Word for the Day

 

Romans - No Longer Bound to the Law

No Longer Bound to the Law

Romans 7:1-6

 

“...don’t you know that the law applies only while a person is living?” Romans 7:1b

 

            Paul uses an excellent illustration by comparing marriage to our relationship to the Mosaic law. He says that when a spouse passes away the law regarding marriage no longer applies to the one who remains. 

            When a person receives Christ into their life they are at that point dead to sin, for Christ by virtue of His death on the cross, paid our sin debt so our sins are no longer able to condemn us. An unsaved person’s life is centered on personal gratification ... they are self-absorbed. A believer has God as his or her center, with their view of everything changing. They are now living in the Spirit. They no longer have to figure things out on their own. Their personal spiritual guide is within us to lead and direct them into all Godly things.

            It dawned on me that perhaps Paul used a marriage illustration because the Church is called “the bride” while Jesus is called “the bride groom”. So in a manner of speaking our relationship with Christ is like a marriage. We cultivate our relationship with our new spouse to know them intimately. We don’t strive to imitate our spouse, so in that regard it is different than our intimacy with Christ, for He is our example of how to live a life that is victorious and pleasing to our Lord. Christ died so that we might live, and this new life is no longer bound by the law. Having said that, with sins forgiven and our new godly guide to lead us we end up abiding by the OT law out of happenstance and not out of obligation. Following the law to please God is no longer mandatory, but voluntary. Next time we discuss how God’s law reveals our sin. Until then, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

Word for the Day

 

Romans - Sin’s Power is Broken

Sin’s Power is Broken

Romans 6

 

“We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him.” (Romans 6:6-8)

 

                  In chapter 6 we find Paul bringing home the truth that thru Christ’s death the power of sin is shattered. Once we are become one with Christ we are no longer subject to the power of sin. “...do not give the devil a foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.” (Ephesians 4:27-28)

                  When you receive God’s incredible gift of forgiveness we are different.  “...if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin[b] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (Ephesians 5:17-21)

                  Paul cautions the Roman believers not to misinterpret God’s patience and love by saying ‘since God forgives, let us continue to sin and then simply ask for forgiveness after’. Paul says that is utter nonsense. To continue to sin after you were forgiven is to trample on God’s grace. The punishment will be worse for any who justifies their continued sinning due to God’s forgiving nature. They have missed the point. You are a new creation for a reason, to live life as a free man, woman, and child with the goal of soaking in all that Christ is so that we might imitate His behavior.

                  Paul concludes chapter 6 with a final point.... the cost of sinning is death, for evil cannot exist within the realm of God; however, the gift that comes as a result of ones acceptance is eternal life. Don’t figuratively spit in the Lord’s face by being willing to enjoy the fruits of salvation only to continue sinning. Those who do this will ultimately be dealt with at the proper time. God is serious regarding ones serving him for this is a blessing and not a hardship. Being no longer slaves of sin, we begin to regret those things we’ve done in the past. We must now do those things that lead to holiness and eternal life. It may seem unattainable, but nothing is out of reach when God is in charge of your life and the Holy Spirit is there to lead and guide you. Next time we’ll look at how we’re no longer bound by the OT Law. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible. 

Romans - Adam v. Christ

The Contrast between Adam & Christ

Romans 5:12-21 NLT

 

“When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.”  (Verse 12)

 

            My initial question is “why was Adam blamed for the sin Eve committed”? Good question, but there is a clear and concise answer to that question. Adam was created first; Eve was created out of Adam to be his helpmate. Prior to Eve being created Adam was told of the one restriction that God required of him. Therefore Adam was responsible for his family. It is apparent that Adam made Eve aware of this restriction. When God sought out Adam & Eve after they sinned, He called for Adam as the head of the family. Since Adam was responsible, he was blamed for committing the sin. It’s interesting to note that beginning in Genesis 3:12, Adam tried to pass blame on to Eve, who in turn blamed the serpent’s deception. As a result, God’s curse fell on all parties. The thought of Adam and Eve attempting to hide from an all-seeing, all-knowing God is a little humorous, if the truth be told. Don’t hide from God when you do something wrong... own up to it and seek forgiveness.

