Okay, I’ll go back to the making decisions post eventually…but I wanted to continue in my thoughts about Romans. I’m finding that just thinking through the basics of Christian theology has been a good reminder to me of what my life’s purpose is and understanding grace better.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.



I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong – that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.



—Romans 1:8-15 (NIV)

Upon first glance, this section certainly doesn’t seem like it’s as theologically rich as the first seven verses of the chapter. But as I look at the different things Paul addresses in his opening remarks to the Romans, I see a lot of small things that I can take away.

• Paul thanks God through Jesus Christ for the Romans. Paul has always struck me as a very thankful guy. I’ll go into the reason for the thankfulness in my next point, but I wanted to examine this little bit. I’ve heard people say such things as “Praise God” for this, or “Thank God” for that, without really considering what it really means. I probably do that a few times every day. In fact, I could give countless examples of times when I’ve been less than sincere with my words. And what gives me pause in this short phrase is that while I can’t say for certain Paul’s motives for writing what he did, I’m pretty sure that those words were sincere. And that makes me wonder, how many times do I go through my day and thank God for the people He’s placed in my life? How many times do I tell them how much I appreciate them? How do I show that appreciation? I don’t really want to think about the answers to those questions, they make me realize just how far I am from showing others that I care for them.


• The Romans’ faith was being reported all over the world. What I see in Paul’s account (and reason for his thanksgiving) is the growing reputation of the Romans’ faith. It seems to me that this indicates that, perhaps, our faith should be known around the world – there should be a known reputation for the faith of Christians that marks it as different than anything else. Hopefully, it’s a good reputation. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case, and thank God for grace that pays the price of failing for us. I guess my point is that this talk about how “faith is a private matter” is a bunch of baloney – everyone has a belief system and worldview, and to say that it should be kept private for fear of proselytization is imposing a worldview on everyone that believes that. There is no neutral ground.


• Paul serves God with his whole heart. I guess I should clarify that a bit by saying that not only does Paul serve God with his whole heart, but he wholeheartedly preaches the gospel. I see Paul’s passion in this verse. It’s something that I long to be able to say – realizing that it’s not an emotional concept but a fully conscious choice to commit all the way in what I do.


• ”...that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.” I’m realizing more and more how weak I am without the encouragement and support of close, intimate friends. I think this illustrates the concept of fellowship pretty well…our faith grows stronger through the encouragement of like-hearted people.


• Paul is obligated preach the gospel to everyone. As the letter continues Paul establishes why the gospel he preaches is obligated to everyone, regardless of who they are and what their background is. But that’s probably giving the part of the story away. I think it’s a good reminder to me that I, too, have an obligation to preach the gospel to all people. And while my giftings may be different than Paul’s, I’m definitely not exempt from that call.

Wow, another late night. But I’m glad that I got some time to meditate on the Word.

This post won’t be nearly as long as the previous one, but it’s going to be of more substance than other things I’ve written lately.

I was talking with a close friend about making decisions today, which got me thinking about how we make decisions. After all, we have to deal with decisions every day – how do we know that what we decide to do is right or not?

As it turns out, that’s one of those things I’m hoping to figure out in the next few months/years. I give myself that much time because I think it’s really more of a framework that I need to establish in my life rather than some hard-lined rules about do’s and don’ts. Here’s what I’ve considered so far:

1. I need to make my decisions filtered through the Bible. Since I have already decided to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, I should probably make choices that line up with what He says is right. In order to do that, I need to know what He said. So for any decision, I should check the Bible first to see what it says about the situation.


2. I need to make my decisions filtered through prayer. Most definitions I’ve heard of what prayer is have been inadequate in describing the many nuances and purposes that encompass this simple process. The Bible says to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and various passages refer to prayer as part of asking things of God and giving Him all of my concerns (Philippians 4:6-7). It also seems like a pretty good idea to check in with God regarding whatever decisions I need to make.


