Archives: Pastors' Corner

As chapter 9 concludes Paul wraps it up with a contrast between the Gentiles and the Jews.  Here are verses 3O-33:  “30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. 33 As it is written:  “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense,  And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” Paul writes that the Gentiles pursued […]

Yesterday we began to look at an important but difficult to interpret passage of the book of Romans.  The passage begins with a declaration that God will have mercy on whomever He will have mercy and compassion on whomever He will have compassion.  There is a strong flavor of God’s election and sovereign choice.  Paul also reminds the reader that there is no unrighteousness with God.  This leads to a significant theological question which is found in verse 19 and then a rather lengthy section after that:  “19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who […]

Today and tomorrow we will take a look at Romans 9:14-29 with a look at the first five verses today. As Paul begins to explain the mystery of God’s election and God’s plan in our world, that God shows mercy on some and not on others, that God seems to be “unfair” in how He works in this world, we read the following words in verses 14-18: “14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! 15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have […]

Romans 9 challenges me.  Perhaps more than any other chapter in the New Testament this one leads to deep thought and some mystery as I think about what Paul is saying.  In the overall picture, Paul is talking about the rejection of Christ by the people of Israel.  In verses 10-13 we begin to see how this rejection is part of God’s purpose and plan: Here are the verses:  “10 And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac 11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election […]

This is where chapter 9 begins to get very interesting and messy and in my opinion, difficult to interpret. Here are verses 6-9: “6 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, 7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. “ In the […]

Romans chapter 9 moves in a different direction; one that I find very interesting and also at times hard to understand. Let’s read the first five verses: “I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service […]

Paul wraps up this great section of Romans 8 with the following two verses: “38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  There is nothing that can separate us from God’s love…but note the caveat…”which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”.  I believe the scripture reveals to us that God loves everyone but there is a different love and a different relationship […]

I love the last few verses of Romans 8. They move me at the core of my being. Tomorrow’s passage is one of the greatest sentences in all of the Bible.  Today we read verses 35-37:  “35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:  “For Your sake we are killed all day long;  We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”  37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. “This passage begins with a question that will be answered fully […]

We are getting near the end of this amazing chapter of the Bible.  The next two verses reveal an interesting aspect to the eternal ministry of Jesus Christ. Here are verses 33-34:  “33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”  For the most part in my life I’ve never really been wrongly accused of something, outside of minor incidents.  I sympathize with those who have been wrongly accused of sin or a crime; especially in […]

Paul asks another important question in verse 32 of Romans chapter 8:  “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” This question comes on the heels of “If God is for us, who can be against us?”   The obvious answer is that God triumphs over any other person or thing that is against us.  God is FOR us in all ways and at all times.  The question today reminds us how much God is for us.  Since God delivered His own Son, […]