself and God and man has a constant desire to be valued and accepted by God.
The problem with man is he naturally lives in a works-righteousness way. He naturally is very self-centered and very focused on achieving things for himself and putting forth a separation between himself and everything and everyone else. And so even though he knows there is a God, he believes God is waiting for him to show himself worthy of being a God-child.
The Book of Romans is very refreshing because it anchors us in the things of God. It anchors me in the idea that life is about the Gospel. Life is about surrendering myself to God. It is about submitting myself to God and who He is and trusting in Him. God knows it all and God has chosen man to be His.
Yes, there are chosen people, there are people that God has set aside for himself, but that doesn't mean that only these people will know God. Faith is an individual thing. We do not get grafted in because of our belonging to a group. Our position is only their because of faith in what God did in transferring the righteousness of Christ to man. This was done by His grace and it reflects a person's life by their faith.
Yet, this verse also marks a natural next step after hearing the previous statement, "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen." Life is about God and everything that has been stated thus far in this book if for God, through Him and to Him. All of these words of doctrine are for Him, through Him and to Him. So, to Him be the glory forever.
But even here in the book of Romans we see that in the first 11 chapters the focus has been on what God does. It his mercy and His grace that beckons us to Him, that saves us. It is his doing. And now, in response, we are to live from Him with our bodies. He has done the work, now we respond to live as a living sacrifice. Our life is not lived in that way as a condition for God's saving grace, but as a response.
I urge you
It is no secret that the rest of Romans is about our service to God. Doctrine and truth has been established, now, How Must We Live? Paul is not giving a command, he is urging, exhorting, beseeching or begging. The called have been called and now they are urged to live in a way that is consistent with their calling.
By the mercies of God
Again here Paul reiterates what is said all along. This urging is upon God's mercy. It is the mercies of God first that comes and then the response. The covenant first, the life lived second. This cannot be emphasized too much because works-righteousness is so much a part of our life.
To Present
To bring or introduce into the presence of someone especially of superior rank or status. It is to place at someone's disposal.
Romans 6:13 explains the contrasts between the two "presents" - and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
We are not to present the members of our body to sin, but rather present the members of our body to God. In Romans 6, sin is a picture of death, so why would we present our bodies to that which is dead? But, rather we present our bodies to God, that which is alive.
Included in this is love. We love God so we present ourselves. We are to abide in Him. We bow down to worship God.
Your bodies
This is our present to God: our body. This is encompasses everything we are. We present our entire body to Him. We present our feet that walk, our arms that work, our brain that thinks, our ears that listen, our eyes that see, our nose, that smells, our mouth that tastes. So, we present our thought life, what we do, what we eat and speak, our viewing habits, our surroundings, what we listen to -- we present it all.
A Living
How can a sacrifice be living? It is true we are to deny ourselves, but Paul has been speaking of our life of sin, the works-righteousness in our life. For the wages of sin is death. The life we live apart from Christ is basically a dead life. The life in Christ is living. However, that life of sin, though God sees as dead because He sees Christ in us, we still let it live, so we are to daily kill it.
And Holy Sacrifice
We are to simply to make some sort of sacrifice to God. We are not simply to make an offering to the Lord of any type. In the Old Testament, the sacrifices that came before God were very specific. Not just any animal could be offered. The animal must be clean. And not just anyone could offer it. I think we must be careful to always examine our lives and what we think we are doing for him. We must be careful to examine our sacrifices and the motives of those sacrifices.
Our sacrifice is to be holy. It is to be set apart from the world unto God, with a special purpose. We sing Holy, Holy, Holy because the Lord our God is holy and set apart. Yet, he calls us to live our lives in the same manner. Why wouldn't we based upon what we have read in the first 11 chapters? Why wouldn't we based upon Romans 6-8 and the clear picture of being dead to sin?
One clear reason we don't is instead of surrounding ourselves continually with the things of God, we are now in the habit of surrounding ourselves continually with the things that are not of God. I think about my phone and all the apps I have that really are not about making a holy sacrifice. They are about entertainment and socialization and learning of the world, but I often do not surround myself with the things of God. I have trained myself to be bored if I only have a few things in my life. I must have numerous things and bounce from one to the other. The gospel is simple and straight forward and yet, in today's world, it is almost too simple and straight forward. I have trained myself to not live a simple life, but one that needs a lot of variation. Variation is okay, but I must be careful with all of the inputs I allow in my life.
I think of that song I Surrender All:
All to Jesus, I surrender
All to Him, I freely give
Wow. Wouldn't life be great if those words were actually heeded? That said, my life is to be an offering. He will take me the distance.