3. My decisions are eventually going to be things I desire to do, even if I may not enjoy them. This statement is paradoxical in nature – evolutionary science explains our desires to do things that we don’t enjoy as a result of some higher evolutionary beneficial motive. However, the Christian worldview contrasts that explanation with the call to “carry the cross daily.” For the Christian, there is a greater purpose than personal survival or species survival that comes out of deciding to do things that aren’t pleasant. At the same time, not all of our decisions are going to be choosing between pleasant and unpleasant …sometimes they will be between two pleasant things or two unpleasant things. Still, if I am following God’s will, He will satisfy my desires by either providing what I want, or changing what I think I want to what I really want. More on God’s will in a bit.

Well, there’s more that I want to unpack, but it’s way late and I’m way tired. So until next time, keep dry and warm!

What? A real post? Here goes nothing…

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding His Son, who as to His human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Him and for His name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

—Romans 1:1-7 (NIV)

Some friends and I are studying through the book of Romans, and as we zoomed through the first two chapters this week, I felt that I should unpack these first seven verses some more.

The first thing I notice when I read through this passage is Paul’s succinct summation of the gospel. In verses 2-5, he hits pretty much the major points of the “gospel of God” for which he is set apart.

• God promised this gospel in the past through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures. I don’t want to get into an apologetic discussion of this, so I’d refer to the book of Matthew for further reading – it details how Jesus Christ uniquely fulfills the prophecies made by the Old Testament prophets.


• These prophecies were regarding God’s Son. Again, refer to Matthew.


• This Son of God had a human nature. I see this as establishing that the Son of God was in human form – therefore discounting beliefs that might say that the Son of God was at all times spirit and never human. I honestly don’t know Paul’s original intentions in writing that, and I don’t really have time to expound on that either. If I’m way off base on this, please let me know.


• The Son of God was a descendant of David. This is a pretty huge one for those who knew the Old Testament Scriptures. In 2 Samuel 7:11b-16, God promises King David that He would establish a royal lineage through David, and that this kingdom would endure forever. So I see Paul saying here that the Son of God is of royal descent in human terms as well as by divine purpose.


• This man was declared to be the Son of God through the Spirit of holiness by His resurrection from the dead, and His name is Jesus Christ. That’s a mouthful to say. But I can’t think of a better way to say it. Even with the fulfillment of prophecy and the establishment of His lineage isn’t enough to prove this man as the Son of God. The resurrection is what makes it complete. It’s the power of God, the physical parallel to the new life we now have through Jesus Christ. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15 about how vitally important the resurrection of Jesus Christ is to this message. ”...And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith…” (1 Corinthians 15:14). Yes, Jesus came to die and save us from our sins, but it is in the resurrection that we have hope. For while a completely righteous man who dies for another’s sins is noble and strong, the resurrection from the dead is what gives true power to the message. And it is in this hope of a resurrected life, eternity with Almighty God, that people who claim identity with Jesus Christ preach to the world the paradoxical message of the cross.


• There is a call to obedience that is made to all people. There is no one in the world who is disqualified from hearing this call, the message of salvation. Later on in Romans Paul points out that God does not show favoritism. So this statement attacks exclusivism and other cliqueish behavior that have crept into the Christian church as of late. All people are worthy and deserve to hear this message of hope, death and resurrection. The responsibility of calling these people is on us. So when I’m too lazy or fearful to preach this gospel and to call others to this obedience, I am shirking my own call. Ouch.


• The obedience we are called to comes through faith. This is the last point I want to examine. I’ve always found this phrase to be rather odd, since most of the time I equate obedience with respect and submission, not faith. But this puts a new spin on the “drudgery” of self-discipline, following God’s commands, etc. Faith could probably be summarized as an act of the will, based on confidence established through the knowledge of one’s character in relationship. I realize that’s a somewhat incomplete definition, but I think it brings out most of the major aspects of faith. Obedience out of faith is much different than simple “blind obedience” in that there is a trust placed in a person’s character. I suppose it could be argued that there is some trust and assumptions being made in blind obedience as well, but I think it’s a bit different. Blind obedience, by definition, suspends one’s reasoning and thinking to carry out someone else’s will – there’s certainly the trust that the person issuing the orders is not evil, but there’s no room for questioning. I see the obedience that comes from faith as a reasonable choice – I choose to obey because I’ve considered the request and know that the person who gives the orders has been proven trustworthy and is asking me to obey for my benefit as well as theirs. There is a relationship between me and that person that is much deeper, much more intimate than a relationship I might have with someone I’m blindly obeying. I know I butchered that explanation, but hopefully that makes sense to the few people that still read this blog.

