Monthly Archives: May 2026

ROMANS…PAUL’S GOSPEL – 3

Bible Study, ,

“…the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Paul had only one message to share with the world…a message that had many facets but one heart…Jesus…the crucified, risen, Lord. His story was embedded in a book…the Holy Scriptures…a story older than time itself. God had first written this story in eternity, then shared it with His prophets, and finally confirmed it in history by doing He said He would do.  He didn’t write it as it happened. He wrote it before it happened so that no one could accuse Him of making it up as He went along. All He did was to confirm in history what He had written in eternity. No one but God could do that! 

By the stroke of a pen, Paul married the two truths that cannot, in human terms, like oil and water, mix. Humans like to turn humans into God, like some have done to Mary…but, can God become human?

This is unthinkable unless God Himself, not we humans, did it…and Paul declared that God did. 

How did it happen?

Jesus…”to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God”…the son of David and the Son of God in one person. The whole Bible is the story of how it happened. 

Man fell into sin and was punished by death. Everyone dies. No one but another man could rescue humans from their fate. There is no man innocent of sin that can take the punishment for man. So God Himself became a man. He never sinned. He was qualified to die for man but…He is God and God cannot die. So…Jesus died as a man and conquered death by rising again and…He was proven to be God and perfect, sinless man by the rising from the dead. 

This is the gospel…the good news! 

As Charles Wesley, the great hymn writer wrote:

“Let earth and heav’n combineangels and men agree,

to praise in songs divine

th’incarnate Deity;

Our God contracted to a span,

our God contracted to a span,

incomprehensibly made man.”

He captured the story of God’s plan in his beautiful hymn…

  1. And can it be that I should gain

An int’rest in the Savior’s blood?

Died He for me, who caused His pain?

For me, who Him to death pursued?

Amazing love! how can it be

That Thou, my God, should die for me?

Refrain:

Amazing love! how can it be

That Thou, my God, should die for me!

2. ‘Tis mystery all! Th’Immortal dies!

Who can explore His strange design?

In vain the firstborn seraph tries

To sound the depths of love divine!

‘Tis mercy all! let earth adore,

Let angel minds inquire no more. [Refrain]He left His Father’s throne above,

3. He left His Father’s throne above

So free, so infinite His grace;

Emptied Himself of all but love,

And bled for Adam’s helpless race;

‘Tis mercy all, immense and free;

For, O my God, it found out me. [Refrain]

4. Long my imprisoned spirit lay

Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;

Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray,

I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;

My chains fell off, my heart was free;

I rose, went forth and followed Thee. [Refrain]

5.No condemnation now I dread;

Jesus, and all in Him is mine!

Alive in Him, my living Head,

And clothed in righteousness divine,

Bold I approach th’eternal throne,

And claim the crown, through Christ my own. [Refrain]

Amen.

Author: Charles Wesley

Source: hymnary.org

Love did what no human mind could imagine…God came to us and, through His death as a man, He took us back to Himself. 

To be continued

ROMANS…PAUL’S GREETING – 2

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“To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Loved! Called! Holy people! Grace and peace! How different from the letters of today! 

The messages people send, be they on social media or by personal e-mails, usually dive into the subject without a thought given to the recipient. Whether they be friend or foe, we simply tell it like it is. 

Paul’s letters followed the protocol of letter writing, albeit infused with the flavour and aroma of the gospel. First the credentials of the writer, then the address of the recipient…then a greeting. Our letters, by contrast, simply begin with “Dear so-and-so…” even if our communication might be hostile. The reader must sift through the contents before he/she can identify the author. We sometimes wrote the return address on the envelope…to identify the writer. 

Paul’s greeting set the tone for his readers. They were beloved and called people…not just beginners in the faith but firmly-entrenched sons and daughters of God. Imagine what that might have sounded like as they listened to the reading of the letter. They were beloved, called, and holy. They, these ex-pagan Romans! In God’s eyes, they were all of the above and much more.  

