Romans/ Part 2

In the previous Romans blog, we discussed Paul’s back story behind Romans and how unbelievers might understand what we say and what they might not. This week, since I've already told the back story behind Romans, I’ll just get straight to the point of the blog. (Oh man, this is going to be hard…)

Anyway, In Romans 12-16, Paul gives many exhortations for the church to practice. Among these are some of the most quoted themes, such as “do not be conformed to this world” and “if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith,” and “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

What I think is even more applicable, though, is Romans 14:1-13, where Pau; writes, well, read for yourself:

14 Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. 2 For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4 Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord;[a] and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and rose[b] and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.[c] 11 For it is written:

“As I live, says the Lord,

Every knee shall bow to Me,

And every tongue shall confess to God.”[d]

12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.

So basically, if our brothers in Christ are weaker in the faith, and if they see you do something, they may think that it’s okay. If it is a sin, however, that we struggle with, and it “causes them to stumble,” we should correct our behavior, and then theirs. We should be accepting, but it is also our duty to correct, both ourselves and our brothers.

Whew, I wasn't sure if I was going to make that one. Thanks for reading! Leave a comment and leave an opinion. I will not check on it.

Romans/

So, in Romans we see Paul writing to, well, Romans. More specifically, he is writing to Jewish and Gentile Christians in Rome. Paul’s reason to write Romans? It was mostly because of Jewish Christians messing up again. A church had finally been established in Rome, with Jews leading the group. However, the Jews had to leave for a while under persecution (Just like every other New Testament book). When they came back, they found the Romans running themselves, which meant they were running the church in a more “Roman” way. This was a problem with the Jews, who were used to THEIR traditions. Paul was addressing this issue in Romans. He explained to the Romans that they were free from the law of God, which they could not hope to live up to (Romans 2). But now that they were new creatures in Christ, they could act out on the law with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Romans was written 2,000 years ago, but the book (also like every book in the Bible) can be applied to the modern age. We are living in a society where freedom is used to describe porn, sex, drugs, swearing, and alcohol. But true freedom is found in God, where we can rest, and where we can serve him, willingly and lovingly. This might be hard for a non- believer, as the church normally doesn't look like this and most enjoy the way they live.

What some unbelievers do accept, however, is that we are not to judge each other. Of course, the way they use it is a misapplication of Scripture. They do not realize that all people judge, including themselves. Yet they say that only we are judges. While this can be true for a lot of Christians, a lot of other people groups can be the same way. Not judging other people is a harder task than most people think. But with Christ, the judging ends.

Thanks for reading! If you happen to like this blog, suggest it to your friends. If you don’t like this blog, then still suggest it to your friends. Also, put anything you want to say in the comments. (Swearing, sex jokes, and links to suggestive themed websites not allowed)

1 & 2 Corinthians/ Crucifixion and Resurrection

In Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, we see two entirely different topics. The first is on sexual immorality and how to deal with those kinds of people. The second is addressing the Corinthians on why he is an apostle, and who to consider as false teachers. However, despite these differences, they do share a few things in common. One, they are addressed to a confused city. Two, they at least mention the crucifixion and resurrection. Read for yourself:

1 Corinthians 15 (starting with verse 3 and ending with 19)

 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

It goes on like this for a while, but you get the message. God conquered death on the cross and resurrected three days later. This was a strange idea to the Romans and Greeks, mostly because the ancient philosophers theorized that death was going to get you to an ultimate, spiritual paradise and that our bodies were trash. (Sound familiar?) But God came back to Earth and resurrected, shattering that ideal they had. They found that this life they had in God was better than the life the philosophers had promised, and became followers of Jesus.

In the modern day world, there are several groups like the philosophers. They believe they will go to a paradise (e.g. Muslims, Hindus, etc.). Hindus believe that the soul will reincarnate if you don’t go to paradise. The best form to reincarnate into is a cow, while the worst form is a woman (touchy subject, I know). But the Christian viewpoint is different. Our bodies will resurrect when Jesus comes back, and be perfect and indestructible. This goes against a lot of views and is why the Christian lifestyle is so strange to many.

That’s it for this post. If you are still reading this blog at this point, then you might be crazy. Please post opinions, yawn, yadda, yadda, blah, blah, blah, are you even paying attention?! Never mind…