Tag: Israel

No Advantage, No Boasting — Faith That Levels the Church

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Romans, Scripture

Throughout this Romans series, we’ve watched Paul patiently dismantle every reason the Roman church might use to divide itself. From the opening greeting to the sweeping argument of justification by faith, Paul has made one thing unmistakably clear: no group stands higher than another at the foot of the cross.

In the previous posts, we saw how Paul exposed humanity’s shared problem—sin—and God’s shared solution—faith in Jesus Christ. Jew and Gentile alike are guilty. Jew and Gentile alike are rescued by grace through faith in Jesus. And yet, division persisted in Rome.

So Paul presses deeper.

When Heritage Becomes a Claim to Superiority

At this point in the letter, Paul anticipates the resistance of Jewish Christians who might say, “Surely we have an advantage. Look at what God has done through Abraham’s family. We were given the law. We received circumcision.”

Paul’s response is honest and humbling.

Yes—Israel gave the world the Messiah.
Yes—the Scriptures came through Abraham’s descendants.

But privilege does not cancel sin.

“What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.” (Rom 3:9)

This echoes what we established earlier in the series: righteousness is not inherited, achieved, or protected by tradition. Sin does not respect lineage. And salvation is not triggered by religious markers.

Paul dismantles the idea that possessing or following the law makes anyone righteous. In fact, the law does the opposite—it exposes guilt. Break it once, and you stand guilty of all of it.

And this leads Paul to his most important declaration so far.

Righteousness Revealed Apart from the Law

“But now…”

These two words signal a turning point not just in Romans, but in the entire story of Scripture.

Apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed. It is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference. All have sinned. All are justified freely by grace (Romans 3:21–24).

This is the leveling of the playing field we’ve been tracking since the beginning of the series. No advantage. No boasting. No leverage.

And Paul goes even further.

Abraham Proves the Point

If circumcision truly justified someone, Abraham would have been declared righteous after circumcision.

But Scripture says otherwise.

“Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Romans 4:3).

Paul emphasizes the timing. Abraham was justified before circumcision. Faith—not the sign—was decisive.

Once again, Paul eliminates every attempt to rank believers. Circumcision was a sign of covenant loyalty, not the means of salvation. Faith—pistis—was always the foundation.

And Paul hammers this relentlessly. From Romans 3:22 to 5:2, Paul references faith or belief 26 times. This is not accidental. He wants the church to feel the weight of it.

Faith as Allegiance, Not Abstraction

As we discussed earlier in this series, faith is not mere mental agreement. The Greek word pistis is better understood as allegiance—a lived loyalty that reshapes one’s life.

I highly recommend reading Gospel Allegiance by Matthew Bates on this subject.

We can “believe” many things without changing anything about how we live. But allegiance always produces action.

Faith has verbs.

This is why Paul insists that justification by faith does not lead to moral laziness. It leads to transformed loyalty. A church that truly pledges allegiance to Jesus must act like it belongs to Him.

And that action is most clearly seen in how believers treat one another.

A divided church cannot effectively proclaim a reconciling gospel.

Peace with God—and With Each Other

Romans 5 opens with the fruit of allegiance-faith: peace.

“Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

But this peace does not stop with God. It must overflow into the community of believers. Paul acknowledges the church’s suffering—not primarily from outside persecution, but from internal strife.

And yet, Paul insists this suffering is not wasted. God uses it to form perseverance, character, and hope—not hope that one group wins, but hope that God will be faithful to unify His people.

God proves His love not by choosing sides, but by pouring out His Spirit on both Jew and Gentile.

Christ died for the ungodly—all of us.

And if we were enemies of God who are now reconciled through Christ, how can we justify remaining enemies of one another?

That question carries us into Paul’s next movement: dying to sin and living a new life together.

This blog post is part of a series of posts on Paul’s letter to the Roman Church. You can see the rest of the posts here.

  1. When the Gospel Replaces Power with Peace
  2. Strong, Weak, and the Call to Build One Another Up
  3. Shared Story, Shared Family—Romans 9 and the People of God
  4. Grafted Together — Romans 10-11 and the Gospel of Unity
  5. One Gospel, Common Ground — Unity from the Very Beginning of Romans
  6. Same Problem, Same Grace — How Faith Makes Us One
  7. No Advantage, No Boasting — Faith That Levels the Church
  8. Dead Together, Alive Together — Life in the Spirit and the “We” of Romans 8

Same Problem, Same Grace — How Faith Makes Us One

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Romans, Scripture

As we established earlier in this series, Paul’s goal in Romans is not to win an argument—it is to heal a church. That healing requires radical honesty. And Romans 2 begins with exactly that.

“You have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else.”

Paul dismantles moral superiority by reminding the church that judging others while also being guilty of sin is nothing less than self-condemnation. Both Jewish and Gentile believers are guilty.

