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Saturday 30 April 2016

Romans 10:5-8 - Not out of reach

10:5
The Jews were proud of the Law that had been given through Moses. It was the basis of the whole way of life of Israel. It wasn’t just about how they should live (though they rarely obeyed it properly), it defined the nation. However, the whole basis of the Law was “whoever does these things will live by them”. Note that it is not the content of the Law that is deficient, it is man who is deficient for he is unable to “do these things”. Some see this verse as Paul referring to Christ having kept the Law perfectly, having fulfilled it.

10:6,7
The righteousness that is by faith is different. It is different in that it depends on Christ having fulfilled the Law, not us having fulfilled the Law. When we try to earn our own righteousness we inevitably bring Christ down. We realise, at least subconsciously, that we cannot live up to God’s standards, so we gradually decrease God’s standards down to our level. The phrases that Paul uses in these verse may well be proverbial, expressing something that is impossible. Any attempt to earn our own righteousness inevitably ends up in us living a lie.

10:8

Paul continues his quotes from Deuteronomy. The quotes he has been giving come from Deut 30:11-14 where God is preparing the people for entering and living in the Promised Land. Paul has been setting the life of faith against the life of Law, along with the associated promises. The message of faith is not difficult. You do not need some special initiation, you do not need special enlightenment or special knowledge or insight. The gospel is open to all.

Friday 29 April 2016

Romans 10:3,4 - God's righteousness


10:3
But their motives were right! They wanted to know God! But they did not know the righteousness of God and so sought to establish their own righteousness. In so doing they did not submit to God’s righteousness. So again we see the supremacy of the Lord, and man’s failure to submit to God. We do not decide the way to know God, God decides the way to know Him. We are mere created beings. Yet when we do submit to God’s ways we find that being a being created by God is the most wonderful thing there is. When we persist in following our own way and refusing to submit to God’s ways we are living in denial, in denial of who we are and what we are.

10:4
“Christ is the end of the Law”. This can be taken in two ways. It can mean that Christ is the cessation of the Law, ie since He has died for us the Law is no longer relevant as a means of achieving righteousness. Or it can mean that He is the goal of the Law, Jesus is what the Law was always pointing towards, what it was leading up to. This latter sense seems better as it fits best with the whole teaching of the Bible, and of Paul in particular. Too often Jesus is seen as opposed to the Law, but that is simply not true. The Law showed the perfect way, it also showed that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And it pointed towards our need of a saviour, Jesus is that saviour.

Thursday 28 April 2016

Romans 10:1,2 - the wrong sort of zeal

10:1
Paul reiterates his concern for Israel. He wants them to be saved. Why does he stress this? Well his message, and what he has been saying in Romans, says that going along their current road the Jews will not be saved. This would be construed by some as Paul being anti-Jewish. We encounter the same phenomenon today. If we say all religions are not the same we are accused of being exclusive. If we say that a homosexual lifestyle is sinful we accused of being homophobic. Now some people are Islamophobic, some are homophobic, but if the Bible is true, which it is, then those who are living lives that are contrary to the Bible are in great danger. Moreover, there is a solution on offer to every single man and woman on the planet. Anyone who believes in Jesus will receive forgiveness and newness of life.

10:2

NIV’s “I can testify” is inaccurate, it actually says “I testify”. Paul knew that the Jews were zealous. Indeed Paul himself had been one of the most zealous of Jews (Phil 3:4-6). But zeal on its own is of no value, it matters what we are zealous for, and the zeal needs to be based on knowledge. Having the right motives is of no use if one is not going about something in the right way. Zeal needs to be based on knowledge, and the only one who knows the right way to be right with God is God Himself! Why should we consider the opinion of a mere man to be of any value in the matter? And God Himself came to live amongst us. Only the gospel is based on knowledge, for it came direct from God.

Wednesday 27 April 2016

Romans 9:30-33 - A wrong way and a right way

9:30,31
Paul has been emphasising God’s sovereign choice. God decides what happens, and He decides how things will happen. God has decided that the only way to know Him is through faith in His Son Jesus Christ. People object that this should not be the only way, or complain about what right God has to choose. God is the Creator! We now see human responsibility coming into play. The Gentiles did not pursue righteousness. Now Paul is not saying that there were no good Gentiles, there was no doubt the usual cross-section of people that you find in all people groups, but the Gentiles were not, on the whole, pursuing righteousness with God, they had no idea who God was. Yet they found righteousness. Again we need to note that this was a relatively small proportion of them, but the church was increasingly Gentile in composition. Conversely the Jews did pursue righteousness, they did want to know God, it was fundamental to the whole identity of the nation. Yet they did not find it because they did not pursue it by faith. The Gentiles believers responded in the way that God had chosen, the Jews did not respond in the way that God had chosen.

