Monday 9th May - Romans 9

Today’s chapter is Romans 9, you can read it here

Tom writes:

These three chapters (9-11) are often skipped by churches today but they actually present the climax of Paul’s arguments so far. We walked away from chapter 8 spellbound by its goodness. Or we should have done; a repeated strategy of “the powers” is to cause distrust of Paul’s message. All across the Mediterranean Paul won people to the staggering truths of chapters 1-8 but then saw his churches ravaged by allegations against him. These allegations majored on the idea that Paul had abandoned the Old Testament. So - the logic went - His words could not be the very words of God. We hear those exact allegations today. People say Paul is just one voice among many, one of many preachers pushing his own views. With this allegation in our minds we struggle to receive Romans as the Unchanging and True Words of God. That then leads to the growth of an opt-in / opt-out approach. And before long whole churches are weakened through division or complacency. Paul speaks into this directly here with an emotional reflection on the hope of the Old Testament. Paul knew he was one voice among many; everywhere he went people preached alternative truths. Paul stresses how much he has agonised over that very fact. Then he fights to show his message is the message of God.

Paul shows how his every word is directly in line with the promises of the Old Testament. Paul’s gospel is exactly what the Unchanging God always said he would do even if He did it in a way that was slightly unexpected. Think about the gravity of this truth. Let it obliterate any opt-in / opt-out approach in your heart. We are not believers in a new doctrine that happened to win the Roman empire; these aren’t just Paul’s words. The magnitude and urgency of Paul’s words should arrest us and redefine us. If they don’t we need to beg Holy Spirit to to convict us and make it so. Please don’t diminish the awesome power of the words of Paul. Let them seep into you and change you as God’s Unchanging Truth in this ever-changing world.

Question for reflection

Do you opt-in/opt-out of accepting the truths of the bible?