Acceptable to God
The question that went around 10 or 15 years ago was the question, "What Would Jesus Do" from the book entitled "In His Steps." Yes, our sacrifice is to be Holy, but it is to be acceptable to God. Again, how often do we simply throw things at the foot of Jesus and they say, "there you go, I gave something." We spend so much of our day in other activities, and then just give things like to God and think, "Well, I did something."
What is acceptable to God? Do I really think about this? I'm not saying I must read more books, but maybe I should. I spend so much of my day still on the TV, entertaining myself. Again, do I define rest in my life or do I let God define rest?
Your Spiritual Service of Worship
This is the only use of this word in the New Testament, Spiritual, and it really takes upon the meaning of being reasonable or logical.
Here is the deal. After verse 36 of chapter 11, that from Him, through Him and to Him are all things, is there any other logical or reasonable way we should be living? It really doesn't make sense to live any other life. It only makes sense if we don't really believe God to be God and His sacrifice for me to be that significant.
Sometimes I am concerned that we play such a high priority on going to church several times a week and taking part in different acts of worship at church but then don't share Christ with others. This past week someone came to our house for work and we gave him work to do and paid him. I never left my chair to talk to this young man. He comes into my lap and I do nothing.
Promise: There is not one area of my life that does not fall under the Lordship of Christ.
Message: Presenting myself, holy and acceptable to God
Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome.
What the Lord is Saying:
The Set Up
Therefore. As always, we ask what is therefore there for? I think this verse is a break from the previous 11 chapters. I think it is a culmination of everything that has been said. There has been very little commands of personal duty or application. There has instead been a presentation of the condition of man or at times the digression of man away from God. There has been talk as to how many tries to earn value in life and earn God's acceptance. Man has a natural relationship between himself and God and man has a constant desire to be valued and accepted by God.
The problem with man is he naturally lives in a works-righteousness way. He naturally is very self-centered and very focused on achieving things for himself and putting forth a separation between himself and everything and everyone else. And so even though he knows there is a God, he believes God is waiting for him to show himself worthy of being a God-child.
The Book of Romans is very refreshing because it anchors us in the things of God. It anchors me in the idea that life is about the Gospel. Life is about surrendering myself to God. It is about submitting myself to God and who He is and trusting in Him. God knows it all and God has chosen man to be His.
Yes, there are chosen people, there are people that God has set aside for himself, but that doesn't mean that only these people will know God. Faith is an individual thing. We do not get grafted in because of our belonging to a group. Our position is only their because of faith in what God did in transferring the righteousness of Christ to man. This was done by His grace and it reflects a person's life by their faith.
Yet, this verse also marks a natural next step after hearing the previous statement, "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen." Life is about God and everything that has been stated thus far in this book if for God, through Him and to Him. All of these words of doctrine are for Him, through Him and to Him. So, to Him be the glory forever.
But even here in the book of Romans we see that in the first 11 chapters the focus has been on what God does. It his mercy and His grace that beckons us to Him, that saves us. It is his doing. And now, in response, we are to live from Him with our bodies. He has done the work, now we respond to live as a living sacrifice. Our life is not lived in that way as a condition for God's saving grace, but as a response.
I urge you
It is no secret that the rest of Romans is about our service to God. Doctrine and truth has been established, now, How Must We Live? Paul is not giving a command, he is urging, exhorting, beseeching or begging. The called have been called and now they are urged to live in a way that is consistent with their calling.
By the mercies of God
Again here Paul reiterates what is said all along. This urging is upon God's mercy. It is the mercies of God first that comes and then the response. The covenant first, the life lived second. This cannot be emphasized too much because works-righteousness is so much a part of our life.
To Present
To bring or introduce into the presence of someone especially of superior rank or status. It is to place at someone's disposal.
Romans 6:13 explains the contrasts between the two "presents" - and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
We are not to present the members of our body to sin, but rather present the members of our body to God. In Romans 6, sin is a picture of death, so why would we present our bodies to that which is dead? But, rather we present our bodies to God, that which is alive.
Included in this is love. We love God so we present ourselves. We are to abide in Him. We bow down to worship God.
Your bodies
This is our present to God: our body. This is encompasses everything we are. We present our entire body to Him. We present our feet that walk, our arms that work, our brain that thinks, our ears that listen, our eyes that see, our nose, that smells, our mouth that tastes. So, we present our thought life, what we do, what we eat and speak, our viewing habits, our surroundings, what we listen to -- we present it all.
A Living
How can a sacrifice be living? It is true we are to deny ourselves, but Paul has been speaking of our life of sin, the works-righteousness in our life. For the wages of sin is death. The life we live apart from Christ is basically a dead life. The life in Christ is living. However, that life of sin, though God sees as dead because He sees Christ in us, we still let it live, so we are to daily kill it.
