What's The Longest You Have Ever Waited For Something?
Luke 1:5-25
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,[a] of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
The birth of John the Baptism is foretold.
What’s the longest you’ve ever waited for something?
I think this story is one of the sweetest ones in the scripture—this old, faithful couple, waiting all these years for a child, only to be surprised by the angelic message that the Lord is answering their prayers.
So poignant. Are you waiting for something? Don’t lose heart. Keep hanging on.
Why Was Jesus Born In Bethlehem?
Micah 5:2-5a
2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days.
3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of his brothers shall return
to the people of Israel.
4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth.
5 And he shall be their peace.
The King will be born in Bethlehem.
Why was Jesus born in Bethlehem?
The above passage from Micah is what the scholars reference when the Magi show up in Herod’s palace asking to see the King of the Jews. Herod asks for expert opinion, and the scholars tell him that the Bible says that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem, the city of David.
Of course, Luke tells us that the reason Jesus was born in Bethlehem is because Caesar made a decree for a census, causing Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem to be counted.
So, why was Jesus born in Bethlehem?
Was it because the Bible foretold that’s where it would take place, or was it because Caesar wanted a census?
Yes.
God is always at work, even when we can’t understand it at the time. God is always at work, and He is using our free choices to realize is divine purposes.
God works all things for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose [Romans 8:28].
John The Baptist Foretold
Isaiah 40:3-5
3 A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
A voice crying in the wilderness: “Prepare for the King’s arrival!”
When John the Baptist came on the scene, people remembered these words of Isaiah and saw John as the one going before Jesus to prepare the way.
How can you be like John, today, and point someone toward Christ?
Frankincense Foretold in the Old Testament
Isaiah 60:1-6
I was reading through this passage a few years ago and I was SHOCKED when I got to the last sentence. Keep in mind this was written centuries before Jesus.
60 Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
3 And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.
4 Lift up your eyes all around, and see;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from afar,
and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.
5 Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and exult,
because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
6 A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.
All the nations will come to honor God’s covenant people.
THOUGHT FOR DAY
Isaiah foretold what would happen! I just can’t get over this passage—I’m not sure I ever before paid attention to verse 6—foreigners who come bringing gold and frankincense. That’s exactly what happened! Tell someone about this cool connection today.
(Why didn’t Isaiah mention myrrh? This is because God is always adding something new and unexpected, like a jazz artist riffing on a familiar theme, but also creating something new. When myrrh was given by the Magi to the Holy Family, it signified the death that Jesus was to die.)
Peaceable Kingdom
Isaiah 11:1-9
11 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
9 They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
The King is coming and will usher in a reign of justice for the poor and peace for all of God’s creation.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY :
How can you be a peacemaker today?
P.S. “The stump of Jesse” is the idea that the Messiah will come from David’s family. (Jesse was David’s father.) In 586 BC, the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and deposed David’s descendants from the throne—in the image that Isaiah uses, it is as if the “family tree” of David is cut down. Nevertheless, the line of David continued for the centuries and ultimately resulted in Jesus.
The Land Of Deep Darkness
Isaiah 9:2, 6-7
2 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
The prophet announces the birth of a King to a people in darkness.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY :
My favorite part is the last verse:
“The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”
What the Lord promises will come to pass.
Don’t be afraid today!
Family Is How We Fight
Genesis 12:1-3
12 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
The Lord’s plan to save all of creation begins with one man’s family.
The Lord’s plan to save all of creation begins with one man’s family.
Despairing about the state of the world?
Worried about the future?
FAMILY IS HOW WE FIGHT.
Strong families are needed to raise strong children. The next generation is our hope. Remember, God’s entire plan depended on one man’s family. From Abraham’s family comes Jesus, so many centuries later, but at just the right time.
QUESTION FOR REFLECTION :
What can you do this weekend to build up and build for the next generation?
My Favorite Image Of Christmas
Genesis 3:8-19
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all livestock
and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
16 To the woman he said,
“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be contrary to your husband,
but he shall rule over you.”
17 And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”
The Lord announces in the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve’s punishment for their rebellion and that the seed of woman shall bruise the serpent’s head.
REFLECTION :
Go back and look at that picture of Mary consoling Eve again. Keep it in front of your mind this Advent season—maybe save it as the wallpaper on your phone? It’s worth going back to over and over again. Praise God for His promise to undue all the wrongs and to renew all things.
Creation by Separation
Genesis 1:3-19
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
Once you see the pattern, you’ll never forget it:
God creates through separation.