“There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Rom 3:22-23)

As we’ve already seen, the gospel places everyone under the same authority: God’s judgment is real, impartial, and unavoidable. No ethnic group receives special treatment. No religious heritage grants immunity.

Unity begins with shared accountability.

When Religion Becomes a Stumbling Block

Paul then turns specifically to the Jewish believers, not to shame them, but to expose how privilege can distort faith.

They claim to guide others but fail to guide themselves. They condemn others while committing the same sins. And Paul quotes Isaiah to drive the point home:

“God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” (Rom 2:24; Isa 52:5)

In other words, disunity does not remain internal. It distorts the witness of Jesus.

Circumcision, Paul explains, has value only if the law is kept perfectly. Break the law, and circumcision becomes meaningless. Meanwhile, Gentiles who obey God without the law stand as a rebuke to those who boast in it.

True covenant identity, Paul insists, is not external. It is a matter of the heart—transformed by the Spirit of the Living God.

And as we’ve already noted in previous posts, the Spirit does not discriminate. He falls on Jews (Acts 2) and Gentiles (Acts 10) alike.

Same Spirit.
Same standing.
Same grace.

All Under Sin are Offered Rescue

Romans 3 brings Paul’s argument to a crescendo. Quoting Israel’s own worship songs—the Psalms—Paul reminds the church of what they already confess weekly: no one is righteous.

Without Christ, sin reigns.

The law reveals sin, but it cannot rescue from it. And then Paul delivers the turning point that reshapes everything:

“But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Rom 3:21-24)

God’s righteousness has been revealed apart from the law. It is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

As we’ve emphasized throughout this series, justification is like aligning margins. God does not erase differences of culture or conscience—but He equalizes standing before Him.

All have sinned.
All are justified freely.
All stand by grace.

Abraham and the End of Boasting

Paul seals his argument by returning to Abraham—the shared patriarch of Jews and Gentiles alike.

Abraham was justified by faith before circumcision. Before the law. Before ethnic boundary markers.

Circumcision was a sign of commitment, not the source of righteousness.

If Abraham was made right by faith alone, then imposing law observance as a requirement for righteousness undermines the very story Israel treasures.

Abraham is the father of many nations. And those who share his faith share his promise.

Peace, Hope, and the Spirit We Share

Paul closes this section by returning to what justification produces: peace with God, access to grace, and hope that does not disappoint.

Why does hope endure?

Because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit—the same Spirit given to all who believe.

Same problem.
Same solution.
Same Spirit.

And therefore, one people—called not to erase differences, but to live in unity shaped by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Paul’s words to the Galatian believers summarizes this point well.

“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God.” (Gal 6:14-16) 

This blog post is part of a series of posts on Paul’s letter to the Roman Church. You can see the rest of the posts here.

  1. When the Gospel Replaces Power with Peace
  2. Strong, Weak, and the Call to Build One Another Up
  3. Shared Story, Shared Family—Romans 9 and the People of God
  4. Grafted Together — Romans 10-11 and the Gospel of Unity
  5. One Gospel, Common Ground — Unity from the Very Beginning of Romans
  6. Same Problem, Same Grace — How Faith Makes Us One
  7. No Advantage, No Boasting — Faith That Levels the Church
  8. Dead Together, Alive Together — Life in the Spirit and the “We” of Romans 8

One Gospel, Common Ground — Unity from the Very Beginning of Romans

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Romans, Scripture

In the previous posts in this series, we’ve worked carefully through Paul’s argument that the Roman church shares one story and belongs to one family. Jew and Gentile alike have been grafted into God’s covenant faithfulness through Jesus Christ. There is no “better group,” no privileged side of the aisle—only mercy received and grace extended.

That foundational truth leads us to a necessary conclusion:

Our shared story and our shared righteousness in Christ give us no right to divide from other brothers and sisters in Christ.

We are all made righteous by Christ.
We are all sinners and broken.
And none of us get to impose our will on others.

Paul is not promoting uniformity. He is promoting unity.

What’s remarkable is that Paul does not wait until the middle of Romans to make this case. He embeds it directly into the opening of the letter. Long before he addresses food laws, holy days, or the “weak and strong,” Paul establishes an understanding that makes division seem ridiculous from the very beginning.

The Gospel That Levels the Playing Field

As we saw in earlier posts, Romans is not a generic theological treatise. It is a pastoral letter written to a divided church. That context matters as we read Paul’s opening words.

Paul introduces himself as a servant of Christ Jesus, set apart for the gospel of God—a gospel promised beforehand through Israel’s Scriptures and fulfilled in Jesus (Romans 1:1–3). From the outset, Paul connects Jewish hope and Gentile inclusion into a single story.

Jesus is described as a descendant of David and, through the Spirit of Holiness, appointed Son of God in power by the resurrection. That phrase—Spirit of Holiness—would have resonated deeply with Jewish hearers. But “Son of God” would have rung loudly in Roman ears as well.