            The immediate contrast seen between Adam and Christ is that Adam brought sin into the world infecting all mankind, while Jesus was sent by God to bring the only true remedy for the sins of man. Christ’s shed blood, when applied to one’s life, cleansed all sin, making that person once again right with God as Adam and Eve were prior to “the sin”.

            This sin took place prior to the establishment of God’s law, so man’s wrongdoing after the original sin wasn’t counted against them as sin for no law was yet in place. Once the Ten Commandments were passed to Moses by God, there was a measuring rod that revealed what was sinful. That was the purpose of God’s Law...”so all people could see how sinful they were.”

            Paul rammed home that freedom from sin was due to God’s gift of salvation by repeating the great exchange that came with Christ’s blood. Next time we’ll look at Sin’s power being broken ... until then, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible

Word for the Day

 

Romans - Abraham

Taking a Closer Look @ Abraham

 

            Paul used Abraham from the OT to show how one man exercised his faith in God & how it was counted as righteousness. At the time of Abraham’s life there was no law to follow. The purpose of the law was to reveal man’s inability to follow it perfectly. We all sin & Abraham was no different. 

            God chose Abraham to become the founder & spiritual father of the Jewish nation. God loved Abraham & blessed him greatly. Even though Abraham was far from perfect, he had a strong listing of accomplishments which start with his faith pleasing God. He was deeply respected by his peers & was seen as courageous in defending his family. Abraham was shown to be a caring father to his own family & was hospitable toward others. Because of God’s incredible blessing Abraham was a successful & wealthy rancher. Abraham liked to avoid conflicts, however, when they were unavoidable he allowed his opponent to declare the set of rules for settling the dispute.

            A weakness Abraham had was to put off making a decision when confronted with difficult situations. When he is given a choice Abraham first thought of himself, so he tended to be selfish and self-centered at times. 

Being a sinner who strived to live according to God’s directives found in scripture, he was caught distorting the truth as a means of saving both his & Sarah’s life. The consequences of Abraham’s lie caused plagues to take place in Egypt where his lie was told to Pharaoh. You can read all about it in Genesis 12:10-20. 

The greatest way Abraham exercised his faith was to pick up his entire family, along with all his animals & possessions & leave his home in Ur just because Almighty God told him to go. The kicker is that he was never told where God wanted him to go. That took an immense amount of faith & trust in God.

As with Abraham, God doesn’t want us to simply drift aimlessly thru life, but rather be a positive influence for Him. To accomplish that we must be able to discern what God is saying to us & then learn how to focus on the Spirit’s leading & without hesitation go do it. That is living by faith. 

Although Jesus is the one we are to emulate, it’s vital to know Abraham’s story as an impressive scriptural example of having faith & exercising it. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

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Word for the Day

 

Word for the Day

 

Romans - The Faith of Abraham

The Faith of Abraham

Romans 4

“Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way.” Romans 4:1-2

            “The Jews were proud to be descendants of Abraham. Paul uses Abraham as a good example of someone who was saved by faith. By emphasizing faith, Paul isn’t saying that God’s law was unimportant but that it is impossible to be saved simply by obeying it. When some people learn that they are saved by God thru faith, they start to worry...’Do I have enough faith?’ they wonder. ‘Is my faith strong enough to save me?’ These people miss the point. It’s Jesus Christ who saves us, not our feelings or actions, and he is strong enough to save us no matter how weak our faith is. Jesus offers us salvation as a gift because He loves us, not because we have earned it thru our powerful faith. What then is the role of faith? Faith is believing and trusting in Jesus Christ and reaching out to accept His wonderful gift of salvation.” *

            Verse 6 leads into a quote from a Davidic Psalm by saying: “David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it.” It says: “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!” 