Well, that’s taken much of my morning to type up, and I’d better be getting back to the studying, so hopefully you all enjoyed reading this as much as I did typing it up. Later!

The catchphrase of the day is “It’ll change your life.” Pretty much every product sold on the market is guaranteed to do so, as well as every program or thought. We’ve all bought into this idea on one level or another.

I start this post pondering this idea because I just finished a summer program. While it didn’t promise to “change my life,” it did present many counter-cultural issues and challenge my thinking and conduct.

I haven’t really said much about where I was or what I was doing this summer, mostly because I didn’t know how to describe it. I spent eight weeks in Boulder, Colorado, where I lived with four other guys, learning about life, family, and home. For the men, that mostly meant learning practical around-the-home maintenance stuff: plumbing, electrical, structural remodeling, etc. Five women were part of this “Project” as well – they learned about skills of homemaking, like sewing, cooking, bargain shopping, raising children, etc. Now, looking at this from the outside, it appears to be completely sexist and backwards from the “modern” man and woman. I did say that this program raised some counter-cultural issues.

One of these issues was this idea of roles. The program strongly advocates gender equality. Women and men are equally valued and respected. However, gender equality does not correspond with sameness. This program was not designed to tell women that they can’t do home repair and that men can’t cook. What I took from the program was that within families and marriage relationships, men and women need to be respected as equals with different roles. For a “successful” marriage and family, there has to be a willingness on part of both husband and wife to role-play. The Bible is clear on the roles of man and woman. The man was created for hard work. The woman was created to help man. Manhood is rejecting passivity, accepting responsibility, leading courageously, and expecting God’s greater reward. Womanhood is rejecting worldly temptations for significance, believing in God’s priorities, nurturing the next generation, and expecting God’s greater reward. In marriage, the man is the head, as Christ is the head of the church. That means that the man is placed in authority over his wife, not to lord it over her but to protect her and love her. The woman submits to her husband, as the church submits to Christ. That means that the woman chooses to follow her husband, not to blindly accept his decisions or to be trampled, but to support and encourage him.

Okay, that’s a poor explanation of the summer, but I need to move on. Because program structure aside, there were some things that were brought to my attention this summer.

Firstly, my heart has and hopefully will always be to minister to others. Being others-centered is a freeing experience – not much compares to acting like Jesus. But the biggest obstacle to me caring for others is myself. Whether it’s my feelings or my desire to be liked by others or my fears or anything else, nothing should keep me from thinking of others. Sure, a lot of that is caring about what others think and how they’re feeling, but I shouldn’t let the way they feel about me affect my caring for them at all. I think that I’ve let criticism about my actions prevent me from trusting in God and doing good. This definitely doesn’t mean that I won’t make mistakes – I lost count of how many times I learned that this summer. But it does mean that I don’t need to focus on myself every time I get criticized for what I do or how I do it. I also don’t need to focus on myself when others tell me I need to. The more others-focused I am, the less my idiosyncracies will be an issue. I guess to sum it all in one sentence, God molds my character, not me. The more I try to change myself to make others happy, the less I am able to give out to others – I’ll be too busy working on my own flaws (God knows there’s a lot). It’s a tough pill to swallow, but I hope that that lesson will stay with me.

Secondly, I learned that I need to be more open about myself with others. My familial upbringing taught me to listen to others’ problems but never talk about my own. In one sense, I don’t really have many struggles, but at the same time, I was made aware that I can come across as this “perfect” guy who doesn’t need help from others and has it all together. But I’m not perfect. What I’ve learned is that this perception comes because I don’t ever share what’s troubling me. Part of this is my sense of propriety – I don’t like to trouble my friends with my problems and struggles because I don’t think they’re that important, but at the same time I feel alone a lot because most people don’t know what’s going on and don’t seem to care. So I learned this summer that I should be honest about my struggles and feelings. Sure, probably most people don’t care about what’s going on in my life, but more people care about my life than I think.