Each division brings order and complexity to Creation.
• light from dark;
• day from night;
• water from water;
• land from sea;
• plant from dirt;
• sun from sky;
• etc.
One quick thought:
God brings order out of chaos; He does it at Creation, Jesus does it in His healing ministry—order to chaotic minds and bodies—and the Holy Spirit is doing the same thing today.
QUESTION FOR THE DAY :
Where do you need God to bring order out of chaos this advent season?
The Beginning [Advent Reading Plan Begins TODAY]
Today is the first day of our Advent reading plan. My goal is to trace the whole story of salvation, starting from the beginning, because the entire Bible tells a unified story that leads to Jesus, and we rarely take time to see it. We’ll have a very short Scripture reading each weekday leading up to Christmas, and I’ll write a brief thought to go with it. Christmas is great, and preparing for it makes it even better. Let’s do this.
Genesis 1:1-2
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
The Lord, like a master artist, brings beauty and purpose out of nothingness.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY:
A great prayer to pray during Advent 2024:
“Lord, can you make something beautiful out of all this?”
Reading Romans Backwards
Romans 16
1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, 2 that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.
3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. 5 Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. 10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. 11 Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. 12 Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them. 15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.
17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. 19 For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
21 Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.
22 I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.
23 Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.
25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my Gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.
We’ve made it! For the last three months we have been reading and studying and hearing and meditating on Paul’s great letter.
Now that we are at the end, I can share with you that some people think that the key to understanding Romans is to read it backwards. This is because the lists of names that Paul includes at the end of the letter are made up of three groups of names:
Jewish names
Greek names
Latin names
So here you have this strange gathering of people from different backgrounds and ethnic groups who have been brought together by the faithfulness of Jesus and their faith in Him.
When you start at the end, you see that Paul really wants for the Romans is unity. Unity wasn’t any easier 2,000 years ago than it is today.
Which doesn’t make it any less important. Please be in constant prayer for unity in our church.
Today At Your Thanksgiving Table
Romans 15:22-33
22 This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, 24 I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27 For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. 28 When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you. 29 I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.
30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 31 that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. 33 May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Paul is writing before he heads to Jerusalem. We know from the Book of Acts that once Paul arrives in Jerusalem, a riotous mob tries to kill him and he is taken into Roman custody. Eventually, he will be sent to Rome to be judged before Caesar.
The reason he is going to Jerusalem is to take a contribution he has collected from the Gentile churches back to the struggling Jerusalem (Jewish) church.
Paul’s reason for wanting to visit Rome is that he hopes the churches there will be his home base so he can take the Gospel to Spain, which would be the “end of the earth.”
Generosity and unity are signs of the work of the Holy Spirit. At your Thanksgiving table how can you show generosity and pursue unity?
Where Do You Need To Be Bold Today?
Romans 15:1-21
1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
8 For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.”
10 And again it is said,
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”
11 And again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.”
12 And again Isaiah says,
“The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;in him will the Gentiles hope.”
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
14 I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. 15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the Gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the Gospel of Christ; 20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the Gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, 21 but as it is written,
“Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”
Paul is addressing the split between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians in the Roman house church network. The “strong” are the Christians who no longer eat kosher or follow the Jewish ceremonial law and are not troubled by this break with the past. The “weak” are the Jewish Christians who continue to insist that Christians should follow Jewish ceremonial law, and who are grieved and troubled when they see Gentile Christians who aren’t following the Mosaic Law.
I love the thought of the Scriptures providing us with both endurance and encouragement. Paul wants the Roman Christians to stop looking down on each other, but to be unified. Paul’s point is that God has always planned to bring Jews and Gentiles together in the Messiah, “the Root of Jesse,” so the Romans need to start living as one family!
Paul knows he’s been pretty bold in challenging the Roman Gentile Christians to do a better job of loving the Jewish Christians in Rome, but he reminds the Romans that he was given a special mission from God to preach to Gentiles, and he takes his calling seriously.
Where do you need to be bolder today?
Cheeseburgers At The Church Picnic
Romans 14:13-23
13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
Paul’s point in writing to this entire letter to the Romans is to introduce himself and his Gospel, and to address some of the divisions in the Roman church between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians. His message in today’s reading? Don’t do anything that makes it harder for fellow Christians to pursue Christ.
I wonder what contemporary debates might fall into that category today?
