The essence of Paul’s letters
Rom. 1: 15-16
I am the ready man. Ready to preach, to serve, to pray. I bring good news to Greeks, Celts, Romans, and to all. I am not ashamed.
Rom. 1:18-32
God in heaven beholds the earth in anger. He walks away from men and women in disgust for they know perfectly well the truth of God for it is clearly evident in the beauty and order of His creation. They arrogantly deny the truth and in a proud show of foolish wisdom form God in their own image and the images of animals, birds and bugs.
The Creator is blessed forever. Amen.
Rom. 2:1-16
Disapprove of unrighteous behavior but do not presume to judge others for God is the only righteous one and if you have repented do not boast in the gift of God. The judgmental one is as guilty before God as the one worthy of judgment. Make no boast in the law, for you, as all others, are imperfect.
Rom. 2:25-29
God praises the virtues of heart, not the carrying of a book or rituals of priest and temple. God looks beyond flesh to spirit.
Rom. 3:9-20
There is no man better than any other man. The law of God demonstrates the inability of human beings to be guiltless before God—all human beings.
Rom. 3:21-26
God alone is righteous, all others fall short of His glory, but out of His glory shines the righteousness of God through Jesus, now, justified by Jesus Christ the Redeemer, believers through faith demonstrate His righteousness.
Rom. 3:30-31
To Israel faith is imputed. To the Gentiles faith is imparted. Two operations of faith, both are gifts of God.
Rom. 4:1-17
Abraham & David, men of passion, men of sin, now forgiven; Abraham before the law, David after the law. The nations shall be blessed in Abraham. God gives life to those who die and in bringing them to life creates in them blessedness from eternity, imperceptible in time.
Rom. 4:18-25
God’s power to convince Abraham of His promise and ability to perform it was accounted to Abraham as righteousness. When we are convinced by God to believe that He raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, even we are accounted by God as righteous.
Rom. 5:1-5
Justification is not merely a legal reality; it creates a peaceful relationship with God, giving us access to Him through our Lord Jesus Christ. What joy in knowing that our future in God is glorious.
Our future is defined by the grace of God, therefore, even tribulations serve to reinforce our hope which sustains us through the ups and downs of life. Rather than disappointment, the hardships of life bring us closer to God. The Holy Spirit has been given to us who believe. How do we know? Because of the pouring forth of the Love of God into our hearts. It is inexplicable but intensely real.
Rom. 5: 6-11
Men sometimes die for the good cause of another man but Christ died for the ungodly. Now, having been legally exonerated by the sacrifice of his own blood, Christ stepped in and suffered punishment on our behalf assuaging the anger of God against us. We have not only been reconciled but rescued as well. Instead of fear and estrangement, in God we have joy now and always.
Rom. 5:12-21
Adam, the first person, sinned, and since then all people physically and spiritually have been condemned to mortality, bound to sin which always ends in death. If it does not seem just that Adam’s children are condemned even though they did not sin as Adam, think of the free gift of grace which abounds to all through the second Adam, Jesus Christ.
The law magnifies sin but grace overrules law imputing righteousness to the human race. The law merely serves to demonstrate the hopelessness of man’s condition and the need for each person to be delivered from sin and death. Grace conquers sin and death. Jesus Christ reigns victoriously.
Make no mistake; grace is not license to sin. The only boast of grace is death into which we were figuratively immersed with Christ. This is our death and burial and just as Christ has been raised by the glory of the Father we should walk in the life of his resurrection.
Rom. 6:1-23
The ego-centric individuals we once were have been crucified so we are no longer slavishly controlled by physical impulses. Christ is free and by faith in him; so are we. Sin is no longer your master as being under the law, rather, you are free in Christ and grace is the rule of your life.
Rom. 7
Thank God for the heart-felt change you experienced when you obediently responded to the truth of Christ presented to you. For lack of a better way to explain it, the fanatical energy you once had for living sinfully you now aggressively commit to doing the right thing. After all, in Christ Jesus our Lord is life everlasting but sin engenders death. So, let the shame of your old life be done and bear the fruit of your new life in Christ.