9:32,33
The Jews pursued righteousness by works and this was doomed to failure. Paul rounds off the section by quoting from Isaiah 8:14 and 28:16. Jesus is the dividing line, the fork in the road. Our response to Him is what determines our eternal destiny. And Scripture has said God would place a stone that would divide, that would separate the sheep from the goats. Jesus says clearly to us that we are not righteous, that we need to repent and need to trust in Him, and in His sacrifice for us. To many this message is offensive or foolishness, and so it causes people to stumble. To those who do believe He becomes the rock on which we build our lives, a sure foundation. And no one who trusts in Him will be put to shame. God has decided the rules of the game and we need to play by them.

Tuesday 26 April 2016

Romans 9:27-29 - A remnant

9:27,28
Next Paul quotes from Isaiah 10:22,23. This comes from a section in Isaiah about God’s judgement upon Israel, saying salvation would only come when they stopped relying on men and instead relied fully on God. Some might have argued that since most of Israel did not recognise Jesus as the Messiah then He could not be so. Paul is showing that such an argument is nonsense. It is totally in keeping with the Scriptures for a remnant to be saved. Likewise, today we live in a time when most reject the Bible, that does not mean that God’s plans are wrong, or that the Bible is not the word of God. God’s promises to Israel never meant that all Israel would be saved (Morris). Israel was never promised exemption from judgement. She was in the same boat as the rest of the world.

9:29

Now the tone turns to the positive, with Isaiah 1:9 up next. Israel needed to realise her true situation. As it stood she was a rejected nation because she had rejected her saviour. And we do well to remember the terrible events that were about to befall Jerusalem in a few years time (AD 66-70). Yes only a remnant was left, but a remnant was left. God’s plan was not to leave Israel totally destitute, she is not completely omitted from His plans. The two extreme views on the place of Israel are dangerous and wrong. One is that Israel can do no wrong and will always be blessed. History shows this not to be the case, the Bible shows this not to be the case. She is a sinful nation of sinful people, just like the rest of humanity and there is only one way of salvation and that is through Jesus Christ. The other extreme is to say that Israel no longer has a place in God’s plans. I cannot see how anyone reading chapters 9-11 can possibly come to that view.

Monday 25 April 2016

From Rejection to Vision - Sermon on Isaiah 54

Romans 9:25,26 - Once not loved, now loved

9:25
Paul quotes from Hosea 2:23. In its original context the prophecy is referring to the ten tribes of Israel who formed the northern kingdom and had been rejected because of their apostasy, but God would call them back. The point that Paul is making is that those who were deservedly rejected are called back to be His people. This applied to the tribes of Israel, in the same way it applies to the Gentiles. Yes they did worship all sorts of false gods, as did Israel, and they received judgement as a results, as did Israel, but God was showing them mercy.
See that there is a recognition of judgement, “not my people”, and a showing of mercy. The gospel is about God showing mercy to sinners, we need the bad news in order for the good news to make sense.
There are some interesting side points as well.The quotation is a somewhat loose quote from the LXX, so while accurate translation of the Bible is important, maybe we should not get too hung up on particular Bible versions. More importantly, Israel can be seen as a microcosm of God’s dealings with the world. The full depravity of sin can be seen in Israel, as can the full extent of God’s mercy. Many look down on Israel and despise her, even Christians. The truth is that if Israel cannot be saved then no one can be saved. How all this works out will be revealed in the rest of 9-11. Conversely, Israel needed then, and needs now, to realise that she is no different from any other people. They are a sinful people who need to repent and receive the grace of God in Christ Jesus.

9:26

The next quote comes from Hos 1:10. This time it is an exact quote from LXX. Paul again is stressing the character of God. God is a God who shows mercy to those whom He rightfully judged. The people rejected will be called “sons of the living God”. We need to appreciate how shocking it was to the Jews that Gentile dogs could be children of God and even call Him Father. Paul is showing that this is the very nature of God’s plans.

Sunday 24 April 2016

Romans 9:22-24 - What if God ...

9:22
Now this is a fascinating verse. There are some translational difficulties, but I am not clear exactly what they are, so look up a good commentary if you really want to know what they are. Now who is Paul referring to here? Who are the “objects of His wrath”? The Greek actually just says “the wrath”, it is taken as axiomatic that it is God’s wrath. Wrath is a fundamental characteristic of God. Now God was amazingly patient with Pharaoh. He gave him numerous chances to act sensibly, yet Pharaoh was repeatedly stubborn. Now what if Paul is speaking about Israel here? The Old Testament could reasonably be called a catalogue of the sins of Israel. They repeatedly disobeyed God, despite a multitude of warnings and acts of mercy. They needed to realise that by nature they were “objects of wrath”. Now this is not the whole story, we need to see later in chapters 9-11. But all are sinners, and Israel’s fundamental failing was not to acknowledge her need for a saviour.

