31. March 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Here is our text for today:

Romans 2:9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism. 12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. 14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, 15 since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.) 16 This will take place on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.

Hello everyone:

I will only be posting our scripture reading for the day and will do the exposition on it tomorrow.  I have a terrible sinus headache.  I love spring but whoooooo the sinus.  

I honestly don’t feel good so I will be elaborating tomorrow. 

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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30. March 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Today we will begin Chapter 2 of the book of Romans.

Our text for today is as follows:

Romans 2:1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?

Paul opens the second chapter with how we have no excuse but remember it flows from chapter one.   When the writings were originally penned they did not include chapters and verses.  This was added much later in order for study purposes.  

Paul speaks to the hypocrisy in our living especially concerning judging others.  He tells us that the very ones that are passing and condemning others are doing the very same things that they are judging or condemning others for.   A lot of people use this scripture to validate a common theory that the church should not judge situations or pass judgment on anything.   This is not the context of the text.  The scriptures are clear that we have the right to call “sin” “sin” and hold each other accountable for living according to the standards of God. 

This text speaks about those who are passing judgment yet doing these very same things.  Immediately, I can recall several major scandals that happened in America among both the secular and Christian world where people were being condemned for adulterous affairs by those who we later learned were doing the exact same thing and their affair was exposed also.  These people had no mercy for the ones that were condemning/judging yet when they were exposed, they cried for mercy.

Paul talks about how when we are in sin and passing judgment on others, we tend to take God’s grace and mercy for granted when the proper attitude is to repent because of God’s goodness.  Paul writes that it is the goodness of God that causes men to repent.  I have experienced this countless times.  I think about all that God has covered and how many times God has not exposed me and showed countless mercies on my behalf, it is because of the goodness that touches my hearts and want to be better and do better.   Despite my past, God’s goodness was still poured out over my life and caused me to be more sensitive to pleasing God.

I would like to end this study today with that scripture.  It is the goodness of God that causes us to repent.  Just think about how good God has been and let’s do a self check of our attitude.  Has the goodness of God made you want to serve him better and change your ways for his glory or do we continue to take advantage of his mercy and forgiving power.   Tomorrow, we will discuss what Paul teaches about those who continue to take advantage of God’s goodness.

Stay encouraged and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily. 

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29. March 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  

On yesterday, we opened up the topic on homosexuality.  So many people have written on this subject matter and have done extensive research on the actual Greek works of the text to bring clearer meaning along with studying the culture of the Roman people at that time.  I would like to share with you some excerpts from work that has already been done on this subject matter which parallels my understanding according to the scriptures on the subject matter.  The topic has been exhausted from both Christian and secular scholars and I do not feel I have to re-invent the wheel.  I always try to present both sides of the arguments and point out to you the one that doesn’t line up with scripture.   Please know that I am of the opinion that the bible is clear about homosexuality being against what God’s original creation of the “natural” use of the male and female is and it is listed among the many sins of the bible.   Today’s expository view point comes from Pastor John Piper.Here is his exegesis on these passages.

“…One of the things that makes matters unusual today is the effort on the part of some people to defend the legitimacy of homosexual behavior from the Bible. Most common, for example, is the claim that the denunciations of homosexuality in the New Testament are not references to committed, long-term homosexual relations, which these people say are legitimate, but rather refer to promiscuous homosexual relations and to pederasty, which are not legitimate. To use the words of one scholar, “What the New Testament is against is something significantly different from a homosexual orientation which some people seem to have from their earliest days. In other words, the New Testament is not talking about what we have come to speak of as sexual inversion. Rather, it is concerned with sexual perversion” (Paul Jewett, Interpretation, April, 1985, p. 210).

Simply Denouncing Heterosexuals Engaging in Homosexuality?