You are no longer bound to the law but are free. Just as a wife is free to marry another man if her husband dies. Coming to Christ you die to your old commitment to law which kept you hopelessly bound to sinful passions. Your new husband, Jesus Christ, has awakened in you a new desire to follow the Spirit freely rather than be driven by the old cruel taskmaster, the law of sin and death.
Be sure to understand that as a believer you will experience the constant war between the inner man of the Spirit and the old sinful nature. Although you delight to follow God you find no relief from the incessant compulsion of the old nature to sin. But do not be discouraged, you have a deliverer, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Rom. 8:1-14
For those who are in Christ Jesus there is no longer grounds for condemnation. The law is fulfilled in us because we are no longer people of the flesh, we are in Christ, people of the Spirit.
Those who are unregenerate are unable to fathom Spiritual things, consequently they are constantly at odds with God. Indifferent about the things of God, they have no real desire to please Him. On the contrary, life and peace is characteristic of believers.
The resurrection life of Jesus is in you and has a profound effect on how you live your life. Remember, you owe nothing to the old flesh nature so overcome its death-dealing effects by following the leading of the Spirit of God.
Rom. 8:15-18
When you receive the Spirit of God you come to realize how much He loves you. Even though you are an adopted son He loves you like his only begotten. You will find yourself crying out to Him when fear sets in and the old nature tries to re-enslave you. The Spirit of Christ himself is in you bearing witness that you are a child of God and a joint heir with him of the glory of God. But until we are called into our inheritance we share in his sacrificial passion. Keep perspective, the present time may be painful but glory is imminent and everlasting.
Rom. 8:19-23
In its agonizing restlessness the world anxiously longs for the Children of God to be given the authority to set the captives free. For the world did not choose to be in this, what seems to be hopeless predicament, but was subjected to it by God Himself in hope of ultimately establishing the best of all possible worlds.
Therefore, we know the world will be rescued from its death camp existence and will enter the glorious new day under the royal authority of Christ and his brothers and sisters, the Children of God who are the heirs of His Kingdom.
Rom. 8:24-30
Our salvation is based upon this hope, the hope of the resurrection. That is why we yearn for it and never look back, in spite of difficulty. When we are weak and do not know how to direct our prayers, the Spirit of Christ Himself steps in causing us to feel in our spirit things we cannot explain with words. This experience is akin to what a mother feels when her womb begins contracting and her child struggles to pass through the birth canal.
But God searches the hearts and acts on behalf of His saints according to His will. That is how we know everything is going to end well, because it is all for His Children for whom He has such great love; The Children He called forth for that very purpose.
God knew and planned for each of His Children to be formed into the image of His firstborn Son, Jesus. All of this occurred in God before the foundation of the world.
But there is more! God not only secured our destiny from the beginning, He called us out with irresistible power, justifying us and glorifying us in the process.
Rom. 8:31-34
We see in the sacrifice of His own son how intense God’s love is for us. There is no enemy God does not easily defeat on our behalf; then He freely blesses us with all things that accrue from His victory through Christ.
Who could possibly bring an accusation against those whom God has exonerated. God has won the day in the court of heaven by the sacrifice of His own son who is alive and wielding the power of God on our behalf while we complete his ministry on earth.
Rom. 8:35-39
Neither severe circumstances nor malicious attacks cause offense for the Children of God for we are well aware of our sacrificial ministry. But just as Christ won the victory through death, so are we victorious in dying.
Brute force is not the way to victory for the Children of God, on the contrary, we are victorious, not by conquest, but in a greater and ultimately more glorious way through Christ who shows us the way of love. In fact, it is because of God’s love for us in Christ Jesus that I am persuaded absolutely nothing in any way, or ever, can separate us from Him.
Rom. 9:1-5
I have sorrow and grief for my Jewish brothers who know not Christ and would trade places with them if I could. After all, they are the covenant people of God and progenitors of Jesus Christ from the standpoint of human genetics. Yes, Jesus Christ, the God of the Jews, but not the Jews only, but of all. Jesus is none other than the blessed God of eternity. Amen.