9:23,24
In delaying the judgement upon Israel He was making the riches of His glory known to the objects of His mercy. So God has mercy on some and some are objects of wrath. Notice also that the objects of mercy are prepared for glory. Glory is our destiny. We are the objects of His mercy. And it has always been God’s plan to save us and that glory should be our destiny. And the objects of mercy are taken from the Jews and from the Gentiles.

The fundamental point at issue here is that God is doing things in a way that is offensive to the Jews. We too can be offended at times by the way that God acts. Our starting point needs to be that God has the absolute right to do what He wants. Now that is not all. God is also absolutely loving, merciful, wise and righteous. And it will transpire that His plans and purposes are absolutely perfect and just. If we wait till we see this before we accept God’s plans we will get nowhere. If instead we accept God’s ways then our eyes will be opened and we will see the glory and justice and grace of all His plans.

Saturday 23 April 2016

Romans 9:20,21 - Who do you think you are?

9:20
Morris points out that while Paul anticipates questions he often does not answer the question, or at least not in the way that the hypothetical questioner wants it answered. It is an objection we still hear today. If God created us then He is responsible for all that we do. However, the question is not well-posed, to use a mathematical term. We are created beings, if God had not created us we would not exist at all. So to object to God having created us in a certain way is nonsense. We need to recognise who and what we are, which is created beings. We are in no way autonomous. The heart of man’s rebellion is to seek to live without God. It was so in Eden and is still so today. This is the tragedy of the human condition.
The wonder and the glory is that when we finally admit who we are, admit who God is, we find that He actually gives us freedom. We find that His plans for us are more wonderful than we could ever imagine. And we find that we are actually able to far more than we ever imagined, to create and be more than we ever thought possible. We are creatures who have a wonderful creator, if only we would recognise that fact!

9:21
The Jews needed to recognise who God really was, and who they really were. They were not a privileged race, at least in one sense. Or rather they misunderstood their privilege, and we can easily do the same. God had given Israel many blessings, indeed they would not have existed at all if God had not created the nation, just as each one of us would not exist at all if God had not created us. History, as given in the Old Testament, had shown that God could and would do what He liked. The Jews were offended by the idea that God was taking salvation to the Gentiles, while most Jews were being rejected.
Now there are two issues to look at. First of all, God has the absolute right to do things this way if He so chooses. God can work out His plans in any way He chooses. But God choosing is not the only aspect of things. Israel’s unbelief and, conversely, the faith of the Gentiles, is also relevant. I know I have said this several times in looking at the last few verses, and I will probably say it again in the future, but it is so important. God’s decree does not mean we are automatons, mere puppets or playthings in God’s hands. Our actions, attitudes and decisions matter. They are not opposed to God’s plans, they work together with it.

Friday 22 April 2016

Romans 9:18,19 - Not my fault?

9:18
The primary point from this is the sovereignty of God. He decides on whom He has mercy, and whom He will harden. Again there are two things in operation. One is the decree of God, this is what ultimately decides the outcome. But those He has mercy on will put their faith in Christ, and those whose hearts are hardened will be disobedient and rebellious. The two are not in conflict, we may not be able to understand exactly how it works, but the Bible is clear. In the immediate context the Jew who found it difficult to accept that the Gentiles were coming into the kingdom, whilst most Jews were being excluded (for now) needed to accept the will of God. At the same time we need to notice that the Gentiles who were being saved were the ones who were putting their faith in Christ, and the Jews who were being excluded were being excluded because they refused to put their faith in Christ. If they had believed they too would have been saved.

9:19
The Greek actually says “You will say to me”, rather than the NIV’s “One of you will say to me”. So the objection here, and this is one that is still very much around today, is that of God’s decree decides everything how can we be blamed for anything? As I have pointed out already, God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility are not at odds with each other. We think of God’s sovereignty within the limits of our human powers and think that if we decide something is going to happen then the will of everyone else counts for nothing. That is not the way it works with God. In fact it is not even the way it works with us when we are at our best. One style of leadership is to be a dictator, to force people and organisations to do things, having no respect for their will. But what are truly great leaders like? They are people who bring others with them, they win hearts and minds. They exercise authority when they have to, but they do not ride roughshod over the desires of others.