With regard to our own text this morning, some would argue that what Paul is denouncing in 1:26b-27 is heterosexual people forsaking what is natural for them and engaging in promiscuous homosexual relations which are unnatural for them. Paul writes, “Their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts.” So, the argument goes, it is not unnatural when a homosexual person has homosexual relations, it is only unnatural when heterosexual persons have homosexual relations and (by implication) homosexual persons have heterosexual relations. There are at least three major problems with this way of interpreting these verses. I will mention them because the last one will take us into the overall exposition of this section of Romans. The first problem is that in verse 27 Paul says, “The men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another.” Now if these were men who were by nature heterosexual, and who were going against their natural desires, what is the meaning of “they burned in their desire toward one another”? It is a very strong term. Does a natural heterosexual burn with lust for another man? If not, it is very unlikely that what Paul is dealing with here is the subject of heterosexuals engaging in homosexuality.

There is such a thing as a bisexual, who seems to have desires for both men and women. But if that were in Paul’s mind, the interpretation we are talking about wouldn’t work either, because then the burning of a man for a man and a woman would both be natural (according to this interpretation), and Paul would be unjust to denounce either one. But he does denounce this unnatural burning and the acts that follow. So the argument doesn’t work that says, Paul is only denouncing homosexual acts by heterosexual people. The second reason the argument doesn’t work is that when Paul says in verse 27b, “Their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,” the Greek phrase for “that which is unnatural” (ten para phusin) is a stock phrase in Greek ethical literature of the time for homosexual behavior per se, not for homosexual behavior among heterosexuals - as though that’s what made it unnatural.* So it is very unlikely that Paul is arguing that what’s wrong and unnatural about these folks is that they are heterosexuals by nature and acting contrary to nature by doing homosexual acts. “Contrary to nature” in this text, as it most Hellenistic literature of the time, meant homosexual behavior per se. That’s what Paul regards as unnatural.

Triple Repetition of Three-fold Sequence of Thought

Now we turn to the third reason for rejecting the interpretation of Romans 1:26-27 which says that Paul is not denouncing homosexuals who do what comes naturally, but rather he is denouncing promiscuous heterosexuals who act unnaturally by doing homosexual acts. The reason is that the overall argument of the passage assumes another viewpoint. Let’s look at it. Three times in this passage Paul repeats a three-fold sequence of thought. The three-fold sequence of thought goes like this: · Step 1 - Human beings exchange God for what God has made; we prefer the creature to the Creator. · Step 2 - God hands us over to what we prefer. · Step 3 - We act out externally and bodily in our sexual relations a dramatization of the internal, spiritual condition of the fallen human soul, namely, the horrendous exchange of God for man and the images of our power. Walk with me through the text. I will show you the three times that Paul gives us this sequence of thought.

First time through the three-fold sequence - verses 23-34 Step 1 “They exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man . . .” (verse 23). Step 2 “Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity” (verse 24). Step 3 “. . . so that their bodies would be dishonored among them” (end of verse 24). In response to the rejection of God’s glory as their treasure, God wills that there be a disordering of their bodily life in dishonorable deeds. He hands them over to impurity “so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.” The sexual disordering of the human race is a judgment of God for our exchanging him for the creature - all of us. Second time through the same steps - verses 25-27 Step 1 “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen” (verse 25). This parallels verse 23: they exchanged the glory of God for images. The “truth of God” is that he is glorious and to be desired above all things. The “lie” preferred by us humans is that the creature is more desirable than God. Step 2 “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions” (verse 26). That parallels verse 24: “God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity.” Step 3 “. . . for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts” (verses 26b-27). That corresponds to verse 24b: “. . . so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.” So the dishonoring of the body that Paul had in mind in verse 24 is specifically homosexual behavior. And notice carefully, now we can say more specifically than in the first sequence of thought:

The sexual disordering of the human race, especially homosexuality (but not only homosexuality) is a judgment of God for our exchanging the truth of God for a lie. Third time through the same three-fold sequence - verse 28 Step 1 “They did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer” (verse 28). That corresponds to verses 23 and 25: they exchanged the glory of God for images and they exchanged the truth of God for a lie. Here: they simply don’t want God in their knowledge any more. Step 2 “God gave them over to a depraved mind” (verse 28b). That corresponds to verse 24, “God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity,” and verse 26, “God gave them over to degrading passions.” This was God’s response to the universal exchange of God for the creature. Step 3 “[He gave them over . . .] to do those things which are not proper” (verse 28c). That corresponds to verse 24b: “. . .so that their bodies would be dishonored among them,” and to verses 26b-27, where the women and the men are pursuing homosexual relations. So homosexual behavior is parallel with dishonoring the body and doing what is not proper.   (Taken from http://www.soundofgrace.com/piper98/10-11-98.htm).