Caesar claimed that title.

Paul is quietly but unmistakably declaring that Jesus—not the emperor, not ethnic identity, not cultural authority—has been enthroned as Lord. And He was crowned not by military conquest, but by resurrection.

No emperor has risen from the dead.

That matters because once Jesus is confessed as Lord, no subgroup within the church gets to claim dominance. We all have a future resurrection awaiting us, thus we stand together under Christ’s Lordship.

Allegiance to Christ removes every other claim to authority.

Obedience That Comes from Faith

Paul explains that his apostleship exists to call all nations—Gentiles included—to “the obedience that comes from faith” (Romans 1:5). As we’ve seen repeatedly throughout this series, this phrase is central to Paul’s vision.

Obedience does not produce righteousness.
Faith produces obedience.

This places every believer on equal footing. Jew and Gentile. Slave and free. Torah-observant and non-observant. No one earns justification. Everyone receives it by faith.

Even Paul’s greeting reflects this unity. He blends charis (grace), a common Greek greeting, with shalom (peace), the traditional Jewish greeting. Grace and peace are not competing values—they belong together. The same is true of those who use those greetings in the church.

Before Paul corrects the church, he greets them as one people.

Mutual Encouragement, Not Spiritual Hierarchy

Paul’s desire to visit Rome is not about asserting authority. He wants to visit for the sake of mutual encouragement—shared faith strengthening one another (Romans 1:11–12).

This reinforces what we’ve already seen in earlier posts: spiritual gifts exist for mutual edification, not leverage (see Paul’s comments on 1 Corinthians 12-14 for more on this). The gospel dismantles hierarchy inside the church.

Paul even binds himself to both sides of the Roman divide, describing his obligation to Greeks and non-Greeks, the wise and the foolish (Romans 1:14). He refuses to sort the church into spiritual classes of winners and losers—right verses wrong.

That’s why Paul insists on preaching the gospel to people who already believe. Because the gospel does not merely save—it reshapes communities into the likeness of Christ.

Righteousness Revealed, Boasting Removed

Romans 1:16–17 introduces the thesis of the entire letter: the gospel reveals God’s righteousness, a righteousness received by faith from beginning to end.

As we’ve already explored in previous posts, this righteousness is not something we achieve—it is something God gives. And once righteousness is received rather than earned, boasting has nowhere to stand.

Which brings us to humanity’s shared problem.

Paul’s discussion of sin in Romans 1 is not aimed at outsiders alone. The list of sins—envy, strife, deceit, gossip, arrogance, lack of mercy—mirrors the very behavior dividing the Roman church.

The warning is clear: when believers fail to recognize what God is doing through the gospel—when unity is suppressed in favor of judgment—people experience the consequences of their own sinful divisions.

That leads directly into Paul’s confrontation in Romans 2.

This blog post is part of a series of posts on Paul’s letter to the Roman Church. You can see the rest of the posts here.

  1. When the Gospel Replaces Power with Peace
  2. Strong, Weak, and the Call to Build One Another Up
  3. Shared Story, Shared Family—Romans 9 and the People of God
  4. Grafted Together — Romans 10-11 and the Gospel of Unity
  5. One Gospel, Common Ground — Unity from the Very Beginning of Romans
  6. Same Problem, Same Grace — How Faith Makes Us One
  7. No Advantage, No Boasting — Faith That Levels the Church
  8. Dead Together, Alive Together — Life in the Spirit and the “We” of Romans 8

Grafted Together — Romans 10–11 and the Gospel of Unity

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Church health, Romans, Scripture

Romans 9–11 speaks powerfully to both sides of the Roman church’s divide—but Paul is intentional in how he addresses each group.

In Romans 9–10, Paul speaks primarily to the weak—mostly Jewish believers who felt both privileged by their heritage and threatened by the Gentiles’ freedom.

Paul begins with deep sorrow and love for his people. He acknowledges Israel’s immense advantage: adoption, covenants, law, worship, promises, and the Messiah Himself. But then he draws a painful line.

Heritage does not equal righteousness.

Being descended from Abraham does not automatically make someone part of what Paul means by “Israel.” True belonging has always been rooted in promise, not genealogy, and in faith, not accomplishment.

Romans 10 drives the point home: Israel was zealous—but sought righteousness in the wrong place. They tried to establish their own righteousness rather than submitting to God’s righteousness revealed in Christ.

That’s the warning.

The comfort is this: God has not abandoned Israel. He is keeping His promises—but He is keeping them through Jesus, not Torah observance.

Righteousness comes by faith.
For Jews.
For Gentiles.
For the weak.
For the strong.

And only by faith in Jesus can we be considered righteous before God.

A Word to the Strong

Then Paul turns to the strong—the Gentiles who had remained in Rome, gained influence, and were tempted toward arrogance.

To make his point, Paul uses one of the most vivid metaphors in Scripture: the olive tree.

