Category Archives: Salvation

The Romans Challenge: The Plan

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“But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭11‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God always has a plan! We may not see where all the things in our lives are going, but He does. He is sovereign. He is over all. He is in control.

Everything this happened to Jesus when He walked here on earth was no surprise to God at all. The reaction of the Jewish leaders and the rejection of Jesus were all a part of God’s plan. We know this because there is prophecy after prophecy in the Old Testament that told us exactly what would happen. In fact the Jewish people of Jesus’s time “transgression (sin of rejecting Jesus) means riches for the world…” heavenly ones for us! Had Jesus not been rejected and crucified, resurrection would not have occurred and salvation would not have been provided for us all!

Although I do not understand the full impact of this statement, I know a time is coming that God will do a great work in His people the Jews. And we will all be blessed by the “greater riches … their full inclusion (will) bring!” In Jesus, we will all be one!

God is at work in all things according to His plan!

This is a source of comfort to me in my life. When everything seems to be going sideways in my own personal life, I can know God has been, is now, and forever will be in control! He is working all things according to His will. He started His plan before the creation of the world. He knew how it would go and will go. He cares about the smallest of details. I can trust Him!

The Romans Challenge: The Remnant

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“So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.” Romans 11:5-6 ESV

Have you ever felt alone in your faith? There are times that we all feel that way. Paul writes regarding his people, the Jews of his time, that it may seem that God had rejected them when He called out to the non Jewish — Gentiles — to receive His salvation. But God had not rejected His people at all. He has always had a chosen people, a remnant. This remnant was a small, faithful group, that remained true to God.

Throughout history, God has always preserved His people. There have been very dark hours of persecution of His church and His chosen people Israel. But He has always had someone who was faithful to Him.

In our world today, there are so many things going on. It can be frightening to watch. At times, it seems God’s Church is so small against the onslaught. But we too can take comfort that “there is a remnant…” We have those around us that have responded to God’s grace and received salvation through faith in Jesus. We are able to stand together for our LORD.

I would be negligent to not say that God is also at work in Israel of today. He has a remnant there as well. Though we do not see all the details of what God is working, we can be assured He is not finished yet! He is faithful to us (the non Jewish believers of our time). He is faithful to His chosen people. What He has promised He will fulfill!

For now, we can be assured that there is “a remnant, chosen by grace.” We are not alone. We are a part of God’s family. His church!

The Romans Challenge: Beautiful Feet

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“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!””
‭‭Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Following the footsteps of Jesus is a beautiful thing. He lived His life here on earth displaying God. Whatever He did from talking to the outcast woman at the well to touching the untouchable leper, was a display of His Heavenly Father’s heart. He came to make God known. He has called us to be like Him. We were meant to not only know God, but to make Him known. This is what it means to walk as Jesus did… to follow Him.

The people that God has placed around us need to hear about Him so they are able to believe. They can’t hear about Him unless we tell them. We cannot tell unless we are sent. Jesus told His disciples , “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” (John 20:21) You and I, as believers, are His disciples too. He is sending us too!

Wherever God sends us and to whomever we share His love, we are following the very footsteps of Jesus. We are doing beautiful things, and we are serving Him with Beautiful feet. These are the feet that are willing to go into all of the world and share what Jesus has done.

“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

The Romans Challenge: Salvation’s Certainty

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“As the Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”” 
Romans 10:11 NIV

The world is full of get rich quick schemes and self-improvement plans. It seems like the role of “life coach” is a booming prospect in a lot of circles. We, as humans, like to think we have found the answers to improve our lives and make us happy and rich. But time and time again, our plans fail…

There is only one way for us to truly be changed. There is only one way to find contentment and peace. This is found in a relationship with God. You and I were created for relationship with Him. We will not find what we are looking for chasing the latest fads and schemes.

The problem that causes all the discontentedness and disconnection in our lives, isn’t our lack of self realization. It is SIN and it is living according to our selfishness. Simply put, we need a Savior.

Jesus knew exactly what we needed when He came to provide the way for salvation. What is broken in us can be made new when we confess Jesus as Lord of our lives (turn our lives over to Him), and when we believe that He truly is our Risen Savior. God’s promise of New Life in Christ is certain. If we believe and if we call on Him, we will be saved. We are assured that we “will not be put to shame.”

