November 23–Romans 3-4

“But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe”(3:21).

Paul is declaring a revolutionary new idea! Not new in time, but very new in clarity and accessibility. (It is actually centuries old truth, witnessed by the Law and the Prophets.) Paul calls it, “the righteousness of God.”

It means a right standing (both legal and personal) with God. Being right with Him. This righteousness is “of God” because it is in accordance with His own holiness. It is also “of God” because He is the source and giver of this new standing.

For centuries, people longed for this right relationship. The sacrificial lambs of Tabernacle worship symbolized the endless pursuit. Jeremiah predicted it as a future event. ” In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called: the Lord is our righteousness”(Jeremiah 33:16).

This great gift is now ours through faith in Christ! It does not come to us by works. “Apart from the Law,” is the apostle’s clear declaration. As we join our lives to Christ in faith our sins are covered and we are declared righteous!

This is exactly what happened to Abraham. “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Note the timing. Before circumcision, before the Law was given, Abraham believed and God reckoned (counted, calculated) him in a new place, a new standing. By grace, through faith alone, the righteousness of God was credited to him.

Friend, will you believe God and receive this great gift? Will you allow Christ to be the full and final answer to the accusations of your guilty conscience? Will you rest in this grace and tell others that a gracious God makes this gift available to sinful men? Without lowering His standards, God rescued men and made them right!

With boldness and thanksgiving we declare it. Those who come to Christ in faith are given the righteousness of God!

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him”(2 Corinthians 5:21).

November 22–Romans 1-2

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith”(1:16-17).

It was a letter written from Corinth. Paul was on his third missionary journey. His goal was go to Rome, and then on to Spain. First, he needed to go to Jerusalem (15:24). When his delay grew longer than expected, he wrote this letter to prepare the way for a later visit. Phoebe, who belonged to the church in Cenchrea near Corinth (16:1), probably carried it to Rome.

Theologically rich! Paul wrote it after years of reflection on the gospel, with particular interest in the intersection of Old Testament and New. With tremendous intellect and intense missionary zeal, he penned what some consider the clearest summary of Christian doctrine.

It is a letter that rings with confidence! In the face of increasing cultural scrutiny and critique, Paul was (and hopes the Roman Christians will be) UNASHAMED of the good news that came to the world in Christ.

Interesting word. Ashamed translates the Greek word epischynomai. Epi means “upon or on”. Aischuno described the “shame or hesitation that disfigured people often feel in public”. A reluctance to step forward. Hesitation. Timidity.

Paul says he is NOT hesitant, NOT reluctant. In fact, VERY WILLING to be seen and heard on this point! Having seen what the world has to offer in the way of hope or help, he is absolutely confident in the superiority of the gospel.

In this present hour, we must learn similar boldness. Even in the face of rejection or ridicule, we must stand confidently. God has given us a powerful, healing truth! 1) God is. 2) He has revealed Himself in His Son. 3) The Son died for our sins and rose in glory. 4) Those who join their lives to Christ by faith are saved in life and eternity.

Will you say it with Paul? The supernatural story is the real one! I AM NOT ashamed! I WILL NOT be ashamed!

“Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when He comes in glory” (Luke 9:26).

“Ye that are men, now serve Him against unnumbered foes; let courage rise with danger, and strength to strength oppose”(George Duffield).

November 21-Acts 27-28

“Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only the ship. . .Therefore I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your preservation, for not a hair of any of you will perish”(27:22, 34).

It is an important word in Scripture. An essential ministry in the family of God. Paul was an ENCOURAGER.

In Greek, the word (parakaleo, para, “beside or alongside,” kaleo, “to call”). The word pictured someone walking beside another, calling, guiding, coaching. From this gracious relationship a transfer of courage takes place. Encourage, to put courage into another.

Jesus used the same word when He spoke of the Holy Spirit. “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (parakaleo) to help you and be with you forever” (John 14:16).