            Paul once again states in the form of a question if this blessing is just for the Jews or is it for the uncircumcised Gentiles as well? Abraham was counted as righteous prior to being circumcised, so it wasn’t being circumcised that made anyone righteous. Paul notes that Abraham is the spiritual father to both the circumcised and uncircumcised. This means that all who are right with God are recipients of all His promises.

            God made Abraham the father of many nations because he “believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.” (v.17) Because Abraham was fully convinced that God was able to do whatever He promised he was named righteous by God. So it is our faith and subsequent trust in God that makes us all righteous. Christ had to die to cleanse us from sin and was raised to new life to make us right with God. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

* Chapter notes from p. 2481 of The Life Application Study Bible.  

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Word for the Day

 

Word for the Day

 

Romans - Christ Took Our Punishment

Christ Took Our Punishment

Romans 3:21-31 NLT

 

“But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.”

 

            After Paul levelled the boom on his readers regarding the sinfulness of man and the punishment that awaits all who sin against God, he gives them wonderful news...that faith in Jesus Christ removes all sin and makes them righteous in God’s sight. In other words, God is showing us we’re no longer bound by the law once we receive Christ as Lord of our life and Savior of our soul. 

It needs to be understood that you must have Christ as both, not just one of the other. He is more commonly referred to as our Savior, but not our Lord. Having Christ as Savior is easy because He did all the work on the cross. We just need to receive the gift. 

Making Him Lord of your life requires you to do something. Just as ‘love’ isn’t a passive word, Christianity isn’t a passive ‘religion’, but rather an intimate, very personal relationship with your Creator and One who paid your sin debt.

                  It’s a sin to murder someone; however, in God eyes it’s a sin of equal stature to hate someone. Adultery is a distasteful sin, but so is pride and arrogance. The same penalty is levied for any and all sin. All sin makes us sinners, cut off from a holy God.  Understand this, whether saved or not, any sin, regardless of its size, can be forgiven as long as you are willing to confess it to God and commit to not doing it again. A contrite heart willing to change will always find forgiveness from God. 

                  Paul addresses the Jew-Gentile issue again in vv.29-31 when he emphasizes that there is only one God, and that God isn’t Jewish, nor does He favor the Jews even though they are called God’s Chosen Ones. Now that the Gentiles have been grafted into God’s family it establishes the fact that Jesus didn’t just die for the Jews, that would be ludicrous since the Jewish religious leaders plotted to kill God’s Son. Christ’s death was the plan all along. Without Christ’s death mankind would be forever lost in sin with no redemption in the offing. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

Thoughts from a Random Mind

            As I was trying to encourage my wife when I got home from work, the Lord planted an idea in my head. I ran with it. My job has already cut our hours by 6 per week and because it has gotten sooooo slow there are discussions about further cuts. I'm at peace with anything that happens because I know God's in absolute control of all things, but my wife was allowing the situations that were arising to overwhelm her. I told my wife that if we believe in God (and we do) then we know He can be trusted.                                                                                                     

             Scripture tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you & not to harm you, plans to give you hope & a future." Psalms 37:25 (NIV) says, "I was young & now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread." Faith Building Moments are also Faith Defining Moments. 

We truly have nothing to fear. Almighty God is the Creator of ALL THINGS! Instead of being afraid or worried about the darkness that is all around us, focus on Christ who conquered the darkness. If we stay close to the Lord & trust Him over all other people or things, we will begin to feel that "peace that passes all understanding" that scripture talks about. Determine NOT to be like Peter when, at the behest of our Lord, he climbed overboard onto the water, only to sink when his focus flipped from Jesus to his surroundings. 

