A Lasting Impact

Week Six - Day 7

Today's Reading

Romans 13:1 to 16:27

As Paul approaches the end of his letter to the Romans he offers some practical advice on living peaceably in society and within the community of believers.  He is not merely interested in maintaining the peace but in maintaining the faith.  The governing authorities, Paul writes, are only in their positions because God has set them their under his own authority.  His advice is to do no wrong, to obey the rulers under whom they live, and to pay their taxes.  One has to wonder if this is a purely theological stance Paul is taking, or a very practical one of survival as a minority within the Roman Empire.

He carries on his theme of peaceful living, however, as he addresses how they should live amidst the differences that exist among them in matters of faith.  Paul talks of those who are weak in the faith as opposed to those who are strong, and how this can play out in such things as what is acceptable to eat and which holy days should be observed.  Paul places the obligation on the strong to "put up with the failings of the weak" and to not please themselves (15:1).  The ultimate goal is to build up the faith and to live in harmony "so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (15:6).  Paul's advise has something to say to us today, as we struggle through different social issues that threaten to tear at the fabric of our unity.

Paul ends his letter with talk of his hopes to someday come to Rome to spend some time with the believers there, and then to go on to Spain.  He has concluded that he has done all that he can in Macedonia and Achaia, and is eager to bring the gospel to new lands.  It was a hope that he was unable to fulfill in his lifetime, but this letter along with the others he wrote, have carried his message around the world for almost two thousand years.  A reminder, perhaps, that we can never know the impact of what we do today on the world of tomorrow.

Righteousness Through Faith

Week Six - Day 6

Today's Reading

Romans 9:1 to 12:21

In these four chapters of Romans, Paul brings together a variety of themes: righteous comes through faith and not through works; the special place of Israel in God's plan; the Gentiles reliance on the promises made to Israel; the mutual reliance on the various gifts given to individuals; and living humbly and at peace with one another.  If these four chapters could only be inwardly and spiritually digested by Christians, if we could truly live out the depth of their teachings, much of the division and dissension we create might be overcome.  Is it not the comparisons that we make between ourselves and others, is it not the judgments, the 'lines in the sand' that we ourselves draw, that are the cause of much our troubles?

We spend far too much energy in picking out a verse here or a verse there in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures so that we can beat another over the head with it.  We say, here is the rule, and you are in violation of it and therefore are unworthy.  But what does Paul, one who knows better than we, ultimately conclude?  "Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes" (10:4), and "if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (10:9).

Does this mean there is nothing to guide our choices and relationships?  How about we try try this: "Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor" (12:9-10).  Once we master these then perhaps we can move on to lesser things.

New Life in Christ

Week Six - Day 5

Today's Reading

Romans 5:1 to 8:39

Yesterday I wrote that "Paul spends much of his energy arguing that nothing is to be gained by following the Law, for God's promise of righteousness cannot be earned but is received through faith."  The context of my remark is more clearly understood in the light of the section of Romans that we read today.  Paul is writing as one who has lived by the Law, and is not saying that the Law was wrong or in some way ineffective in its purest sense.  On the contrary, Paul holds that "the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good" (6:12).

The problem is that in human weakness, our "flesh",  our actions, when compared to the Law, are exposed as sin. Since we are bound in our unconverted lives to actions of the flesh, we also have no escape from our sinful lives. But as Christians, as those who have been received the Spirit of God at our baptisms, we are not under the Law but rather bound to the Spirit of Christ.  Our old lives of slavery to the Law have been put to death in the waters of baptism so that our new lives may be lived to God.  As Paul writes, "it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ" (8:16-17).

This does not mean, however, that we will live charmed, challenge-free lives.  We are still in the world are still subject to the weaknesses of our mortal nature.  What it does mean is that there is nothing in "all creation" that "will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (8:39).  The Christian assurance of salvation can meet any challenge or power that might come against it as we stay united to the Spirit to God.

Dreams of Rome

Week Six - Day 4

Today's Reading

Acts 20:2-3a, and Romans 1:1 to 4:25

Our few verses from Acts of the Apostles are meant to let us know where Paul is in his journeys.  He has been staying in Macedonia (northern Greece), possibly in Philippi, but now leaves to travel to Achaia (southern Greece) where he stays for a period of three months.  It is likely that he wrote his letter to the Romans during this period, and that is what we begin to read today.

Romans is the longest of the letters that Paul authored, and was written to a church that he had not founded.  In fact, Paul had never been to Rome but was hopeful to visit the believers in that city and to win more converts to the Christ.  His letter is an introduction of himself to that community and a way of establishing his credentials as an apostle.  It was not written to defend himself from personal attacks or because he was asked to intervene in any dispute.  He does hope to win their support for further missionary work in the western Mediterranean, including Spain, perhaps because he feels that he has done all he could do in the places he has visited and lived in the east.