Gentiles are wild branches grafted into Israel’s cultivated root. They share in the nourishment—but they do not support the root. The root supports them.

Paul’s warning is sharp:
Do not be arrogant.
Do not bully the weak.
Do not mistake grace for entitlement.

God grafted you in by kindness—and He can cut you off if you aren’t bearing Christlike fruit.

Love for one another is our responsibility.
Judgment is God’s responsibility.

The strong do not get to weaponize God’s judgment against the weak. They do not get to impose their will, erase conscience, or rewrite the story to center themselves.

Unity is not optional in the church because it is the gospel lived out for the world to see.

Living the Story We Proclaim

Paul insists that divisions within the body of Christ contradict the message of reconciliation we claim to believe.

Strong looking down on weak is sinful.
Weak imposing control over strong is sinful.

Why?

Because neither reflects the story God is telling—the story of two becoming one, of branches grafted together, of enemies reconciled into family.

We are called not only to believe the gospel of unity—but to embody it through the way we live and worship together.

Our relationships preach to the world around us.

They preach to Gentiles.
They preach to Jews.
They preach to a watching world desperate for something better than power struggles and tribalism.

And Paul’s conclusion is clear:

God is faithful—to Israel, to the Gentiles, to the weak, and to the strong. Our God is always faithful.

Therefore, the strong must embrace the weak.
The weak must welcome the strong.
And together, they must live as one family in Christ Jesus.

Because anything less distorts the gospel we claim to proclaim.

This blog post is part of a series of posts on Paul’s letter to the Roman Church. You can see the rest of the posts here.

  1. When the Gospel Replaces Power with Peace
  2. Strong, Weak, and the Call to Build One Another Up
  3. Shared Story, Shared Family—Romans 9 and the People of God
  4. Grafted Together — Romans 10-11 and the Gospel of Unity
  5. One Gospel, Common Ground — Unity from the Very Beginning of Romans
  6. Same Problem, Same Grace — How Faith Makes Us One
  7. No Advantage, No Boasting — Faith That Levels the Church
  8. Dead Together, Alive Together — Life in the Spirit and the “We” of Romans 8

Shared Story, Shared Family — Romans 9 and the People of God

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Church health, Romans, Scripture

In my last two blog posts, we’ve worked to establish the context of Paul’s letter to the Romans. This was not a calm, unified church receiving abstract theology. It was a deeply divided community—primarily along ethnic lines—trying to follow Jesus in the heart of the Roman Empire.

Emperor Claudius had expelled Jewish Christians from Rome, leaving Gentiles to shape the church’s life and leadership. When Jewish believers eventually returned, the church they came back to no longer felt like home. Customs had changed. Power had shifted. And before long, the church found itself divided into two camps Paul famously calls “the weak” and “the strong.”

The strong could tolerate more.
The weak could not.

And the strong interpreted the weak’s convictions as a sign of inferior faith.

If that sounds distant or theoretical, it shouldn’t.

During the COVID pandemic, I watched churches fracture along similar lines. I got to see this personally in two congregations. One congregations had many members who worked in medical professions. The other half were mostly farmers and oil field workers. They were working with different data, different risks, and different lived realities—and some began accusing the other side of having weak faith based on the decisions they made in good conscience.

One church leader proudly proclaimed to me, “Not one thing has changed in my life since this nonsense started. I don’t know what everyone’s problem is.”

And at the same time, I buried dear friends who died of COVID and from suicide during the pandemic. I also buried my grandmother whose funeral would normally have exceeded capacity of the church building. Instead, it was only a few family members in attendance due to regulations.

Everything in my life changed.

This is not an ancient problem. It is a human one.

And so Paul writes Romans to show the church how to replace power and privilege with the peace that comes from the gospel, so they can become a truly righteous community.

Righteousness Begins with Relationships

Here’s a main theme in Romans—one that’s easy to miss:

If we do not allow the gospel of Jesus Christ to shape how we relate to one another, we are not a righteous community.

If we do not allow the gospel to shape our understanding of peace, we are not righteous.

And if we insist on defining righteousness on our own terms rather than God’s, we will never stand righteous before Him.

That is why Romans 9–11 matters so much.

Paul does something unexpected here. Instead of focusing on individual salvation, he zooms out to tell a story—a shared story—reminding the church who they are together.

A Shared Story, Not Competing Stories

Romans 9–11 is packed with names and narratives.

Abraham and Sarah
Isaac and Rebecca
Jacob and Esau
Moses and Pharaoh
David
Elijah
Hosea
Isaiah
Exile and return
Failure and mercy

These are not random references. Paul is reminding the church that they belong to a long, unfolding story of God’s covenant faithfulness.

And here’s the key:
Paul is not asking, “Which individuals will be saved?”
He is asking, “Who are the people of God?”

That distinction changes everything.

