Author: Jimmy Gunn

Re:Verse passage –  Romans 11:33-36 (day three)

³³ Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

I am sure that Paul had many of the words of Isaiah on his mind as he wrote this part of his letter (verse 34 is a quote of Isaiah 40:13). If you have time this week, I encourage you to read Isaiah 55 with Romans 11 in mind. In Isaiah 55, God tells us that salvation is an open invitation to anyone, even the wicked. Isaiah 55 is an open call for the wicked to turn and repent to receive salvation. If you have ever been badly mistreated or deeply wronged or witnessed the wickedness of people, I am certain that this thought can be a little hard to grasp at times. But that is not for us to know, and it is certainly not for us to condemn.

God goes on in verses 8 and 9 to remind us just how much higher His thoughts are than ours and how much we do not understand what He is doing. This, hopefully, gives you pause as you think about how truly great God is. We cannot fully comprehend it! He is on a whole other level that we cannot ever attain. It should also give us pause to remember that before we come to salvation through Jesus, we are all wicked! Isaiah 55 was written for us all to read and be reminded that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!

Throughout our Romans study, our theme has been that the gospel is for all, especially for those still struggling in wickedness away from the Lord. Who do you know that is thirsty for the Lord? Who do you know that needs to turn to the Lord so that He may have mercy on them? Talk to that person today. Share with them Isaiah 55:6-7 as you do so.

Re:Verse passage – Romans 10:5-13 (day three)

⁹ because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

In ministry with kids, I often talk with parents and leaders about gauging whether kids have “head knowledge” of the Bible and the truths therein, or if they have “heart knowledge” of these truths. In other words, do they know the content of the Bible as they know the content of a book they read or a test they studied for (head knowledge)? Or, more importantly, does that knowledge move them to an understanding of their hopelessness without Jesus (heart knowledge)?

Paul says here in verse 13 that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But what does that call mean or look like? It is more than simply stating that Jesus is the Son of God and that He rose from the dead. We know that Satan and demons believe that Jesus is God’s Son and know that Jesus is not dead anymore (Luke 4; Luke 8:28; James 2:19), but they won’t be saved from God’s wrath. They have head knowledge of who Jesus is, but it has not brought them to repentance and acceptance of who He is.

So, salvation is more than head knowledge. It comes from the heart (verse 9). Salvation comes from knowing and understanding that we are utterly helpless on our own and gladly accepting of God’s gift of grace and righteousness through Jesus. Do you feel helpless without God? Do you feel the weight of the sin that separates you from Him without Jesus? I pray that, today and now, your heart knowledge moves you to repentance and acceptance of His gift of grace and righteousness!

Re:Verse passage – Romans 8:31-39  (day three)

³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

These verses in Romans 8 are a calling and reminder for us to be bold in our faith and in sharing the gospel. Paul’s words rang true then to those that would hear them and die for their faith, and they still ring true for us today. There is nothing that can stand in the way of God’s love for us. We may suffer or die on this side of glory, but there is nothing that can affect the other side where we get to see our Creator.

Paul’s words remind us that God is faithful in His promises and that He will do what He promised long ago. When we become believers and belong to Him, there is no condemnation for us (8:1) and no separation (8:38-39) for us. This should embolden us to get up and go out to do whatever it takes to proclaim His name to the nations! If nothing can separate us, then why should we worry? If nothing can stand in the way of His love and promises, then why should we fear or question what He is doing? These verses are freedom for us to live boldly for Him, holding nothing back.

I have felt convicted by this study in Romans, and I pray that you have been, too. May you be emboldened and encouraged to go and share today. The Lord, strong and mighty, is with you and nothing can separate you from His love!

Re:Verse passage – Romans 6:1-14  (day three)

¹¹So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. (NLT)

There is a finality here to what Paul is saying about sin in our lives. As Aaron said yesterday, we will always confront our bent nature, but the power of sin over us is broken through Jesus Christ. This encourages me and comforts me to know that the same power that defeated sin and death already lives in me! This should change our outlook on sin and Satan. Rather than being timid and fearful about our enemy, the devil, prowling around to devour, we can be strong and courageous knowing that the power of the Holy Spirit is living in us and makes us alive to God through Jesus.

So, while we fight temptation and our bent nature, we can know that “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)” God reminds us through Paul that there is no ground for the power of sin over us once we become His children. Be encouraged, today, to stand in the power of Jesus and be used as an instrument of His grace!