Jesus tells us in the Gospels that it only takes a mustard seed of faith to move mountains. God loves us and will always look out for us. Instead of focusing on the negative, shift your focus to the cross and allow the Spirit of God lift you up. Maintain your faith and trust in God no matter what you experience with your senses. God is in complete & totally control of everything & either causes or allows everything that takes place in this world for His own purposes. He can be relied upon. Allow your faith to explode into that which will carry you forward thru each calamitous event. Praise His name as you go. Amen? Amen! Love y'all. Keep the faith and let it grow. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing....

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Romans - The Roman Road

The Roman Road

 

            Perhaps you’ve heard of ‘The Roman Road’. It’s a way to witness to the unsaved by using several scriptures from Paul’s letter to the Christian Church in Rome. Another way to describe it is ‘Salvation’s Freeway’.

            We start at Romans 3:23 which says: “...all have sinned and continually fall short of the glory of God,....” Next we go to Romans 6:23 which says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God [that is, His remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” In the same sentence Paul points out the payment due for sinning and then provides the solution for sin. Sinners will never get into heaven, but sinners saved by God’s grace will.

            Our next stop is Romans 5:8 where it says, “But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” The ‘Road’ ends at the ultimate truth as seen in Romans 10:8-10, “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word [the message, the basis] of faith which we preach— because if you acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord [recognizing His power, authority, and majesty as God], and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes [in Christ as Savior] resulting in his justification [that is, being made righteous—being freed of the guilt of sin and made acceptable to God]; and with the mouth he acknowledges and confesses [his faith openly], resulting in and confirming [his] salvation.” Romans 10:8 is taken from Deuteronomy 30:14, showing that Paul was well versed in the OT, as he should have been because of his deep training to become a Pharisee prior to his conversion.

            So to capsulate these passages from scripture, we are told that all of creation is guilty of sin, because we all sin and are unable to come near God. We’re told that those who sin shall experience the second death. Saved people are born twice and die once. They are born physically and spiritually. Only our physical bodies die and decay, our spirits travel to heaven to be with God for all eternity. Unsaved people are born once physically and die twice, once physically and once spiritually. We’re then told Jesus Christ, the son of God, willingly died on a wooden cross to take on the world’s sin, thus making those who believe forgiven / saved. Finally, forgiveness come to a person when they believe and confess that Jesus is both their Savior and Lord, for salvation/redemption only comes thru Jesus Christ. That’s essentially ‘The Roman Road’.

            Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

All bible verses within this post are from the Amplified Bible. 

Romans - All People are Sinners

All People are Sinners

Romans 3:9-20 NLT

“No one is righteous*—not even one. No one is truly wise. No one is seeking God.  No one does good, not a single one. Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies.” (Paul is quoting Psalms)

            There is no such thing as a bad sinner or a good sinner. Just as there are no levels of sin...as in ‘a sin is a sin’, a sinner is a sinner ... one who transgresses God’s statutes. What was the purpose of the Mosaic Law? It was to reveal how totally wicked people really are. Those who see themselves not as bad as others who sin are spiritually arrogant ... they’re only fooling themselves. We will stand before God on the final day representing ourselves and not someone else. 

            Paul quotes the Psalms to establish the fact that all men are subject to the power of sin. A few of those verses serve as our key verses for this post. In and of themselves not one soul is right with God. We are not to see ourselves as ‘good’ because even scripture says, “As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ ‘Why do you call me good?’ Jesus asked. ‘Only God is truly good.’” (Mark 10:17-18) No person could ever become good enough to gain entrance into heaven. It is by God’s grace and the Holy Spirit that we are drawn to the Lord. The result is forgiveness of all our sins.

              The main way we know God loves us is that He gave us a free will reveal the pull sin has on a person. He created a potential landmine of sin to challenge our living a righteous life, then provided the remedy for sin by sending His Son to pay our sin debt for us. That’s the evidence we need to prove God’s irrepressible love for us all. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

* This statement simply means “No one is innocent”. 

