Week 11
Monday, March 10
Romans
14:1-15:13
Commentary
In
this chapter, Paul talks about how to be an edifying example for those “weak in
faith,” those who have consciences easily bothered by morally neutral things.
He gives several examples of things the “weak in faith” may do because they
feel it is the right thing to do (or the better thing to do): not eating meat,
making a particular day of the week important – likely referring to observing a
strict Sabbath even though Christ is our true Sabbath, or avoiding foods that
are unclean according to the Law even though Christ has made all foods clean.
For the “strong in faith,” we should work to encourage and disciple our weaker
brothers and sisters. If someone feels he should do or not do a particular
thing, if he isn’t sinning, we let him be and not put him in a position to
violate his conscience. For the “weak in faith,” if we feel that something is
wrong or inappropriate, we should abstain. Paul gives us a litmus tests for
these cases of conscience – we should only do something if we are sure it is
what God wants us to do and if we do it in thanksgiving and to God’s glory.
Just as Christ used his life to serve others rather than himself, we are to use
our lives to serve others and strengthen their faith.
Application/Discussion
1.
What issues of conscience come up in your personal life or church life? Some
common ones involve eating certain foods, alcohol use, certain kinds of secular
media, etc. How can you show patience and love to brothers and sisters who feel
differently about these issues than you?
2.
Do you find yourself trying to police what others do about morally neutral
issues? How can you work to be less judgmental and assertive and become more
humble?
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 making wise, God-honoring decisions and
being an encouragement rather than a hindrance to your brothers and sisters in
faith.
3.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to help your pastors and other teachers in the church
to teach wisely and your congregation mature in their faith.
Going Deeper
The
term Christian liberty is often used to describe the freedom Christians have
relating to these issues of conscience. The articles below give helpful
definitions and guidelines for Christian liberty:
●
https://learn.ligonier.org/articles/4-principles-exercise-christian-liberty
●
https://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-liberty.html
Tuesday,
March 4
Romans
15:14-16:27
Commentary
The
concluding remarks of Paul’s letter can seem obscure and irrelevant to us
today. We probably don’t recognize most of the names mentioned by Paul and
whether he went to Spain or not, he’s long dead and we can’t help him get
there. What’s the significance of this passage to us today? First, we have an
example to follow – Paul was all about bringing the gospel to all people and
all nations, we should be too. Second, we are reminded that everyday people
(like us!) matter to God and his mission. We don’t know much, if anything,
about the names listed here, but Paul knew about them and wanted to encourage
them. You matter to God. That couple at your church you never talk to matters
to God. That crying baby interrupting your date at Cracker Barrel matters to God.
Love people, share the gospel with them, encourage them in their faith, and
pray for them. Third, God is working and will be victorious. Take heart,
friends, victory and rest is coming for all of us who know Jesus as Lord. In
the meantime, let’s be on mission for him and lead people to him.
Application/Discussion
1.
What people in your church, job, or family do you overlook or never interact
with? What’s a practical way you can encourage some of these folks this week?
2.
How are you involved in bringing the gospel to the people across the world? If
you’re not involved at all, or would like to be more involved, see the
resources below and talk to your pastors.
Points of Prayer
1.
Thank God for bringing us into his family and using us to bring others to him.
2.
Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in always being on mission for the Lord and to
share the gospel with love and boldness.
3.
Pray for the many, many unreached people groups and nations in the world to be
reached for Christ.
Going Deeper
If
you’d like to be more involved in bringing the gospel to the nations, here are
some resources to pray for unreached peoples and missional causes. Take a few
minutes to explore these websites and see how you can be praying!
●
https://www.imb.org/prayer-list/?searchtype=all
●
https://joshuaproject.net/pray/unreachedoftheday/today
●
https://operationworld.org/
Wednesday,
March 5
James
1
Commentary
James
(probably James, the half-brother of Jesus) writes his letter to Christians
scattered all over the Roman Empire to encourage them to live out their faith
amid temptation and persecution. His letter is a lot like the book of Proverbs
– it has repeated themes, but James jumps around a bit with them. He starts by
saying that we should count our trials and troubles as a joy, because through
this hardship, God refines our faith. We should ask God for wisdom,
particularly wisdom about how to persevere in trials, because God gladly gives
us wisdom to live for him. Whether poor or rich, we should view our life with
from eternal perspective and put our faith in God rather than our stuff or
circumstances. During temptation, we should remember that we are tempted by our
own sinful hearts and we are responsible for how we respond to our temptations.