But understand the power of God’s word to accomplish His will. Though Israel as a nation is in a state of unbelief, the miracle birth and calling of Abraham’s son, Isaac clearly shows God’s plan to have Children of promise. Therefore, God’s covenant with Israel continues to unfold through the seed of promise.
Consider the matter of Isaac’s twins, Jacob and Esau. God faithfully upheld His covenant by electing Jacob to be a man of faith before he was even born. This God did to clearly demonstrate it was God’s sovereign call directing Jacob’s destiny, not Jacob himself. It was Esau’s destiny to be identified with the unbelieving nation of Israel, estranged for an appointed time from the covenant. (With Esau Paul is explaining God’s anger with obstinate, unbelieving Israel which in the end will be conciliated by Christ, but not before a final day of reckoning with sin and rebellion. Paul’s primary reference is the prophet Malachi.)
Rom. 9:14-23
Some may conclude God is not acting justly. Be careful in your haste. Don’t be short-sighted, judging the Eternal God from the finite human perspective. Accept that God is righteous then work your way back through each question, each moral conundrum. Christ is always the final word.
God tells us through Moses He directs His mercy and compassion according to His own will. This is so the mercy of God bestowed on the vessels of mercy is understood clearly as His magnanimous act, not due to human will or merit.
Let us be humble before God, after all, He created us. It is unwise to indict God because He hardens the hearts of Pharaoh and Esau. God does not ask permission to do what He wants to do. God does not need an apologist, nor does He apologize for Himself.
Nevertheless, consider the long suffering of God with the hardened ones. Their role in His plan is to magnify His glory which He has given to the vessels of Mercy. Therefore, understand God has not cast unbelieving Israel away, leaving them hopelessly lost. Rather, God has blinded their eyes and in the pain of their estrangement from Him they play an important role in God’s plan to reconcile the world to Himself.
Rom. 9:24-33
So the vessels of mercy that were predestined for glory represent the seed who, because of their faith, show the true and only way to properly relate to God—by faith in Christ who is the end of the Law. This is the righteousness of everyone who believes and it is God’s gift of grace.
It is fitting that the vessels of mercy are called the “seed” since they are only the beginning of God’s redemptive harvest. The Old Testament prophecies which seem so gloomy and hopeless are pregnant with hope for those who will hear and understand them with faith.
Watch God’s mercy and compassion which at first seems so selectively applied unfold in breathtaking love for all of His creation.
Rom. 10:1-13
Know that my heart’s desire for Israel is their salvation. They have tried desperately to be righteous before God but fail to see Christ as the remedy of their perpetual frustration. They cling to Moses and reject Christ whom we faithfully preach.
The righteousness of faith which we preach is simple: Confess and truly believe in the risen Lord Jesus and you will be saved. So, call on the name of the Lord from your heart and without doubt no matter who you are or what you have done Christ will deliver you from the shame of sin.
Rom. 10:14-21
It is a fact that faith is only activated at the hearing of the word of God, but remember, faith is the response to preaching in accordance with God’s sovereign call on one’s life—it is a gift of grace. In the case of the Gentiles we see the call of God go out to them even as they lived indifferent to God. Then the gift of faith stirred in them and they believed when they heard the preaching of the word. As for Israel, God has blinded their eyes and closed their ears, causing them to be bitter against God and in constant tension with the rest of the world.
Do not think for a moment God has forsaken His covenant people. He knew and planned from the beginning how redemption would unfold. Even though Israel as a nation is in the darkness of unbelief, the relatively few sons of Jacob who have been elected to believe in Christ are proof that God has not deserted His people but has a well-laid plan to save the whole Jewish nation. Meanwhile, during the present intervening era God has in His mercy opened the door of grace to the Gentiles.
Sacrificed that the Gentile might live, Israel will be justified by the faith of Christ, awakened from the slumber of unbelief and finally recognizing Jesus as the fulfillment of the Law. The Gentiles recognize Jesus and are justified by Christ himself. Two operations of faith, both gifts of God. All is of grace.
