Tag: apostle paul

Love Is the Answer (Romans 13:8-14)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Reconciliation by Josefina de Vasconcellos

Let love be your only debt! If you love others, you have done all that the Law demands. In the Law there are many commands, such as, “Be faithful in marriage. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not want what belongs to others.” But all of these are summed up in the command that says, “Love others as much as you love yourself.” No one who loves others will harm them. So love is all that the Law demands.

You know what sort of times we live in, and so you should live properly. It is time to wake up. You know that the day when we will be saved is nearer now than when we first put our faith in the Lord. Night is almost over, and day will soon appear. We must stop behaving as people do in the dark and be ready to live in the light. So behave properly, as people do in the day. Don’t go to wild parties or get drunk or be vulgar or indecent. Don’t quarrel or be jealous.Let the Lord Jesus Christ be as near to you as the clothes you wear. Then you won’t try to satisfy your selfish desires. (Contemporary English Version)

No matter the question about law, love is the answer.

There is one singular obligation that Christians have toward both the Church and others in the world: Love. The highest expression of love transcends not only the Law of Scripture, but also the law of the land around us. The unifying principle and perfect summation of law is to love your neighbor as yourself.

Love is one of those things that is not to be checked-off of some personally contrived list of things to do for the day, as if once we do our one good deed for the day, the rest of the day is ours.

No, love is the entirety and the ultimate goal of God’s continuing guidance and instruction for us throughout every day. Love also goes well beyond avoiding hurting another; love is constantly on the lookout for ways to express itself in others’ lives.

Can you imagine how much the U.S. Department of Justice would change overnight if it adopted this biblical command to have love at the center of every single decision it makes?

The love that has been given to us, from the Lover our souls, is meant to be practical, persistent, and pervasive. Love begins with seeing others and valuing them, even if they are very different from ourselves (i.e. the immigrant, the homeless, the mentally ill, etc.)

And that love is expected to grow into a concern of practical care. Love helps carries another’s back-breaking burden. Love seeks to support and advocate, to be generous and willing to sacrifice on behalf of the others. Love not only is to undergird the Law of Scripture, but it is also meant to be the base from which the law of the land is built.

“Love is a human dynamic of wrapping one’s self around another person or thing and deeply investing in it with the core of one’s being.” Nijay Gupta

At the least, and at it’s core, love is a deep human propensity toward bonding with another. For example, giving a plastic bottle of water to a homeless person is a good deed, but love seeks connection and relationship.

My late brother-in-law had a practice, when walking to work, of stopping and sitting down with a homeless person nearly every day. He brought two brown bags with him, so that he could share the other. They would sit and talk. The person was seen, acknowledged, listened to, and loved.

What we most need to grasp about the Apostle Paul and his instructions to all the churches is that the primary aspect of every Christian is to know God’s love for the world, especially its people. When that happens, God’s redeeming and transforming work comes through Christians who love – which then returns to God and loves God.

Hate has no place in God’s agenda for the people of this world. This is why Paul takes pains to point out the angry, fearful, and hateful things we are not to do, as well as the love we are to do.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8, NIV)

Distance and detachment are the soil of hate. Anything that tries to separate us as humans has a distinct smell of fire in the air.

Love has kind and civil speech behind it. Love is a discourse between people. Love is not some sort of coldhearted need that we grit our teeth doing. I admit that love is not my first thought whenever watching the news about the current U.S. President and his Cabinet, because there is a lot of fire around its golden calf.

Yet, my response is to connect with God, and to have connections with all sorts of people, no matter what their politics and thinking are. And, yes, I can do it all in love. When you consistently pray for anyone every day for a long time, it’s hard to hate them, even though you still detest their words and actions.

To keep up dialogues with others in a political camp that is, to me, dangerous helps me to wonder “What happened to them to have such a stance?” instead of “What’s wrong with this crazy mind?” The combination of heart, will, and action serves me well; that’s because this is what love involves.

Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. (Romans 6:17, NLT)

The Apostle Paul’s theology is thoroughly conceived and proclaimed in love; and he used a cluster of terms to talk about the great love that he himself experienced and wanted others to experience, as well. Words such as “grace,” “faith,” “compassion,” “mercy,” and “kindness” are all ways of speaking the nuances of God’s love and the Christian’s love for neighbor.

Although Paul gets a lot of talk amongst Christians concerning faith, justification, and redemption, the very heart of all of it all is that Christ’s atonement was conceived in love within the Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Spirit.

Love is the real distinguishing mark of Christ-following and Spirit-filled churches and Christians. Anything less is neither following in the steps of Jesus, nor possessing the Lord’s given Spirit. If you find God, then you have found love, and vice versa.

Finally, love is such a large dynamic force that we have a lifetime opportunity of growing our hearts as big as our heads. If we come to see that we don’t want to harm others or fantasize about their undoing, then we know we’re on the right track toward putting our spiritual effort into the development of love.

You will be doing the right thing if you obey the law of the Kingdom, which is found in the scripture, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” (James 2:8, GNT)

Holy God, you call us to righteousness and light. Teach us the undivided law of love, so that we may love people even as you do, love you with all our will and strength, and find our freedom in blessed loving speech and service to others, taught to us in word and deed by our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Already Justified and Accepted (Romans 5:1-8)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Crucifixion, by Natalya Rusetska

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition)

Perhaps we have so many people filled with shame and regret today over their past poor decisions and the trajectory their lives, because there is such a profound lack of hope in the world.

Becoming confident in both the unseen realities and the stated promises of God can melt away both personal and corporate shame.

Long ago, the Apostle Paul reminded the Roman Church of their true standing before the God of all. Paul knew that if the people were secure in their identity, then resilience would arise; and if resilience rises, then a robust Christian character and identity will take root. Hope then becomes a central part of life.

Notice that the Apostle made it clear what is true of believers: They are justified, possessing the justification of God. In other words, the Christians have no reason to try and justify themselves to others (or to God) because they already have been justified by God.

There is great freedom in feeling no compunction whatsoever to prove oneself. Followers of Jesus Christ need not prove themselves, spending all sorts of social capital attempting to please others, out of some perceived need to demonstrate who they are.

If you want others to know who you are and what kind of God you serve, then know thyself, instead of constantly putting your finger to the wind in order to gauge which way the prevailing winds of society are blowing so that you can follow it.

In truth, all you need is the wind of the Spirit to carry you on into doing God’s will from a merciful, pure, and peaceful heart.

Since we are already justified, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Things are good between us and God. Not only do we have no need to prove ourselves to the world, but we especially have also absolutely no reason to try and prove ourselves to God.

The Lord already knows the score of everyone’s life. It is a silly venture to put on airs before the Sovereign of the universe, as if God must be convinced to love us and have our backs.

The grace of God is abundant and ever-present; grace is continually available. And there are no exceptions to this. One is never too far from God or too estranged from the good in order to receive the mercy of God.

God’s love has been already poured into our hearts. God is with us; divine love is intimately close to us. Rather than wondering or vacillating between whether God loves me or God loves me not, the objective spiritual reality of the moment is that you and I are surrounded by the God who rejoices over us.

The Lord your God is with you.
He is a hero who saves you.
He happily rejoices over you,
renews you with his love,
and celebrates over you with shouts of joy. (Zechariah 3:17, GW)

What’s more, God does not wait for anyone to get their lives straightened out before paying gracious attention to them. No, while we were still stuck in the darkness of our bad and misguided ways, Christ died for us. Jesus Christ died for the ungodly while they were still going on in their own selfish and oppressive way.

That, my friend, is the extent to which God’s love reaches. There is no pit too deep, no meanness too great, nor any unrighteous life too bad that God cannot reach the long divine arm of mercy and love into the muck, and snatch us out of a depressing existence.

And the world is not too filthy rotten that God is unable to cut through the filth. As far as the Lord is concerned, the earth is presently just a compost pile that will eventually become transformed from garbage to fertilizer for new life, in which love can grow, thrive, and flourish across this world.