However, Paul is not really answering the philosophical questions we like to ask. He is primarily concerned with the question of the Jews and the gospel. So God has allowed, actively allowed, the Jews to reject Christ, to have hardened hearts, and He has chosen to have mercy on the Gentiles. Now neither of these apply to all Jews nor all Gentiles. Some Jews, Paul most of all, did accept Jesus, and many Gentiles did not.

Thursday 21 April 2016

Romans 9:16,17 - It's all a matter of choice - God's choice!

9:16
“It does not therefore depend upon human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.” Now we need to look at this in the whole context of Scripture and the the immediate context of Romans. Indeed in verse 32 of this chapter he says that Israel did not obtain righteousness because they did not pursue it by faith. Wrong thinking goes as follows. Everything is dependent upon what God decrees, therefore it doesn't matter what I do. Realising that “it doesn't matter what I do” cannot be right, for it goes against what the Bible says, and it goes against everyday life experience, we can then go even more wrong and decide that everything does not actually depend ultimately upon God’s decree. Open theism is the worst outcome of this sort of thinking.
What is Paul saying? First he is countering the whole Jewish way of thinking about salvation. They had forgotten that it is ultimately dependent upon God. God’s mercy is the source of salvation. If God had not decided to be merciful no one could be saved, and He can choose to have mercy on whoever He wants to. And this does not mean that it doesn't matter what we do. We may not be able to fully understand who these two facts can fit together, but facts they are, like it or not.

9:17

Paul then quotes from Exodus 9:16 with how God used Pharaoh. Now if we look at the whole story various verses talk about Pharaoh hardening his own heart (Ex 8:15) and his heart being hard or becoming hard (eg Ex 7:22). So any picture we might have of God hardening Pharaoh’s heart and his being a mere puppet in God’s hands is totally false and unbiblical. God’s decree and man’s responsibility work together. Exactly how is a mystery, but it is nevertheless the truth. If we want to understand life, and, more importantly, to live live properly we need to appreciate the absolute sovereignty of God. It is only when we do this that we become truly free. And we need to appreciate that the purpose is that God’s power might be displayed and His Name proclaimed. It is not so that man’s name and power might be displayed.

Wednesday 20 April 2016

Romans 9:14,15 - Having mercy

9:14
Now this next section really offends modern ears. There are two things to say. The first is if you offended then tough, this is the word of God we are dealing with so if we are in disagreement God is right and we are wrong! The second is, as Leon Morris points out, Paul is answering Jewish questions and how the gospel going to the Gentiles and Israel’s rejection of Christ all works out with God’s promises in the Old Testament, he is not dealing with modern Western mind questions. And as I have pointed out before, God’s decreeing something does not mean we have no responsibility. So someone might object that God is unjust to choose Jacob over Esau, even before they have done anything good or bad. Paul declares that this is not true. Now we need to realise that God decreeing something does not mean that what we do does not matter. We also see in Scripture examples of God, at least apparently, changing His mind. God certainly responds to our actions.

9:15

Now as Westerners we would like a philosophical answer to the question of whether or not God is unjust, but Paul is arguing with people steeped in Jewish thought, not Western thought. So instead of giving a philosophical answer He quotes from Scripture, namely Exodus 33:19. This would be far more convincing to the Jew than any philosophical reply. God is perfectly at liberty to make any decision He likes. We need to accept the truth that God is the ultimate source of all things, any other starting point for knowledge leads to a dead end. As it says on several occasions in the Bible, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Tuesday 19 April 2016

Romans 9:13 - Jacob I loved, Esau I hated


“Jacob I loved, Esau I hated”. There are two key issues here. One is loved and hated. Hate here is being used more in the sense of “I chose Jacob and rejected Esau”, and is more of a relative term. Still we will react against this, but we do better to accept God’s choice. The second issue is whether this should be understood in individual terms or national terms, and this is a big argument between Calvinists and Arminians. Jacob and Esau clearly were individuals and God’s choice affected them as individuals. In the context of what Paul is arguing about it is individual response or rejection of Christ that counts. However,  the nations of Israel and Edom came out of Jacob and Esau, and Paul is talking about what happened to the nation of Israel and is dealing with Israel was as a nation. So arguments can be made for both, and perhaps that is the answer. We want God to be dealing with individual or nations, when the truth is that He is dealing with individuals and nations. This also applies to our lives and is vital for understanding life. God deals with us as individuals, on a one to one basis, but we are also affected by the society around us and by God’s dealings with that society. It is not individual or corporate but individual and corporate. And the next time a preacher stresses one to the exclusion of the other just remember that it is always both.