Romans 9:4–5 lists Israel’s privileges—covenants, law, worship, promises, patriarchs, and the Messiah Himself. And Paul emphasizes something shocking:

God accomplished all of this through the weak.

Paul’s argument is not about superiority…about who’s right and who is wrong. It’s about faith. God has always worked through unlikely people, flawed families, and broken systems to accomplish His purposes. And the people he chose to work through were chosen because of faith.

One Family, One Promise

What Paul reveals is that God’s plan was never ethnic exclusivity. It was always inclusion of the other.

God has been faithful to Abraham’s family in order to include the nations in his salvation.

This one family—Jew and Gentile together—is what Paul elsewhere calls “the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:15–16). Not defined by circumcision or uncircumcision, but by living the new creation reality in Christ.

This means Romans is not telling their story.

It’s telling our story.

When our story culminates in Christ—when righteousness comes not from heritage, law, or effort, but from Jesus—blame dissolves. Superiority collapses. Division loses its footing.

You are not the problem.
I am not the solution.
We are the people God is redeeming.
Together we are the Israel of God.

And that changes how we see one another.

This blog post is part of a series of posts on Paul’s letter to the Roman Church. You can see the rest of the posts here.

  1. When the Gospel Replaces Power with Peace
  2. Strong, Weak, and the Call to Build One Another Up
  3. Shared Story, Shared Family—Romans 9 and the People of God
  4. Grafted Together — Romans 10-11 and the Gospel of Unity
  5. One Gospel, Common Ground — Unity from the Very Beginning of Romans
  6. Same Problem, Same Grace — How Faith Makes Us One
  7. No Advantage, No Boasting — Faith That Levels the Church
  8. Dead Together, Alive Together — Life in the Spirit and the “We” of Romans 8

Strong, Weak, and the Call to Build One Another Up

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Church health, Romans

One of the most misunderstood sections of Romans is Paul’s discussion of “the strong” and “the weak.”

The issue appears simple—food laws, holy days, personal convictions—but Paul reveals something much deeper: the danger of confusing personal conviction with spiritual superiority.

The “strong” were likely mostly Gentiles, confident in their freedom.

They felt they were superior knowing food sacrificed to idols was a farce, and they had no qualms eating it and praising the Lord for it.

The “weak” were likely mostly Jewish believers, shaped by Torah and conscience.

For them, such actions offended their sensibilities, and they felt victimized that others in the church wouldn’t adopt their practices on such issues.

The two groups hold polar opposite views.

And Paul does something surprising.

He refuses to tell us who is right.

Instead, he tells us who is responsible.

Acceptance Without Agreement

Paul opens Romans 14 with a radical command:

“Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.”

Acceptance is not based on agreement with each other—it is based on our mutual standing before God.

The strong must not despise.
The weak must not judge.

Why?

Because God has accepted both.

Paul reinforces this by introducing a parallel issue—holy days.

Some observe them. Some ignore them.

Again, Paul refuses to pick sides.

Each must be fully convinced in their own mind. Each one’s beliefs and actions on these matters are done “to the Lord.”

Uniformity is not Paul’s goal. Unity is.

Living Before God, Not Each Other

Paul reminds the church that none of us live—or die—for ourselves.

Every decision we make is lived before God.

When we judge motives, we place ourselves in God’s seat. When we prioritize our rights and our desires over love, we forget who the church belongs to.

Paul’s warning is sobering:

“Why do you judge your brother or sister? … We will all stand before God’s judgment seat.”

Unity breaks down when we stop asking, “Does this honor God?” and start asking, “Do I like this?”

Rights, Love, and the Kingdom of God

Paul acknowledges freedom—but he reframes it.

The kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking.
It is about righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

The question is not, “Am I allowed?”
The question is, “Am I building up my brothers and sisters in Christ, or am I tearing down members of Christ’s body?”

True gospel freedom expresses itself through self-limiting love.

Paul’s call is not to abandon conviction—but to consider it less important than loving one another.

Christ, the Ultimate Example

Paul closes this section by pointing us to Jesus.

Christ did not please himself.
Christ bore insults.
Christ became a servant for Jews and Gentiles alike so that with one voice, God might be glorified.

This is what righteousness looks like in community.

Not power.
Not privilege.
Not control.

But peace.

And when the church lives this way, the gospel is no longer just proclaimed—it is visible.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him.”

That is Paul’s prayer.
And it remains God’s invitation to the church today.

This blog post is part of a series of posts on Paul’s letter to the Roman Church. You can see the rest of the posts here.

  1. When the Gospel Replaces Power with Peace
  2. Strong, Weak, and the Call to Build One Another Up
  3. Shared Story, Shared Family—Romans 9 and the People of God
  4. Grafted Together — Romans 10-11 and the Gospel of Unity
  5. One Gospel, Common Ground — Unity from the Very Beginning of Romans
  6. Same Problem, Same Grace — How Faith Makes Us One
  7. No Advantage, No Boasting — Faith That Levels the Church
  8. Dead Together, Alive Together — Life in the Spirit and the “We” of Romans 8

God Has Left The Building

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Acts, Scripture

God works through a variety of people in a variety of places, including outside of the church building.

