“And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Rom. 13:11). As we have stated all quarter, Paul had a very specific focus in this letter to the Romans, and that was to clarify for the church at Rome … Continue reading –>
“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 –>
Several years ago, an American restaurant chain had commercials suggesting the different reasons to go out to eat at their restaurant and celebrate. Maybe you found 50 cents in the pockets of some old jeans, or maybe you hit all the lights green on your way home from work. The lighthearted message of the commercials, … 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 –>
It is hard to believe that there is only one more Lesson study after this one, and then 2017 disappears into eternity-past. May our study today instruct us in the way God will help us Overcome Evil With Good. The first part of Sunday’s lesson shows we are in a battle with sin, therefore: Hymn … Continue reading –>
Where are we headed? Working our way through the book of Romans, we now enter a discussion of every-day thoughts about living the Christian life. With so much wisdom and practical advice in Romans, do you think that Paul’s writings make following Jesus as born-again Christians harder than before to follow? Would it be easier … 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 –>
Thursday’s section of this week’s lesson asks, Is there someone to whom you need to show mercy, who perhaps doesn’t deserve it? Why not show this person that mercy, no matter how hard that might be to do? Isn’t that what Jesus has done for us? After running from God, Jonah had given up on … 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 –>