Romans - God Remains Faithful

God Remains Faithful

Romans 3:1-8 _NLT

“²...the Jews were entrusted with the whole revelation of God. ³ True, some of them were unfaithful; but just because they were unfaithful, does that mean God will be unfaithful? ⁴ Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true.” [Ro. 3:2b-4b]

            The Jews were God’s chosen people, entrusted with God’s whole revelation, yet they established their own version of God’s Laws by adding to it and taking away what they didn’t like. As a result the Jewish believers were unfaithful to the Mosaic Law by altering that which has been presented to Moses by the Lord on Mount Sinai. Their actions made them essentially unfaithful to their God. In spite of their actions God remained and remains faithful. God/Jesus is the Alpha & Omega...the Beginning & the End. As Paul points out in our text on top, “Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true.” He is the only one in all of creation that can be completely, totally, and forevermore trusted in and with all things. God is not a swindler. He doesn’t make promises He’s unable to keep.

                  Today, when called upon to follow God’s Law many of us make excuses, just as the Jews did. Too many people have turned their understanding of the Law on its head, thus becoming unfaithful. Excuses abound that sound something like this: “There is no God.”; “I follow my conscience.”; “I’m not as bad as other people”; “I’m a church member”; “I’m a religious person” or the ever popular, “I’m spiritual.”. * In spite of our many excuses, no one will be exempt from God’s judgment. 

                  As believers today, we’ve been saved by God’s grace and while we are not subjugated to the Law, because of our newfound relationship we end up living the Law as a positive consequence of our new life. Should we slip up, God’s grace rings forgiveness when asked for it. We aren’t perfect. Only Jesus was perfect. Because we’ll never reach perfection this side of heaven is no reason not to strive for it.

                  The Jewish believers in Rome fluctuated between being faithful and unfaithful to their God. We’re no different, however, we should want to be faithful because of what He had willingly done for us. It’s far too easy to take God’s grace for granted. The way many see it is that 1) it’s God’s job to forgive us; 2) God is loving & merciful so He won’t judge us; 3) sin isn’t so bad - it teaches us valuable lessons; or 4) we need to stay in touch with the culture around us. Understand this - God cannot and will not overlook sin.  Regardless of how we look at sin, it is a contradiction of who God is and what He represents.  Sin has no place with God. Regardless of their salvation status, sin brings about consequences which are typically unfavorable. Next time we will look at the fact that ALL SIN and fall short of God’s glory. ... walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

* As a side note, Christianity isn’t a religion, but rather an intimate, personal relationship that ANYONE can enter into. There’s no secret password or rule that needs to be followed to enter into this type of relationship. It’s all based on our faith and trust in God, asking for and receiving forgiveness for all our transgressions [Salvation / Redemption], then allowing the Spirit now within to enable you to become like Jesus in thought, word, and deed.

Romans - The Jews & the Law

The Jews & the Law

Romans 2:17-29 _NLT

“17 You who call yourselves Jews are relying on God’s law, and you boast about your special relationship with him. 18 You know what he wants; you know what is right because you have been taught his law.”

            In this portion of scripture from Chapter 2, Paul knocks the Jews down a few pegs by telling them that they teach others the Law, but they should be teaching themselves. They look for ways to justify that which they do which they know acc: to the Law they should not be doing. They do this as if God doesn’t see. They are hypocrites. Take the Pharisees... “In contrast to the two commands of Christ, the Pharisees had developed a system of 613 laws, 365 negative commands and 248 positive laws... By the time Christ came it had produced a heartless, cold, and arrogant brand of righteousness. As such, it contained at least ten tragic flaws. 

(1) New laws continually need to be invented for new situations. 

(2) Accountability to God is replaced by accountability to men.

(3) It reduces a person’s ability to personally discern.

(4) It creates a judgmental spirit.

(5) The Pharisees confused personal preferences with divine law.

(6) It produces inconsistencies.

(7) It created a false standard of righteousness.

(8) It became a burden to the Jews.