Unhindered access to God has been granted to us.

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16, NIV)

We now have the hope and the freedom to be active spiritual farmers who carefully and pastorally care for all creation by spreading the seeds of God’s love to the world.

Everything we have and all that we are, comes from the grace, mercy, and love of God. Therefore, we have no reason to boast in and of ourselves, but to boast extravagantly in what Christ has done for us. He has bought and brought  deliverance from all which hindered us from living a loving and hopeful life.

So then, the path to true self-acceptance comes from knowing that we are already accepted by God.

The very core of our identity is in the Creator, Savior, and Sustainer. Since we possess God’s love and acceptance, there is never a need for subjective feelings of trying to gin-up a sense of self-acceptance. You and I already have it. You are profoundly loved.

This, then, is the basis for peace and rest. Please understand that it is quite possible that later today or tomorrow or next week you will again feel unworthy of God’s love, unaccepted by God and others, and nervous to the point of peace becoming a bygone wish.

None of this, however, erases what is already real and true of you, or changes your identity in any way. You are still in the hollow of God’s hand; still the apple of God’s eye; and still in a place where there is no need to justify yourself. What there is, however, is abundant grace.

No matter how we are doing, feeling, or believing, there is always open access to God because of Jesus Christ.

The ground of our confidence allows us to view tribulations as opportunities for spiritual growth; and patient waiting as the privilege to hope in what is yet to come. I will yet see the glory of God face to face.

God in Christ has done for us what we could not do for ourselves. The Lord has granted us faith, and gifted us with a fresh new allegiance. Through recognition of our helpless state, and our distance from God (including a nasty tendency to ignore God) we discover that the love of God is with us. So, we may rely completely on the divine initiative of the love which never wavers.

In this state, guilt, shame, and regret is left in the dust – replaced by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

Loving God, open our ears to hear your Word, and draw us closer to You, so that the whole world may be one with you as you are one with us in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Life In the Spirit (Romans 8:6-11)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Art by Randi Ford

The attitude that comes from selfishness leads to death, but the attitude that comes from the Spirit leads to life and peace. So the attitude that comes from selfishness is hostile to God. It doesn’t submit to God’s Law, because it can’t. People who are self-centered aren’t able to please God.

But you aren’t self-centered. Instead you are in the Spirit, if in fact God’s Spirit lives in you. If anyone doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, they don’t belong to him. If Christ is in you, the Spirit is your life because of God’s righteousness, but the body is dead because of sin. If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your human bodies also, through his Spirit that lives in you. (Common English Bible)

The chapters of Romans 5-8 are a core biblical text for the Christian life. They get down to the fundamental issue of a Christian’s identity and daily practice.

In the mind of the Apostle Paul, all persons are either in the Spirit of God, or not; selfish or unselfish; thinks of the common good of all, or only thinks of oneself and what is best for the individual me.

For Paul, the tell of one being a Christian is to orient one’s life completely around the person and work of Jesus Christ. If not, then one cannot claim to be a Christian, at all.

Regular Bible-readers will notice that I have used the Common English Version’s rendering of the Greek word σάρξ as “selfishness” instead of the literal and often translated English word “flesh.”

My choice highlights the reality that, although “flesh” may make some reference to the physical body, it has much more to do with a person’s holistic expression of sin by means of the mind, emotions, and soul. In other words, “flesh” can be appropriately translated as “selfishness” since it truly takes the whole person to accommodate sin’s desires.

The selfish nature of human individuals (and communities) can take many forms such as the passionate pursuit of material possessions, winning at all costs, unchecked power, and seeking influential positions.

What’s more, this fleshly selfishness is seen in communal ways through extreme promotion of capitalist ideology; hierarchical forms of power which dominate and oppress others; societal norms which keep people locked into class warfare; and exploitation of the earth’s resources for selfish purposes.

Those who are in these sorts of mindsets and social practices cannot please God, because they fundamentally contradict the overarching ethics of Holy Scripture.