God doesn’t cause us to sin, far from it – God gives us the very best things in
our lives. Everything we have is a gift from God, and thus we should turn
around and use everything we have and everything we are to glorify God. We
should live out our salvation and God’s commands – controlling our tempers by
filling our minds with God’s Word instead of angry thoughts, living out God’s
Word as we read and hear it, and express God’s love caring for the least seen
and most vulnerable. This is a big chapter, every paragraph has hours of things
to meditate on, pray through, and put into practice in your life.
Application/Discussion
1.
What in this chapter was the most encouraging for you? What was the most
convicting?
2.
Are you facing any hardships right now? How can you find joy in the hardship,
and in what ways do you see God working?
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
As
we look at James this week, here are some great sermon series by my four
favorite preachers:
●
Tim
Keller –
https://gospelinlife.com/series/james-a-faith-that-comes-down-to-earth/
●
Alistair
Begg – https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/series/faith-that-works-volume-1/
●
Kevin
DeYoung – https://christcovenant.org/sermon-series/james/
●
Albert
Mohler – https://albertmohler.com/category/exposition/james/
Thursday,
March 13
James
2
Commentary
In
keeping with James’ definition of “true religion” from the last chapter, James
warns us not to show favoritism to those in the church, giving attention and
honor to people of prestige while ignoring or disrespecting the less fortunate.
God calls us to love all people and treat them with dignity. Of all places in
the world, then, the church is where we should expect to find the least
favoritism and prejudice. Be sure your church is like this, and when others are
overlooked, be the person to talk to them, sit with them, and pray for them.
Faith, as James elaborates in this chapter, is not simple lip service. Faith is
lived out and all-encompassing. James cites Abraham and Rahab as examples of
this – their faith in God radically altered their actions and the course of
their lives. While it can seem, at first glance, that the writer is saying that
our works justify us (make us right with God/clear us of our sin), he is rather
saying that justifying faith will lead to godly living. As Thomas Schreiner
explained, “first glances aren’t enough when reading the Scriptures. We are
called to read deeply and canonically [in the context of the whole Bible].
James doesn’t deny that faith saves; he rejects the notion that a particular
kind of faith saves—a faith that doesn’t produce works. In short, faith that is
merely intellectual assent is not saving faith… Saving faith, then, is the act
of the entire person. It includes the will and the emotions, such that those
who believe in Jesus give themselves to
him.”
Application/Discussion
1.
Who in your church (or family/school/workplace) are you tempted to ignore,
avoid, or treat poorly? How does this chapter encourage you to love these
people?
2.
In what ways has your faith impacted your life? Do you have different behaviors
and priorities than the lost people around you? Are you on mission for God
everywhere you go?
Points of Prayer
1.
Thank God for that Jesus’ perfect obedience and righteousness is credited to us
when we put our faith in him.
2.
Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in living out your faith.
3.
Pray for the salvation of two lost people you know by name.
Going Deeper
To
learn more about James’ discussion of faith and works, see this excellent
article from Thomas Schreiner that I quoted above:
●
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/do-paul-james-disagree-on-justification-by-faith-alone/
Friday,
March 14
James
3
Commentary
This
chapter is about our tongues, what we say. Our unwise words have gotten us all
in trouble in one way or another and James describes this experience with
captivating imagery. Greek scholar Robert Plummer summarizes, “James begins by
warning of carelessly taking upon oneself the role of teacher in the church.
Because we all sin with our words, if a teacher (who, by the nature of his
office, speaks a great deal) is not spiritually mature, he will cause great
harm to others. Second, James addresses the congregation more generally,
warning of the power and potential harm of words with numerous striking
illustrations (bits in horses’ mouths, rudders on ships, a fire in a forest,
the taming of wild animals). Third, James homes in on one sin of human speech: slander,
i.e., the hypocrisy of blessing God while cursing humans made in his image.
Fourth, James closes the section with several memorable images critiquing
hypocritical slander (a spring that pours forth both fresh and salt water, a
fig tree that bears olives, a grapevine that produces figs, a salt pond that
yields fresh water).”[1] Just as
we are supposed to speak wisely, we are supposed to live and think wisely. Our
lives should be characterized by godliness and if they are, we are bound to
find more peace in our relationships than if we characterize ourselves by
jealousy and selfish ambition. The good news of a passage like this, is that
seeing our sin revealed so clearly leads us to Christ. As Professor Plummer
explains, “Wicked sinner, do not despair! Repent (daily!), thank God for kindly
revealing our sin, and rest in the finished work of Christ. Know that we are
accepted because of Christ and not because of the purity of our motives or
actions.”[2]
Application/Discussion
1.
