1 Corinthians 1:1-17 What is core to your identity? You might begin an introduction with your name, job, number of kids, place where you grew up, etc., but Paul tells us some of the most important aspects of our identity in verse 2. In this verse he identifies the church as those who are sanctified and called to holiness, and those who call on the name of the Lord. When is the last time you introd...

Romans 16:10-27 When we enter a relationship with Jesus, we also have a relationship with the church. The moment we are born again, we are born into a new family. Throughout Romans we have seen the importance and value of relationships, and Paul ends his letter by highlighting this same truth. Are you living out of this reality, that relationships with people are an essential part of the Christian...

Romans 15:23-16:9 Generosity. We probably love the idea but find it hard to live it out. In Paul and the early church, we are confronted by a model of extravagant generosity. Paul traveled throughout the Mediterranean region and expended himself to make Christ known. He knew that his life was not his own, but rather was an instrument to be used by God. So, he willingly traveled in insufferable con...

Romans 15:1-22 The general morality of our day is that we can do whatever we want if it does not hurt anyone else. Though this may sound reasonable on the surface, God calls us to a far higher standard than simply not doing harm. He calls us to “please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself.”God’s ethic is to be willing to sacrifice and serve others. We ...

Romans 14:1-23 Paul continues in Romans 14 with the theme of relationships. In this chapter we are challenged to consider how we respond to people with whom we do not see eye to eye. When we interact with someone with whom we disagree on non-Biblical commands, we are to respond with humility, sensitivity, and love. The issues may range from schooling, entertainment, use of free time, ways we spend...

Romans 13:1-14 In the middle of a section describing our relationships, Paul comments on our relationship with "governing authorities" (v.1). For many of us, we may vacillate between apathy, love, and hatred toward the government, but we do not see those options laid out in Romans 13. Instead, we are to be subject to and submit to them.When Paul wrote Romans his government was heinous. Nero was th...

Romans 12:1-21 Our thoughts control our actions. The way we think controls our destiny. So, what consumes your thoughts? Do you think like the world or think like God?Romans 12 challenges us to make sure that our thoughts reflect those of God. Rather than being conformed to the thinking of the world we instead should be “transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Our thoughts should be different w...

Romans 11:13-36 God is faithful. How have you seen this in your life? What has caused you to doubt this? The challenge of believing comes from our need to gain God’s perspective. There are always going to be circumstances which cause us to doubt what God is doing, so we need to learn an eternal perspective. Romans 11 helps us to see a glimpse of what this looks like.One of the questions Paul addre...

Romans 10:14-11:12 How do you feel about sharing Christ with others? Does this excite you or leave you petrified? Are you already starting to get sweaty palms and butterflies in our stomach? Regardless of how we feel, Christ has called us all to be participants in this work. There are no spectators when it comes to the work of evangelism.God’s plan for people coming to faith in him is regular, ord...

Romans 9:25-10:13 Jesus is the great equalizer. He is the way, the truth, the life, and the source of salvation for the world. It is through him that anyone regardless of their sins, ethnic background, or education can find life. Since Jesus is the only way to God, he is either our way to God or the “stone that causes men to stumble.”Paul wrote Romans roughly 30 years after Jesus’ death and resurr...

Romans 9:1-24 How well do you love people? Paul, in living out God’s love, gives us a powerful model of what love looks like. Romans 9:3 says, “I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers…” Paul would be willing to go to hell and be separated from God for all eternity if that meant Jewish people would come to faith. That is love! He would be willing t...

Romans 8:26-39 I was talking with someone recently who experienced fear because they did not have eternal security. Our conversation led to the conclusion that either our salvation has been secured through the work of Jesus, or it is up to us. If it is our responsibility to hold on to our salvation, then there is lots of room for fear and uncertainty. If it is based on the finished work of Jesus, ...

Romans 8:9-25 We have all probably driven a remote-controlled car. We have the controller in our hands as we attempt to steer a miniature car. Our ability to manipulate the tiny controls determines where the car goes. In the same way we see in Romans 8:9-21 the person who controls our lives will determine our destiny. So, who has the controls of your life?Paul tells us that there are two potential...

Romans 7:14-8:8 Have you ever done something you wish you had not done? Have you ever committed a sin and afterward wondered why you did it? Of course you have! This is a reality of living in our fallen world but this does not have to be the way we live.Romans 7:14-8:8 describes the spiritual battle which wages inside each of us. We find ourselves constantly failing to live a righteous life, and P...

Romans 7:1-13 How are we as New Testament believers supposed to interact with the Mosaic Covenant? Are we still supposed to follow the laws given to Israel or can we ignore them? These are questions that often puzzle people. Paul in Romans 7 wants us to understand the purpose of the law so we can know what we should do with it. The purpose of the law was largely to magnify sin. It was meant to be ...

Romans 6:1-23 Dead to sin? Alive in Christ? What does it mean? It means we have the power of his resurrection at our disposal to resist sin. The Greek word for power is dunamis, the root of the word dynamite. We have available to us dynamite power to resist sin. The imagery of baptism speaks first to the fact that we proclaim our sinful nature dead with Christ. Then as we come out of the water, we...

Romans 5:6-21 How do you know God loves you? What causes you to not see God as an angry tyrant in the sky who is constantly trying to punish you? A universal human longing is to know we are loved. We often spend our lives trying to earn love from people and to merit love. We try to perform so people will love us, we try to love others hoping to receive it back, and we attempt to be found lovable. ...

Romans 4:13-5:5 The Bible is filled with God’s promises. In Romans 4 Paul zeroes in on one specific promise, God’s promise to Abraham. One of the promises which God made to Abraham is he would have children like the sand in the desert and the stars in the sky. Yet when he was 99, he still had zero children of promise. Abraham’s response to this seemingly absurd situation was faith. He continued to...

Romans 4:1-12 If you grew up going to Sunday School you probably remember the song “Father Abraham”. A cute song which comes right out of Romans 4. On the surface it may seem slightly cryptic, but it helps us to understand that Abraham is the paradigm and “father” of faith in the Bible. Abraham believed God when he was told to leave his land and family for the Promised Land. He did this when he kn...

Romans 3:9-31 What are the essentials of the gospel you would want to share with someone? This is one of the most important things to think through in the process of making disciples. Thankfully, we do not have to make it up, the Bible tells us what the important things are to share. Romans 3:23-24 provides us with a great summary of the gospel. These verses give us the key truths that we need to ...