The bible teaches us that there were people in the first century church that were truly delivered from homosexual behavior which to me says that if deliverance occurred then it wasn’t the natural orientation of a person but something that became a part of a person’s life that they needed deliverance from.  Homosexual behavior was not listed alone but among many other acts of sin. 

Paul writes about this deliverance in I Corinthians 6: 9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 

Paul is talking to an audience that once struggled with these sins but were delivered by Christ. We could stay on this subject for months and view the various viewpoints for and against these views.  Should you want a wealth of information on all levels simply Google the topic and these scriptures and you will come across enough material to read for a lifetime.    I believe that if a person is called by God for salvation then as they continue to sit under the word and hear it, and embrace it that it is powerful enough for change and conversion.   I choose to love, be kind, be patience, but at the same time, declare the truth, defend the scriptures and not compromise the word of God.  The work on a person’s heart is ultimately in the hands of God.  We are simply witnesses of his word, grace, and mercy.  Remember in the words of Paul, “for SUCH WERE SOME OF US.”   But for the grace and mercy of God have we been delivered. 

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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28. March 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Welcome back from the weekend.  On Friday, We discussed how Paul writes that the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven because men know the truth of God and suppress it by their wickedness.  In today’s text, we study how because these people knew the truth and their actions reflected evil, they were turned over to their lusts and their own desires. 

Here is our text:

Romans 1:24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator–who is forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

This text opens with what type of sin, they were given over to; sexual impurity. Because man continues to rebel against known truth, this rebellion has driven man downward into further depravity.  The issue in the text is specifically rebellion.  They know of God through inherent/intuitive knowledge such as his creation and power and yet they rebel against this truth by their wicked actions.  This particular passage is not condemning men who refused to accept the convincing arguments/truths that God exists rather they are condemned for refusing to accept the knowledge they already have of the existence of God.

The verses that we are studying today are some of the main verses that are used in the issue of whether or not homosexuality is a sin in the church.   Supporters of homosexuality in the church argue that Paul was saying in these verses that it is un-natural to go against your sexual nature.   What they mean by this is that if you are heterosexual then it would be un-natural for you to engage with homosexuality activities and if you are a homosexual then it would be un-natural for you to engage in heterosexual activity.  They go on to argue that in the Roman culture, men and women were forced to have sex with people of the same yet though that may not be their sexual orientation and this is what Paul was condemning.    I do not agree with these arguments at all nor do I believe that people were created by God to be attracted to the same sex.  There is nothing in his word to support that argument.   The world has made no moral commitment to follow the commands of God so I do not hold them accountable to the standards of God.  For me, the problem with same sex relationships is when they claimed to be Christian and do not want their actions to be listed among the sins of the bible.  

Tomorrow, we will study these verses one by one to gain clearer insight.

Stay encouraged and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily. 

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25. March 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Here is our text for today:

Romans 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

After the introduction and purpose of this letter to the Romans, Paul opens up with the subject matter of how there is no excuse for men not to know God.  He explains what provokes the wrath of God from heaven is people who know the truth and suppress it by their wicked actions;  People who know to do right but will not.    Paul is clear that there are certain things about God that are just plain without debate such as God’s invisible qualities of eternal power and divine nature which is clearly seen in this universe.

Paul is clear that men are without excuse.    Paul talks about a people that knew God but didn’t glorify nor give thanks to HIM but instead their thinking became futile and therefore their hearts were darkened yet they claimed to be wise.   These same people made images of God to look like mortal men, birds, animals, and reptiles.   The text actually says that they exchanged the glory of God for something man made.

