Week 10

Monday, March 3

Romans 8:1-25

         

Commentary

After Paul’s discussion of how Christ saves us from our sin, he starts chapter 8 with the declaration that those who know Jesus will not face condemnation. Because Jesus has perfectly obeyed God’s law on our behalf, God counts us as righteous. While in our flesh, when we follow our sinful, stubborn selves rather than God, we do not want God and his righteous rule in our lives. When we come to know Christ, the Holy Spirit helps us love God and obey him. As Douglas Moo explained, “Here we are called by faithfulness to the Scriptures to hold in tension two clear truths: that the indwelling of the Spirit as the result of faith in Christ infallibly secures eternal life, and that a lifestyle patterned after God’s Spirit is necessary to inherit eternal life.” The Holy Spirit also helps believers know and remember that they are in God’s family. As part of God’s family, believers are heirs of God’s estate. For those who know Christ. we will have hardship in our time here on earth, but God promises us a future that is incomparably, unfathomably better. Our life on earth isn't the end of the story and neither is our time in heaven. God will make a new heavens and a new earth, free from sin and death and corruption, and all his people will dwell with them ther human fathers?

2. How does God saving us despite our failure to obey his commands inspire you to obey him out of love and devotion?

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for sending Jesus to save us and the Holy Spirit to guide and comfort us.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in taking sin seriously and lovingly sharing the gospel with those around you.

3. Pray for the salvation of two lost people you know.

 

Going Deeper

In Aramaic, one of the languages commonly spoken in Paul’s day, “Abba” is a close, familial term for father. You can learn more about its meaning in the Bible by following the links below: 

• https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/why-abba-does-not-mean-daddy/
• https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/what-does-it-mean-to-cry-abba-father
  
  

Tuesday, March 4

Romans 8:26-39

 

Commentary

This passage is a great comfort for Christians. Paul details how we are saved completely by the work of God and how we are secure in the salvation he provides. God’s saving work for us is so comprehensive, the Holy Spirit even helps in prayer. The apostle says that God “foreknew,” “predestined,” “called,” “justified,” and “glorified” every believer. These words are related to different aspects of salvation, from God choosing to save us, from God bringing the gospel to us and our responding to it, to our justification when we trust in Christ, and our eventual glorification in heaven. The past tense that Paul uses here shows that our salvation and eternal joy and the new heavens and new earth is so secure and so certain, we can consider every step of it as good as done. This means that no matter what we face, whether persecution or poverty or even our own sin, God has got us and he's not letting us go. As Paul explained in the first part of chapter 8, on our own, we do not want God. Thus to save us, God has to intentionally intervene. We can trust that our salvation can’t be lost because it is not based on what we've done and it's not even brought to our lives by our own independent choosing. Salvation is entirely God's work and this is comforting because God is so much greater and kinder and holier than us.

Application/Discussion

1. How does this passage come for us when we feel uncertain of our salvation or as if a sinful mistake has jeopardized it?

2. We do not know who God will sovereignly call to salvation, but we do that those he calls will certainly follow him. How does this passage encourage us to share the gospel given that we don’t know who will be saved?

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for the secure, unchanging, and irrevocable salvation he offers us in Christ.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in trusting God for salvation and honoring him in your living.

3. Pray for your church’s pastors, teachers, and leaders to teach and live out the gospel faithfully and draw others into further love of and obedience to God.

 

Going Deeper

John Piper gives a great overview of this chapter:

• https://youtu.be/ddRAaJggzPc?si=KKuYtvVngFqgTGgP

To learn more about predestination, see an article I wrote about the doctrine on the Family Bible Reading blog:

·      https://familybiblereading.blogspot.com/2025/03/understanding-doctrine-of-election.html

Wednesday, March 5

Romans 9

 

Commentary

This is a difficult to interpret but very important chapter. The apostle expresses his great love for his fellow ethnic Israelites and his desire for them to come to salvation. As the people who received God's promises and the Old Testament, they are the rightful heirs to God's salvation in many ways. Yet, as with everyone else, a person who is ethnically Jewish still has to turn away from his sins and turn to Christ. It is not one’s heritage that saves, but Christ atoning work to pay for our sins and God's cleansing us of our sins when we come to him for forgiveness. This has been the case through the whole Bible, even within the nation of Israel, individuals had to consciously choose to follow God and they were not safe simply by being born Jewish or, as Paul is explained so thoroughly in Romans so far, trying to obey the law.