(9) It was strictly external.

(10) It was rejected by Christ*.”

            Paul called the religious leaders out regarding their hypocrisy, as it was their way to control the people and elevate themselves. In contrast to the Pharisees many laws, Jesus had just two: the first and greatest commandment was, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind." The second most important commandment is: "Love your neighbor as you love yourself". 

            Once the Jews accepted the Gentiles into their churches or allowed them to stay if they had come first, the Jewish leaders attempted to force the non-Jew to follow Jewish Laws. The one controversial matter mentioned in scripture was the circumcising of the men. According to the Jews, this made you obedient to God’s wishes and made you truly saved. This, of course, was not true and Paul addressed that issue along with his other problems with the church.

Paul points out that being a true Jew has nothing to do with your lineage or being circumcised, etc. A true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. If that is true than you will seek to live as a means of pleasing and honoring God with your life. Those Jews who were seeking to control the non-Jews in their congregation were dishonoring God but attempting to require that which was not required by God for Gentiles. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing. 

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

* https://netbible.org/bible/Romans+2

Romans - God's Judgment of Sin - Part 3

God’s Judgment of Sin - Part 3

Romans 2:12-16 _NLT

 

“12 When the Gentiles sin, they will be destroyed, even though they never had God’s written law. And the Jews, who do have God’s law, will be judged by that law when they fail to obey it. 13 For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight. 14 Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. 15 They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right. 16 And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life.”

            In Chapter 2 Paul continues to break down the punishment due for living not only in violation of the Mosaic Law (Jews), but the moral and ethical code that is generally accepted by men (Gentile).

Jews have an odd belief that if they mostly obey the Law and have the best intentions they will be alright when they pass on from this world, but perfection / sinlessness is required, and no man is perfect. The OT Law was set up by God to shine a light on the sinfulness of man. They were not suggestions, but rather requirements for living.

      The Jews have a written document to follow, while the Gentiles are born with an inherent understanding of right and wrong / good and bad. They have a sense of what is moral and ethical in their heart. The Jews see themselves as superior to non-Jews because they are God’s chosen people. They thought they were a cut above the rest because they had and have Laws to follow that were given to them thru Moses by Almighty God Himself. However, all of creation speaks of a creator...that things didn’t just happen but were put in place by God.  

To expand slightly on that thought of creation in relation to man’s Big Bang Theory, some Christian scientists came up with the plausible idea that there actually WAS a Big Bang, however, the burst of light was when God said, “Let there be light!!”

Paul states that merely listening to the Law isn’t what saves you, but by following the written Law. This applies to all who know the Mosaic Law, which typically and almost always applies to Jews.

To simplify the rule(s) the Gentiles are to follow...they are punished for what they don’t know or aren’t aware of, but rather by not doing

that which they know to be true, moral, ethical, and right. We all have an inner realization of the difference of right and wrong. 

      There is a supposed fact that whatever you do on the internet is always there...even if you scrub your system to get rid of it the information still exists somewhere on the hard drive. I liken this to how nothing is ever forgotten or goes unnoticed by God. No matter what we’ve thought, said, or done, God knows about it. There are no secrets from the Almighty One. This thought is validated by Paul in verse 16 when Paul says, “And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life.” Scary thought. Whether you know and serve Christ or not, there are no excuses. All will be judged at a pre-ordained time. 

      The purpose of this portion of scripture is to show the Jewish people that thru Christ ALL can come to God and enter into His heaven. This is a thing that the Jews will have to get used to. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His name & for His glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resources: The Life Application Study Bible; Expositor's Bible Commentary: New Testament.

Word for the Day

NOTE: I apologize for missing yesterday's posting ... this week in the evening has been particularly busy. I should be able to continue on in Romans Saturday morning. Whenever you see a "Word..." posting it is usually because I have limited time on an evening, yet wish to post something of spiritual value. Thank you in advance for understanding...