Romans

Hello Fellow Readers of this blog,

I have had an impactful week of studying Romans! I went through all 16 Chapters in 3 days! Our teacher this week was Chad Hampsch and he did a great job making the book practical but also kept context and gave history throughout. He likes history and reading so he had some awesome insight from outside sources and time periods to help relate the material to our give an example to bring Paul’s writing more to life for us.

I have two things to share with you all about our study that I hope is encouraging and also challenges you to seek the Lord more because of this new knowledge.

1. Chapter 12 - Internal Attributes and External Actions
2. Chapter 11 - Gentiles were grafted in and the Israelite people will be grafted in again to the tree of God

Yes these points are from the end of the book and that doesn’t mean the first 10 chapters aren’t as good. They were great and I encourage you to read the full Book of Romans. It is an incredible letter written by Paul to the Roman Church which he longed to go and see. In this book he really doesn’t talk about questioning theology but rather hits the gospel hard and in an impactful way and he expresses his desire for the church in Rome as they continued to walk in the fullness of the gospel truths. If you do decide to read through the book here is the way that Chad walked through the book with us (not in chapter form but thought form) - this process was derived from the outline of MacArthur.

Book Breakdown:
Greetings and Introduction (1:1-15)
Book Theme (1:16-17)
Condemnation: The Need of God’s Righteousness (1:18-3:20)
Justification: The Provision of God’s Righteousness (3:21-5:21)
Sanctification: The Demonstration of God’s Righteousness (6:1-8:39)
Restoration: Israel’s Reception of God’s Righteousness (9:1-11:36)
Application: The Behavior of God’s Righteousness (12:1-15:13)
Conclusion, Greetings, and Benediction (15:14-16:27)

Okay now to the points I would like to highlight and share with you on how it has impacted me in my thought life just in the first few days and hours.
1. Chapter 12 is so so so good! I love getting instruction from the Bible that is powerful and achievable but challenging because we must die to flesh for it to be accomplished. I know the Lord is working in my life because these qualities are not our human/fleshly desires what so ever. This chapter can be divided up into two different types of Christian walking; internal and external. Verses 1-13 talk about the internal attributes of a Christ Follower and Verses 14-21 talk about the external actions of a Christ Follower. I had one internal attribute stick out a little further for me this time as I read it, Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. I was really convicted my this statement because I can so easily in my mind think that I am doing great and not concern myself with asking the Lord to reveal sin so I can conquer it with Him, but instead I walk in contentment. I also was convicted with how little I say or stand up against evil around me. Yes, I am in an incredible environment this year and not really surrounded at all by the world but I need to be ready to defend and battle against the world when I leave the gates of K-Institute in just 7 weeks. These evils I am talking about are different convictions that God has placed on my heart to speak truth into and shed light, examples for me specifically would be Sex Trafficking or Bullying in Schools. Your convictions maybe the same or different. I challenge you to think about the things of this world that are evil and how you can stand up and defend those evils to be good instead! I also had one external action stick out specifically for me and it was verse 15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” As I was sitting in class I had God lay on my heart that I am very selfish in my conversations with people and want people to rejoice when I rejoice and weep when I weep and I struggle with doing that in return to people around me. To rejoice is to be over joyed and excited and to weep is to be saddened or have sorrow for circumstances that are happening in your friend’s life around you. Chad gave this example, K-Life is about to announce who they have hired for positions in their ministry and we have quite a few people in our class that interviewed and there is no guarantee that we will all be placed in a position so with that, How will we rejoice with those that got the job but still weep with those that didn’t? or How do you rejoice with your friend that got it when you didn’t? or How do you weep with your friend that didn’t get it when you did? To rejoice and weep is to show action that is unselfish to reveal the love of God to our closest friends and the people we just pass in the street. I challenge you to ask God to reveal a friend that needs encouragement because of a trial or just affirmation in a joy in their life.

The second aspect of Romans that really impacted me was from Chapter 11:17-24. This section is Paul using an analogy of a Tree and its Branches to depict the Israelites (God’s People) and Gentiles (Anyone not of Israelite descent). Verse 19 and 23 were so cool to me and this is what they say 19 “You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” and 23 “And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.” WOW, I LOVE this! Verse 19 is about the Gentiles and verse 23 is about the Israelites. Verses 19, We are grafted into the family of God because of the Israelites unbelief! Wow, that is a hard pill to swallow but I Love How Incredible God’s Sovereignty is when it finishes up in verse 23 that They, His People, The Israelites will be grafted back in and not always have their disbelieve but will come to the full knowledge of Jesus as the Christ, their Messiah! And why are we and they able to be grafted into the family is because God is Able!!! Wow, we serve and believe in an incredible God! I am so thankful for His love for human kind and that He has a desire to have us Gentiles as apart of His family but how he continues to pursue His People and doesn’t loose heart that they will come to belief in His gift and only Son, Jesus, our sacrifice of all sin! I challenge you to reflect how much God loves you today and honestly you should end up in just complete aww and thanksgiving for all that He has done for us!

Thanks for reading and hope you are encouraged to walk closer with our God who desires so much to be in complete unity with us!