Monday 18 April 2016

Romans 9:10-12 - Before they had done good or bad

9:10
Now Paul turns to the example of Jacob and Esau. “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” (Ex 3:6; Matt 22:32), these three were the great patriarchs of Israel and Paul is pointing out the principle way in which God worked in and through them. The Jewish understanding was completely wrong and was blind to the truth of what God was doing. It is very easy to have a supposed allegiance to something but to completely miss the point.
Just as Abraham had had two sons, so Isaac and Rebekah had two sons. Abraham’s were conceived in different ways, one by human effort, one by God’s promise. In Rebekah’s case there was no difference at all, yet there was going to be a great distinction.

9:11,12

While Rebekah was pregnant the Lord gave a promise to her (Gen 25:23), note that God spoke directly to Rebekah. God declared that the older would serve the younger. Now under the customs of the time it would be the older who would be the main heir. God also said this before the two sons had done anything. The point that Paul is stressing here is that it is God’s choice that is supreme. He had decreed that Jacob would be the leader. If we want to understand life then we need to understand God’s sovereign choice. We react against this, even as Christians. Part of this is a result of misunderstanding, part of it is a result of our rebellion against God. On the misunderstanding side we immediately think that because God has decreed something then what we do has no bearing on the situation. This is wrong, virtually every page of the Bible makes it clear that we do, what we think and decide, matters and has an effect. We most certainly do have a responsibility. On the rebellion side we want to be in control, we do not want to be utterly dependent upon God. But we find peace and true freedom when we submit to God’s sovereignty. Look at the example of Job. He struggled for some thirty chapters or so, arguing with God about why all the terrible things had happened to him. When did release come, when did breakthrough come? Not when he got a full explanation or understanding, that never came. Freedom came when he acknowledged that God was God and he was a mere man. The principle has not changed.

Sunday 17 April 2016

What a bunch of wussies


You may have seen the article in several news websites last week about the student at Edinburgh University accused of violating “safe-space” rules. I read this and thought “what a bunch of wussies”. For those who are unaware, safe spaces are supposed to protect people from being offended. They are increasingly prevalent in America, and seem to be increasing here as well.

When I was a student, many moons ago, men were men ... and wore flares (guilty), platform shoes (yes, but not very high) and had long hair (longer than it is now, and more of it, but that’s not saying much). Debating and arguing was what being a student was all about, so we argued, protested, went on marches. At school there three of us who used to walk home together, a journey of about two miles or so, taking about forty minutes. On those walks we used to argue and debate, mostly about politics and religion. It is fair to say we weren’t your typical teenagers! Two of us argued the atheist case (yes I used to be an atheist), on politics I was in the minority being on the right, the other two being lefties. But we loved debating and arguing.

Now to be fair to Edinburgh University students if you read the article you will see many agreed that the “accusation” was indeed ridiculous, but the notion of “safe spaces” is spreading in the US and here. More widely, have you noticed how in many areas society is seeking to shut down debate. There are a number of views in society that increasingly you are not allowed to question or challenge without at least being accused of being a bigot.

I oppose all attempts to shut down debate, to stop views being challenged. I am perfectly happy for people to challenge Christianity.  If you hold a view and it is wrong then the sooner we find out the better. None of us have perfect ideas and listening to challenges can help us to modify and improve our understanding. Even when our views are right I find that considering questions and challenges helps us to realise just how well founded our views are.

Conversely, if someone, a group of people, or a society hold a view and will not allow that view to be questioned or challenged then ask yourself why? If their view is so solid, so right, so true, then why are they so afraid of it being challenged? There are several areas in society where this applies right now. The reason they are afraid is because their views are built on a foundation of sand.

I have been a Christian for some thirty six years or so. In that time I have found no argument to cause me to doubt the gospel. I have found nothing in my own experiences to cause me to question the reality of the Lord (that does not mean I never struggle or wonder what on earth God is doing, or never ask why. I do these things frequently, but I know that God is true even when I do not understand and may be in anguish). When I look at the world around me I find that the Bible worldview is the only one that gives a true explanation of the way things are.

The truth will never be defeated. Two thousand years ago they crucified Jesus Christ, so The Father raised Him from the dead. They persecuted the church, and have continued to do so in many times and many places, including this very day . Yet the gospel has spread throughout the earth.

Never fear the truth being challenged, for the truth will always stand. And when society says you cannot question its “wisdom” you can be pretty sure that that wisdom is in fact foolishness.