They were already the recipients of God’s grace and peace. He had drawn them into the circle of His forever family.  Now, Paul confers on them more of the grace and peace that they had already received. 

What is this grace and peace?

Grace and peace are like the two bookends that hold a row of books together. 

Grace…the first “bookend”… that is that part of God’s character and attributes that is the motive behind all that He does for us regardless of who we are or what we have done. Grace is like a conduit through which God’s attributes flows…His love, mercy, compassion, kindness, and goodness….all of which are included in the Hebrew word “chesed”, translated “covenant love”. 

“The story of Hannah shows that hen, the Hebrew word for grace, is not only mercy and favour, but it also brings healing, vindication, and strength. While mercy is the removal of punishment or suffering, grace goes beyond. It is a gift that we neither deserve nor can earn. It is something that only God can provide us with since He is the source from which it flows.”

(Source: firmisrael.org. )

If God’s covenant love…His “chesed”, His lovingkindness, His covenant faithfulness…is what He does, grace,  “hen”…is why He does what He does. He provides help, strength, support etc., because of His grace.  Yet, grace not only provides what we need in our troubles…it lifts us up higher than before our trouble. 

So, Paul prays for ongoing grace for his readers…that the grace that has already saved them will flow freely towards them always, which is, of course, the very nature of God. God anyways moves towards the sinner to forgive and raise up the broken, to heal an restore fellowship because of Jesus. 

Peace…the other “bookend”…is the outcome of grace. 

Again, Google AI helps us understand biblical peace. 

“In the Bible, peace is much more than just the absence of conflict. It is a comprehensive state of wholeness, harmony, and well-being. Rooted in the Hebrew concept of shalom and the Greek word eirene, biblical peace involves restored relationships: with God, with others, and within yourself.”

I love this definition of peace…from Pinterest. 

“Peace is the furious serenity that refuses to submit to chaos.”

God’s grace, because of which He has forever dealt with and removed sin and reconciled us to Himself, results in peace, the inward serenity that is anchored to our standing with Him. Our peace is the reassurance from God that we are in right  relationship with Him and that there is nothing that separates us from fellowship with Him. We now have access to all that salvation through Jesus provides for us. 

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Grace and peace…what more can Paul’s readers need or desire in this new life they have received? God comes through grace…reconciles and restores to Himself…and fills and keeps in peace all who call on His name for His mercy. 

To be continued

ROMANS…PAUL’S CREDENTIALS -1

Bible Study, ,

“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Hardly anyone writes letters these days. It’s no wonder our postal service has collapsed. Gone are the days when a familiar figure, carrying a heavy bag, tramped the streets of our neighbourhoods, dropping letters into post boxes, with a friendly greeting, or a good-natured kick at an unfriendly dog. 

E-mails and WhatsApp have filled the gap with sterile efficiency. Gone are the paragraphs of handwritten information, family news, etc., whatever it took to make an interesting communication and to keep friends and family bonds strong. 

This letter to the Roman congregation was Paul’s way of making contact with a church he didn’t found. He began with the usual style of his time…first his name and credentials. 

Who was this Paul? He was the one whom Jesus had confronted on the road outside Damascus…the notorious hater of Christians who had tried ti exterminate them one by one.  He had become one of them through a divine encounter. His life had been turned right side up after years of believing that he was “doing God’s work!”

How did he identify himself to his readers? He had never been to Rome. His time in Rome in the future would be very different from what he anticipated. He was writing to a congregation of relative strangers and yet, somehow, he knew many of them. 

In the Roman Empire, Christians were a suspect category. The Jews were tolerated because they were no threat to the emperor. Christians were suspect because they refused to confess and bow to Caesar as Lord. They were rumoured to be cannibals because they “ate the body and drank the blood of Jesus”! They were to be exterminated like vermin.  

And so, much through Paul’s efforts, the Christians in the empire stuck together, bonded through the movement of travelling preachers and other believers. They offered accommodation and fellowship to one another, and forged connections across provinces and even countries. It was not unusual, then, for Paul to greet his readers as one who knew them although he had not yet been with them. 

