Daily Thoughts From God's Word

“Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (5:1). Furthermore, because of this, “we rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (5:2). And “not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and 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” (5:

Paul pronounces a terrible judgment against all: “We have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one’” (3:9-12). He concludes, “By works of the law no human being will be justified in [God’s] sight” (3:20). I remember the young man of the Brahmin caste, there in the park

There is so much here in these chapters, indeed, in the entire Roman letter! But as I read, this morning, the opening verses of chapter 3 capture my attention: “Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?” (3:1-3). Paul is writing very specifically about the means by which

Paul begins his Roman letter by mentioning “Jesus Christ our Lord,” through whom he “received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations” (1:4-5). I’m not sure I have ever really noticed this emphasis but it so clearly comports with Paul’s statement in chapter 15: “I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written

And so, the story wraps up; well, sort of . . . But more on that in a moment. Paul’s entourage had stopped on the island of Malta where they were warmly welcomed both relationally and actually: the people showed great kindness and they provided a fire against the cold. A fascinating anecdote, here. A viper jumped out of the firewood and bit Paul. When the islanders saw that he merely shook it off, they thought he was a god. Paul healed the father of the man Publius and

Luke reports, “And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius. . . . [and] we put to sea” (27:1-2). And so, they were off. At Myra in Lycia, they transferred to another ship and, the sailors rejecting Paul’s counsel to seek shelter, they soon were facing fierce storms. A “northeaster” struck them and, in great danger, they began jettisoning cargo. Paul got in a good I-t

Paul’s enemies asked Festus to send Paul to Jerusalem for a trial, and they “were planning an ambush to kill him on the way” (25:3). Festus denied the request and had the Jewish leaders come to Caesarea where Paul was being held. Festus, seeking the approval of the Jews, appealed to Paul and asked if he was willing to go up to Jerusalem. Paul, very much aware of what was going on and noting that any charges against him would come from Rome, replied, “I appeal to Caesar” (2

Paul had been removed from the council; now, the Jews “made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul” (23:12). Paul was eventually taken before the governor, Felix, at Caesarea. Tertullus began to accuse Paul. When Tertullus was finished, Paul began speaking to Felix: “Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense” (24:10). Paul returned to one of his favorite themes, the

On trial before the Jewish council, “when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, ‘Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial’” (23:6). The Pharisees believed in a resurrection, the Sadducees did not (Remember the Sadducees and their question to Jesus about the woman and her seven husbands in Matthew 22?). Paul was not only deeply

Paul had been arrested at the temple and, as he was being carried away, he asked to speak to the people. He spoke, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women” (22:3-4). The crowd, largely made up of Jews, ate this up unti

Paul left Ephesus, stopping at numerous places on his way to Jerusalem. At Caesarea, where he stayed with Philip the evangelist, “a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And coming to us, [Luke writes], he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, ‘Thus says the Holy Spirit, This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles’” (21:10-12). Paul’s companions and those who were there in

Macedonia and Greece. Paul’s long preaching, and Eutychus’ fall from the window, death, and being brought back to life. “Now from Miletus [Paul] sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him” (20:17). Having reminded the elders how he had preached the gospel at Ephesus, Paul declared, “I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment

So, Paul eventually made his way to Ephesus and there “he found some disciples” (19:1). The Holy Spirit came upon them, and Paul then “entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God” (19:8), which continued “continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks” (19:10). The gospel continued to be proclaimed! An interesting episode occurred when the sons o

The story, here in chapter 18: “Paul left Athens and went to Corinth” (18:1). And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. “Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household” (18:8). “And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized” (18:8). Now, the Lord had already said to Paul, “I have many

One more look at Acts 17. We’ve seen Paul and Silas, by their preaching in Thessalonica, accused of “turning the world upside down.” And we saw them in Berea where the Bereans checked Paul’s preaching to make sure it was consistent with God’s revealed Word (Good job, Bereans!). Now, Paul is in Athens and, as he waits for his companions to arrive, he looks around and “his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols” (17:16). We had a student wi