Category: Romans
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Daily Devotional: Romans 16:16-27
Paul encourages Greek Christians in Rome to greet one another with a holy kiss and tells them that the churches outside of Rome greet them as brothers and sisters. While I understand the need to teach teenagers to side-hug and the reservation adults have when interacting with one-another, we learn in Scripture that the Christian…
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Daily Devotional: Romans 16:1-16
It is Paul’s habit to name a few people in the city he desires to greet before closing his letters. In closing Romans, he commends Phoebe to them—who may be carrying this letter from Paul. He also mentions the house church stewarded by Prisca and Aquilla in Rome. That is the local church Paul desires…
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Daily Devotional: Romans 15:22-33
Since there are already believers in Rome, and Paul has been called to preach to gentiles who have not yet even heard the gospel, he hasn’t been to Rome in person. He hopes to connect with believers in Rome on his way to Spain—where he is traveling to preach the gospel since there is no…
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Daily Devotional: Romans 15:8-21
Jesus was not a Christian. Before His incarnation, He had no religion because He is one with the Father and need not follow anyone. In His incarnation, He became a servant to the circumcision—He became a Jew in order to preach the truth and confirm the promises given by God to the fathers (Abraham, Isaac,…
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Daily Devotional: Romans 15:1-7
In his application of the doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone, Paul continues to prescribe how those who are strong in the faith ought to relate to those who are weak in the faith. Those who are strong, those who don’t feel they have to abstain from food or drink or consider one…
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Daily Devotional: Romans 14:13-23
Because it is God who accepts or rejects, we don’t judge one another any more when it comes to whether a person eats or drinks or worships on this day or that or any like thing (cf. v. 1-12). Rather than judge, we determine not to put an obstacle or stumbling block in a brother’s…
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Daily Devotional: Romans 14:1-12
Paul reminds us about what the truth of the gospel means in our lives. Life isn’t about us. Every person, whether in the faith or not, lives and dies to God alone. The Lord alone makes a person stand or fall. If God has accepted someone, who are we to reject that person by judging…
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Daily Devotional: Romans 13:7-14
Paul continues to exhort the unincorporated in Rome about how to live just lives. He lists a few of the Old Testament Commandments, but ultimately, he admits it simply comes down to loving other people sincerely. It would be difficult for Paul to teach the whole degree of the Law, every minute detail, to the…
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Daily Devotional: Romans 13:1-6
After Paul applies monergistic doctrine to the lives of people—insisting that Christians always consider others to be more important than themselves, do not seek retribution, but love and serve even their enemies, I’m sure there are some questions. There are questions when I teach those principles in our own day. What about justice? Are we…
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Daily Devotional: Romans 12:14-21
When it comes to presenting our bodies as living sacrifices in response to the grace of God in His monergistic work, we also bless those who persecute us instead of cursing them. This means that a Republican who is a Christian will not curse a Democrat because the Holy Spirit has so changed him or…