In the family of Christ, encouragement is everyone’s job. As we receive strength from the Spirit, we are to walk with our friends, pointing the way, helping and guiding as they face the challenges of life. A person shaped by the supernatural will learn courage, and give it to others. We are partners with the Spirit in this holy work.

It is inspiring to see Paul do this for sailors and soldiers on their way to Rome. Despite his own legal predicament, Paul did not focus on himself, nor resent his captors. He was not discouraged. He was encouraged (and encouraging). Actively and effectively he spoke words of hope to these fearful men.

Do people count on you for encouragement? What are your opportunities to speak strength to your spouse, your children, your pastor, your neighbor? Are you willing to walk and talk with others so as to allow them to borrow strength from you?

“And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together. . .but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near”(Hebrews 10:24-25).

November 20–Acts 26

“Agrippa replied to Paul, ‘In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian.’ And Paul said, ‘I would wish to God, that whether in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these chains’ “(26:28-29).

No question in Agrippa’s mind. Paul was trying to PERSUADE him. The king could feel the tug of every word on his mind and conscience. Paul was playing offense. Trying to convince Agrippa to believe.

Sometimes we forget this responsibility. Knowing that the Holy Spirit “convicts the world of sin,”we wrongly imagine that our participation is inconsequential. No. As co-workers with Christ, our deliberate goal is to persuade (Greek peitho, “to persuade, convince, to move another to agreement”).

“Knowing the fear of the Lord, we PERSUADE men,” said Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:11. Aware of eternal realities, we actively and boldly work to win people to truth and the benefits faith. We have coffee with them, invite them to our homes. We text and spend time with them. All with a clear goal of convincing them to trust Christ.

Ongoing work. Even after after the initial point of salvation, the Lord continues to PERSUADE us (bring us to confident certainty on particular points of faith and practice.) “For I am PERSUADED that neither death, nor life. . .will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”(Romans 8:38). “For I know whom I have believed and am PERSUADED that He is able to keep that what I have committed to Him against that day”(2 Timothy 1:12).

Friend, are you being persuaded. day by day? As the Spirit convinces you of new truth, will courageously declare faith and actively work to persuade others?

“Beware! Open-mindedness will often say, ‘Everything is permissible except a sharp opinion’ “ (Criss Jami).

November 19–Acts 24-25

“Having hope in God. . .that there will certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. In view of this, I also do my best to maintain a blameless conscience before God and man”(24:15-16).

To serve God well in the present age, we must declare the coming one. Our message (and our inward ambition) must always be of the resurrection and judgement to come. Just as Jesus rose from the grave, every person will also be raised to life to give account to God. This great day is God’s target event.

Even in Roman custody, Paul is courageously clear on this important point. Note his emphasis on hope (a confident expectation of a certain, promised future). Without apology, he predicts the coming resurrection of all men. The righteous and wicked, for honor or judgement, all will be raised to life on that day. The “Day of the Lord”, the prophets called it. It will be a cosmic display of God’s glory! Every eye will see it.

In 24:25, Paul preaches this truth to Felix. Rather than courting favor with this powerful man, Paul aims directly at the Governor’s conscience. He speaks of “righteousness (required of all men by a holy God) and self-control (logical necessity in the pursuit of righteousness) and judgment to come (the certainty of this future event and the need for every man to prepare for it).

People regularly tell me that they do not like “hell-fire and damnation” sermons. Paul disputed this common and worldly wisdom. Judgment is why the good news is so good! Only as we keep the coming resurrection “in view” (24:16) do we see the true gift of Christ.

Dear Friend, do you live in the certainty of the coming resurrection? Are you future-focused? Will you please say these words out loud? “Soon I will stand one day in the presence of God. He will hold me accountable. ” Write it on your heart, dear one. Shape your life with this hope.

“Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment”(Jesus, John 5:28-29).

November 18–Acts 22-23

“And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that has been appointed for you to do’ “(22:10).

It is a GREAT question! Rises from a humble heart. Displays readiness for obedience. What would YOU have me do? What would You have ME do? What would You have me DO?

