“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law” (Rom. 13:8). How are we to understand this text? Does it mean that if we love, we have no obligation, then, to obey the law of God? As Jesus did in the Sermon on the Mount, Paul here … Continue reading –>
Read Romans 13:1-7. What basic principles can we take from this passage about the ways in which we are to relate to the civil power of government? What makes Paul’s words so interesting is that he wrote during a time when a pagan empire ruled the world – one that could be incredibly brutal, one that … Continue reading –>
We have talked a great deal this quarter about the perpetuity of God’s moral law and have stressed again and again that Paul’s message in the book of Romans is not one that teaches that the Ten Commandments are done away with or somehow made void by faith. Yet, it’s easy to get so caught … Continue reading –>
With chapter 11, the doctrinal part of the book of Romans ends. Chapters 12 through 16 present practical instruction and personal notes. Nevertheless, these concluding chapters are extremely important because they show how the life of faith is to be lived. For starters, faith is not a substitute for obedience, as if faith somehow nullifies our obligation … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Romans 12, Romans 13. Memory Text: “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2). Powever much Paul is seeking to disabuse the Romans of their false notions of … Continue reading –>
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Before the Sanhedrin”, pages 77-79; “From Persecutor to Disciple” pages 112-114; “Written From Rome”, pages 474, 475, in The Acts of the Apostles; “Reaching Catholics”, pages 573-577, in Evangelism; “What to Preach and Not to Preach”, pages 155, 156, in Selected Messages, book 1. “Notwithstanding Israel’s failure as a nation, there remained among them a goodly remnant of … Continue reading –>
Paul’s love for his own people is clearly apparent in Romans 11:25-27. How hard it must have been for him to have some of his countrymen fight against him and against the truth of the gospel. And yet, amid it all, he still believed that many would see Jesus as the Messiah. Read Romans 11:28-36. How does … Continue reading –>
Read Romans 11:25-27. What great events is Paul predicting here? Christians have been discussing and debating Romans 11:25-27 for centuries now. A few points, however, are clear. For starters, the whole tenor here is that of God reaching out to the Jews. What Paul is saying comes in reply to the question raised at the beginning of the … Continue reading –>
Read Romans 11:11-15. What great hope does Paul present in this passage? In this passage, we find two parallel expressions: (1) “their [the Israelites’] fulness” (Rom. 11:12) and (2) “the receiving of them [the Israelites]” (Rom. 11:15). Paul envisioned the diminishing and the casting away to be only temporary and to be followed by fullness and reception. This is … Continue reading –>
Read Romans 11:1-7. What common teaching does this passage deny clearly and irrevocably? In the first part of his answer to the question, “Hath God cast away his people?” Paul points to a remnant, an election of grace, as proof that God has not cast away His people. Salvation is open for all who accept it, … Continue reading –>
