Author: Megan Langan

Re:Verse passage – Romans 9:30-33 (day four)

It puzzled me for a long time that Christ is described as a stumbling stone in this passage, quoting the prophet Isaiah. Jesus is a lot of things – the sacrificial lamb, the light of the world, the bread of life, the good shepherd – but a stumbling stone? Doesn’t this seem to paint Jesus in a negative light?

What the prophet is getting at here is that Jesus, the fulfillment of God’s plan and purpose in the world, is an inevitability. He is unavoidable. We may try our best in this earthly life to avoid him by not praying or attending church, but he is ultimately unavoidable. There will be a day when we stand before him. For those who try to find righteousness in themselves, who try to go about things in their own way, who maintain an evil, unbelieving heart, who look to themselves to try, and ultimately fail, to find fulfillment – to them Christ is a stumbling block. They encounter him with a stubborn heart and trip right over him, unwilling yield to his ways and grace.

But to those who recognize their own sin and inability to fulfill the law see him for who he really is. They encounter him in the road and rather than trip over him, they fall at his feet in praise. We all will encounter Christ standing in our path. Will he be our stumbling stone or our cornerstone?

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

“Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.” V. 34

For those in Tuesday Morning Women’s Bible Study, this verse should feel familiar. Hebrews 1 also tells where Jesus is – at the right hand of the Father.

Jesus doesn’t simply disappear off the scene once he ascends to heaven. After his life of intimate connection with people on earth, he doesn’t suddenly become distant or removed. He sends his very Spirit to live inside of us; and he is also currently, as we speak, sitting at the right hand of the Father interceding for us. Though we don’t physically see him with us as the disciples did, he’s very much still actively engaged with his people.

Romans chapter 8 is filled with language of intimacy: we’re invited to call God “Abba, Father.” The Spirit works in our very being to free us from bondage, and we become inseparable from God’s love. Just as intimately, our Savior sits at the right hand of that God of love, interceding for us. Viewing Jesus in this way has always struck a chord with me, especially when God feels far off. We don’t serve a distant God, but one who is constantly in intimate connection with us, even when we’re not aware of it.

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

Death no longer has any power over us. Of course, we will all experience death one day. But because of Christ’s death and resurrection, death no longer has the final word. This means something for our eternal life, in that we know an eternity spent in the presence of God awaits us when we experience bodily death on earth.

It also means something for our life now, that the reality of death, sin, and decay no longer have the final word even in our current days. Christ’s death broke the power of sin once and for all. We are “dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.” The sin that seems to have its claws stuck in you doesn’t have the final word, Jesus does. The propensity you have toward pride, anger, lust, fill-in-the-blank does not determine your identity, Jesus does. Your worst day doesn’t define you any more than your best day, Jesus does. While we surely continue to dig up and throw out the sin in our lives, our current stage in that process does not define us. Because of Christ, the power of sin and death no longer have control over us. Our identity is caught up in the grace and mercy of Jesus. This gives us hope for our days now and for eternity.

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

The NLT version of this text describes our position before God as “undeserved privilege.” Because of the work of Christ on our behalf, we can now stand confidently before the Father with peace and joy knowing we are awaiting an eternity spent in his glory. We’ve done nothing to earn a place in his presence. No matter how hard we try, we will continue to come up empty handed in an effort to earn a place in the Kingdom. But because of Christ’s sacrifice, we’re given the undeserved privilege of eternity with God.

This is an encouraging text, although when we read a little further, Paul is discussing this idea in relation to suffering. When we stand in this privileged position, our experiences of suffering are even turned for our good, producing endurance, character, and ultimately a renewed hope in the work of Christ. In our undeserved privilege, we can call upon the God of the universe in our suffering, knowing that he meets us in the lowest of places. While we were helplessly disconnected from God by sin, he entered into our hopeless state and offered us eternal life. Now, in our times of suffering, we’re reminded that God continuously enters into our lowest lows and offers us undeserved hope.

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

Last Sunday, we had a conversation in Sunday School about the nature of following Jesus for the long haul. You would think that the more you walk with Christ, the less sin you have to repent for. That over time, you would eventually have fewer and fewer weeds of sin to pull up in your life. But the opposite is true. The more you walk with Christ, the more you realize how sinful you truly are, and how far you have fallen from the standard of God’s glory. As we continue to walk with Christ, we keep finding new areas of life, new rooms in the house of our heart where we need to repent and invite the Lord to change us. The longer we stand in the light of Christ, more parts of our character and our flesh are illuminated, and we realize how desperately we need Jesus. We realize how incapable we are of fulfilling the law and having righteousness of our own. This realization isn’t meant to depress us, it’s simply meant to make us increasingly grateful for the sacrifice and work of Jesus. The longer we walk with Christ, the more we realize our need for him and the more grateful we are that he satisfies our every need.

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

Paul’s writing really flies in the face of today’s preferred way of thinking. In a world that prefers relativism and pluralism (saying things like “I follow my truth and you follow your truth,” or “there are many ways to the same endpoint”), Paul makes it clear: there is good, and there is bad, there is righteousness, and there is unrighteousness, there is one way to the Father, not many. Paul writes this to an audience in Rome that desperately needs to hear this, and we equally need this message today.

Paul makes it clear that there are only two paths in life – you can live God’s way, which includes putting your faith in Christ and allowing your heart and actions to be shaped by his character, or you can stubbornly deny God, and live according to your flesh. This is true of everyone, whether they were born into a Jewish family and felt a sense of spiritual superiority (like Paul used to), or if they had never heard God‘s law before. Paul makes it clear that there is no other criteria for eternal life apart from hearing the gospel and responding to it in faith. A family name does not qualify you, and a lack of knowledge of the law doesn’t disqualify you – the fork in the road comes with how we respond to the gospel of Christ.

How might we as believers preach this message in love to the world in which we live?

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

We tend to want to overcomplicate the gospel. I wonder if we do that because the gospel itself seems too simple, so simple it’s illogical. We devise ways of over complicating the gospel because surely, salvation can’t be that easy. It can’t simply come down to faith – a secret password, birthright, or a resumé of good works has to fit in somewhere. It’s almost offensively simple. The only thing required for salvation and eternal life is faith in Christ.

The fact that it’s that simple tells us a lot about who God is and who we are. We can do nothing to earn salvation because nothing we have to offer can satisfy God’s holiness and righteousness. We are so sinful, so fallen from God’s glorious standard that we could spend our lives scraping up all we can find to offer to God, and it would not be enough to earn a place in his Kingdom. That is the effect of sin. But it says even more about who God is. God is so loving that he offers his people – all of his people – a way to enter his kingdom and live with him for eternity. Knowing we cannot offer anything of our own, he offers himself as the perfect sacrifice. All we must do is trust in him and accept the gift of his sacrifice on the cross. It’s as simple as receiving a gift that has already been bought. The simplicity of the gospel shows us the depth of our sin, and even more so the depth of God’s love for us.