God’s plan to renovate our spiritual hearts and to make us new are not some fantasy we chase. God’s promise of eternal life is certain. We won’t be disappointed or disgraced in the end. Plans for life change that fall outside of the truth of Scripture will always fall short. Because “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

Thank You God that You have provided all we need for us to have Your New Life that You offer us! Thank You for the certainty of salvation. We know You promises are true. What You say You will do. When we come to You and believe we won’t be disappointed. We “will not be put to shame.”

The Romans Challenge: Chosen

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“For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭9‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I was not a very athletic kid. When I went out to play at recess, I was always the last one chosen for the kickball team. I can still hear the other kids as they picked their players. I was always one of the last few not chosen, “…ok (sigh) I’ll take Janet.”

God is not that way. It is not as if He was picking His team and then thought, “I have no other option… I’ll pick you.”

God deliberately chooses to have mercy on us. He knows all our shortcomings. He knows all our wrong choices… Still He has a tender heart towards us and calls to us to come to Him so we can be made new. God deliberately chooses to have compassion on us. He sees us in our broken mess and desires to heal and restore. Whatever our lives look like, He never says, “Go away! Your mess is too much for Me…”

What a beautiful truth! Our salvation/ relationship to God does not “depend on human desire or effort.” It is all dependent upon “God’s mercy.”

Thank You Father that You have chosen us to have mercy and compassion upon. You love us! That is enough! We do not have to do anything to earn Your love, mercy, or compassion. You chose to send Jesus. Jesus, You chose to die. And You have chosen to show us mercy and compassion in drawing us to Your side and saving us. There is nothing we have done, can do, or will do in the future to earn such a great gift! We love You! In Jesus name!

The Romans Challenge: There Was Jesus

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Fifty-four years on planet earth gives you some perspective. I have a lot of different seasons to look back on. Truthfully, I have made some really bone headed decisions during each of those seasons…

Today when I was reading Romans 7 two phrases that Paul wrote stood out: “What a wretched man that I am!” And “ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Verses 24 and 25)

Chapter 7 is a lot of Paul writing about the struggles he had on the inside. he says, “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found myself sitting in the same struggle.

BUT JESUS!

Jesus is our deliverer! He is the one who releases us from sin’s grip. He rescues us! When we finally get to the end of ourselves and surrender our lives completely, He keeps us! He holds onto us, he retains us in His possession. He preserves us from falling. He protects us, guards us, and sustains us.

Fifty- four years has taught me something, I cannot make it on my own. I ( on my own) cannot make a better version of me… I need Jesus! And Yes! “Thanks be to God who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Jesus is waiting for us to turn to Him in each and every situation. He desires for us to recognize that we need help… we need Him! When we finally get to that point, we will see “There Was Jesus.”

The Romans Challenge: The Enemy Within Us

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“So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭7‬:‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We are at war! Our enemies — the devil, the world (the ungodly state or corruption on earth), and our flesh (our unrenewed, corrupt nature) want us to be destroyed!!

We are always going to face temptations because as Paul said, “evil is right there with me.” Our enemy is ruthless and relentless. He does not call a cease fire. He does not take vacations. He is always plotting and scheming against us.

Our greatest enemy is our flesh. This is because it desires to make the choices. It desires to dictate our behavior. And its influence is hard for us to see because it is within us. It would always have us to choose evil and to follow the way of the world and listen to the voice of Satan — the deceiver.

Our awareness of our enemy helps us to also be aware of our dependence upon God! We need Him!

If sin and our sinful nature are at war within us, Jesus has given us victory! We can live free in Him! 

“Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!...”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭7‬:‭25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus has paid the price for our sin. He offers us forgiveness and cleansing from the sin that has held us captive. He has given us the Holy Spirit within us to empower us to receive and obey His Word.

Jesus has given us everything we need to live victoriously in this war against sin that wages within us!

The Romans Challenge: Holy, Righteous, and Good

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“So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭7‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Law ( God’s commandments) are not the problem. Sin is!

God gave the Law to the Jewish people so they could get an understanding of His character. God also gave the Law so sin could be revealed. The Law was intended to point out to all of us how much we need a Savior.

For example the Ten Commandments:

These are good moral laws that we should abide by, but have we?

If we have broken just one, we have become a lawbreaker. We have sinned.

The problem is not the Law, that is “holy, righteous, and good.” The problem is us. We are all sinners desperately in need of a Savior, and our Good God has provided for that need — Jesus!