From our human perspective, there is a tension between our need to turn away from sins to God and our inability to do so unless God intentionally works in our hearts. Paul uses passages in the Old Testament to address this, explaining that God has the right to choose to save or condemn. Further, when God chooses to save, he is being merciful, and when God chooses to condemn, he is just. Like Paul, we should earnestly desire for others to come to Christ, and we should share the gospel, live out our faith, and pray for the salvation of others faithfully.

 

Application/Discussion

1. Paul had an incredible passion for the salvation of his ethnic kinsman. Do you feel this kind of love and gospel passion for any group, such as your extended family, your city, your country, or your ethnic group? Mention them today in your prayer time.

2. How is salvation an expression of God’s mercy? How is sending the unrepentant to hell an expression of God’s justice?

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for Jesus paying the price for our sins and for the privilege and responsibility of sharing the news of this free gift to others.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in living a life set apart from sin and to be a godly, loving example to others.

3. Pray for your church to be on mission to reach your community for Christ and for your pastors to lead and teach the church wisely.

 

Going Deeper

John Piper gives a great set of lessons from this chapter in a brief video:

• https://youtu.be/A09Iax_7nWY?si=26knMeThDc4pZJCL.

Thursday, March 6

Romans 10

 

Commentary

As with the last chapter, Paul starts chapter 10 with an expression of his earnest desire for his fellow ethnic Israelites to come to faith in Christ. As Douglas Moo said, Paul talks about the righteousness that comes from the law “to stress that Israel’s pursuit of a right standing with God was completely bound up with the law: they were pursuing ‘a law that held out the promise of righteousness’ (cf. 2:13). This goal they did not obtain, nor could they ever attain it. For the law, as Paul has made clear earlier, can never bring righteousness (3:20, 28; 4:13–15; 8:3). So narrowly were their eyes focused on the law that, rather than embracing Jesus Christ, the true goal of the ‘race’ (see 10:4), they have stumbled over him.” [1]

The offer of salvation in Christ is freely offered to all in the gospel and thus the gospel should be proclaimed to all. Paul quotes Old Testament Passages at the end of this chapter to express that in one way, our need for salvation in God's place is Creator is shown in our hearts and in creation. However, in our simpleness however we suppress this knowledge, such as by pursuing vain religion rather than God himself as the Israelites had done. Ultimately those who come to faith in Christ do so because of God's work in them, but the way in which God starts that work is by his elect hearing the gospel message. That means we can never put off the vital mission of sharing the gospel with all, because we never know who God will bring to himself through our faithful proclamation.

 

Application/Discussion

1. How does this chapter help you better understand salvation and the role of ethnic Israelites in God’s plan of salvation?

2. How does this chapter motivate you to prioritize evangelism in your day-to-day life?

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for the confidence we can have that Jesus had paid the price for our sins and that our salvation is secured by him.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in persevering in godly living and trusting that Jesus’ death is all we need to pay for our sins.

3. Pray for the salvation of two lost people you know by name.

 

Going Deeper

If you've ever wondered why we should share the gospel when God is Sovereign over who will come to salvation, these articles will be of help:

• https://learn.ligonier.org/podcasts/ultimately-with-rc-sproul/since-god-is-sovereign-why-evangelize
• https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/double-predestination-evangelists/

Friday, March 7

Romans 11

 

Commentary

In this chapter, Paul explains that God has certainly not forgotten his promises to save Israel. Paul himself is an Israelite, so God is still in the business of bringing Israelites to faith. Beyond that, Paul goes back to the Old Testament to demonstrate that God has always had a faithful remnant of believing Israelites who are saved out of the unbelieving people/nation as a whole. Paul uses the metaphor of a tree with branches grafted into it to explain salvation. The tree is God's people, which in the Old Testament was overwhelmingly Israelites, but God also grafts branches of non-Israelites onto the tree. Presumably, if some of the original branches had not fallen off, these new branches would not be grafted in – if Israel had been perfectly obedient, then God may have left the sinful Gentiles in their lostness. However, instead, God chose to show his mercy to the faithful remnant of Israel and to many of the Gentiles. Paul did not mention this to lament the lostness of Israel, he instead viewed God’s mercy to the elect of Israel as assurance that the truly repentant of his kinsman would surely “be grafted back into their own olive tree” if God would gladly graft the wild olive shoots, the Gentiles, into the tree. Paul ends the chapter by emphasizing that “the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable” (11:29, ESV) – God has promised to show his mercy to both Jews and Gentiles and he will indeed. This is certainly hard for us as mere humans to understand, but at the end of the day, God’s purposes will be fulfilled and he will receive the glory.

