The One Year Bible, July 13th
Summer is usually a time of rest and
relaxation. But sometimes summer can be just as busy if not more so than the
school year. During the school year there is a set rhythm to the days and weeks
and months, but summer seems to be a flurry of activity with no rest. It reminds me of our life in Christ. We all
are looking forward to the day when we can rest in the presence of Jesus. It
seems like that day will never come. And as we wait we have been given the task
of doing God’s will here on earth. Some days it seems like we will never get it
all done, but even when we fail (and we will!), God is right there to forgive
us and point us in the right direction again. I hope that through your daily
reading of Scripture the Lord speaks to you to not only remind you of the rest
that awaits, but His love for you as we carry out His will. On to the study....
Seth’s Thoughts
The Old Testament
I will admit that this weeks readings were not too interesting for me, mostly a
bunch of lists and numbers. A few things did jump out at me. Fist of all was
the repeated mention of the Davidic Covenant that YAHWEH had made with the
family of David. This was to last forever but it came to an earthly end. But
remember that Jesus is the fulfillment of that covenant and Jesus still sits on
the throne that was promise so many years ago. I also thought that it was cool
to read about the six-fingered man. It is not too often you hear about them.
One last thing that jumped out was the fact that David was the one who made the
plans for the temple and gave them to his son Solomon. I am not sure if this is
idealized history but it is in the Bible and I believe it.
The New Testament
WOW!! Where to begin? There are many, many books written about Romans and I do
not intend to add to the list by using this blog. But I would be remiss if I
did not touch on the big theological themes in the book. First of all it is
important to remember that Romans reads like a legal court document. Paul is
serving as the lawyer who representing faith in Jesus and he is defending his
beliefs to a particular group of people at a particular time in history. I do
not believe, as others do, that this book contains all that is needed to be a
Christian. (i.e. there is no mention of holy communion just to name one). But I
do believe that this book contains some of the most important insights into the
Faith. First of all, Paul sets up his case by setting out the argument that
everyone is a sinner. There is no one who does right. We are all scum, even
those who think they are doing what is right (those who follow Jewish Law). God
is also a God who shows no favoritism. He hates all sin no matter who does it.
Paul brings up the character of Abraham because he is one of the biggies to the
Jews. He is like a superhero to them. If anyone deserved to be saved it was
Abraham, right? But what does Paul say that makes Abraham a righteous man? Was
it is accomplishments, or his attitude, or the fact that he was circumcised?
NO! In fact Abraham is declared righteous in Genesis 15 and he is then
circumcised in Genesis 17. Abraham was justified by faith, apart from works of
the law. We too are justified the same way. We do not magically become
Christians by being baptized. We become Christians by faith!! Don't get me
wrong here, baptism is important and is powerful, but it is not some pill that
is taken or hoop to jump through in order to get "in". That was
Paul's point. There is nothing that we do! When we try to earn our own way, or
believe that we have some part in this process we get it all mucked up and we
forget that this is an action of God and not us. Because we are in this great
dilemma, God sent Jesus to us to be a sacrifice for us so we could be saved. It
is all passive (by the way almost all of the Greek verbs that describe what we
do or become of us are in the passive case). Paul says it way better than I, "For
just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so
also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made
righteous." (Romans 5:19 NIV).
Psalms
One quick thing here. On the 16th of this month we will read from
Romans 3 that quotes from Psalm 14 and then we read Psalm 14 on the 18th? How
cool is that!!!
I hope your summer is not too busy and that you get some time for some earthly
rest. Have a great week, let me know if you have any questions and I will see
you all soon.
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