Thank You Father for sending Jesus! What we could not do on our own, You did for us. Long ago You gave us Your Law so that we could understand how much we need You to give us a new heart — a heart that desires to obey You! Thank You for Your gift of salvation that changes everything in our lives and helps us to walk after Your Way!

The Romans Challenge: Dead to Sin!

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“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬

(Today we start Romans 6)

Baptism symbolizes a very important fact in the life of a follower of Jesus. We follow Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection. Our old sinful life that we all lived before Christ is to die. It is “buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised form the dead… we too may live a new life.” Being “dead to sin” enables us to live the “new life” that God has given us.

If I were physically dead — at the funeral home, lying in a casket — it would be impossible for me to sit up and eat a donut that you may bring and pass before my nose and my mouth (even the cream filled ones…). I will not take a bite. I am dead to that donut. Our enemy will bring temptation to sin into our lives, but through Jesus we do not have to take a bite. We can live our lives dead to sin!

How can this be? I have this nature, a sinful one, that desires to do things that are wrong all the time… We cannot forget that WE HAVE NEW LIFE! This life is the Holy Spirit living in us. He comes as our Helper to help us to say “no” to the temptations. He comes as the Power to enable us to live our lives “dead to sin.”

We can live free of the patterns of sin that we have been chained to i.e. addictions, bad habits, sinful thought patterns, etc. We don’t have to “live in it any longer.”

As a Christian, it is one thing to slip up and say a hateful thing, do a sinful action, or make a wrong choice, chose to do a sinful act…God has given us a remedy for such a scenario…

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It is a whole other thing to embrace our sinful choice, sit down for coffee with it, and indulge in it day in and day out… that is not being dead to it… That is preferring the sinful choice over obedience to God and His word. It is loving God less and our sin more… In this case, we are not dead to sin, we have chosen to let it grow, fester, and consume our lives.

Thank you God that You have provided all that we need to die to sin! We cannot die to sin on our own. The Holy Spirit is very willing to fill us with His life so that there is no room for sinful patterns to grow. God has given us His Word so we can keep our way pure. (Psalm 119:9) As we read His Word, live according to what the Word says, and ask the Holy Spirit to help us in our weakness, “we too may live a new life” that is dead to sin!

The Romans Challenge — Reign in Life

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“For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

(Today we read Romans 5.)

The Garden of Eden was a happy place! Imagine being able to walk face to face with God — who is complete peace, complete joy, complete love, complete goodness, etc. There wasn’t any pain, sadness, or sorrow. Happiness, all the agreeable sensations from enjoying all of God’s goodness was all Adam and Eve experienced 24/7. But then they CHOSE to sin.

Death entered the picture. They were separated from that beautifully happy i.e. blessed relationship with God. From that moment on “death reigned.” The divine life they had experienced was just a memory. It remained that way until Jesus came.

Jesus is God’s “provision of grace.” (Or divine favor) His righteousness becomes ours when we place our trust in Him and receive Him as our Savior. Jesus came to restore what was lost in the Garden of Eden, and He has come to us to restore what was lost in our lives!

Sin only brings death to us! It separates us from what we were created for, living in relationship with God — being fully alive. We can possess the Happiness of Heaven through the new life that Jesus gives to us. This is what it is to “reign in life” through Jesus.

The more we experience God in close and intimate relationship, the more we will experience Him in our lives. His complete peace, His complete joy, His complete love, His complete goodness, etc. will be what we experience over and over again. Because God is who He says He is, and He wants us to KNOW Him. This knowing is to experience Him day in and day out.

Jesus told us when He walked on earth that we would experience troubles as we live on earth. The effects of sin are still with us… But we could take courage, because He has overcome the world! (John 16:33)

To reign is to “live victoriously” (Webster 1828 Dictionary). We can “reign in life (live victoriously), through the one man, Jesus Christ. He has given us all we need to live victoriously. His Holy Spirit living in us, empowers us and produces in us the fruit of a victorious life — peace, love, joy, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. (Galatians 5:22)

The secret to this life of victory is close relationship to God. Just like Adam and Eve experienced before they sinned, we are to walk and talk with God. Jesus provided the way for our relationship to be restored. Once again we can experience the “happiness of the garden”, but now that happiness goes with us wherever we go because the Holy Spirit is living inside of us!