Re:Verse passage – Romans 5:1-8 (day three)

⁵and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Raise your hand if you want suffering! I highly doubt any of us would gladly and willingly accept suffering as a means of understanding God’s love a little more. But, that is what we need sometimes. I love that through Paul here, God reminds us that hard times and rough patches are not worthless. They are a means of producing in us an understanding and witness to God’s immeasurable love, mercy, and grace on us. It is through hard times and rough patches that we come to understand that God truly is capable of always being there with us and guiding us through “to the other side.”

Paul’s words in verse five indicate that God’s love is not just allotted out to us little by little. Rather, it is “poured out.” It is in excess. It is more than enough. Paul’s word usage reminds his readers of the way the Holy Spirit is promised in Acts 2:17-18 and Joel 2:28-29. The Holy Spirit is with those that suffer, so that through suffering we might grow closer to the Lord and understand His love all the more.

If you are in a rough patch, having a difficult time, or suffering right now, be encouraged. It is not worthless. You have the Holy Spirit to help you, guide you, and remind you of the goodness of God! Let your hope reside in the Lord because God will come through.

Re:Verse passage – Romans 3:21-31 (day three)

 ²⁴Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

We often tend to add to what is needed for salvation. Usually, this comes in as a subconscious thought or feeling within ourselves because “measuring” oneself is so intrinsic to everything we do. “Are we as good as that person?” Or “I don’t do the terrible things that person does!” Maybe you think, “I need to be at church today because I have had a rough few days of doing the wrong things.”

Amazingly (and thankfully), that is not how God operates. We are not good enough and we never, ever will be. We cannot do enough right things or say enough right things or act good enough to even remotely get close to God. I love how the NLT translation lays this out for us. God freely makes us right with Him through Christ Jesus taking our penalty for sin. Nothing more needs to be added. Nothing more can be done other than accepting Him and following Him. When I am reminded of this, it is like a weight off my shoulders. I am not enough, but Jesus is. I hope that reminder frees you today!

Re:Verse passage – Romans 2:5-16 (day three)

⁶He will render to each one according to his works:

Is Paul contradicting himself here? Just a few verses ago in chapter one, Paul lays out that one is saved by faith alone, apart from the law and from works. Yet, here, he states that God will judge (render to) us based on our “works.” Romans 2:6 is almost a word-for-word quote from Psalm 62:12. What David was talking about in Psalm 62 is a judgment of people based on the choices they make between (essentially) following God or not following God by rejecting His chosen king. In his letter to the Romans, Paul is using that same idea to back up his statement that we are saved through faith alone. We are faced with a choice of following God or not following Him. The way we choose to not follow Him is to reject Jesus as King in our lives.

Now, are our actions (works) a good thing? Yes! Our works are the fruit of following the Lord and accepting Jesus as King. In following Him, our striving should be to be more like Him, producing the kind of fruit and actions that please Him and line up with the Gospel. So, ponder this today: Is Jesus the King of your life? Do your words and actions (works) reveal to others that He is, in fact, the King?

Re:Verse passage – Romans 1:14–17  (day three)

¹⁶For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

At the time that Paul wrote these words, it would have been hard to swallow for either people group. The Greeks (or Gentiles) would have been annoyed that Paul was saying the Jews have first crack at salvation, while the Jews would have been beside themselves that anyone else could have salvation from God. Paul’s aim here, though, is to humble all his readers and place everyone on level standing.

No single person or people group is more deserving of God’s grace and salvation than any other. The salvation of God is “for everyone who believes.” I am sure that most of us read this and, on the surface, agree. But when we think about it further, we may tend to think, “Wait a minute! What about the evil people? How can salvation be for those that live a life doing wicked and sinful things, only to be given salvation if they believe in Him?” This is where we see the goodness, grace, and mercy of God.

Just take a look at Paul. He was a terrible, wicked man that was okay with murdering those that opposed his views. Mary Magdalene led a sinful life until she met Jesus. Moses was a murderer until he met I AM. The thief on the cross was on the cross for a reason but was given salvation because he simply believed in Jesus while standing at death’s door. That is Good News indeed!

As we look at Romans, our overarching theme is that the gospel is for all people. Who around you needs to hear the Good News of Jesus?