On Monday, we will study what God did with these people.  The scripture we will study on Monday is actually one of the most controversial scriptures discussed within the Christian and secular world.

Enjoy your weekend everyone. 

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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24. March 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Here is our text for today:

Romans 1:11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong– 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. 14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. 16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

As you can see in our text, Paul has a longing to see the saints at Rome.  He has heard of their faith which is a testament to them because it had been announced throughout the world.  In our text today, you will discover that one of his main reasons for visiting the saints at Rome was not only that he would be a source of encouragement for them but Paul states that he wanted to be encouraged by the work that God had done at Rome in their conversion to Christ. 

Paul also explains that his desire was to have a harvest among them as among all the other Gentiles.  Paul’s calling was to the Gentiles and there was now this gentile audience whose faith was talked about all over the territories and Paul had not met these believers nor had he did any evangelism work among them. 

Paul opens with this text by saying that he longs to impart some spiritual gifts among them to make them strong.   It is not surprising that Romans is such a theological masterpiece because in it Paul was summarizing the gospel to an audience that he already admired and evidently were quite notable in the first century church since the scriptures are clear that the fame of their faith was spread abroad.

As you read this text you will discover the context of a very popular scripture that everyone quotes which is “ I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of salvation to everyone who believes, the Jew first and then the Gentiles.”

I remember growing up, I would always hear this scripture and when I first got saved it was one of my favorites to quote to show my zealousness for the things of God and to exemplify my boldness in proclaiming the gospel.  

Note that in this scripture, Paul explains that the gospel came to the Jew first.   The gospel was preached to God’s chosen people proclaiming that the long awaited Messiah that the prophets of old talked about had arrived in the person of Jesus.   

This text closes with Paul stating that in the gospel there is a righteous from God that is revealed.  A righteousness that we receive by faith and it confirms the scriptures of old that taught that the righteous will live by faith.  The gospel introduces an entirely different way of life; a righteous living from a righteous and holy God that can be ours through faith first and then will manifest in our daily acts. 

Holiness is still right.  God still requires us to be different, set apart, a peculiar people unto him.  This gospel can reveal that righteous lifestyle and we can embrace it and live it.    Some people may argue that this text says that this lifestyle is embraced by faith and it is impossible to live out this righteous life but the scriptures teach us that faith without works is dead.  If we accept it by faith then there should be physical manifestations of that faith that we have embraced.

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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23. March 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Here is our text for today:

Romans 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.

As you can see in our text, Paul has not yet met the Roman believers.  He has heard of their faith because it has been reported all over the world how the Gentiles in Rome had accepted Christ.   Paul has been trying to get to Rome, yet each time he planned it, something would come up.  If you followed me in our study of Acts then you would know that it was under very peculiar circumstances that Paul would reach Rome.

He was arrested when he returned to Jerusalem after his missionary journeys.  The Jews there accused him of talking against the Jewish traditions.  The Jews were outraged even more when they learned that Paul admitted that he was called of God to minister to the Gentiles.   Paul was a Roman citizen and when he was arrested he appealed to the powers that be to be tried in Rome before Caesar because of his citizenship.  Paul was bound as a prisoner, survived a shipwreck, a venomous snake bite while traveling to Rome.  He arrives there and spends months healing and imparting the gospel of Jesus Christ among the Roman believers.

Here is a brief overview of Paul’s journey to Rome with scripture references included for your review.

Apostle Paul’s Fourth (Last?) Missionary Journey

Autumn 60 A.D. to Late Winter 61 A.D.
(Acts 21:17 - 28:31)

Late Spring 58 A.D.

Paul arrives in Jerusalem around late spring of 58 A.D., possibly near the time of the Feast of Pentecost (Acts 21:17).