Rom. 11:12-27
Therefore, be humble before God and men for you were grafted into the good tree contrary to your natural inclinations. The good branch was broken off because of unbelief but because of God’s grace you believed and became partakers of the covenant promises God made to the patriarchs.
God’s grace, at times, demands severity so do not be prideful but fear in light of this mystery: The eyes of the Israelites as a nation have been blinded to the truth of Jesus Christ. But the time of their blindness will end when the general calling of the Gentiles is finished. But understand that all Israel is destined for salvation for God has promised to take away their sins.
Rom. 11:28-36
So for Jew and Gentile alike there is no ground for pride. The gifts and callings of God are unilateral and He never calls them back. All have been disobedient, and what a matchless wonder God is, He shows mercy to all!
The riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God are too deep to fathom. The decisions He makes and the directions He takes are incomprehensible. He has all knowledge and possesses everything. He is beholden to no one. All things come from Him, flow through Him, and are for His glory, for the ages to come. Amen.
Rom. 12:1-2
Now that you understand your holy calling is to enter into the mercies of God on behalf of others, live in your physical bodies sacrificially and God will accept your service as holy.
You must realize that living in conformity to the world will cause you to lose touch with your ministry of service, the very reason you are in this world. The battleground is in the mind so you must renew it daily and seek to do the perfect will of God. Your sincere effort will be good and acceptable to God.
Rom. 12:3-8
Every believer has a measure of faith given to them as a gift from God, so stay humble in your gift for we are all one in the Body of Christ. Though we have different functions we each are connected to the others. We each serve differently according to our gifts but all are of grace.
Our love should be pure. Evil should pain our soul. We should grasp what is good and not let go. Kindness should mark our love for one another and we should honor others above ourselves.
Be industrious and enthusiastic since everything you do should be as unto the Lord. Be joyful always for the hope you have. Press on when you feel like giving up. Pray it through.
Share with the saints according to their needs. Seek occasions for fellowship, offering your home and resources for the refreshing of others.
Unlike the world given to retaliation, when someone mistreats you, bless them. Find a way to sincerely build them up.
Share with others’ joys and weep with them in their pain and grief. Strive to be like-minded as we experience the faith together. Social status is of no concern in the fellowship where humility is the essence of each relationship and conceit is rejected as an ugly defect of character.
Let it be emphasized again; do not retaliate against evil. Be impartial and do good to all, regardless.
It may not be possible to live at peace with everyone, but do your part and let God deal with those who persist in their spite.
Submit to those charged with enforcing the law for their authority has Divine sanction, ordained by God to restrain lawlessness. Be law-abiding, respect authority, live in all good conscience. Pay your taxes when they are due and give honor to dignitaries.
Do not spend more than you earn and by doing so you will avoid bad debt, breached contracts, and needless offense. You will be free to love as a believer should, doing no harm to others and therefore fulfilling the law.
Do these things with a sense of urgency for our day of deliverance is rising like the morning sun. Renounce shameful behavior and selfish, mean-spirited attitudes.
Rom. 14:1-23
God knows some of us are strong and some of us are weak. It is God who makes us stand, weak or strong. To observe dietary restrictions or special days are personal considerations and make us no more or less holy. The important thing is to give God thanks in everything and cause no division over these issues; we all belong to the Lord.
The basic rule in the fellowship is to always seek peace in relationships and ways to build one another up. Do not offend a weaker brother over eating meat or drinking wine, making your freedom a stumbling block for him. Always walk in love by giving way to the weaker brother. After all, the kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking, it is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
God is patient and comforting; may He grant you to be the same with one another, keep unity, for only then will God be glorified.
Jesus serves the Jewish nation to fulfill the truth of God and confirm the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But that’s not all; He has mercy on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ as well, that they, in unison with Israel may praise the LORD.
My prayer is the God of hope will cause you to abound in the same hope with exceeding joy and peace. Let this prayer be received with faith by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.