In his second volume (Acts), Luke tells us that his first volume (Gospel of Luke) recorded “…all that Jesus began to do and to teach.” The story of Acts, then, tells us all that Jesus continued to do and to teach by means of the Holy Spirit through his Church.

One of the first things we notice is what happened to Jesus in volume one happens to his Body in volume two. Jesus lives by the Spirit, and now Jesus sends his Spirit to his followers. Jesus preaches the Kingdom of God, and now his followers proclaim Jesus as King. Jesus healed the sick and lame, and now his followers do the same. Essentially, Luke is using these examples to call his readers to be like Jesus in their context.

One of the clearest examples of being like Jesus is the trial and martyrdom of Stephen. Just like Jesus, Stephen is a man full of the Spirit, full of grace and power, and performs great wonders and signs. And just like Jesus, Stephen faced opposition that sought to put him to death based on false charges and testimony. And just like Jesus, he refused to back down from his mission.

If you’ve never read Stephen’s sermon to the Sanhedrin, take a few minutes and read Acts 7. It’s a wonderful summary of how God’s presence and action has never been restricted to any one building, land, or people. Stephen reminds us that God has worked in many places and in many ways through many people.

We are reminded that God called Abraham out of the land of the Chaldeans to Harran, then to the promised land. He worked in and through Egypt during the famine under Joseph. He worked with and through Moses while in Egpyt, and in Midian. He dwelt on Sinai while Israel rebelled in idolatry at the base of the mountain. God dwelt in the Tabernacle throughout the wilderness, and even when Israel finally settled in the promised land. He then dwelt in the temple of Solomon.

What Stephen so skillfully does is point out from the Scriptures that God’s power and actions are not tied to one building. It never has been, and never will be. God works through a variety of people in a variety of places, including outside of the church building.

Finally, he gives us one last reminder from God’s own mouth that his presence and action isn’t limited to “houses made by human hands.” Stephen does all of this through Scripture, reminding the Sanhedrin that Moses predicted a prophet would come that would be like him. That “Righteous One” is the very Jesus they had condemned to death. He then calls this assembly out on their sinful resistance of the Holy Spirit and rejection of Jesus.

And they killed him.

It’s always a tragedy when people ignore the word of God, but even more so when it leads to violence. Stephen’s defense is nothing but quoted Scripture of how God has worked in the past, and a claim that he works the same way today. He points out the inconsistency of the Sanhedrin by denying the Holy Spirit’s working in the world, and how their ancestors ignored the Word of God as well.

The rejection of Stephen’s testimony was a rejection of God’s work in the world, just as it was when they rejected Jesus. God works through a variety of people in a variety of places, including outside of the church building. And that was a message that the Sannhedrin refused to hear.

Stephen’s death shouldn’t be looked at as just a tragedy (and indeed it was a tragedy.) When evil men intended to silence this movement of Jesus’ disciples through violence, God used their actions to bring salvation “to the ends of the earth,” just like he did through Jesus. In short, God chose to work through a variety of people in a variety of places, and this event put things into motion outside of the church building (Temple).

You see, the intense persecution that broke out because of Stephen’s Spirit-fueled sermon caused Christians to flee Jerusalem. And while we might think this is a bad thing, God again used it powerfully to take the Gospel into a variety of places!

Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

Luke 8:4 NIV

Jesus had already told his disciples that they were to be witnesses in Jerusalem (which they were doing quite well), but also in Judea, Samaria, and everywhere else in the world (which they were not doing). This persecution that no one would want is the very thing God uses to spread the saving message of Jesus to non-Jews outside of Jersualem.

Essentially, we Gentiles are followers of Jesus today because this tiny Jesus movement faced persecution in the years following the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, but continued to talk about Jesus wherever they went. God worked through a variety of people in a variety of places, including outside of the church building, and you and I are here as a result.

The seat of power in Jerusalem that ignored the workings of God were completely destroyed. Because the religious authorities in Jerusalem rejected the prophets of God, Jesus the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit amidst God’s people, the religious establishment was completely destroyed. But God’s mission and God’s people were not! They continued with the mission set before them, and we are here today as a testimony of their faithfulness!

We often forget that God’s mission all along was to create a people for himself that would lead all people to Him. When God called Abraham, he promised that this plan was to bless all nations. We forget that God wanted Israel to be a kingdom of priests to proclaim his goodness and glory before all nations in hopes of reaching them. We forget that the law called Israel to be a people who looked after the foreigner because God loved them too! We forget that through the Isaiah God ordained his Temple as a house of prayer for all nations, and through Jeremiah proclaimed that all nations would be present in his assemblies. We forget that the Great Commission of the New Testament was a command to carry out the Great Commission of the Old Testament.