Arriving in Jerusalem Paul visits James (Acts 21:18) and soon afterwards goes to the temple with four Jewish converts (Acts 21:23-26). Jews from Asia who hate Paul, believing he has brought a Gentile into the Temple area, cause a riot (Acts 21:27-30). Roman troops hear of the tumult and race to the scene, saving Paul from certain death (Acts 21:31-32). They take Paul away and decide to scourge him to find out what crime(s) he committed that so enraged the people. Paul is saved from being scourged, however, when the chief captain learns he is a Roman citizen (Acts 22:25-29). Paul’s defense of himself the next day before the Sanhedrin (Acts 23:1-10) accomplishes little. He is soon escorted out of the city by Roman soldiers, at night, so that he wouldn’t be killed (Acts 23:12-23). The soldiers take Paul to Felix in Caesarea, who is the Roman governor of Judea, so that he can decide Paul’s fate (Acts 23:24-35). When Paul arrives in Caesarea Felix decides to keep him in the Praetorium of Herod (Acts 23:35).

Early Summer 58 A.D. to early Autumn 60 A.D.

Paul is a Roman prisoner in Caesarea from early Summer 58 A.D. to early Autumn 60 A.D.

In Caesarea Paul defends himself three times while he is a prisoner. He is found to have done nothing worthy of bonds or death. Festus replaces Felix as Roman governor of Judea and hears Paul case.

Paul, as a Roman citizen, requests from Festus that his case be heard by Caesar. Festus agrees to send Paul to Rome. King Agrippa (the son of King Herod Agrippa who in Acts 12:1 in killed by the Angel of the Lord) and his wife arrive in Caesarea and allow Paul to defend himself against the charges laid against him. (Acts 25:13-26:29). Like Festus Agrippa also finds that, in spite of the accusations against him, Paul has done nothing worthy of imprisonment or even death (Acts 26;30-31). However, since Paul has appealed his case to Caesar, Agrippa agrees to send Paul to Rome (Acts 26:32).

Autumn 60 A.D. to late winter 61 A.D.

In the Autumn of 60 A.D. Paul, along with other prisoners, boards a boat for Rome. Paul’s travel to Rome is considered by many to be his final or last missionary journey.

The prisoners are escorted on their journey to Rome by a Roman Centurion named Julius (Acts 27:1-2). After stopping in several cities along the way, Paul and company make their way to the Isle of Crete (Acts 27:7). Although Paul warns Julius not to sail the Mediterranean during a dangerous time of the year (September to October), the Centurion disregards his advice and sets sail from Crete (Acts 27:9-12). The ship encounters a fierce storm along the way and is shipwrecked near the island of Malta (Acts 27:14 - 28:1). All those on the ship either swim or grab boards from the wreck and successfully make their way to the island. After staying three months Paul and company set sail again for Rome. He eventually arrives in the Italian port city of Puteoli (Acts 28:13), where he stays for one week with Christians in the area. Paul is then taken to Rome via the well-known Appian Way road (Acts 28:14-16).

Late winter 61 A.D. to early Spring 63 A.D.

In Rome the Centurion delivers Paul to the captain of the guard. Paul is allowed to live by himself guarded only by a soldier (Acts 28:16). While in Rome Paul is able to receive visitors and continue his preaching of the Gospel (Acts 28:17-31).

63 A.D.

In the Spring of 63 A.D. Paul is acquitted of the charges against him. He travels from Rome to the isle of Crete (Titus 1:5).

Paul leaves Titus in Crete and goes to Nicopolis in Macedonia (Titus 3:12). From Nicopolis Paul writes the book of 1Timothy and Titus.

64 A.D. to 67 A.D.

Paul possibly travels to Spain and Britain (see Romans 15:28).

Paul is back in Roman prison in 67 A.D. and writes 2Timothy. This letter to his close friend, traveling companion and fellow laborer in spreading the gospel would be his last epistle.

68 A.D.

Paul’s death and martyrdom likely occurs in May or June of 68 A.D. Roman emperor Nero dies on June 9, 68 A.D. in Greece.

Sources:

The New Testament In Its Original Order: A Faithful Version, Appendix Q, by F. Coulter

The Life & Epistles of St. Paul by Conybeare and Howson

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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22. March 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Hello:

In our lesson today, we are still on the opening or introductory text of Romans.  Here is the text again for your review.