Romans 9:8,9 - Children of Promise

9:8
Paul’s prime point is that it is God’s promise that counts, not natural birth. In his letter to the Galatians Paul talks about the promise (Gal 3 & 4). The Jews focused on the natural ancestry. With natural ancestry God could be viewed as having started things off but then let them go on their own way. With the promise God is intimately involved all through the process. Note also that Isaac is referred to as being the child of promise rather than a “natural” child. Now presumably Abraham and Sarah had sex and Isaac was born in the normal way, yet he is referred to as being special, a child of promise. This is because without divine intervention there would have been no Isaac. So miraculous interventions can sometimes work together with natural processes.

9:9

Paul quotes from Gen 18:10,14. God was the one who decreed the birth of Isaac. He brought Isaac into existence and decreed when he would be born. Moreover, God made the promise to Abraham about twenty five years before it happened. The mind of God is the source of all things and natural processes respond to the mind of God. We tend to look at natural processes first, but our focus should always be on the mind and heart of God. That is part of living by the Spirit, not the flesh.

Saturday 16 April 2016

Romans 9:6,7 - Not all are Israel

9:6
One of the questions that Paul is dealing with is “has God’s word failed?” He chose Israel, made many promises to them, yet they rejected the Messiah. They were not receiving the blessings. Paul starts off by saying that God’s word has not failed “for not all who are descended from Israel are Israel”. The Jews were very proud of their heritage, their ancestry, but this did not make them true Israel. Now Jesus said similar things, eg John 8:39-41, as did John the Baptist (Matt 3:9). The natural ancestry was far less important than people believed, see Matt 12:48-50.

9:7

Paul then applies this specifically to Abraham. Abraham was central to Jewish understanding of themselves, and was also central to Paul’s explanation of the gospel. Paul refers to Isaac, and God had declared that it was through Isaac that his offspring would be reckoned. Now Paul is starting his argument from a place that Jews would agree with, for they would all certainly agree that descendants of Ishmael would not inherit the promises. So what Paul is doing is getting them to realise the full implications of this. The Jews considered that God was somehow bound to Israel, obligated to bless them. Paul will go on to show that God is free and He is definitely not bound to bless the physical descendants of Abraham.

Friday 15 April 2016

Romans 9:4,5 - The blessings of Israel

9:4
We then get a list of the benefits and blessings that Israel has received from God. First is adoption to sonship. Now Paul talked about adoption in the previous chapter. The nation of Israel would never have existed unless God had created it. God had given them the divine glory. They saw and experienced things that no other nation had seen, and God dwelt among them. God made covenants with them, binding agreements. They received the Law, God’s divine instructions for the nation. They had the temple, the place where God dwelt, and they received a multitude of promises from God. The nation of Israel cannot be viewed as just any other nation, there is something unique about it.

9:5

Then there were the patriarchs, ie people like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. If we look at the beginning of Matthew or Luke we see that Jesus, the Messiah, descended from the Patriarchs. The Messiah who is God over all. This is one of the very few places where Paul states explicitly that Jesus is God, though it is implicit in everything that is said about Jesus. There are those who think Israel no longer has any special place in God’s plans. Such thinking seems to be totally at odds with the Bible and renders God’s promises in the Old Testament as valueless. Yet Israel rebelled against God, refused to recognise Jesus. How can these two facts be reconciled? The rest of chapters 9 and 11 will explain the truth of the situation. And we do well to remember that Jesus descends from the Patriarchs, Jesus is very Jewish.

Thursday 14 April 2016

Romans 9:1-3 What about Israel?

9:1
There are a variety of views on the place of chapters 9-11 in Romans. Some see these chapters as a digression or even as something that was not part of the original letter, but such a view is not much in favour these days. Other see it as the centrepiece of Paul’s argument. A  more balanced approach is to view it as an integral part of Paul’s argument. Back in chapter 3 he started to list one of the advantages of being a Jew, gave one such advantage and then went off into the wonderful content of chapters 3-8. So he is now returning to that theme. Moreover, at the end of chapter 8 he has been extolling God’s faithfulness and how absolutely nothing can separate us from God’s love. That raises the question, “what about Israel?” Israel and its place in God’s plans can be a vexed question among Christians, these three chapters help us to see the place that Israel has. These chapters are also much beloved of Calvinists. We will try and look at these chapters and let them speak for themselves.
Paul declares that he is speaking the truth and that what he says is his genuine feelings and thoughts.

9:2
Sol what are Paul’s thoughts and feelings? He is full of sorrow and anguish. If we try and read Paul’s writings as a mere academic piece of work we will never understand him properly. The letters were written with great learning and insight, but they were also written with great emotion as well and to appreciate and understand them fully we need to bear this in mind.

