Halfway through Romans 7, Paul has been exploring the bizarre relationship between sin and religious law. As good as the law (Torah, as the Jewish Romans would have called it) is, pointing us toward patterns of living that are good, just, and holy, law is also a catalyst for sin. We can love law too much, making observable righteousness an ultimate good that it was never supposed to be. Plus, giving a prohibition can inflame the desire to violate that…

We’re a peculiar bunch, church. We are the ones who strive to experience that which is eternal, infinite, that which lies beyond all human possibility. In one sense, it’s a fool’s errand. But we can’t imagine any other way to be human, can we? We read in 1 Timothy that Christ “dwells in unapproachable light.” Unapproachable, but we hunger and thirst to approach anyway. Yet, the means we have to do so are entirely finite. Meeting times. Paper hymnals and…

We who are in a position of power are indebted to bear up the weakness of those in a position of powerlessness. Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you. This is Paul’s relentless challenge to the Roman church (Romans 15:1-13). There’s an uneven power dynamic in the church and Paul just isn’t having it. This discrepancy is especially present in the difficult, fractured practice of table fellowship (explored throughout Romans 14). The Jewish Christians and gentile Christians of the…

“For this reason the promise depends on faith, in order that it may rest on grace, so that it may be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, who is the father of all of us.” – Romans 4:16 I hear from time to time a comment along the lines of, “I feel like I didn’t hear much preaching about grace when I was…