Romans 1: Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God– 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6 And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

In today’s lesson, I want to focus your attention on the greeting that Paul uses.  If you notice many religions will have greetings when they encounter a fellow believer of their faith.   While there is no one greeting associated with the Christian faith, you will discover a pattern used by Paul (who is accredited as the author of more of the New Testament books than any) in his writings.

The Christian greeting that Paul uses as shown above is “Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  You will also find that when Paul addresses leadership, he will add mercy so the greeting would be “Grace, mercy and peace be unto you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

I use to say Grace and Peace all the time but I have slowly stop saying it.  This text has reminded me of the Christian greeting that Paul used and how each time you say it you are pronouncing a blessing into someone’s life.  Grace means favor.  It is unmerited.  Grace means you get things from God that you did not acquire because of merit or works.  It is simply favor from the Lord.   When you speak peace into someone’s life you are asking God to calm every situation , to make the turbulent waters of life to be calm, to have mental calmness despite of what is going on around you, to be at ease in your current situation because we trust God.  As I am writing this, I am thinking of how powerful these words are to say to someone.  Mercy means you get favor when you are guilty.  Mercy presupposes guilty.  You don’t need mercy unless you are guilty.  Have you ever witness a court case and the defendant who has been found guilty pleas for the mercy of the court.  In other words, they are admitting that they did the crime but are now asking for leniency in the forthcoming punishment. 

Whoooo….. just got chills.   I think about how merciful God has been towards me.  Things that HE has covered, punishments that didn’t occur when my actions were clearly against the will of God and God showed MERCY on my behalf.

Below is a list of other times that Paul will use this greeting in his writings.  I am listing them to show you that there is a pattern in how he greets fellow believers.

His opening to the Corinthians church is as follows: 1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ–their Lord and ours: 3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

His opening in II Corinthians is as follows: 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

His opening to the Galatians are: 1 Paul, an apostle–sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead– 2 and all the brothers with me, To the churches in Galatia: 3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

His opening to the Ephesians is as follows: 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

His opening to the Philippians is as follows: 1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

His opening to the Colossians is as follows: 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

His opening to the Thessalonians is as follows: 1 Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you.

His opening in II Thessalonians is as follows: 1 Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now notice the difference when he addresses his sons in the gospel or fellow leaders:  Here is his opening in I Timothy: 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, 2 To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

His opening to II Timothy: 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, 2 To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

His opening to Titus: 1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness– 2 a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, 3 and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior, 4 To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

The opening to I Peter: 1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

The opening to II Peter: 1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: 2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

The opening to II John: 1 The elder, To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth–and not I only, but also all who know the truth– 2 because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever: 3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.

The opening to Jude: 1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ: 2 Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.

Clearly, from the above references, we can establish that the Christian Greeting for the 1^st Century church was Grace and Peace.

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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21. March 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone: 

Welcome back from the weekend.  I hung out with two of my close friends this weekend and we flew up Sunday morning to attend church at Perfecting where Pastor Marvin Winans is the Pastor, had a wonderful lunch together in Detroit, caught an afternoon play and returned home to Atlanta all by 8:30p.m.   It was great.

Our beginning study on the book of Romans talked about the office of Paul as an apostle and I listed for you scripturally what an Apostle did in the first century church so you would have a clear idea of what it meant to be an apostle “called of God” as Paul indicated in the text.  We are still studying that introductory passage.

Here is our text:

Romans 1:1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God– 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6 And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

The intro opens with being clear as to the fact that Paul was “set apart” for the gospel of God.   Paul had finally reached his purpose in life; the reason that he was born.   It is similar to the call narrative of Jeremiah as he pens in Jeremiah 1:4-5 “The word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart;..”

It is amazingly comforting to know that God has formed us for a particular purpose.  There are all kinds of books out about discovering your purpose and finding out what you were meant to do in life.  In my conversations with people over the years, many will admit that they still can’t figure out what that one thing is that we are called to do, that we were birthed into this earth realm for.   For many of us that reason is because we take little time consistently getting into the word of God, praying, giving to others, doing the service of God through charitable and philanthropic work.  Sometimes, without these avenues of volunteering, getting involved and spiritual discipline, it can be difficult to discover purpose. 