God works through a variety of people in a variety of places, including outside of the church building.

If we’re honest, we would have to admit that we have largely lost the fire and the mission that Israel and the early church were called to. North American churches have enjoyed such a comfortable existence for so long that we have forgotten our mission. We really like things the way they are, and we’re quick to complain any time we are inconvenienced in the slightest with regard to our religious freedom. At the same time we’re painfully slow in spreading the Gospel of Jesus to the lost around us. This seems to be the opposite of what God has called his people to do!

Don’t misunderstand me, I’m thankful for our freedoms, and I deeply love our churches. I’m also keenly aware that our freedom has led to complacency and atrophy in the American Church, while intense persecution and violent oppression has simultaneously led to an explosion of faith and church growth in areas like China, Iran, and India.

I’m thankful for our freedom. I’m thankful for the peace we enjoy. But we must never equate our freedom of religion with the fulfillment of the mission God has set before us. God works through a variety of people in a variety of places, including outside of the church building. Therefore, we must be willing to get outside of our comfort zones and get about the mission God has called us to!

God has blessed us with the freedom to assemble, yet we often don’t.

God has blessed us with freedom of speech, yet we rarely use it to tell others about Jesus.

God has blessed us with peace, yet we forget that we are in the midst of a spiritual war.

In many ways, our freedoms have killed our mission.

Stephen’s sermon is true. God works through a variety of people in a variety of places, including outside of the church building. And every time God’s people get complacent and lose the mission God has set before them, his Spirit moves through his faithful people to work in a new way.

If we are not on fire for the mission of sharing the Gospel of Jesus with the lost, God’s mission will be carried out without us. God’s Spirit will move his faithful people outside of the walls and structures to carry out the mission regardless of the cost. And instead of wringing their hands at every inconvenience and setback, God’s faithful people will view these things as new opportunities to do God’s will in their community. God works through a variety of people in a variety of places, including outside of the church building. Are we willing to join Him in his work?

Acts 7-8 remind us that in a world that values complacency and comfort, we are called to be like Jesus. It will always seem easier to keep things the way they are and to ignore the leading of the Spirit. It will always seem easier to just assemble with our own people and ignore the lost around us. It will seem easier to define our own version of faithfulness and redefine the mission God has set before us. But when has God ever called us to do the easy thing?

Waiting Beyond Death

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Advent, Isaiah, Narrative Lectionary

During this Season of Hope, we are studying texts related to the Advent, or coming of the fulfillment of God’s promises in the Messiah. Just like ancient Israel had to wait for his coming, we too wait for his second coming.

Isaiah 40 makes reference to this time of waiting.

6 A voice says, “Cry out.” 
And I said, “What shall I cry?” 
“All people are like grass, 
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. 
7 The grass withers and the flowers fall, 
because the breath of the Lord blows on them. 
Surely the people are grass. 
8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, 
but the word of our God endures forever.”

Isaiah 40:6–8 NIV

In these verses we have a heavenly voice (the speaker is unclear, perhaps Yahweh, an angel, or some other heavenly being) telling Isaiah that humans are like grass and their works like flowers. What the voice is reminding us is that grass and flowers are only around for a season before they wither and fade away. They do not last forever. But the word of God does indeed last forever.

Let’s put this in the context of Israel coming out of exile. They have been away from their homes for a generation, and there is this promise of return. God will make the path easy, he will restore Jerusalem, he will keep his promises. His word will not fail! But humans don’t live forever. We all die. God’s promises, however, do not die.

Isaiah is trying to remind us that we may wait for God to fulfill his promises, and they may not be fully fulfilled in our lifetime before we “wither.” Isaiah wants us to remember that our waiting does not negate God’s promises. Even if we never see them fulfilled, we can rest assured that they will be fulfilled because God’s word endures forever.

Centuries after this text was written, one would come as “a voice of one calling: In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD.” (Isa. 40:3, Mark 1:3). Mark, as well as the other Gospel writers, want us to realize that God kept this promise fully in the ministry of John the Baptist, “and the glory of the LORD” was revealed in the Advent of Jesus (Isa. 40:5).

Though Isaiah’s words to exiled Israel were not fully realized in their lifetime, God fulfilled his promise through the Advent of Jesus. And though God’s kingdom has not fully come, we can rest assured that God will fulfill his promises through the Advent of Jesus.

Sermon text for 12/8/19: Isaiah 40:1-11; Mark 1:1-4 

Josiah’s Passover & The Lord’s Supper

by Matthew Stidham, posted in 2 Kings, Narrative Lectionary, Scripture

This week we wrap up our series Great Is Thy Faithfulness. We’ve taken an overview of the Hebrew Scriptures through the lens of God’s faithfulness. We’ve discovered that Yahweh keeps his promises regardless of what we humans do. We also discovered that our actions affect the way God’s faithfulness impacts us. When we live the life he calls us to then his faithfulness is a blessing. When we live contrary to his faithfulness, our sinful actions have painful consequences. This is what we saw the last two weeks as we looked to the 8th century BC in the prophecies of Hosea and Isaiah. The sin of Israel and Judah will bring painful consequences to the people, but God will remain faithful to heal and to save when they repent.