There were Jewish Christians who felt that faithfulness required them to continue to obey the Jewish kosher laws. Paul—Jewish by background—has come to understand that in Jesus all the food laws that separated Israel from the nations have been fulfilled. After the Resurrection, what separates the people of God is not keeping the Jewish dietary or ceremonial laws, but faith in Jesus.
BUT
Paul also knows that there is nothing wrong with the Jewish Christian practice of continuing to keep kosher, and he doesn’t want those Christians who do NOT keep kosher to scandalize the Jewish Christians by eating food in front of them that the Jewish Christians would consider unclean.
BRINGING CHEESEBURGERS TO THE CHURCH PICNIC
Imagine that I am Jewish by background, and you are Greek by background. We’ve both come to faith in Christ and are members in the Roman church. And let’s say that I am just really struggling with the idea that the Jesus-people don’t have to obey the food laws anymore—my background as a Jew taught me that how we eat is one of the defining marks of membership in God’s people, and it’s just TOO WEIRD AND OFF-PUTTING to think I don’t have to anymore. More than that, I feel somehow wrong if I eat non-kosher.
If you show up at the church picnic with a basket of cheeseburgers and start chowing down right in front of me, it is really going to be hard for me to take. It will affect my walk with God.
So, Paul tells the Roman Christians who do NOT keep kosher that if they mess with someone’s faith, they are doing wrong. Ultimately, the Kingdom of God is more important than what you eat or drink. Yes, of course you are not WRONG to eat a cheeseburger, but if you do it in front of me knowing that it is an issue for me, what you are doing is actually hindering God’s work in me:
20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God [Romans 14:20–22].
22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin [Romans 14:22–23].
What do these verses mean? I found this helpful:
In contrast to the Christian who acts from conviction is the weak Christian “who has doubts” or “who wavers.” The doubts of such Christians arise from the fact that they do not have a strong enough faith to believe that they can ignore the ritual elements of the OT law. Doubters such as this, Paul says, are “condemned” when they eat. This is not simply a subjective self-condemnation; as the reference to it later in the verse makes clear, Paul refers to God’s disapproval of such an act. Condemnation comes not because of the eating itself; as Paul has already explained (vv. 14, 20), eating anything one wants is quite all right for the believer. Rather, what brings God’s condemnation is eating when one does not have the faith to believe that it is right to do it. This, Paul claims, is “sin.” Why? Because, Paul goes on to explain, “everything that is not out of faith is sin.” Paul here asserts a general theological principle. But it is necessary to describe accurately just what that principle is…. Paul claims that any act that does not arise from a conviction rooted in one’s faith in Christ is sinful. For a Christian not a single decision and action can be good which he does not think he can justify on the ground of his Christian conviction and his liberty before God in Christ. Violation of the dictates of the conscience, even when the conscience does not conform perfectly with God’s will, is sinful. And we must remember that Paul cites this theological point to buttress his exhortation of the strong. The strong, he is suggesting, should not force the weak to eat meat, or drink wine, or ignore the Sabbath, when the weak are not yet convinced that their faith in Christ allows them to do so. For to do so would be to force them into sin, to put a stumbling block in their way (see vv. 13, 20-21). First, their faith must be strengthened, their consciences enlightened; and then they can follow the strong in exercising Christian liberty together. —Douglas Moo
What can you do this Thanksgiving week to build up the faith of someone else?
The "Weak" and the "Strong"
Romans 14:1-12
14 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”
12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Who are the “weak” and who are the “strong?”
Remember that Paul is a pastor as well as a church planter, and he’s writing to real people in a real church in Rome. These people have divisions and difficulties, and Paul is writing to help them live fully into Christ.
At the time Paul is writing, the church in Rome is divided—there are Jewish Christians and there are Gentile Christians, and how they worship and live their lives is influenced by their relationship to the Mosaic Law (the Old Testament food laws).
The group Paul calls the “weak” are the Jewish Christians who still follow the Mosaic Laws and who are really troubled by the Gentile Christian practice of not following the Mosaic Laws. These Jewish Christians are passing judgment on the Gentile Christians who do not keep kosher. The reason Paul calls them the “weak” is because their conscience is seriously troubled by the thought of no longer needing to follow the Mosaic Law.
The Mosaic Law was necessary before Jesus as a sign of the Old Covenant—God asked His people to keep kosher as a way of showing their commitment to the covenant and membership in His people.
But, after the Resurrection, membership in God’s people is not defined by the Mosaic Law, but by faith. The problem is that for some of the Jewish Christians, this is really hard for them to mentally accept—it’s a huge change from how they were brought up.
