Author: Rick Henderson

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

Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. Romans 9:32

On paper it would appear that the Gentiles were less deserving to obtain righteousness than Israel. They had not pursued it or were particularly looking for it. Israel, on the other hand, was actively looking for and pursuing it. Why were they not given it then? They believed if they did enough right and good for God, then God would bestow righteousness upon them. It was entitlement, not faith.

This same attitude of entitlement is at work in modern christianity today. Works in and of themselves are not bad things, but works are the fruit of faith. Works do not produce fruit. Nor, do works produce righteousness. Yet, many Christians pull out their checklist when they are talking to God expecting God to bestow blessings upon them because they have done enough right and good. That is entitlement, not faith.

Thanks be to God that His righteousness is given to those who, on paper, are less deserving. May we as Christians (and Gentiles at that) pursue righteousness by building our faith.

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

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

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Romans 6:1-2

“I can commit this sin because God will forgive me anyways.” Whether someone willfully thinks this or not, this tends to be the way sin is approached by many in the church. If we are honest, we have probably been down this train of thought too. What makes this so much worse than involuntary sins or sins of omission is that there is a blatant abuse of the grace of God. Knowingly taking advantage of what God will do for you is an abuse of His grace and power. However, it is not without consequence:

For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. Hebrews 10:26

Though I do not believe this passage is saying that we will lose our salvation when we deliberately sin one time, I do believe it shows us that there is a weight on this decision to choose sin after having received the knowledge of the truth. Grace is dangerous. We can live in tension by abusing its power, or we can lean on the Holy Spirit to help us live in freedom by receiving the power of grace and extending it to others.

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

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

At our High School Beach Retreat this weekend, our theme was “Who is Jesus?” I asked a  question that I believe we should all answer, “When was the last time you were genuinely curious about who Jesus is?”  Curiosity creates wonder. To become more like Jesus we need to become more curious about who He is, and in turn, that will create a sense of wonder in our heart. Watch this:

All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. John 1:3

who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Phil 2:6-7

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. Mark 10:45

The Creator of us loves us so much that He came down to us so that He could serve us in order that He might raise us up. Jesus loves us so much that He reached down into our darkness to pull us up into His light. Jesus loves me, this I know!

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

Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also. Romans 3:29

Or is God the God of the Baptists only? Is He not the God of the all denominations also? Yes, of all denominations also.

One of the questions I get most often from students, “Why are there so many denominations?” Especially as we teach Baptist distinctives with conviction, it becomes easy to move into a place of self-righteousness believing that we are right and everyone else is wrong. You can see this in other protestant denominations who have said that their way is the only way to heaven. Jesus, however, seemed to say that He was The Way and no one comes to the Father except through Him. Jesus is bigger than our denominational differences.

These differneces are a product of reading and interpreting scripture differently. They are not a product of worshipping a different God. As we move to a place of worship with friends who read scripture differently, can we put aside our differences and make the main thing the main thing? Can we recognize that Jesus is the commonality that brings us all together? Imagine with me a moment a city where all the churches came together and worshipped the King of Kings in one place in one voice. Imagine how that kind of city could impact the Kingdom. We pray that San Antonio will be that city.

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

For there is no partiality with God. Romans 2:11

Partiality translates “to lift the face.” It comes from Old Testament imagery where those who were accused of a crime were not allowed to look at the face of the judge so that the judge did not have any chance for showing bias.

God does not look at what we have done; He looks at our heart.

We may not be strict observers of the Law like the Jewish Christians Paul was writing to in Rome, but we have people who are strictly checking off a list of things they believe they are supposed to do in order to be in right standing before God. He is not looking up how many times you were at church, if you read your Bible every day, or how much you are tithing. He wants those things to be products of your relationship with Him, not the payment for His relationship. When we treat this check list like the finish line of our walk instead of the starting line, we err towards the very legalism Paul was talking about. When the check list becomes the starting line, we will begin to see that there is so much more to our walk than what we could ever show on the outside, and God will lead us to places we never thought were possible.

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

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Romans 1:16

The reason that Paul is able to be unashamed is because of the inherent power of the gospel. We often talk about the gospel being good news (literally, it translates to this), but in using that terminology do we dilute the efficacy of the gospel to just being information or advice? The gospel is so much more than just words to live by. Paul doesn’t say the gospel gives us power, but He says “it is the power of God.” The gospel is power!

When we recognize this power, we can’t help but be unashamed. The gospel will no longer just be what we believe, but it will become a part of who we are. The power lives in us, works through us, and awakens attributes in us that wouldn’t come naturally. One of which is confidence. We will realize that it isn’t about us becoming more bold in our faith, but as our faith becomes more internalized, the gospel will make us more bold. It is the power of God!