Romans 13

Grace and peace,

As with any previous attempt of mine at contriving or containing God's Word into nice, neat little boxes...I have failed. Praise the Lord for His sovereignty and grace and patience toward me. This Chapter Memory Study continues to be a work in progress (as it will be to the end). I've made a shift, and it took last week's splitting of the memory passage to force me to look back at some of the other memory passages in this study. While I won't make wholesale changes, I feel that I must include at least some other verses from the chapters in order to fulfill my stated goal; to essentially memorize the basic content of the chapters of the Bible.

So, all that said, today's memory section is Romans 13:1, 8, 12-14.

Romans 13:1, 8, 12-14 (ESV)
1 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.
8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
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.

The chapter theme is Righteous Submission.

So, not only is it from three places, but it's 5 verses.

What can I say? He's God, I'm not. That's why it's His Word in my heart, not the other way around.

Another change will be focusing more on the main theme as I work through the text. If it is indeed the main theme, it should be seen throughout the chapter.

There are three 'submissions' in chapter 13; to governing authorities, to each other, to the Lord Christ Jesus.

Verse 1 states the summary of the first submission; everyone, including believers, are to subject themselves to the authority over them. Knowing this, that only God has true authority, and if someone on earth has it, it's been instituted by Him. This submission includes law enforcement, taxes, and respect to those in authority.
One caveat to this would be when the ruling authority dishonors God or requires you to compromise your faith and obedience to God. Acts 5:29 reminds us Who we ultimately subject ourselves to; "But Peter and the apostles answered, 'We must obey God rather than men.'"

The second submission, to one another, is covered in verses 8-10. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was (Matthew 22) His response was "Love God with all you are, and love your neighbor as yourself". Paul picks up on this and says that we should love each other as if we are indebted to do it. All of the 'social commandments' (concerning our relationships with each other) are summed up in 'love your neighbor as yourself'. This is the key to God's moral law for our interaction with each other. We are to set aside selfishness and pride to submit in love to each other in the body of Christ.

The final submission is by far the most important. Paul essentially works backwards in priority through this chapter. Our first and foremost submission is to the person and will of God. Then we are called to love each other and be subject to the earthly authorities while we walk the earth. Verse 11 is the wake-up call, literally. "The time has come, His return is nearer every moment'. The rule of the 'night' is gone, doomed, and the King is coming. We must take action. Cast off the deeds of darkness that bear fruit for death (Romans 7:5) and put on the armor of light (Ephesians 6:10-17, 1 Thessalonians 5:8). Our walk should be 'in a manner worthy of Him' (Colossians 1:10) which does not include orgies (wild parties), drunkenness (which often results from those), sexual immorality (acts of sexual sin), sensuality (promiscuity, lust), quarreling (rivalry, strife), or jealousy.
Instead, we are to put on (NIV 'clothe yourselves') the Lord Jesus Christ. This pictures Christ as a garment that covers us, protects us, strengthens us, and empowers us in His will. And fully embracing Christ means that we must make no provision for the flesh, to satisfy its sinful desires.

How does this affect my worship?
The weekly gathering for corporate worship contains the elements of submission in Chapter 13. First, and always first, we must individually submit ourselves to the person and will of God. That is the heart of any true spirit-and-truth worship. It also gives us an opportunity to love and minister to each other in the body. And at the most basic level, our status as a church is recognized by the governing authorities who give us certain rules to follow in line with our status. But we must never skip over the first submission. It can not be a default submission or a passive submission. A true act of worship is intentional and directional. It is a specific act of offering or obedience to the only One who is truly worthy. It is true that we are to honor the Lord with everything we say and do; we can do a job or accomplish a task in a way that honors Him. But active worship involves praise, thanksgiving, confession, prayer...things that are intentional and directional.

How does this affect my discipleship?
"For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed". The wake up call for discipleship. The time is now to follow the Lord and make disciples of all nations. Start with me; am I following Christ? If I am, I need to be obeying His command to make disciples as I continue to be a disciple. We don't know when He will return and we are not guaranteed our next breath. Our life in Christ is to walk in obedience and submission to Him.

May you walk in His will with the armor of light,

Ethan

Romans 12

Grace and Peace to you,

Well, I was 11 for 11 in finding memory passages within consecutive verses. It seems that Romans 12 will have to break the mold. A few years ago I thought to myself "I should really memorize Romans 12", and now I remember why. What a rich introduction into the last section of Romans.