We are not to dwell in the realm of selfishness but are to live in and according to the Spirit of Christ. All of this means that every believer has within them a great potential for both good and evil. Even though we have been freed from the realm of sin, the individual (and the community) must actively use this freedom from Christ for good purposes.

Simply avoiding the bad – although quite necessary – will not do. Only focusing on not getting into trouble may easily leave one complicit to evil by not helping when it was in our power to do so. The Lord Jesus avoided a simple skate through his earthly life. He instead sought:

“to preach good news to the poor,
    to proclaim release to the prisoners
    and recovery of sight to the blind,
    to liberate the oppressed,
    and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19, CEB)

These are actions rooted in Old Testament ethical practices. They are socially minded aspirations meant for the common good of all people, and not just some persons.

The Spirit invades our lives in order to unite us to Christ. In him the believer is made righteous, and given new life and hope. Christians now have a real possibility to live according to the words and the ways of Jesus.

We no longer need to “watch out for number one.” The love of God in Christ provides what is necessary to melt the old selfish desires.

We can now remove ourselves from unholy cycles of condemnation toward both others and self.

We can now speak in a manner which encourages and uplifts, rather than use our speech to verbally decapitate another with harsh divisive language.

We can now relate to others with genuine spiritual care, instead of personal disinterest.

And we can take great hope in the fact the work of God in this world is ongoing, because of transformation by divine grace. I need no longer to listen to all the condemning messages emanating from ignorant persons who are quick to make knee jerk judgments on things they know little about.

The Spirit of Christ and the Word of God are more powerful and have greater effectiveness than any other spirit or word that is expressed or spoken. The inner testimony within the individual knows this to be true. The Christian’s identity is firmly in Christ, not in selfishness.

Perhaps it is so hard to live unselfishly because self-surrender to God feels like dying. Often our longings betray the fact that we have forgotten who we are. When that happens, we tend to search for that identity in all the wrong places.

Let’s instead put our effort into the ultimate ethic of love as embodied in the Lord whom we serve – not in idyllic ideas of romance, but in accepting people for who they are, and not what we want them to be.

I’m talking about a love that is present to others and stays with them; sharing my life; putting up with another’s difficulties; seeing things through and plugging away at what I know is right.

Most of the time, living in the Spirit is just a matter of meeting what comes day by day, and persevering with patience through it in the best way I know how.

The love of God in Christ tends not to be the kind that people write stories about, but is simply doing things with a good attitude, a right spirit, and proper motives. If we relate deeply to life and experience both the joy and pain of living on this earth, then I believe we will find that our longings fade into the background.

That’s because I am now living in the realm of the Spirit of love. And when I’m in that zone, there’s no reason to seek anything else, because the Spirit is your life.

God of compassion and consolation, your breath alone brings life to weary souls. Pour out your Spirit upon us, so that we may face despair with the hope of resurrection and faith in Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit are one God, now and forever. Amen.

It’s Time To Wake Up – First Sunday of Advent (Romans 13:11-14)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is already the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone; the day is near. Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us walk decently as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in illicit sex and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (New Revised Standard Version)

But make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over; dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about! (The Message)

I like metaphors, that is, word-pictures that help illustrate and visualize a concept or idea. That’s probably why I like the Apostle Paul, because I find in him a guy who appears to have the same affinity for metaphors that I do.

In the New Testament reading on this First Sunday of Advent, Paul gives four metaphors to help us grab ahold of what he wants to get across to us:

We are not in some holding pattern, passively awaiting heaven. This is because our salvation is not yet complete. Completeness won’t happen until Jesus returns, until the second advent of Christ. Therefore, we are to be active now, working on our faith commitment to Jesus and to his church.

In this advent season, as we remember Christ’s first “advent” (or “coming”) to this earth, we are equally anticipating the second coming of Christ – not knowing quite when that will occur. Only until this event happens will our salvation come in all of its fullness.

The church is a unique community of persons who continually have an eye toward the future return of Jesus. And this future orientation is supposed to give shape to how we live in the present time.