And Holy Sacrifice
We are to simply to make some sort of sacrifice to God. We are not simply to make an offering to the Lord of any type. In the Old Testament, the sacrifices that came before God were very specific. Not just any animal could be offered. The animal must be clean. And not just anyone could offer it. I think we must be careful to always examine our lives and what we think we are doing for him. We must be careful to examine our sacrifices and the motives of those sacrifices.
Our sacrifice is to be holy. It is to be set apart from the world unto God, with a special purpose. We sing Holy, Holy, Holy because the Lord our God is holy and set apart. Yet, he calls us to live our lives in the same manner. Why wouldn't we based upon what we have read in the first 11 chapters? Why wouldn't we based upon Romans 6-8 and the clear picture of being dead to sin?
One clear reason we don't is instead of surrounding ourselves continually with the things of God, we are now in the habit of surrounding ourselves continually with the things that are not of God. I think about my phone and all the apps I have that really are not about making a holy sacrifice. They are about entertainment and socialization and learning of the world, but I often do not surround myself with the things of God. I have trained myself to be bored if I only have a few things in my life. I must have numerous things and bounce from one to the other. The gospel is simple and straight forward and yet, in today's world, it is almost too simple and straight forward. I have trained myself to not live a simple life, but one that needs a lot of variation. Variation is okay, but I must be careful with all of the inputs I allow in my life.
I think of that song I Surrender All:
All to Jesus, I surrender
All to Him, I freely give
Wow. Wouldn't life be great if those words were actually heeded? That said, my life is to be an offering. He will take me the distance.
Acceptable to God
The question that went around 10 or 15 years ago was the question, "What Would Jesus Do" from the book entitled "In His Steps." Yes, our sacrifice is to be Holy, but it is to be acceptable to God. Again, how often do we simply throw things at the foot of Jesus and they say, "there you go, I gave something." We spend so much of our day in other activities, and then just give things like to God and think, "Well, I did something."
What is acceptable to God? Do I really think about this? I'm not saying I must read more books, but maybe I should. I spend so much of my day still on the TV, entertaining myself. Again, do I define rest in my life or do I let God define rest?
Your Spiritual Service of Worship
This is the only use of this word in the New Testament, Spiritual, and it really takes upon the meaning of being reasonable or logical.
Here is the deal. After verse 36 of chapter 11, that from Him, through Him and to Him are all things, is there any other logical or reasonable way we should be living? It really doesn't make sense to live any other life. It only makes sense if we don't really believe God to be God and His sacrifice for me to be that significant.
Sometimes I am concerned that we play such a high priority on going to church several times a week and taking part in different acts of worship at church but then don't share Christ with others. This past week someone came to our house for work and we gave him work to do and paid him. I never left my chair to talk to this young man. He comes into my lap and I do nothing.
Promise: There is not one area of my life that does not fall under the Lordship of Christ.
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Romans 11:33-36 - God, The Source of All
Romans 11:33-36 33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? 35 Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? 36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
Message: God, the depths of Him; He is unsearchable; no one really knows Him; To Him be glory forever.
Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome.
What the Lord is Saying:
Chapter 9 and has been difficult subject matter. After putting forth the gospel in the first 8 chapter and showing the Jews that it is through God making us righteous through Christ, not through being a Jew, having circumcision, hanging onto the Law, Paul then mentions Israel's rejection of Christ, though remnants remain. Yet, by the Lord hardening Israel or allowing their rejection of Him, God has opened up the door for the Gentiles to receive truth. But, one day Israel will return. God is not finished with them.
Here is an outline of Chapter 11 by biblepilot.com.
Paul concludes this non-exhaustive discussion with Praise for God. Paul hasn't answered every question, but overall concluded that God is in control.
The Depth of God - verse 33
In light of this, Paul describes the depth of God. He is after all the creator of all, the giver of all, and He sustains all. Yes, we try to understand Him, but He is unsearchable and unfathomable. It feels like what Paul is doing is confessing to his audience, in one way, that these doctrines are a lot to handle, and yet, they should be, because God is in fact beyond our understanding. There is a depth to his understanding that we can't totally comprehend. This should be normal for us to see. Many faiths think that everything about God is to be known. No way. There is unfathomable and unsearchable.
For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? - verse 34
Isaiah 40:13-14
The conclusion from these verses is rather simple. We don't tell God what to do nor do we educate Him. God is in charge. He does not consult with anyone. No one gave him understanding for he is understanding. He is truth. No one taught Him in the path of what is right and wrong. No one gave him knowledge. No one tells him how things work or gives him understanding.
I think one of the lies that Satan tells people is that God doesn't know everything and that man is able to figure out things on his own.