Anyway, the verses I settled on for this Chapter Memory Study are:

Romans 12:1-2, 9-10
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.
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.


The Outline Theme for chapter 12 is Righteous Sacrifice of Life and Love.

The first two verses exhort believers to a pattern of godly living. By God's mercy, we are to offer our bodies and a holy and pleasing sacrifice in worship of God. And as we walk with Him, we are to seek His good, acceptable and perfect will by discerning the will of God through a changed heart.

He continues this thought with some words about godly living in the body of Christ. Think 'rightly' of yourself according to the measure of faith God has given you. In the body, we are to use what God has given us; prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, contributing, leadership, and showing mercy. These are the 'grace gifts'. Our brotherly love for each other should overflow along with fervency in service, hope, patience, prayer, and hospitality.

Verses 14-18 shift from loving each other in the body to loving non-believers. We are to bless them, not curse them, rejoice with them, weep with them, live in harmony and be humble in our approach to them. Verse 17 is a charge to be honorable in an dishonorable world. If possible, do your best to live in peace with everyone. Not to the point of compromising the truth of God's Word; but seek to honor Christ in everything (Col 3:17).

Then in the last 3 verses of the chapter Paul adresses godly living toward your enemies. It's one thing to love a fellow brother in Christ, or even someone who tolerates your beliefs in spite of their own. But it is quite another thing to love someone who hates you as an enemy. Our response to those who actively oppose us or wrong us is to "Leave their justice to the Lord, and love the unjust through the Lord". God has promised throughout Scripture to avenge His enemies (who are also our enemies). Our part is to love, feed, clothe, and care for our enemies in need.

The phrase 'heap burning coals on his head' could be from an old Egyptian custom of carrying a pan of burning coals on the head to show repentance. Showing love for our enemies is how we overcome evil with good. Taking wrath and vengance upon ourselves is how we get overcome with evil.

How does this affect my worship?
Worship can be very broad in scope but also very specific in focus. A true act of 'spirit and truth' worship is intentional and specific. A life that honors and glorifies the Lord encompasses all that we are. The first verse of chapter 12 describes this 'whole-life-as-worship'. First of all, as all worship does, it starts with God; 'by the mercies of God'. Through Him and His daily work in our lives, we are to present, (offer), our bodies ('whole self') as a 'living sacrifice'. Christ's teaching in Luke 9 calls for us to deny ourself, take up our cross, and daily follow Him. When a sacrifice was offered in the Old Testament, it was over; dead. But we are called to offer ourselves as a 'living sacrifice'. We offer oursleves to Him today, tomorrow, and as long as we live. Our spiritual worship is a life of acceptable, pleasing, holy sacrifice to God (as all worship should be focused; to Him).

How does this affect my discipleship?
Discipleship does not appear in the list of the grace-gifts (6-8), or any other list of gifts. Discipleship is what we are commanded to do because we are His disciples. It is not contingent upon having 'the gift of discipleship' or any special talent. The only qualification is that you are truly a disciple yourself.

Matt 28:16-20 "The Great Commission and Me"

Greetings,

I have an extra day this week between studies so I thought I would do a study on the Great Commission.

Matthew 28:16-20
¹⁶ Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷ And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

This text shows us six aspects of discipleship:
1. Obeying
2. Worshiping
3. Questioning
4. Disciple-making
5. Teaching
6. Repeating

OR

Worshiping (becoming and continuing to be a disciple)
Disciple-making (teaching and making disciples)
Repeating (repeat as directed)

1. Jesus 'directed' the eleven disciples to go to a mountain in Galilee. After following Him this far, a simple request for a meeting does not seem like that big of a deal. But they still had to obey. From the very beginning of His calling them to "Follow Me", the disciples were challenged with daily obedience. The call of every disciple of Christ, to this day, is to follow Him in daily obedience.

2. "And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him". At the core of our discipleship is genuine, spirit-and-truth worship. He is the only one worthy of our worship, and the only one truly worthy of following. True discipleship is offering ourselves as an acceptable living sacrifice that is constantly being transformed to His will (Rom 12:1-2).

3. "But some doubted". Remember, these were 'the eleven'. Ones who had walked with Jesus countless miles and had received the most concentrated teaching and training of anyone. But they still had questions. While He was training the disciples, even the most dense questions were handled with grace and patience. He wanted them to learn. And as long as they were hungry and teachable, He stuck with them.