To call Jesus “Lord”carries with it the clear duty to SEEK His will and to DO it. “God is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13, italics mine).

Teachers of grace sometimes suggest that any reference to human effort is “off message”. Not so! While we must always resist the idea that we are saved by works, we must also insist that effort in active obedience is essential proof of genuine faith. “You wicked and lazy servant,” declared the Master to the one who never got around to obedient effort. See Matthew 25:26.

“My Father is working, so I am working,” said Jesus (italics mine). Faith is more than mental assent. It is union with the Father, and active obedience as an expression of it.

Christianity is weakened by unemployment. Thousands give testimony to having received Christ, but often without any indication of spiritual assignment or fruitful enterprise. In our text today, Paul was given both a unique and a general assignment. His unique task was to go to the Gentiles. His more common task was to arise, be baptized, call on the name of the Lord. Our experience with Jesus will mirror Paul’s.

In “retirement” I am learning this lesson again. I am to serve all the way to the end of life. I am to finish the race. I can rest when I get home. “Be faithful unto death,” says the Savior.

What would you have me do, Lord? Asking this GREAT question of our GREAT Savior makes the believer stronger in this world and more rewarded in the next.

“As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God”(1 Peter 4:10).

November 17–Acts 20-21

“Now after these things. . .Paul purposed in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem”(19:21).

“Bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me”(20:23).

The Spirit’s agenda is NOT predicated on our comfort. The Lord, in His higher purposes, will often lead us into suffering. If not into temptation (the potential of moral failure), into suffering, nevertheless. When these moments come, faith requires courage. Even when the path turns toward danger, we are to be resolute and calm. We carry the cross. We do not complain about it.

In Ephesus (Acts 19), Paul, “purposed in the Spirit,” to go to Jerusalem. Interesting phrase. It combines supernatural guidance (from God) with courageous embrace of God’s will (from the believer). The Spirit pointed the path. Paul purposed it.

An unpopular decision with his friends. They warned him. Wept. Prophesied of hardships ahead. (Please note: two Christians can have the same information but reach different interpretations of God’s meaning and will). Jerusalem was boiling with anger toward Christians. His friends were convinced that he shouldn’t go. It was too dangerous.

What they misunderstood, is that suffering often serves a Godly purpose. It is a refining fire. Believers are called to, “fill up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” (Colossians 1:24). Timely word! In an age of angry unbelief, believers must be willing to accept the suffering that comes.

“God assumed from the beginning that the wise of this world would view Christians as fools. . .and He has not been disappointed. Have the courage (therefore) to have your wisdom regarded as stupidity. Be fools for Christ, and have the courage to suffer the contempt of the sophisticated world”(Antonin Scalia).

Are you bound by the Spirit to a difficult life circumstance? Have you purposed to walk forward into God’s assignment for you with courage and hope?

November 16–Acts 18-19

“He found a Jew named Aquila. . .with his wife Priscilla. . .and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them. . . for they were tent-makers”(18:2-3).

“You are always a gardener. What grows, and how it grows, is up to you”(Jones Loflin).

As a believer, I am to bear fruit. One fruit God fairly expects from my life is the multiplication of workers. God calls me, and every believer, to participate in the training of new leaders. We must not only be disciples, we must also disciple others. Jesus told us to, “pray for laborers,” and to invest in their growth and progress.

Paul’s dedication to this strategic assignment is inspiring. In every chapter of his life, he intentionally involved himself in the task of identifying and developing new leaders.

In Acts 16, he met Timothy and invited him to come along on the missionary journey. In Acts 18, he encountered a Jewish couple (already converted? We do not know.) He moved in with them. Living together intensified the relationship, multiplied his opportunity to teach and encourage and inspire. When Paul left Corinth, Priscilla and Aquila went with him. They became missionaries, trained by a missionary.