For many of us, we are still trying to discover who we are.  A lot of us have allowed so many people to define us and to guide our thinking that we woke up one day and realized that we hated our lives and that we rarely find fulfillment in our daily tasks.

I remember when I was in high school and was considering college, I wanted so bad to go into public speaking.   I didn’t know that I would be a minister at the time but I knew that I wanted to do some type of public speaking.  I was very good with the math and sciences and I allowed my high school counselor to talk me into entering the world of engineering.  Very few black women were entering that field and there was a substantial amount of grants and scholarships available for women entering the field of engineering versus mass communication (public speaking). 

I did get an electrical engineering degree, but I hated every part of the journey.  I hated going to class, I hated studying the subject matter, I felt like I was in a cycle and couldn’t get out.  I was depressed and rarely remember being happy through my college years as a matter of fact, it was after I failed out of the engineering program that I attempted suicide.    I did get it together and got back in school on a probationary status and did what I had to do to graduate but it was not enjoyable at all. 

Over the years, I have allowed others to define me time and time again and have ended up in situation after situation all because I was trying to become something that I wasn’t meant to be which was someone else.   It took years and years to discover who I really was and what made me happy and what I enjoyed doing and what my passions really were.   I am FREE now and it is the most wonderful place in the world to be.  If you’re reading this now and in the situation that I was in, I hope you don’t waste as much time as I did discovering who you really are aside from the many layers you have allowed people to put upon you.  He whom the SON has set free is FREE INDEED.  BE FREE.  BE YOU.  Nobody can be you better than you, It is the one thing that you’re amazingly phenomenal at.   Become all that God has intended for you, HIS plan for our lives is far better than what someone else’s plans are.

Paul was “set apart” for the gospel’s sake.  He was to preach the gospel that had been promised through the prophets before hand in the Holy Scriptures.     Even in Paul’s conversion, Jesus would ask him why you would kick against the inevitable in his life.   Paul was persecuting the very thing that he was called to be great at.    

Tomorrow we will continue with our introduction. 

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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18. March 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone: 

I’m able to post again.  Thanks for your patience.  I know that’s its Friday so I want start our study back up until Monday.  I don’t like starting a new topic at the end of the week.   Let me say that I am so excited to be in the book of Romans, I have been encouraged while studying this book and so excited about the issues in this book.

I always post a proverb when I don’t continue my regular posting but today I want to deter from that and Post some of Psalms 119.  It has been really blessing me.  The theme of the psalms is about one who is excited about the word of God and has come to learn that it is the one thing in life that can fulfill his heart’s desire and that he can find total peace and joy in.  It has really been ministering to me.

Here are some excerpts from it.  I hope it blesses you as it has me.

Psalms 119: 9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. 10 I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. 11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. 12 Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees. 13 With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. 14 I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. 15 I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. 16 I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.

17 Do good to your servant, and I will live; I will obey your word. 18 Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. 19 I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me. 20 My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times. 21 You rebuke the arrogant, who are cursed and who stray from your commands. 22 Remove from me scorn and contempt, for I keep your statutes. 23 Though rulers sit together and slander me, your servant will meditate on your decrees. 24 Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.

25 I am laid low in the dust; preserve my life according to your word. 26 I recounted my ways and you answered me; teach me your decrees. 27 Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders. 28 My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word. 29 Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me through your law. 30 I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws. 31 I hold fast to your statutes, O LORD; do not let me be put to shame. 32 I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.

33 Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. 34 Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. 35 Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. 36 Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. 37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word. 38 Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared. 39 Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good. 40 How I long for your precepts! Preserve my life in your righteousness.

I can’t clearly articulate to you through words how the word affects me and how it burns within my soul.  While I understand that this Psalm is the testimony of someone else, it speaks to the sentiments of my own soul and longing for me to be able to totally understand and obey God’s word.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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