9:3
Paul’s attitude to Israel’s rebellion against God is similar to that of Moses. On a number of occasions Moses pleaded with God for Him to spare Israel, Paul has the same attitude. Paul still had an affection for Israel and its people, so much so that he would be cut-off from Christ if that would save them. Of course, Jesus did become a curse so that we were saved.

Wednesday 13 April 2016

Romans 8:36-39 - More than conquerors

8:36
Paul quotes from Psalm 44:22. Suffering and difficulty has always been part of the life of God’s people. God takes us through difficult circumstances to lead us to a “promised land”. We experience this in small measure in our lives today. Everything God takes us through leads us to a greater degree of glory, but there is always further to go. When Christ returns we will finally have “arrived”, we will have reached the true promised land.

8:37
Though we may go through many trials in all of it we are more than conquerors. We do not merely survive, we do not merely get through, but we triumph in the circumstances. We come through stronger, knowing Christ better, and being better people than we were before they started. How is this true? It is true because of Him who loved us, through His death and resurrection.

8:38,39
Paul is convinced that absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. He is convinced, this is no idle thought, no whimsical notion. It is his settled belief, settled conviction based on his knowledge of Christ and his experience.
“neither death nor life”. Death is an obvious enemy but Paul knows that when he dies Christ will raise him on the last day. Life can also be an enemy, there can be times and circumstances when death would seem a welcome relief from the battle of life. No matter what happens to us in life will it cannot separate us from God’s love. “angels or demons”. No spiritual forces can separate us from God’s love. It might seem strange for Paul to speak of angels here. The word translated angels means “messenger” and while we usually think of good angels, it could be that Paul had fallen angels in mind. “demons” can be translated “principalities” or “rulers”. Whatever the case, no matter whether spiritual or earthly forces, they cannot separate us. Absolutely nothing in creation can separate us from God’s love.

The love of God is in Christ Jesus. Jesus is the supreme means by which God makes His love known, and we need to remember that love is a much stronger word than we commonly use it today, it is not just a sentimental thing. And Jesus Christ is our Lord.

Tuesday 12 April 2016

Romans 8:34,35 - Who shall separate us?

8:34
Absolutely no one is in a position to condemn. Indeed we ourselves should never get in the accusing role. Satan is the accuser, so if we start accusing all we are doing is Satan’s work! Now that does not mean we do not make any judgements, it does not mean we ourselves never do anything wrong and never need correction, it does not mean others never need correction. Paul is talking about accusation, condemnation here, as opposed to justification. The blood of Jesus covers all sins, it is sufficient to justify anyone. Moreover, He was raised to life and is seated at the right hand of God where He is interceding for us. Earlier we read of the Spirit interceding for us (8:26), now we read of the Son interceding for us. We all have a great prayer team!

8:35

Having dealt with condemnation Paul turns his attention to circumstances and what people or events can do to us. Notice that he does not say bad things can never happen to us, indeed Paul had experienced many bad things in his life. Rather he says that none of them will or can separate us from the love of Christ. There is a superficial Christianity that says that only we have enough faith nothing will go wrong, true Christianity focuses on our relationship with Christ, on His love for us. Our confidence is in God’s love for us, His relationship with us. Notice the vast range of things covered by the little list that Paul gives. Trouble or hardship covers things that just happen, the circumstances of life. Persecution covers the deliberate attack on Christians. Famine, nakedness cover really serious circumstances. Danger or sword cover real threats in our life. Whatever the danger one thing we can be sure about is that it will not separate us from the love of Christ. So if we are facing difficulties today we should put our focus on our relationship with Jesus, asking the Spirit to deepen our awareness and appreciation of His love for us. In that way we will overcome.

Monday 11 April 2016

Thoughts on the transgenderism "debate"

One of the promises of all the main parties in the current Scottish elections is to improve the rights of transgender people. Indeed there seems to be almost universal agreement among most of the parties, social commentators on the transgender issue. That is why I have put “debate” in quotation marks as we are experiencing a very rapid change in our approach to gender and are doing so with very little debate at all, and anyone who does seek to question the direction of travel is quickly labelled a bigot. Moreover, political parties, the media, and education authorities all seem to be moving in the same direction.

The American College of Pediatricians (ACP) recently published a report entitled “Gender Ideology Harms Children”. I think it would be helpful to look at the current zeitgeist in the light of this report and to ask some serious questions. This is particularly important as the gender issue is one that will increasingly affect children, a BBC report says that the number of referrals to a gender identity clinic for young people has experienced a doubling in referrals.
I would suggest that first you read the ACP report, it is short so it won’t take long. First, let me say something about the ACP. As far as I can tell, despite its name it is not a national body in the sense that the BMA is, and it is a socially conservative body , but it does consist of fully qualified pediatricians. Moreover the points made are backed up by references, and some of the points are definitely based on scientific truth. So it is definitely worth considering the issue in the light of the points they make.

