You know, the Book of Romans is one of the heaviest, theological books in the Bible. God reveals His glorious, genius, Holy Gospel of salvation found in His Son Jesus Christ through Paul in this Book. As a lot of you know, my life passage is Romans 12[WOOOOOO, I see the very heart of God & how to live my life for Jesus Christ through this passage :D ] BUT........God has not led me to share that chapter with you today. Instead He has kept me in the last chapter of Romans...Romans 16. Here is a basic summary of Romans. Romans 1-15: AWESOME THEOLOGY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Romans 16: Love :) Romans 16 ends in one of the most radical ways. You know how when you write a letter or type up a email to send to someone....the first thing you put is a personal greeting, right? Example: Dear _________ or Hello______, etc. Well....God led Paul to do this at the end of Romans!! WHAT?! Isnt that backwards?? From the cultures perspective...sure. From Gods perspective...thats normal LOL! I confess, I have been struggling with God about this for a few weeks.... Heres the thing: Romans 16 points to the second greatest commandment: Love your neighbor as you love yourself. You see God already knows you love yourself....cause you feed yourself, you put clothes on everyday, you take care of your body. So its pretty much a given you love yourself, so God doesnt want you to love yourself anymore than that because that leads you to getting a sinful, prideful big head and your words, fruits, and actions will reflect that. We see Pauls deep love, that He received from God first, for everyone his life had touched. In Romans 16, we see Paul end with the greatest of these....love. He lists a number of individuals BY NAME that God connected him with throughout his life and ministry for King Jesus. What a reflection of the Holy love & glory of God we see in Pauls HUMBLE shoutouts to fellow men AND woman workers and ministers of reconciliation in Christ Jesus!!!!! So why does it matter, Aaron? Who cares? How does Romans 16 apply to me as a Christian??? Great questions! Im so glad you asked. The more God teaches you about Himself, the more you should love like Christ. Knowledge of God by itself is dangerous, because it puffs you up. But a growing knowledge of God BALANCED with the love of God(action, sacrifice, agape, unconditional, sharing, denying yo self, taking up your cross) will lead you to EDIFY & SHARE THAT LOVE WITH YOUR NEIGHBOR(every person you walk pass and connect eyes with). Speak the truth in love. Theology without love is hypocrisy. A deep theology of God without a life that lives it out is a bitter curse to yourself and to others, and it does not reflect Jesus. If you are using your knowledge of God to cut people down to justify your sin, or to have an attitude that says Im better than you or Im more Holier than thou, or to make you feel good about yourself, and it doesnt point people to a loving relationship with God through Jesus Christ....SHUT YO MOUTH UP! Please! The church has done enough confusing, and throwing stones, and tripping folks up, and getting in Gods way sometimes. :( ENOUGH!!!! Jesus practiced what He preached. So should we. [Ephesians 5:1-2] There are atheists out there who know the Bible inside and out but they dont KNOW God and they are not KNOWN by God, so studying the Bible has become their god. As for us Christians, yes, study your Word, get to know God BETTER my friends in Christ....but remember, a better knowing of God should lead you to a growing desire to love God and love neighbor consistently. I encourage you to go through Romans sometime this week and then let Romans 16 break you. Check your heart motives[Psalm 139:23-24]. Love God. Love neighbor. In your moments and breaths that God gives you today, speak and live the truth of Jesus Christ in His Holy, perfect love. Ready? Set?? Love!
Posted on: Thu, 01 May 2014 13:23:16 +0000
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