1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand [Romans 14:1–4].
Paul wants the Gentile Christians to be understanding of the Jewish Christians who are scandalized by the fact that Christians no longer have to follow the Mosaic dietary and ceremonial laws. He reminds them that both the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians serve the same Lord, and so on these matters Paul reminds the Roman Christians that each person will have to stand in their conscience before Jesus, and that the Lord is with them.
5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”
12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God [Romans 14:5–12].
In the same way that the Jewish Christians—due to their upbringings—observed certain Jewish dietary laws differently than did the Gentile Christians, so also they observed Jewish Old Testament holidays and sabbaths differently than did the Gentile Christians; Paul reminds them that it all belongs to God, and each Christian is going to have to stand before God.
How do you know the difference between small issues—over which Christians can come to different opinions in good faith—and big issues—about which Christians must be united? The short, self-serving answer: reading and studying Paul’s Letter to the Romans would be a good start! The more we allow Romans to transform our thoughts, the more we will better be able to see the difference between the big issues over which there can be no compromise, and the small issues where we can agree to disagree.
This is why I want Asbury to be a Bible-reading church—so we will be able to discern God’s will for us and know what the big issues are we must hold onto no matter the cost.
Let me close with what might seem like a silly example, but one I feel could be helpful to us at Asbury.
Every Sunday morning, we have two main services in our Sanctuary:
A 9:00 AM “traditional” service
An 11:00 AM “modern” service
(We also have two much smaller services in our chapel—Thursdays at 6 PM and Sundays at 8 AM. Together they account for only about 13% of our total average weekly attendance.)
I have found that people at Asbury make value judgments on those who attend either the traditional or modern services, and I don’t think this sort of attitude is helpful. In fact, I think it is harmful for the unity of the body at Asbury. I think we can all agree that musical preference is not a moral issue—you may believe that this form or that form of music is aesthetically and spiritually superior, but it’s not immoral for other people to prefer to worship in a different style.
You may very well be correct in your judgment that X style is superior to Y style. But when it comes to music—and much else in our church—let us beware that we let our preferences cause us to become puffed up with pride.
A small example, but an important one, I think.
P.S. I think 14:7-8 are just beautiful:
7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's [Romans 14:7–8].
Is Civil Disobedience Wrong?
New Advent devotional books
I’ve written a simple Advent devotional book that we’ll be handing out at Asbury starting this weekend.
Readings start on December 1 and continue through each weekday of the Advent season, and as we work our way to Christmas, we’ll look at the overall story of the Bible and see God’s plan of salvation from the very beginning.
Take a stack of books and hand them out at Thanksgiving!
Live out of town? Email Sandie.
Romans 13
13 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
In Romans 13, Paul famously tells the Roman Church to “submit to the governing authorities.”
Why does he say that? What does that mean? Does that mean civil disobedience isn’t compatible with the Gospel? What about when the government is wicked?
As background to why Paul felt he needed to talk to the Romans about submitting to the governing authorities, this paragraph from Douglas Moo was helpful to me:
His purpose may be to stifle the kind of extremism that would pervert his emphasis on the coming of a new era and on the “new creation” into a rejection of every human and societal convention—including the government. Paul has had to respond to such extremism before…. (see 1 Corinthians). One can well imagine Christians arguing: “The old age has passed away; we are a ‘new creation in Christ’ and belong to the transcendent, spiritual realm. Surely we, who are now reigning with Christ in his kingdom, need pay no attention to the secular authorities of this defunct age”…. As a manifestation of his common grace, God has established in this world certain institutions, such as marriage and government, that have a positive role to play even after the inauguration of the new age.— from The Letter to the Romans, by Douglas Moo
In other words, some Christians were taking Paul’s teachings too far and rejecting every form of civilization and convention. Paul needed to nip that in the bud. But, does that mean Christians must submit to a wicked law? Does Paul really mean that? No, and it has to do with what Paul actually writes.
As Moo goes on to helpfully put it:
Paul calls on believers to “submit” to governing authorities rather than to “obey” them; and Paul’s choice of words may be important to our interpretation and application of Paul’s exhortation. To submit is to recognize one’s subordinate place in a hierarchy, to acknowledge as a general rule that certain people or institutions have authority over us…. It is this general posture toward government that Paul demands here of Christians. And such a posture will usually demand that we obey what the governing authorities tell us to do. But perhaps our submission to government is compatible with disobedience to government in certain exceptional circumstances. For heading the hierarchy of relations in which Christians find themselves is God; and all subordinate “submissions” must always be measured in relationship to our all-embracing submission to him. — from The Letter to the Romans, by Douglas Moo
So, we need to obey the law, unless the law itself breaks God’s Law. Whenever possible, submit to the authorities over you, but never forget that God is the ultimate authority.
“Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
God’s intention for every law is that every law reflects God’s love.
8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law [Romans 13:8-10].
I like Thomas Aquinas’s definition of love:
To love is to will the good of the other.
When we are willing another’s good, we are fulfilling God’s Law.
And then Paul comes back to the point he made at the beginning of chapter 12, namely that, in light of the Resurrection of Jesus and the Life of the Spirit, the new age has begun:
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect [Romans 12:1–2].
Do not conform to this world.
Here at the close of chapter 13, Paul goes further:
11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires [Romans 13:11–14].
It's time to wake up and turn from the old ways of the world into the new ways of Christ. It’s time to live in the Spirit and no longer live in the flesh.
The time is shorter now than when you woke up this morning.
Let’s GO.
Practical Advice Anyone Can Follow
New Advent devotional books
I’ve written a simple Advent devotional book that we’ll be handing out at Asbury starting this weekend.
Readings start on December 1 and continue through each weekday of the Advent season, and as we work our way to Christmas, we’ll look at the overall story of the Bible and see God’s plan of salvation from the very beginning.
Take a stack of books and hand them out at Thanksgiving!
Live out of town? Email Sandie.
Romans 12:9-21
9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Paul has been talking throughout the letter to both Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians; in today’s reading, he gives practical advice on how to live well with other people, even if they are different from you.
The advice here is pastoral and practical.
Pick a line and try it today.
Therefore, Don't Conform. Be Transformed.
New Advent devotional books
I’ve written a simple Advent devotional book that we’ll be handing out at Asbury starting this weekend.
Readings start on December 1 and continue through each weekday of the Advent season, and as we work our way to Christmas, we’ll look at the overall story of the Bible and see God’s plan of salvation from the very beginning.
Take a stack of books and hand them out at Thanksgiving!
Live out of town? Email Sandie.
Romans 12:1-8
12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
“Therefore” means that Paul is following up from his beautiful doxology in the last chapter. In light of the long, complicated discussion of God’s relationship with Jews and Gentiles and His saving purposes, Paul says the only proper response is worship. “In light of what I just said, therefore….”
Because God is so good, worship is the proper response.
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship [Romans 12:1].
Romans 12:2 is the theme verse for our entire Romans study:
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
What’s fascinating to me about this verse is that Paul says we can know God’s will after we are committed to transformation. Our worship will result in renewed minds so that we will be able to discern God’s will for our lives.
This passage comes after Paul’s long discussion about Israel and his remarks to Jewish and Gentile Christians in the previous 11 chapters. Now, he says, “You are all important, and no one is more important or necessary than anyone else.”
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness [Romans 12:3-8].
We each have a role to play, and each role is important in its own way.
You are not more important than anyone else.
But much depends on your role, and only you can play the part assigned to you, so play your part with zeal and cheerfulness.
Paul's Theology Leads to Doxology
Romans 11:25-36
25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,
“The Deliverer will come from Zion,
he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
27 “and this will be my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”
28 As regards the Gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. 32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
For the past three chapters, Paul has been making one long, technical argument, and in today’s reading he finally brings it to fulfillment by recapping the main themes he has been emphasizing in chapters 9–11.
Remember: The Roman church to which Paul is writing was made up of both Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians, and most likely the Gentile Christians were in the majority. Throughout this whole long, complicated section, filled with Old Testament allusions and quotations, Paul has been examining and answering four related questions:
Why did so many of the Jews refuse to accept Jesus as Messiah?
In light of Jewish rejection of Jesus and Gentile acceptance of Jesus, has God replaced the Jews with the Gentiles as His chosen people?
Is there any hope that the Jews who previously rejected Jesus as Messiah might one day turn back and believe?
In light of all of the above, what is God up to?
25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in [Romans 11:25].
Paul says that God has allowed Israel—His chosen people—to have hard hearts toward the Messiah so that the Gentiles have a chance to believe. “The fullness of the Gentiles” implies completion—whatever the actual number of Gentiles who become Christians, Paul says that God is going to keep going until every possible person is saved. As Paul has been arguing in previous verses, the closed doors of the Jews have caused the Gospel to be shared with the Gentiles, who seem to have opened their doors to Christ.