The report starts with the opening paragraph:
The American College of Pediatricians urges educators and legislators to reject all policies that condition children to accept as normal a life of chemical and surgical impersonation of the opposite sex. Facts – not ideology – determine reality.

Treating gender dysphoria
So let's consider perhaps the fundamental point of the current approach. Transgenderism is concerned with people who experience gender dysphoria, ie people who experience dysphoria with their biological sex. Now the current approach is that in this situation where there is a conflict between psychological and physical state the solution is to seek to change the physical state, this being done by taking cross-sex hormones, and possibly by gender reassignment surgery. Now there are two very important points to consider:

  1. The common approach in most situations where one's perception of reality is at odds with the physical reality is to consider that this is a problem that needs to be approached as a psychological issue. With the matter of gender dysphoria we seem to be adopting the very opposite approach. We need to ask ourselves why this is considered to be the best approach to take.
  2. The taking of hormones and undergoing gender reassignment surgery does not actually change the sex of a person. If the person was born male they will still have xy chromosomes. On a very practical level, a person born male will still be prone to prostate problems when they get older. In short, there is a limit to the extent to which the physical reality can actually be changed.

In the light of this one has to ask if the current approach is actually the best way of helping people who experience gender dysphoria. The report refers to reports of high suicide rates in people who use cross-sex hormones and undergo gender reassignment surgery, even in LGBTQ friendly countries such as Sweden. Now one has a healthy caution about all such studies, but it does at least mean we should ask questions.
Surely we should ask ourselves if the current approach is the best way to really help people who experience gender dysphoria.

Gender dysphoria and children
This is the primary reason for my writing on this issue. There is an increasing move to instruct our children that transgenderism is good and that the, until now, accepted definitions of gender are wrong. This is a very serious matter and we need to be sure that we are going in the right direction.
To appreciate how serious the issue is one only needs to consider that one of the approaches can be to give children puberty blocking drugs. So the approach is to give a child drugs that inhibit the normal healthy functioning of the body. If this is to be considered a good approach for a child one needs to be darn sure that you are right. Moreover, according to the report, puberty inhibiting drugs can have harmful side-effects, and in the longer term cross-sex hormones have serious health risks as well.
The  report refers to studies that say the majority of children who experience gender dysphoria to actually “grow out of it”. Now this does not mean we should ignore the problem if a child does suffer from gender dysphoria, but it does mean that we should seriously question the current approach. Children are very impressionable, which is one of the reasons all societies seek to protect children, and there is a serious risk that the current direction we are going in will cause harm to our children. Indeed the report goes so far as to call that approach child-abuse, and one can see why they do this.

So I do believe there are serious questions need to be asked of the direction we are going in. However, there is also another matter that does need to be addressed. Part of the motivation of the current approach is a desire to stop bullying of people, and children in particular, who experience gender dysphoria. This is an entirely laudable desire. Bullying wherever and for whatever reason it occurs is abhorrent and we should do what we can to stop it, but there seems to be a serious risk that the current approach is built on a lie, and if it is it will ultimately lead to failure and cause serious harm to children in the process. We are actually made male and female. So maybe we need to find a different way of dealing with the bullying problem. Also, we need to address the gender stereotyping issue.

Romans 8:32,33 - He who did not spare His own Son

8:32
Adam and Eve believed God was against them after they sinned, they hid from Him in the garden. This has been the natural attitude of man ever since. Man tries to live without God, tries to pretend that there is no God, does all he can in his futile attempt to “prove” that there is no God. This belief that God is against us in deeply ingrained and it takes a lifetime to eradicate it. No matter how long we have been Christians we still have much to learn about just how much God is for us. We need to ponder what God has done. He created the universe and everything in it. He had no need to do that. He created you and I, He had no need to do that. Supremely He sent His Son to die for us on the cross. He had no need to do that. God chose to do these things. If God was prepared to do that, will He not do whatever is necessary in order to save us? In order to gives us all things that we need?

8:33
Having declared just how much God is for us Paul now turns his attention to those who oppose us. First he considers accusation. We will be accused. Now Paul is not saying we never do anything wrong, he is not looking at this issue from the perspective of whether we need to change our ways at all, rather he is looking at it from the perspective of our being right with God, our being justified. So if someone accuses us we need to ask one simple question. Who has justified us? It is God Himself, the blood of Jesus has justified us. When Satan accuses all we need to do is point him to the cross. When someone accuses us all God does is look at the cross and says “that has already been paid for”.