But God does reveal to man his ways. The Bible is a book of writings from men based upon the revelation by God. The challenge that comes in life often is who has God given understanding. Many people will stand up continually and say that they are the prophet that God has given understanding or they are the pastor that rightly understands a particular text or the way of truth. Everyone wants to be an authority on truth.
Psalm 40:5
Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done,
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They would be too numerous to count.
Something that stands out for me with the verse from Psalm 40 is that we spend so much time trying to understand God and David lets us know that God has thoughts toward us.
who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? - verse 35
Job 41:11
CS Lewis: To argue with God is to argue with the very power that makes it possible to argue at all.
From Him, through Him and to Him are all things - verse 36
The context here in Romans is Paul presenting the great plan of salvation to and for all people. He was not only speaking to the Jews and only speaking to Gentiles, but speaking to everyone. And it is fitting that this verse would conclude Paul's thoughts from chapter 9-11. All of life is about God. It is from Him. It is through Him. It is to Him. How deep should our love of God be in the light of all that we have learned in these texts.
Promise: God is the source of all
Message: God, the depths of Him; He is unsearchable; no one really knows Him; To Him be glory forever.
Time: Written in AD 57 from Greece, to the Christians, both Gentile and Jewish in Rome.
What the Lord is Saying:
Chapter 9 and has been difficult subject matter. After putting forth the gospel in the first 8 chapter and showing the Jews that it is through God making us righteous through Christ, not through being a Jew, having circumcision, hanging onto the Law, Paul then mentions Israel's rejection of Christ, though remnants remain. Yet, by the Lord hardening Israel or allowing their rejection of Him, God has opened up the door for the Gentiles to receive truth. But, one day Israel will return. God is not finished with them.
Here is an outline of Chapter 11 by biblepilot.com.
- 11:1-10 God has not rejected Israel
- 11:1-6 Elect remnant chosen by grace
- 11:7-10 Hardening of the rest (11:7)
- 11:11-24 Consequences of belief and unbelief illustrated
- 11:11-12 Gentiles saved to make Israel jealous
- 11:13-16 Paul’s hope for saving some
- 11:17-21 Gentiles grafted as olive branch
- 11:22-24 Kindness and severity of God
- 11:25-32 Mystery of Israel’s salvation
- 11:25-27 Partial hardening
- 11:28-32 God is merciful
- 11:33-36 Praise for our unsearchable God
The Depth of God - verse 33
In light of this, Paul describes the depth of God. He is after all the creator of all, the giver of all, and He sustains all. Yes, we try to understand Him, but He is unsearchable and unfathomable. It feels like what Paul is doing is confessing to his audience, in one way, that these doctrines are a lot to handle, and yet, they should be, because God is in fact beyond our understanding. There is a depth to his understanding that we can't totally comprehend. This should be normal for us to see. Many faiths think that everything about God is to be known. No way. There is unfathomable and unsearchable.
For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? - verse 34
Isaiah 40:13-14
13 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His counselor has informed Him?
14 With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding?
And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge
And informed Him of the way of understanding?
Or as His counselor has informed Him?
14 With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding?
And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge
And informed Him of the way of understanding?
The conclusion from these verses is rather simple. We don't tell God what to do nor do we educate Him. God is in charge. He does not consult with anyone. No one gave him understanding for he is understanding. He is truth. No one taught Him in the path of what is right and wrong. No one gave him knowledge. No one tells him how things work or gives him understanding.
I think one of the lies that Satan tells people is that God doesn't know everything and that man is able to figure out things on his own.
But God does reveal to man his ways. The Bible is a book of writings from men based upon the revelation by God. The challenge that comes in life often is who has God given understanding. Many people will stand up continually and say that they are the prophet that God has given understanding or they are the pastor that rightly understands a particular text or the way of truth. Everyone wants to be an authority on truth.
Psalm 40:5
Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done,
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They would be too numerous to count.
Something that stands out for me with the verse from Psalm 40 is that we spend so much time trying to understand God and David lets us know that God has thoughts toward us.
who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? - verse 35
Job 41:11
“Who has given to Me that I should repay him?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.
Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.
God is never obligated to us. Everything we are comes from him. We can not give something to God that He does not have.
CS Lewis: To argue with God is to argue with the very power that makes it possible to argue at all.
From Him, through Him and to Him are all things - verse 36
The context here in Romans is Paul presenting the great plan of salvation to and for all people. He was not only speaking to the Jews and only speaking to Gentiles, but speaking to everyone. And it is fitting that this verse would conclude Paul's thoughts from chapter 9-11. All of life is about God. It is from Him. It is through Him. It is to Him. How deep should our love of God be in the light of all that we have learned in these texts.
Promise: God is the source of all
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