But then Paul makes this startling claim:
26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,
“The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;27 “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins” [Romans 11:26–27].
How or when “all Israel” will be saved, he doesn’t say, but the clear implication that what was once only a minority of the Jews putting faith in Jesus will become, in God’s timing, the vast majority.
28 As regards the Gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. 32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all [Romans 11:28–32].
Paul uses strong language to make the point that God is now using the Jews to provoke the Gentiles to faith, and then God will use the Gentiles to provoke the Jews to faith, because He is committed to the Jews as His chosen people, and because God uses bad things for good. And all along God’s goal has been to show mercy to as many people as possible!
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” [Romans 11:33–35].
The issues involved in chapters 9–11 are profound, and Paul (and us) is forced to acknowledge that God’s ways are deep and mysterious.
But the depth of God’s wisdom and mercy causes him to close this section of the letter with a doxology—a “word of glory.”
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen [Romans 11:36].
What a good way to wrap up today’s commentary!
Why "Once Saved, Always Saved" Is Sloppy Theology
Romans 11:17-24
17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. 23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
The Roman church to which Paul is writing was made up of both Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians, and most likely the Gentile Christians were in the majority. Throughout this whole long, complicated section, filled with Old Testament allusions and quotations, Paul has been examining and answering four related questions:
Why did so many of the Jews refuse to accept Jesus as Messiah?
In light of Jewish rejection of Jesus and Gentile acceptance of Jesus, has God replaced the Jews with the Gentiles as His chosen people?
Is there any hope that the Jews who previously rejected Jesus as Messiah might one day turn back and believe?
In light of all of the above, what is God up to?
Paul here is directly addressing the Gentile Romans Christians, and he tells them not to get puffed up and think they are any better than the unbelieving Jews, just because God has graciously “grafted” them into His covenant people.
17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you [Romans 11:17–18].
The image is of an olive tree in an orchard, with the olive grower grafting in wild branches into the cultivated tree. The life comes from the root; Paul wants the Gentiles to remember that they are the ones being adopted in as God’s people, and not the other way around.
And then Paul hits the final note of his argument, which is breathtaking in its implications:
19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in” [Romans 11:19].
He imagines a prideful Roman Gentile Christian saying, “Well, yes, I’ve been adopted in, but that’s only because the Jews were disobedient, hard-hearted, and unbelieving.”
Paul’s response:
20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear [Romans 11:20].
He tells the Gentiles, “Don’t gloat over your salvation, but stand in awe and reverence before God, who has permitted you to be saved through faith.”
And then he hits the Gentiles with a bracing reminder:
21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you [Romans 11:21].
In other words, don’t you dare think that your current status as being part of God’s people mean that you can live as an unbeliever or allow your heart to become coarsened toward God, because if unbelieving Jews aren’t saved, neither are unbelieving Gentiles—stay faithful and persevere to the end!
He goes on:
22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. 23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree [Romans 11:22–24].
This is both a powerful warning and a word of encouragement to American Christians. There is lots of sloppy theological sentiment that is bandied about these days, and Paul’s words apply a necessary correction:
The phrase “once saved, always saved” is helpful when it offers comfort to Christians who find themselves backslidden or having engaged in sinful practices and who sincerely mourn their sins and repent. Jesus never refuses anyone who cries out for mercy—you cannot “lose” your salvation accidentally, the way you might accidently drop your car keys.
On the other hand, the phrase “once saved, always saved” plainly is not what the New Testament teaches, if by that glib phrase we imply “Once you are baptized, it is impossible to reject God and walk away from His grace.” Look at the plain sense of what Paul says here:
22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off [Romans 11:22].
What Paul is saying to the Gentile Christians is, “Don’t think you can make the same mistake that the unbelieving Jews have made—they presume upon God’s kindness just because of their former status, even though they are presently rejecting His grace.”
This passage is a warning to us as well. We must continue to faithfully respond to God’s grace toward us or face the consequences.
But this passage is also an encouragement:
23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree [Romans 11:23–24].
There is hope for everyone—until the very end, God is graciously offering everyone the opportunity to repent and receive His mercy. So, even unbelieving Jews, if they were to turn back to God and accept Jesus as Messiah, would be be brought back into God’s grace. After all, if God can graft in “wild” branches, who knows what he might do with the “natural branches”, i.e., with unbelieving Jews at some point in the future?
Pray today for spiritual awakening among the Jewish people.