4. "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations". A command; not a suggestion. These are standing marching orders for all believers. There are no conditions. There are no exemptions. He commanded this with "all authority in heaven and on earth". Disciples are to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (the essential doctrine of the Trinity). As disciples of Christ, whatever our vocations, gifts, ages, or abilities; we are commanded to make disciples.

5. "Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you". Just because I may not have the gift of teaching does not exclude me from disciple-making. He wants them to teach others as He taught them. A good friend of mine (a dairy farmer) was lamenting to me that one of his best workers was moving away. "He was my right-hand man. Since he was 14 years old he has worked by my side. He is reliable, trustworthy, and fully trained." That's discipleship! But where does that leave my friend?

6. "And behold I am with you always, to the end of the age". He has to start over. How many times have you seen this tag at the end of a list of instructions; "repeat as necessary". The command to make disciples is continual. Meant to be repeated. Make disciples who will then go make disciples (while you turn around and start over)...repeat as necessary. Discipleship requires a mindset of multiplication. That's how we reach the world.

Go in Him,

Ethan

Romans 11

Grace and peace,

We continue in our Chapter Memory Study with Romans 11.

The memory passage is Romans 11:33-36

Romans 11:33-36
³³ Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34 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.

The chapter outline theme is the Righteous Restoration of Israel.

This chapter deals with the issue of Israel's restoration. Paul's question in v1 sets up the argument in the rest of the chapter, "has God rejected His people?". His immediate answer is his trade mark 'By no means' (mē genoito, “Let it not be,”1:6, 31; 6:1, 15; 7:7, 13; 11:1, 11). He goes on to use himself and Elijah as examples. In His sovereignty, God dramatically saved Paul, a Jew, and He encouraged Elijah by assuring him there was a remnant of faithful followers. Paul in turn assures his readers that there is now a remnant of Jews who are chose by grace, not works.

While vv7-12 are about the hardening of Israel, Paul reminds us that their fall is not beyond recovery. The result of their fall is that salvation has come to the Gentiles; who are Paul's primary ministry focus.

Verse 16 sets up the extended metaphor of the olive tree by saying that the firstfruits of the dough (Numbers 15:20) and the root of the tree are holy. Meaning, what comes from the source (lump from the dough, branches from the root) has the characteristics of the source. And while some of the natural branches are broken off (Israel's rejection of the Gospel) so that wild branches (Gentiles) might be grafted in, God has the power to graft the natural branches back in.

In case we didn't get it the first time, Paul reminds us in v 25 that the hardening of Israel is temporary and partial. Now, because they have rejected the Gospel they are 'enemies'. But because of God's promises to the fathers of Israel, they are 'beloved' and favored. God has not forsaken Israel!

Verses 30-32 echo chapter 3; He has 'consigned all to disobedience, that He may have mercy on all.'

The memory section moves us from Theology to Doxology. There is an interesting relationship between the GK words for 'unsearchable' and 'inscrutable'. I am not a Greek scholar, but the poetry and similarty in these words is unmistakable. The transliterations of the words are an·ex·er·yoo·nay·tos and an·ex·ikh·nee·as·tos.
Beyond the obvious similarity, these words mean about the same thing; "can not be searched out or comprehended". Paul then quotes Isaiah 40:13 and Job 41:11 to magnify the 'otherness' of God. And with a final burst of praise He declares "for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen."

How does this affect my worship?
The very last verse in this chapter has come up several times in my study of worship. True worship is based solely on the worthiness of God. So it must start with Him. Anything that starts with us is incomplete and unacceptable. Worthy worship of the One who is worthy must be 'from Him' (36) and 'by Him' (Heb 13:15). Spirit-and-Truth worship must also be 'through Him'. Colossians 3:17 gives us an example; "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Only through Christ our High Priest can we 'with confidence draw near to the throne of grace' (Heb 4:16). And everything must be 'to Him'. Paul says it best, 'to Him be glory forever'. Amen.

How does this affect my discipleship?
Verse 22 challenges me. God's kindness leads me to repentance (Rom 2:4), and through His kindness I am 'grafted' in to the tree of His promise. But there is a phrase in this passage that sticks out; 'provided that you continue in His kindness'. Paul is speaking in this chapter about peoples, not individuals. The call to continue is for Gentiles; or they, as a whole, will also be cut off as Israel was. How this challenges me is that I must continue. He has showered me with grace, patience, mercy and the knowledge of Him. I must continue in it and pass it on.

May your steps be from Him, through Him and to Him,

Ethan