God reveals and relates Himself to us through a covenant - the strongest possible bond conceivable.

God reveals His character most clearly amidst the brokenness of a fallen, sinful world; and He asks His people to demonstrate His character and the brokenness of the world by remarkable, costly means.

When God speaks, light and life come into being — whether in all of creation or through the Bible — but most especially, sufficiently, and clearly through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

The person and work of Jesus is the Good News that God’s Kingdom has now come — Good News that the Church now announces and demonstrates to the world.

God has placed us where we are to represent Jesus Christ so that the world will be blessed even when calamity befalls us; so let us be confident in His promise to save us and ready to do every good work wherever the waves of events may take us.

As Paul departs toward Rome, we are reminded that human beings are in a desperate situation in need of God’s help and we are called to believe His word and rely on His power for deliverance. The story demonstrates the opportunity that the follower of Jesus Christ has in such a situation to (1) draw attention to the character of God and (2) to encourage unbelievers to turn to him for mercy.

According to Jesus’ own plan, His followers will experience circumstances of protection and persecution for His name’s sake; and each and every instance is actually an opportunity to bear witness to the hope we now have in Him.

It is not uncommon for followers of Jesus to have false accusations made against them on account of Jesus Christ and even to be misrepresented in the courts as harmful to society, yet God is able to make the things of this world serve His own purpose.

God has provided the opportunity as well as the clear conscience for Christians to bear witness to the resurrection of Christ; Jesus will comfort us and encourage us for the task, and the Holy Spirit will sovereignly control the circumstances to complete the mission of delivering this testimony.

Every follower of Christ has an eternally significant story to tell and a deep sympathy for their unbelieving hearers. Their story tells of the glory of Jesus, the weight of their sin, their experience of familial love, their water baptism, and their bold witness to those who might believe.