My Daily Pause

I don’t know whether or not it is officially a cliché, but I occasionally hear someone wonder aloud if another person has a mirror in their house. Of course, they are referring to the way the person is dressed, or the way their hair looks.

The last time you looked in the mirror and saw that your hair was a mess, did you just shrug and walk away?

Why not?

In James 1:22-24, this is the exact comparison James is making about those who hear the word, but keep doing something else. How many folks are walking around out there with Spiritual bed-head? How many are actively deceiving themselves out of salvation? (James 1:22)

The solution is to keep looking into the word. Just like we wouldn’t turn away from the mirror before combing our hair, we cannot turn away from the word without correcting what we see about ourselves. (James 1:25)

What do you see in the mirror?

Romans ends the same way it started – the description of faith as something to be obeyed. (Romans 1:5, 16:26) Almost like bookends, Paul defines the faith he says is needed to get salvation.

I wonder if the convenient chapter headings make it difficult to see these verses. In my Bible, Romans 1:5 is in a section called Greeting and Romans 16:26 is  in a section called Doxology. While these handy subheadings are great for helping us find stuff in the Bible, they are not part of the Bible and should not be trusted as if they are.

Since these are essentially sections called “hello” and “goodbye,” it seems like it is ok to skim them. Those who do miss the two verses describing the faith needed for salvation. Take a look at Romans 1:5:

through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations

This verse is chock full of information:

• The Gospel is from the Christ (The “through whom” is continued from v4)
• An apostle empowered to preach it is delivering it
• The requirement of faith in Jesus
• Obedience, the consequence of faith
• The gospel is for all nations

Absolute, unwavering faith is required for salvation. We see Paul discuss it throughout the book of Romans (and his other letters for that matter.) The faith of Jesus Christ is a lot more than just making a statement of belief – it requires action. It requires response. It requires obedience. To get a sense of the extent we might have to go, take a look at the people in Hebrews 11. Now answer this: What if one of those people said to God, “I believe you can, but I’m not going to do that”?

I have mentioned previously a brief outline of Romans. Since Paul seemed satisfied with the Roman church, the letter to Rome seems to be a comprehensive study of the foundation of Christianity for the Gentiles. (Romans 15:14-15) The book is laid out so we can see the Plan of Salvation at work:

• We sin (Romans 3:23)
• We need salvation (Romans 1:18-32, 2:1-3:20)
• Christ made it possible (Romans 3:21-8:39)
• Through obedient faith we join his body (Romans 6:3-4, 11, 17-18, 23, 12:4-5)
• Through our gratitude we serve him (Romans 12-15)

When Paul talks about justification through faith, he never even once hinted that it was done through some sort of “faith only” event that cannot be rescinded. He laid out plainly that we have the duty to serve continuously. Romans 12-15 lists those duties out for us as a guide to helping God maintain a healthy church. We have a duty to:

• God (Romans 12:2)
• ourselves (Romans 12:3)
• the church (Romans 12:4-8)
• other Christians (Romans 12:9-13)
• even our enemies (Romans 12:14-21)
• the government (Romans 13:1-7)
• our neighbor (Romans 13:8-14)
• weaker brethren (Romans 14:1-15:13)

Our baptism for the remission of our sin (Act 2:38) is only the first step – the step where the old man is buried with Christ. (Romans 6:3-4) No matter what this earthly life throws at us, we have to remain faithful and diligent in his service. (Revelation 2:10) Christianity is a lot of hard work – it is no wonder that Jesus said to count the cost of following him!

Previously, we took a look at Paul’s caution against making unrighteous judgment against our brothers and sisters in Christ. Romans 14 addresses how we are to treat each other within the church, including how we judge and whether we cause another to stumble. Romans 15:1-7 continues that reasoning addressing the responsibility of the strong for the weak.

The Apostle Paul – Bartolomeo Montagna (1450–1523)

Here’s a summary for dealing with minor issues of disagreement as Paul laid it out:

• Be careful how quickly you judge – Romans 14:1-12
• Be careful not to cause one to stumble – Romans 14:13-22
• Help others bear their failings – Romans 15:1-7

Keep in mind that there is a limit to how much a weak brother is allowed to influence our actions. We never take it to the extent that we fail to serve Christ properly. Ultimately, we cannot please men and serve Christ. (Galatians 1:10)

So how far do we go? We go as far as we can, as long as it is building up the weak brother. (Romans 15:2) The point when he is no longer growing is the same point we being damaging the body of Christ. It is a judgment call, and coincidentally, more proof that there is no prohibition against righteous judgment. (John 7:24)

God’s master plan includes a body of followers, united in the same beliefs, obeying the same gospel. This is his gift to us so that we can join him some day. (Ephesians 4:1-7) Our responsibility right now is to nurture that gift.

Daily Bible reading for October 23

Psalm 83
1 Kings 15:25-16:34
Ezekiel 46
Romans 15:1-13

In Romans 14, Paul takes a look at a number of issues that must have been causing brothers in Christ to disagree and perhaps pass some unrighteous judgment against each other. It even looks like Paul addresses some of the stricter folks as the weak ones! For as many years as I have been a member of the Lord’s church, I have noticed one thing: You can’t get 100 people to completely agree on every subject.

As I try to get a sense of what Paul means in Romans 14, one verse in particular jumps out at me: Romans 14:10

… we will all stand before the judgment seat of God

This has a lot in common with Jesus’ Matthew 7 teaching on judging others. His warning about the way we are (or are not) to judge people leads into a discussion of “removing the log out of our own eye first.” (Matthew 7:3-5) So … contrary to popular belief, the last word on judging others doesn’t end with Matthew 7:1. Paul says as much after quotes Isaiah (Romans 14:11):

…each of us will give an account of himself to God

The warning is to not get so wrapped up in what other people are doing and forget to look at ourselves.

In any group of Christians, there are experienced one, new ones, weak ones, strong ones. There will be disagreements that do not have to result in taking sides or back biting or gossiping. We are each to get ourselves right, keep studying and learning, and try to help each other – just as strong families should.

Daily Bible reading for October 22

Psalm 82
1 Kings 14:21-15:24
Ezekiel 45
Romans 14