In the case of the Roman church, the church had probably begun through visiting Christians who had won people in Rome to faith in Jesus through their witness. 

Paul took it upon himself to ensure that these believers who had a mostly pagan background, would be taught the great truths of the gospel. So, he wrote this letter, a thorough explanation of what God had done through His Son, Jesus Christ, to reconcile the world to Himself. 

Paul’s credentials were important. He was not just any old self-appointed apostle as some are today. He was Paul…the one who was appointed and called by God Himself to carry the message of Jesus to the world. 

“Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Paul’s credentials included two important facets…grace and apostleship. They were gifts from God…not anything Paul had merited or earned. It was by God’s grace that he was rescued from his life of self-righteousness, and it was by God’s choice that he was an apostle…it had nothing to do with him.  He carried the authority of Jesus from the moment he had met Him outside Damascus. He had ditched all his self-effort and clung to the righteousness Jesus had given him by grace…the same grace that had protected and provided for him over hundreds of miles, through hostile territory, and despite constant threats from his enemies. 

Since Paul had not yet been released by the Holy Spirit to go to Rome, he wrote his magnificent teaching in a letter preserved for posterity. Having established his apostleship as a calling and appointment from God, he was compelled to carry out his mandate to pass on the body of truth he had received from the Lord to every believer in Jesus across the empire. He did this in person where he could and by letter when he was unable to go in person. 

Hence, some of his letters were written from inside prison walls, dictated to faithful associates who helped him whenever they could. Prison, to Paul, was not a hindrance. In fact, his happiest letter…to the Philippian church…originated from a prison cell. He taught and wrote wherever he was. 

So begins the prince of letters, the pinnacle of theology…not the theology of a far-away God who sits up in heaven demanding allegiance but the story of a God who came here…to us on earth…to do what we could never do…to bridge the gap between a holy God and a broken world. He did it through His own Son…that one…Jesus, the Son of God. 

To be continued

ACTS THE SEQUEL…AND SO WE CAME TO ROME – 64

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“After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island—it was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days.

“From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli. There we found some brothers and sisters who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭28‬:‭11‬-14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

After the months of upheaval…danger, rescue, fear, and relief…and miraculous intervention… the end of the voyage seemed tame. The weather was fine, the sea calm, the journey completed uneventfully…thankfully, no more drama…. “And so we came to Rome…”

…but…what lay ahead for Paul in Rome? This was no holiday interval for him. He was there to face the music for “crimes” cooked up against him by religious fanatics in his homeland. What did Caesar Nero know about Jewish scruples…religious bickering over laws and rituals and regulations? For Nero, Paul was far more dangerous. In Paul’s hand lay Nero’s very status as Lord of the empire. 

Paul was preaching another king …and he was good at it. Many across the empire had changed allegiance…and Nero was not happy. 

Perhaps, for this Roman despot whose every whim was to be carried out, this was an opportunity to take out this rival who was messing with his authority.  It was reported that Paul had “turned the world upside down” with his message that “Jesus is Lord”. Many thousands across the empire had believed his message, creating communities that worshiped Jesus instead of Caesar. 

For Nero, this was treason. So, inadvertently, Paul had fallen into his hands, and he would deal appropriately with him.

However, God also had a plan…and Rome was firmly in the middle of it. There was already a community of believers in the capital city. The message had already reached Rome.

Paul had written his superb letter to this congregation, giving the Christians a thorough understanding of the righteousness of God in all the facets of His glorious salvation. Now, after many years of longing and planning, he was here in person…a prisoner, yes, but still here to do whatever he could to strengthen the faith and understanding of the believers. 

At first, Rome treated him well. Believers met him and welcomed him on his way. 

“There we found some brothers and sisters who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome. The brothers and sisters there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭28‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

How glad they were to see him, to have him with them at last, to be able to talk to and listen to this illustrious missionary through whom the message of salvation had spread throughout the known world. 