This week we turn to 2 Kings 22 and look at the story of Josiah. About 100 years after Hosea and Isaiah the 8 year old Josiah became king. Following the wicked reigns of his father and grandfather, Josiah chose not follow in their footsteps. We read that he was much like King David, and today is recognized as the 2nd greatest Davidic king.

All of Jerusalem had forgotten Yahweh. His temple had fallen into disrepair and had become the site of worship for Baal, Asherah, and star worship. Josiah ordered to restore the temple of Yahweh, and during that restoration a copy of the Torah was found (presumably Deuteronomy). Nobody knew about God’s word, or what to do with it. When Josiah heard the Torah read, he ripped his robes and sent his advisors to the prophet Huldah to confirm if what they were reading was true. 

The female prophet told these men that indeed the word of Yahweh was true and the punishment foretold in the Torah was coming. But she also had a word of peace for Josiah because of God’s appreciation for his heart. This destruction would come upon Jerusalem, but because of Josiah’s repentant heart, it would not happen during his lifetime.

Josiah calls all the people of Judah and reads aloud the Torah (as prescribed in Deuteronomy). When the people heard the words of Yahweh, they all pledged themselves to keeping the covenant. All of the idols and instruments of pagan worship were destroyed and removed and Josiah issued this decree:

“Celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” – 2 Kings 23:21 NIV

In celebration of the renewed hearts and renewed commitment to Yahweh, the people eat the Passover.

Every Sunday at our gathering, we renew our hearts, we renew our commitment to Yahweh, and we eat the Lord’s Supper, a reapplication of the Passover by Jesus on the night he was betrayed (Mk. 14:16ff).

This week as we gather to worship, let us recommit to the mission and the covenant that Yahweh has made with us. And then let us eat the Passover of Jesus.

Sermon Text for 11/24/19 – 2 Kings 22:1-23:23; Mark 14:16-25

Give Us A King!

by Matthew Stidham, posted in 1 Kings, Deuteronomy, Narrative Lectionary

Great Is Thy Faithfulness continues this week by looking at the story of King David’s grandson, Rehoboam, and the division of the Kingdom of Israel. But before we talk about the actual split, we need to look at how Israel got to this point. They said they wanted a king like the nations around them, but God warned them what would happen if they chose an earthly king over him (1 Sam. 8). God knew all along the Israelites would choose this path, and even gave them guidelines on what a king should do before they ever entered the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 17). God’s way was better, but God gave Israel what they asked for.

Saul was the first king, and that went ok for a time. Eventually Saul had to be replaced because of his wickedness by King David (that was last week’s sermon). After David’s death, his son Solomon was chosen as king. Most of us know that Solomon was the wisest because he asked God for wisdom (1 Kings 3). Solomon ruled in this wisdom for a while, and did well as king. But pretty soon that all changed!

Deuteronomy 17 gives us 8 qualifications for an earthly king. Some of them are as follows:

  • He must not acquire great numbers of horses, especially from Egypt (v.16)
  • He must not take many wives or his heart will be led astray (v.17)
  • He must not accumulate large amounts of gold and silver (v. 17)
  • He is to be a Bible nerd and study it constantly to learn how to follow God (vv. 18-19)

David certainly failed at several of these points (and others not mentioned here), but Solomon is portrayed as the antithesis of Deuteronomy 17!

  • He acquired great numbers of horses, especially from Egypt (1 Kg. 10:28-29)
  • He took many wives and his heart was led astray (1 Kg. 11:1-6)
  • He must not accumulate large amounts of gold and silver (1 Kg. 10:2, 14-22, 27)
  • He ignored God even though God appeared to him twice! (1 Kg. 11:9)

The story of Solomon shows us that even the wisest, richest, most powerful and well respected king won’t follow God! And when Solomon’s son Rehoboam goes to be crowned as king, he decides to double down on Solomon’s evil practices (1 Kg. 12:14), the kingdom was divided. The earthly kingdom had failed. If only the people had trusted God, and not trusted in an earthly kingdom.

The northern kingdom has 20 kings that follow the split. According to the record of the Kings, none of them were faithful to God. In the southern kingdom, only 8 out of 20 were good kings, but even they ultimately failed the faithfulness test.

Israel needed a better king. They needed God as their King once again. And God promised just that through his prophets (Isa. 9:6-7). Unfortunately when King Jesus came to them, they once again chose an earthly king over him (John 19:15).

We too have a choice to make. Will we choose our earthly kingdom, or King Jesus?

(Sermon text for 10/27/19 – 1 Kings 12:1-17, 25-29; Mark 10:42-45)