 

Application/Discussion

1. Do you have peace with God – have you come to him for the forgiveness of your sins and to make him the Lord of your life, and do you feel at peace with your salvation being secure in him? If you’re not, pray to God and ask for him to make clear whether you have been saved.

2. Notice that Paul talks about Adam as if he was a real person and the events of Genesis 1-3 really happened. In what ways are we tempted to distrust or downplay certain claims of the Bible in our culture? Why should we trust the claims of the Bible over modern scientific findings or other religions? If you’re struggling with these issues, pray for God’s help, read your Bible, and reach out to your pastors.

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for saving us and bringing us into his family.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in pointing others to Christ and living as obedient children of God.

3. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in growing in your love of others and your desire for their salvation.

Saturday, March 8

Romans 12

 

Commentary

In this chapter, Paul digs into the Christian life, telling us how we should live if we have been brought into the tree of God’s people he discussed in the last chapter. We should be living sacrifices, not of the sense that we have to sacrifice ourselves for our salvation, but that we should be set apart entirely for God as an act of devotion and worship. God uniquely gifts each of us to serve him, bringing us together into the church so that we can use our gifts together for God's glory. Not everyone can teach well, not everyone can give large financial gifts or significant amounts of their time, not everyone can lead worship, not everyone can clean with a cheerful attitude, and so on. We should recognize and value each other's differences, being content with what God has gifted us with and using those gifts to serve God.

Verses 9 to 21 are important ways that we live as sacrifices to God. There are many different commands here, but one common theme with all of them is that they are not about our individual wants and needs. We should use our lives to serve others for God's sake, not to serve ourselves or to serve others for ungodly purposes. Our greatest example in this, of course, is Jesus, who both lived and died as our sacrifice for sins and lived a sinless life, perfectly obeying all of God's commands. As we seek to obey God, we look to him as our example and as our Savior.

 

Application/Discussion

1. In what ways do you feel gifted? How can you use these gifts in your church? If you are not sure, ask mature believers who know you well where they see your gifts and talk to your church leaders about places where you might be able to serve. 

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for saving you and giving you the privilege of serving him.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in following God's commands and utilizing your gifts for his service.

3. Pray for the people of your church to set themselves apart for god, use their gifts and service of him and each other, and show God's love to your community together.

 

Going Deeper

This sermon by John Piper dives into the meaning of the first two verses of this chapter, specifically about how to know God's will:

• https://youtu.be/yIOgYPkNA7g?si=ETdgwdOyXj6dDtxY

This article from LifeWay can help you learn more about spiritual gifts and consider where you may be most spiritually gifted:

• https://www.lifeway.com/en/articles/women-leadership-spiritual-gifts-growth-service
  
  

Sunday, March 9

Romans 13

 

Commentary

Paul continues to detail how we should live our lives as Christians by explaining that we should be submissive to the authorities over us. One of the themes that runs throughout the Bible is that authority and structure are good things. Often, even bad authority and structure is to be preferred to no authority and structure. Thus, Paul commends obedience and submission to one's governing authorities even to Christians under the rule of the evil and oppressive Roman government. God has given the government the sword, the right to enforce laws and enact justice, for good reason.

Paul says we should give everyone what is his due, including the government its due of submission and respect. We should also be sure to live in such a way that we honor everyone without putting ourselves an obligation to anyone. We do, however, owe endless love to each other, since God has shown this kind of love to us and commanded us to show it to our fellow man. We are to love and such a way that Accords with God's commands. A lot of people will say that they are being loving even if what they do defies what the Bible says. In contrast to this, Paul bases the concept of love he discusses in the Old Testament law. We are to obey God, place them at the center of our lives, live with integrity, put others first, and point people to God. Each day and each moment bring us closer to Christ’s return, giving us greater urgency to encourage others and point them to Christ while we still have the opportunity.

 

Application/Discussion

1. Do you have trouble submitting to authorities, whether your government, boss, teachers, or others? Why do you think this is hard for you? How does this chapter encourage and convict you?

2. How does Paul’s lament of his sinfulness help you see that you are not alone in resisting sin and your struggles are common for believers?

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God that he is the greatest and perfect authority and that he will give perfect justice.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in obeying authorities and loving others.

3. Pray for your government leaders as well as your boss and colleagues or teachers and fellow students to come to faith in Christ.

 

Going Deeper

See these articles to learn more about how we should submit to authorities as Christians:

• https://www.crossway.org/articles/should-christians-always-submit-to-the-government-romans-13/
• https://learn.ligonier.org/articles/christians-and-government

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[1] Douglas J. Moo, “Romans,” in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, ed. D. A. Carson et al., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 1145.