Old Sandals

Romans 12:1
Present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your..worship.

Body and soul together.  We do what we believe. As Christians, we are not of the world, but we are definitely in it—eating, drinking, praying, serving, worshiping—a living sacrifice.

Romans 11:22
Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.

The kindness and the severity of God. The two are blended together in a way not unlike the Incarnation itself.

The kindness of God—His gracious choice.  The severity of God—an admonition to those grafted in to continue in His kindness or otherwise to face judgement.

The two are blended together—God’s gracious choice and our faithful endurance, God’s kindness and His severity, the divine and human natures of Christ—inextricably, wonderfully.

Romans 10:9
If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

To be saved, one must have the righteousness of God. The righteousness of God is a gift—it cannot be earned. This gift is faith—our faith is our righteousness.

Romans 9:30
What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; but that Israel who pursued the righteousness which is based on law did not succeed in fulfilling that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it through faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone.

It seems the apostle is here drawing a conclusion.  What shall we say, then?

The righteousness of God is obtained by faith. It is an alien righteousness, to be sure, but it is also a life-changing righteousness.

Romans 8:9
But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.

The theology of the Bible is sacramental, i.e., God’s grace and truth are conveyed through physical means. Water, bread, wine, even the Bible itself: these are all very physical, tangible, earthly means by which heavenly graces come to us and abide with us. Our very bodies are, mysteriously so, temples of God the Holy Spirit.

The ultimate sacrament is Christ himself, the Word made flesh, the true Bread of Heaven given for the life of the world.

Romans 7:17
But now, it  is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

There is a new “I”. The apostle is not saying that I am now, as a Christian, no longer responsible when I sin; rather, he is talking about a new orientation. A new center. A new point of reference. Although still a sinner, Christ is for me. Dare I say it—Christ in me.

Romans 6:11
Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

An orientation. A reaching-for. A constant prayer.

Romans 5:9
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

Saved from wrath. Does God hate you, O despicable sinner? Does He anxiously await the appointed time to destroy you in hell?

How very easy it is to project our unholy, unloving thoughts onto the All-Holy, All-Loving God.

Romans 4:4-5
Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.

God only justifies the ungodly.  He does not justify the (self-) righteous.

 

 

Romans 3:5-6
What shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He?…For otherwise, how will God judge the world?

The only God of this world and the next is revealed in holy scripture as a Judge and a Redeemer. We need them both.