Does this remind you of the Savior’s intentional relationship with the disciples? It should! He used friendship as an opportunity for leadership development. Close contact, frequent conversation, all part of a strategic and godly purpose.

Luke later tells of Priscilla and Aquila’s encounter with Apollos. See Acts 18. Wisely and forcefully, they befriended and corrected this talented young preacher! Not critics, they were mentors.

“The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).

Friend, are you at work identifying and inspiring and instructing the next leaders in your church? Are you praying for an expanded workforce? Do you make time for the next generation of servants?

Your own obedience is only one part of your obligation to God. If you love Him, you must also help build a team.

“Men, where is your man? Women, where is your woman?” (Dawson Trotman).

“For our own success to be real, it must contribute to the success of others” (Eleanor Roosevelt).

November 15–Acts 16-17

“When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them”(16:10).

Unusual word. Important idea. Symbibazo was a compound word in Greek. Sym meant “together or with.” Bibazo meant “to force or cause.” Often translated as “concluding” (see above), it literally meant “to force together.” It was an intellectual and moral discernment process, putting pieces of evidence together to determine meaning and discern the direction of God.

For many days, Paul and his team had been stalled. Every attempt to move had been frustrated or forbidden. One night in a vision, Paul saw a Macedonian (Greek) man pleading for them to, “come over and help.” (Up to this moment, all missionary activity had been confined to Asia Minor and the area immediately around Israel. A move into Europe was groundbreaking!)

The next morning, over coffee (how I imagine it, anyway), the team considered and concluded that God was calling them into Europe! Unlike Acts 13, where the Holy Spirit communicated the conclusion to them in direct words, in this instance, God pointed direction via a dream and required His children to use their minds to discern His will.

God’s people are sometimes slow to reach conclusions. Exactly Jesus’ criticism of the Pharisees. “Hypocrites! You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the time”(Matthew 16:3).

Friend, have you REACHED A CONCLUSION as to the will of God? It takes courage, I know. All of us experience a certain reluctance to face this moment of decision and accountability. What do all the pieces of His dealing with you (taken together and drawn to a moral conclusion) tell you? Will you spend time to consider and decide what He is saying? Having reached a conclusion, will you begin immediately to do His will?

“If you don’t make up your mind, your unmade mind will unmake you” (E. Stanley Jones).

“Solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil”(Hebrews 5:14).

November 14–Acts 14-15

“Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God”(14:22).

The perseverance of genuine faith is a marvel! Like a cork in water, a person in Christ is impossible to keep down. In Acts 14, Paul is stoned and dragged out of a city. With irrepressible courage, he gets up, goes to the next city and preaches the gospel. Amazing! Unconquerable.

The Spirit of God produces the same mental toughness in us! He tells us to EXPECT tribulations. See Paul’s words above. The Greek word is thlipsis, it meant “pressure or stress.” Believers are not surprised when life gets difficult, when opposition or danger comes. Facing problems, enduring them, is part of our assignment in this world. We are called to courage, not ease. No discouragement. No pouting. The road home leads through these difficulties.

When problems come, we TRUST GOD to open doors. “God opened a door of faith to the Gentiles,” reported Paul with great gladness! Note his focus on God’s work rather than his own comfort! Life cannot be what we want. It CAN be what He wants! When God opens doors, we walk through them. No regrets. No attachment to things that are necessarily left behind. Faith and forward are often the same word.

In our troubles, the Spirit teaches us to be WISE. The Acts 15 reports a controversial situation. Potentially destructive. With calm faith, Peter and Paul and James face the potentially divisive conflict with testimony, scripture and wisdom. Their leadership did not satisfy everyone, but it did make a way for the people of God to move forward in unity. Wise as serpents, gentle as doves.

Friend, do you expect tribulation as a norm? Do you accept them without complaint or regret, as a part of the journey? Do you endure and trust God to open doors? Are you wise with your opponents, certain that the Lord will guide you through?

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).

“The best way out is always through”(Robert Frost).

“Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be the miracle”(Phillips Brooks).