Lastly, I learned that there are times when criticism and rebuke need to be handled with an apology and moving on. Not every piece of criticism is true. In a sense, this lesson is similar to the first lesson, because it’s about being others-centered. I think that it’s important to receive criticism and rebuke with humility, rather than to respond out of pride. But that doesn’t mean that every rebuke or piece of criticism is true, either. I think that it’s a sad deal that most people are not interested in understanding others – we make assumptions about others and are more interested in making ourselves understood more. This summer I learned that I play the “I’m wrong, everyone else is right” game – if people criticize my actions or motives, I’ll believe that there’s an element of truth to what they say. If my conscience is clear and I haven’t violated Scripture, I’ll assume that there’s something vile hidden deep within me and get down on myself. It goes back to being self-centered. What I ought to do is to apologize for offending whoever is criticizing me, ask for forgiveness before them and God, and move on. There doesn’t need to be a huge sense of contrition after every single mess-up. I don’t have to repent for things that aren’t sin. So while all of this sounds really arrogant and prideful, it’s really keeping things in God’s perspective. Am I wanting to please God, or people? Being God-centered and others-oriented means that if my motives are pure, I can and should learn to not offend people, but those things should not prevent me from trying to do good as best as I can. And part of that is trying to understand people, and being okay with not being understood.

I could probably go on with this, but I’ll leave it here for now. So do I think my life was changed this summer? Not really. But God’s still teaching me things, and He’s still in control of my life. I think that as I continue to obey His Word, I will begin to look more and more like Jesus. That’s my hope and prayer.

I’m pressing on the upward way
New heights I’m gaining every day
Still praying as I’m onward bound
Lord plant my feet on higher ground

Lord, lift me up and let me stand
By faith on heaven’s tableland
A higher plain than I have found
Lord plant my feet on higher ground

My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay
Though some may dwell where these abound
My prayer, my aim is higher ground

I want to live above the world
Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled
For faith has caught the joyful sound
The song of saints on higher ground

I want to scale the utmost height
And catch a gleam of glory bright
But still I’ll pray ‘til heaven I’ve found
Lord lead me on to higher ground

=======================================

This hymn has been an old favorite of mine since I was a small child. The words tell of a faith that is pointed heavenward, of a heart that is passionately set on “things above.” But really, what does all of that mean?

I’ve recently been struggling to understand what my faith means to me. Christianity, as a subculture, has many catchphrases and clever cliches that tend to blind us from the truth that was once encapsulated in those words. Whether we’re Christians or not, we can all fall captive to creative lines of prose – it’s why people are paid handsome amounts of money to come up with catchy slogans that people will remember. It’s why I try to find simple mnemonics to remember random information I’m learning in medical school. Remembering stuff is important – repetition is one of the best ways to file information away. But I’ve found that my ability to recall information is disconnected to my ability to understand what I regurgitate.

So the internal conflict I see within me seems to be connected to truly understanding my faith. The reason for dismissal of any sort of “faith” as an irrational belief lies in this blind acceptance of abstract concepts without understanding. However, the faith that Jesus tells us to have in Him is completely devoid of mindless drivel. In fact, it’s a faith that affects us to the core of our being. It’s a call to action, a vibrant life that doesn’t settle for mediocrity.

But this faith comes at a price, which is both simple and costly. It comes down to a daily surrendering of our will to God – who has proven Himself to be unconditionally loving, just, caring, merciful, and faithful. It means that I must trust that God works things out for my best interests. It means that my lifestyle is dramatically different from what it would be if my faith was placed in myself or someone else. It means that I should have hope in the most hopeless of situations.

I definitely haven’t “arrived.” In fact, I see this whole situation as part of the journey that God and I are taking together as He leads me to heaven – the “higher ground” alluded to in the song above. The ongoing discovery and rediscovery of the intricacies in this relationship I have with Him are a part of the faith process.

I don’t know what I’m saying. In fact, I don’t even understand most of what I just wrote. But I hope that as I continue to probe these issues, God will gradually reveal more to me.

Higher Ground
Charles Hutchison Gabriel and Rev. Johnson, Jr. Oatman
© Public Domain