Because we have been adopted into God’s family, we are privileged to call him “Abba, Father.”
This verse reflects an image from the Old Testament. In Exodus, the Lord delivered the children of God from Egypt, and then led them through the wilderness by a pillar of cloud during...
Romans 8:11 is, first of all, a word of hope. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead “will give life to [our] mortal bodies.” This refers to the resurrection that is...
Paul explains that we Christians are not controlled by our sinful nature (literally, “in the flesh”), but rather are now controlled by the Spirit (“in the Spirit”) he clarifies something that has...
How can we experience the new life we have in Christ? Once we have put our faith in him, how do we experience the abundant life he promises? There are many answers to...
Romans 8:1 is one of the most important verses in all of Scripture, from both a theological and a psychological point of view. Theologically, this verse makes crystal clear the fact of our...
Though we have been saved and forgiven through the grace of God in Christ, sin continues to war against our souls. Sometimes, indeed, it can seem as if our life is dominated by...
Human beings were created to live fruitful lives. Thus we have within us a deep-seated desire to produce through our lives that which really matters. Can’t you feel a yearning to produce “a...
One of the first things I believed when I became a Christian was that I had eternal life . . . or at least I would have it after I died. John 3:16...
The original language of Romans 6:13 is structured in a way that makes a powerful point, though this is sometimes lost in translation. It could be laid out in this way:Do not present...
Romans 5 outlines the terminal impact of Adam’s sin: because one man sinned, all will be condemned, all will die. Yet God’s...
Recently I received a note from a young woman who was struggling with a renewed sense of her own sinfulness. She saw clearly just how wrong her sin was and how much it...
In Romans 4, Abraham demonstrates that we are made right with God, not by works of the law, but because of faith. Though Abraham was the founder of the Jewish nation (v. 1)...
The Apostle Paul often brought up the issue of boasting. In part, this reflected his experience as a Jew, since Jews in the Roman world tended to feel special pride because of their unique...
We have already seen in Romans that the good news of God’s salvation in Jesus Christ comes in response to the bad news of our sin. Romans 3:23-24 puts this in a nutshell...
God revealed his law to Israel, showing them how they were to live in covenant relationship with him. But, in their sinfulness, the Jews could not obey God’s law with such perfections as...
If chapter 2 were all we had of Romans, we’d think that we had to spend our whole life trying to earn God’s salvation. Even more discouraging would be the knowledge that, in...
Last Friday, I began reflecting on Romans 2:1-4. Today, I want to focus on verse 4. It comes in the context of the claim that all of us are sinners, and that our...
Romans 1 ended with a long catalog of human wickedness. Chapter 2 begins with the recognition that we might hear such a list as condemning others but excusing ourselves. As a Jew, Paul had heard...
There is so much “wisdom” out there that is, in the end, anything but wise.