The letter starts of gently and with words of praise for the Christians in Rome, but then immediately launches into a dissertation on God's wrath against sinful human behavior.  Much is often made of Paul's words regarding degrading passions and citing his words as condemnation of homosexuals.  What seems to be his target, however, is any lustful behavior that knows no bounds in the satisfying of erotic desires, of people who are "consumed with passion for one another" (1:27).  The resulting list of sins (1:29-31) are not about sex but about those behaviors that destroy meaningful relationships.

Further arguments are made regarding the inclusion of Jews and Greeks alike within the faith, and takes on the conflict over whether the Jewish Law must be followed or not.  This seems to have been a universal problem in the early churches and Paul spends much of his energy arguing that nothing is to be gained by following the Law, for God's promise of righteousness cannot be earned but is received through faith.

Warning: Here I Come Again

Week Six - Day 3

Today's Reading

Acts 19:23--2 Corinthians 10:1 to 13:13

It seems that every time Paul is headed in a positive direction in his letter, he spins around to answer some challenge to his ministry or problem within the Corinthian community.  In today's reading he once again defends his ministry and responds to less than charitable comments that the Corinthians have made about his physical presence and speech: "His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible" (10:10). This does not sit kindly with Paul and he launches into an attack on "false apostles" who "disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness" (11:15).  Their end, he remarks, will not be so glorious.

Paul is only warming up, however, and goes on to make the case for the legitimacy of his position as an apostle.  He has physically suffered for his calling and for them, but will not back down.  He is certain of his authority and the revelations that have been given to him, and concludes: "So I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.  Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong" (12:9b-10).

Finally, Paul says that he is planning on making a third trip to Corinth, and he is prepared to meet head on the personal criticisms and challenges to his teachings.  He warns them that while he does not wish to have to exert his authority as an apostle, he is willing to do whatever it takes.

New Creations for Reconciliation & Generosity

Week Six - Day 2

Today's Reading

Acts 19:23--2 Corinthians 4:16 to 9:15

This section of Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians contains some real scriptural gems:

• “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away, see, everything has become new” (5:17).
• “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation” (5:18).
•  “So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (5:20).
• “The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows abundantly will also reap abundantly” (9:6).
• “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (9:7).

The act of creation is a powerful event filled with all the energy and impulses of God.  It is not something that happens haphazardly; there is intention, wonderment and joy not only in the process but also in the completed work.  Such is the nature of our being when we are “in Christ,” and who could speak better of this than Paul whose own conversion experience on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-31) re-created him from a persecutor of the church to an apostle proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah.  Paul, who once hunted down Christians breaking up families and communities, now sees reconciliation as a primary responsibility of all believers.  Unity of relationship then draws us to mutual caring for one another, with generosity as an outward sign of the spirit that binds us together.

From Ephesus to Macedonia

Week Six - Day 1

Today's Reading

Acts 19:23--20:1, and 2 Corinthians 1:1--4:15

Paul has spent three years in Ephesus (possibly from the fall of 54 AD to the fall of 57AD) and things have gone fairly well.  There have been a number of converts to Christianity, enough to concern some of the local artisans who make their money fashioning idols.  Before Paul arrived it was the goddess Artemis who held the hearts of the Ephesians, but fewer people are wanting the artisans creations to honor her.  The idol makers stir up the people of the city and a confrontation erupts and moves to the theater, an outdoors amphitheater used not only for performances but for public meetings of the citizens.  The town clerk, however, averts a riot by reminding the citizens that there are proper legal channels through which to pursue their complaints.  Paul seems to have had enough of Ephesus and makes plans to leave for Macedonia (northern Greece), where he ends up staying for three months.

Never one to waste a moment, Paul used some of his time in Macedonia, perhaps in the city of Philippi, to write his second letter the Corinthians.  He writes of the affliction he experienced in Asia, which may refer to the trouble he ran into in Ephesus.  He offers his thanks, however, for the prayers that have sustained him and his companions.  He then tells the Corinthians how he had wanted to visit them again but was afraid it might cause too much distress.  Paul does not want discord to exist among them and urges them to be reconciled with a person who has been corrected by the community.  He then turns to issues of his ministry of the new covenant, “written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (3:3).  Although this has had its challenges, Paul tells the Corinthians that “everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase in thanksgiving, to the glory of God” (4:15).