MBM Rooty Hill / Bible Talks

The Bible is in its simplest definition ‘a book.’ It contains wisdom, history, poetry, and information about the ancient world. But more than simply a book of facts, the Bible is ultimately God’s story. His story of His creation and his plan to rule and reign over his good creation. Intentionally built into God’s story is his relationship to humanity. God’s story weaves together with our story. In Psalm 107 the Psalmist calls on God’s people to celebrate the weaving of God’s story with human story as they recall together the redemptive saving work of God. This psalm celebrates God’s goodness in showing mercy to those in distress and encourages us to make known our stories for His praise.

If God is sovereign over salvation, what are we responsible for? In Romans 9:30-10:21, we see that salvation is found in Jesus, received through faith, and carried to others through the proclamation of the gospel. God alone saves, but that doesn’t make our response or our evangelism irrelevant. It frees us to trust Christ, take Christ to others, and walk with beautiful feet.

One of the most widely debated topics in Christian circles is the relationship between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. For many the idea of God’s sovereignty in salvation is viewed as either unfair or unimportant. In Romans 9:1–29, however, Paul elevates the beauty of God’s sovereignty as both the basis for active evangelism and the cause for adoration and praise. Rather than viewing this as a periphery issue, Paul uses it to underline confidence in God’s plan of salvation for his people.

In life there are always ebbs and flows of joy and sorrow. Consistently things present themselves to us that threaten us harm. Sadness, evil, disappointment, and our own frailty leave us feeling vulnerable. In Romans 8:31–39 the Apostle Paul lifts our souls to point to three anchor points of Christian assurance. The reality that God is for us, God defends us, and God loves us. These powerful summaries speak words of assurance that enable the believer to rejoice in peace no matter the storm or circumstance.

How do Christians keep waiting when life hurts and glory still feels a long way off? Romans 8:18-30 gives us three enormous reasons for hope: glory is coming, the Spirit is helping us in our weakness, and God’s saving purpose will not fail. Because what God purposes, God accomplishes, Christians can wait with hope and confidence even in the midst of hardship and suffering.

In Romans 7 the Apostle pointed out the frustrating of living an ‘I’ centered life. Trusting in oneself for spiritual growth is futile. While Romans 7 is fraught with failure, Romans 8 lifts our eyes to see there is hope in the Christian life. For God not only calls us to himself but through the Holy Spirit, his empowering presence, God provides all we need to live for him.

In Romans 6 believers are taught about their new identity in Jesus. Considering themselves ‘dead to sin’ but ‘alive to righteousness’ followers of Jesus are to offer themselves willingly to the Lord out of gratefulness. But even the best of intentions in regard to obedience can often be met with frustration. Often we want to serve God but find ourselves returning to old ways. How do we grow in obedience? What role does obedience to the law play in the process? Is there hope for growth while we still live in a broken world? Romans 7 speaks to this providing hope, direction, and pointing us to the power that enables us to grow in obedience.

One of the common errors people make concerning the Christian life is that it is a life of restraint and lack of freedom. In Romans 6:15–23, however, we see that the Christian life is actually a life of freedom to serve God with joy and delight. Rather than being bound and hindered, the Christian is presented as one who is free to live and flourish as God intends as they are now able, with God’s help, to live with freedom over sin’s power.