Devotionary

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Ep 92 – Romans 6:12-23 Mar 27, 2017

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In chapter six of his letter to the Romans, Paul continues to unpack the good news regarding faith in Christ and its provision of a right relationship with God. And one of the most profound aspects of our salvation, made possible by God's gracious gift of His Son, is the freedom we enjoy. We have been set free from slavery to sin and are now free to pursue a life of holiness. But not based on our human efforts or our ability to keep a set of rules. Our freedom to say no to sin and yes to holiness has been made possible by Christ's death and the Spirit's presence in our lives. Holiness, Paul will remind us, is not an issue of SELF-control, but of the Spirit's control over us. It is based on a willing submission to God's power made available to us through His indwelling Spirit. We can experience the transformation God has in store for us as we transfer the control of our lives to the Spirit of God He has made available to us.

Ep 91 - Romans 6:1-11 Mar 26, 2017

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As we move into the first six verses of Romans chapter six, we see Paul beginning to stress our new life in Christ as believers. The good news of Jesus Christ is not just future-focused, promising the reality of eternal life and a glorified, sinless state some time out there in the distance. He is reminding us that we can and should experience new life here and now – even in this present age with all its sin, struggles and strife. One of the primary topics of Paul's letter to the Romans is the ongoing, progressive sanctification of the believer. We are being transformed into the image of Christ, day after day, year after year. It is an ongoing reality for all those who have placed their faith in Christ and within whom God has placed His Spirit. And our transformation, like our salvation, is not up to us – it is the work of God. Which is what makes it not only possible, but unavoidable.

Ep 90 – Romans 5:12-21 Mar 25, 2017

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What is the Christian's relationship with the law? On the one hand, Paul will say that the law is holy, just and good. On the other hand, he'll say that we are no longer under the law, but instead, under grace. In chapter seven he'll tell us that we have died to the law, so therefore, we are released from it. But Paul's issue with the law has nothing to do with its authority, just its efficacy. In other words, the law, while holy, was not designed to save. In fact, it can't save. It can instruct. It can convict. It can condemn. But it will never make anyone right with God. Paul will make it quite clear that the law was given to reveal our sinfulness, not get rid of it. And what makes the law holy is that it is a tangible expression of God's righteous requirements for mankind. And while any attempt to obey the law and gain favor with God will prove futile, the believer is able to obey out of love, not obligation, and in the power of the Spirit, not the flesh.

Ep 89 – Romans 5:1-11 Mar 24, 2017

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Paul has been talking about justification by faith. Men are made right with God, not by works, but by belief in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. The result of their faith is justification, an undeserved restoration into a right standing with God. But several times in the first eleven verses of chapter five, Paul will say, "not only that." As if a right standing with a holy God was not enough, Paul says we also have peace with Him. We have gone from enemies to sons and daughters. We have moved from foes to family members. And not only that, we can rejoice even in suffering, because we know that God is going to use it to produce in us endurance, character and hope. And God did all of this for us when we were weak, undeserving, mired in our sins, and deserving of His wrath. Our justification has had unbelievable ramifications.

Ep 88 – Hebrews 4 Mar 23, 2017

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Faith can be a fickle thing. Sometimes it shows up in ways that surprise even us. Other times, it can appear anemic and as if it's on life support. So, how do we go from having a wavering, waffling kind of faith that's as volatile as the stock market, to a steadily increasing, confidence-increasing kind of faith that can weather the storms of life? Paul would have us consider Abraham, whose faith in God was counted to him as righteousness. Chapter four of Romans is a tribute to this father of the Hebrew nation, who spent his life learning to keep his faith in the promises of God based on nothing more than the word of God. It doesn't mean he never doubted. It simply means he never stopped believing. He wondered how God was going to fulfill His promises and even tried to give God a helping hand. But his faith never wavered.

Ep 87 – Romans 3 Mar 22, 2017

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No one is righteous. Those are difficult words to hear and even harder to accept. And yet, Paul is going to drive home once again the fact that what makes the good news about Jesus Christ so great is the very bad news regarding man's sin. There is no one who deserves salvation. And there is nothing anyone can do to earn it, either. No one is righteous. That's bad news. But the good news is that we can be made righteous through faith in Christ. What we could never achieve on our own has been made possible for us through the death of Christ. Chapter 3 of Romans is a powerful statement regarding man's hopeless sinful state and God's gracious gift of salvation and justification through His Son. We are made right with God, not by human effort, but by simple faith in the sacrificial death of Jesus. The bad news is overcome by believing the good news about Jesus and His sacrifice on our behalf.

Ep 86 – Romans 2:17-29 Mar 21, 2017

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God is looking for heart change, not behavioral modification. He knows that men cannot live up to His holy standards. The Jews, His chosen people, had proven that fact time and time again. And yet, Paul is forced to talk directly to the Jews in his audience, letting them know that their ethnicity was not enough to save them. The fact that they had been given the law made little difference in their standing with God because they had failed to keep God's law. Being a Jew didn't make anyone right with God. If anything, it placed them under greater condemnation because their inability to keep the law should have driven them to His Son as their sin substitute and Savior. Paul reveals that a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. Not because of anything they have done, but because of what Christ has done for them.

Ep 85 – Romans 2:1-16 Mar 20, 2017

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God is angry with mankind because of their sins against Him. But there are some, who, because they see themselves as religious and therefore righteous, believe they are exempt from God's wrath. They assume that their good works somehow make them deserving of God's good favor. But Paul has some powerful words of warning to the religious and smugly self-righteous. Don't confuse God's kindness and patience with your sin as a sign that He is happy with you. All men have sinned and fallen short of God's holy standard. And all men, even the religious and self-righteous are deserving of death. Unless of course, they have placed their faith in Christ. Just because some people seem to get away with sin shouldn't lead us to believe that God somehow approves of their sin. He is just patiently waiting for them to wake up to the reality of their need for a Savior and the forgiveness made possible through His Son.

Ep 84 – Romans 1:18-32 Mar 19, 2017

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Today, we'll be in Romans chapter 1, verses 18-32, where Paul will introduce us to the bad news. He is going to provide us with the dark reality of sin and how it stands in stark contrast to the Good News found in Jesus Christ. They say you'll never fully appreciate the good news until you fully understand the bad news. So Paul is going to go out of his way to let us know just how bad things had gotten in the world that God had created. Man, made in God's image, had chosen to turn his back on God and worship anything and everything but God. And his idolatry had led to increasing immorality and an abandonment by God to their own sinful desires. He gave them over. He left them to their own devices. And the consequences were deadly. Unwilling to give God the glory He deserves, mankind was left to seek after God-substitutes, poor imitations of the real thing that would leave them helpless, hopeless and godless.

Ep 82 – Romans: Introduction Mar 18, 2017

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Join us as we begin a brand new study in the book of Romans called The Gospel of God.

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