The world-wide Christian community presently follows the way of deliverance. This current time and place is not the arrival point. Today doesn’t mark the time in which our salvation is fully realized or acquired.

In other words, we are to avoid acting as if this is our permanent home. Rather, we are pilgrims on this earth, sojourning through it as if we were but camping out. Our true home is someplace else. And we will get there when Christ comes again.

There is a stark contrast between those who put all their eggs into the present earthly basket, and those who maintain a future orientation of working now with an eye out for Jesus to return. This contrast is illustrated by Paul with images of what it’s like to live for and in the Roman society; and what it’s like to live with Jesus as Lord, instead of Ceasar.

Are you asleep or awake, living for the night or in the day?

Therefore, keep awake, for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening or at midnight or at cockcrow or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. (Mark 13:35-36)

Paul, taking his cues from Jesus, exhorted the believers to stay alert and be prepared for the end when it comes. Living for the nighttime is a metaphor for giving-in to one’s personal sinful desires; whereas living in the daylight hours is a picture of following the words and ways of Jesus.

What are you wearing? What are you taking off, and what are you putting on?

Using the metaphor of clothes – undressing and dressing oneself – Paul is talking about exchanging one set of clothing for another. This isn’t merely putting on a different pair of jeans than what you already have on. It’s much more radical than that. It’s doffing the tuxedo and donning the overalls. The picture is one of doing something completely different than what you’ve been doing before.

Paul wanted a complete makeover, a total change of moral and ethical behavior that is consistent with the gospel of Christ, and not with typical Roman society. It involves taking up one’s cross and following Jesus. It’s gritty and dirty and gets down to it; instead of avoiding hard work and seeking to have someone else do what is unpleasant to me.

Our allegiance and commitment to Christ is on full public display – not in placards with Bible verses on them, but with the sweet aroma of living a humble and just life in all of its simplicity and holiness.

Will you do the works of darkness, or take up the armor of light?

The darkness represents the unjust life of lies, selfishness, conflicts of interest, relational discord, and immoral actions. The light is meant to convey a beautiful life of integrity, wholeness, righteousness, and peace through loving actions.

Christians are to progressively take on the character of Christ, and not of whatever political character happens to be in power.

Using the metaphor of armor points us not only toward the struggle we confront in living a moral and righteous life, but also toward Christ who is our Divine Warrior. Jesus is the One who fights the battle and wins the victory.

Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Do you know what time it is? Is there any hopeful expectation?

The Christian is one who knows the time is nearer now than when they first believed. We may not know the precise date on the calendar when Jesus will come again, yet we are convinced that he is returning soon.

Therefore, the believer has no business spending time in trying to predict the day of the end. Instead, the believer must remain faithful and persevere to the end with a firm commitment to Christ, and a dedication to doing what is good, right, and just.

So, herein lies the challenge for every believer: Those of us who name Jesus as Lord will continue to live in a world of injustice and unrighteousness. Christians are continually being pulled in differing directions all at once, all the time.

It’s a hard slog. Yet the Christian finds joy and satisfaction in knowing who they are, who they believe in, and who is coming back to make all things new.

Christianity involves a whole lot more than praying a salvation prayer once, then going on one’s merry way, doing whatever the heck one wants to do.

Rather, Christianity is a radical existence of waking from sleep and changing allegiances from immoral leaders to the true sovereign of the universe.

It’s like moving from seeing shadowy forms just before the dawn to seeing clearly in the sun’s full light of day.

It’s as if I’ve been given a completely new set of clothes to put on, giving up the rags of this world for the raiment of being adopted into royalty.

We remain continually vigilant, always watching, always praying, always believing, always loving – knowing that our salvation is at hand, nearly here, and could happen at any moment.

God of justice and peace, from the heavens you rain down mercy and kindness, so that all on earth may stand in awe and wonder before your marvelous deeds. Raise our heads in expectation, that we may yearn for the coming day of the Lord and stand without blame before your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.