In what ways do you sin in your speech?
2.
What is in your heart – jealously and selfish ambition, or peace and
gentleness?
Points of Prayer
1.
Thank God for offering us salvation instead of judgement despite all the ways
that we sin with our words and thoughts.
2.
Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in speaking and acting wisely.
3.
Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help for your church’s pastors and teachers as they
serve as an example to the church and teach the Scriptures.
Going Deeper
If
you’d like to dive deeper into what James says about the tongue, see this
sermon from Sinclair Ferguson:
· https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-tongue-the-bridle-and-the-blessing-an-exposition-of-james-3-1-12
Saturday,
March 15
James
4
Commentary
In
this chapter, James tells us why we have conflict. Like toddlers, we get mad
when we don’t get exactly what we want and exactly how we want it. Anger, as
Christian counselors often explain it, happens when we let something other than
God take the place of the ultimate in our life. We become jealous, bitter, and
defensive when something gets in the way of our new “leader.” Instead of
letting these lesser things rule our hearts, we should humbly submit ourselves
to God, confessing our sins and asking for his help. We should not let other
things take the place of God in our lives, and neither should we try to act
like God to others, policing or micromanaging every bit of their lives and
actions. We should, as other parts of Scripture tell us, share the gospel with
and edify others, but we should never do so as if we are perfect or have the
ultimate authority over others. We should also remember not to take God’s place
as we make plans for ourselves. We should make general plans and pursue them as
best we can, but again, we have to remember we are not God and we must submit
to his plans, whether or not they align with our ideal plans. God is much wiser
than us, it’s a good thing to submit our all to his judgement!
Application/Discussion
1.
What typically makes you frustrated or drives you to argue with others? Are
these things good things to be so passionate about, and are you acting in a
godly way when you bring up your concern to other people? How does this chapter
encourage and redirect you?
2.
Has God ever led you on a different path than you were planning? In retrospect,
can you see the wisdom in or good produced by your plans being disrupted?
Points of Prayer
1.
Thank God for sparing you in mercy and saving you in Christ rather than
destroying you for your sins.
2.
Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in having godly priorities and submitting to
God’s rule in all aspects of your life.
3.
Pray for two lost people you know by name.
Going Deeper
Crossway
has a lot of very helpful articles on anger:
●
https://www.crossway.org/articles/5-myths-about-anger/
●
https://www.crossway.org/articles/11-passages-to-read-to-help-fight-anger/
●
https://www.crossway.org/articles/4-emotions-that-are-hidden-beneath-your-anger/
Sunday, March
16
James
5
Commentary
The
closing chapter of this little letter takes a surprising apocalyptic turn for a
book of wisdom. James warns that the godless and oppressive elites of this
world will find themselves losing all they’ve worked for and being on the
receiving end of God’s judgement. Whatever hardships we face in this life, in
Christ, we are guaranteed to win in the end. As we are waiting for this
victory, we should be patient and encourage one another. It seems odd for James
to then say that “above all” we should be straightforward in our speech and not
swear by anything, but James, like many authors of his day, uses that phrase to
signify the conclusion of his letter. He then instructs us to pray when we are
suffering, praise when we are cheerful, and be encouraged by our pastors
whenever we are sick. The oil of anointing isn’t anything magical, but the
prayers of God’s people, particularly God’s shepherds, is a powerful thing. God
works through his people and often works in response to what his people pray.
It’s not because we’re hot stuff ourselves, but because God loves us and
desires our good and our sanctification. This same sanctifying care that God
gives us, we should give to others, bringing them back when they wander into
sin and destruction.
Application/Discussion
1.
Do you have trouble seeing problems, whether yours or systematic problems in
the world, in light of God’s impending judgement of the lost and rescuing of
the saved?
2.
What has really stood out to you throughout this letter? Are there any passages
that were especially convicting or encouraging? Consider working on memorizing
them.
Points of Prayer
1.
Thank God that Christ has won the victory over sin and Satan and that he will
bring all his people home one day.
2.
Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in being patient and having eternal priorities.
3.
Pray for two lost people you know by name.
Going Deeper
There’s
a lot in this little book! It’s well worth reading, reflecting, and rereading.
One great way to spend more time in this letter is to follow one of the sermon
series I linked in the first chapter of James. You can also find particular
verses/passages that really stood out to you and work on memorizing them. I
knew someone who had the entire book of James memorized and it was immensely
helpful for her and encouraging for me. Here’s a great article on how to
memorize Scripture:
●
https://www.crossway.org/articles/how-and-how-not-to-memorize-scripture/
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