Even his captors treated him well at first. 

“When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭28‬:‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Free, but under house arrest, Paul continued to do what he did best. First, he called together the leaders of the Jewish community to give his defence. As usual, some believed his story, others rejected him. And so, once again, he turned his attention to the Gentiles. 

“Three days later he called together the local Jewish leaders. When they had assembled, Paul said to them: “My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans…

”They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet: “ ‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭28‬:‭17‬, ‭25‬-‭28‬ ‭NIV‬‬

For two years, Paul was free to minister to the people who came to him. For two years, this man of God, this seasoned missionary…restricted as he was in his rented house…preached, taught, and lived the kingdom of God and the message of Jesus. He used the time to think, pray, and write, to communicate some of the wonderful truths he had learned on his journey of many years with Jesus to congregations he had  founded in Europe and Asia Minor. 

God was so in this plan to free his servant to record, both in the lives of the people he met then and the letters he wrote, the words of God we now have preserved in the covers of this divinely-inspired book. 

Luke’s record of the early church and its story ends on a note of victory. Paul might be a prisoner of the state…and yet the Word of God was unfettered. People like him might come and go but the kingdom of God goes on, carried in the hearts and passed on from generation to generation by those who are witnesses of Jesus. 

The books of Acts is beginning of a never-ending story. No matter how much the world might try to destroy the people and the book that carry God’s kingdom forward, this is God’s story and He will finish what He started. 

“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

‭‭Habakkuk‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

ACTS THE SEQUEL…MALTA – 63

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“Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭28‬:‭1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Malta is an island country in Southern Europe located in the central Mediterranean Sea. It lies about 80 kilometers south of the Italian island of Sicily, 284 kilometers east of Tunisia, and 333 kilometers north of Libya. (Source: Google AI)

Another chapter began in this saga of what was supposed to be a quick voyage across the Mediterranean! Not only were the weary travellers drenched from their dip in the sea but they were greeted on this isolated bit of land in the middle of the ocean by drenching rain…

And what of the island’s inhabitants? Were they friendly or hostile? These cold, wet, hungry,  and defenceless travellers were at the mercy of the islanders. 

Where was God in this new crisis?

Let’s read on. 

“The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭28‬:‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Phew! What a relief! The islanders were friendly and helpful. They started a huge bonfire to dry the shivering men. Paul set about gathering wood to add to the fire. Unfortunately for him, he disturbed a viper which fastened itself onto his hand. The islanders watch in horror as the snake dangled from his hand, pumping venom into him.  Of course, their superstitious minds demanded an answer. Paul must be a criminal on his way to Rome to be tried. 

“When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭28‬:‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Paul was unfazed. He had a word to stand on. Jesus had spoken…

“…they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭16‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So, despite their harrowing circumstances, Paul used every opportunity to glorify Jesus in the course of his day. Snake! No problem! Shake it off as just a nuisance. 

“But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭28‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Strike one for Paul…the devil…nil!

“There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and showed us generous hospitality for three days…”

This little miracle opened the door to more kindness and help…

Who were the “us”? Luke always wrote “us” when he was part of the people who accompanied Paul.  Perhaps here he was referring to the small group who were with Paul as he traveled to Rome and not the entire 276 people who were shipwrecked. 

“His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. They honored us in many ways; and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭28‬:‭7‬-‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

…and then, the floodgates opened when God intervened. He organised a healing campaign that brought out the red carpet for the travellers. By the time they were ready to leave on the next  ship at anchor after the winter, they were celebrities and fully supplied for the final leg of their journey. 

The sequel to this disaster illustrates again the goodness of God and the fulfilment of God’s promises…He works in all things for the good… 

Imagine the memories these 276 shipwrecked men carried with them to Rome. Their voyage had been anything but routine, uneventful, tedious or boring…an interlude of monumental miracles revealing the God who was up to any crisis along the way. 

To be continued