Paul ends this section by telling us that every one of us will give an account of themselves before God. We talk about what that account looks like to God.

Paul quotes Isaiah 45:23 to make his point that people within the church in Rome were essentially making idols of their positions, and that judgment will come on them the same way that judgment will come on all.

Paul circles back to a concept from several verses ago: that we aren't here to pass judgment on each other.

My five-year-old joins us for our Christmas devotional that shares that Christmas is not just about Jesus's birth, but about the start of a process that gives us new life.

Our verse for this Christmas Eve reminds us that no matter what we do in this life, we are the Lord's. We reflect back on how God makes clear in Genesis that we were put here as a special creature. As special creatures, we should live our lives remembering that we are the Lord's.

Paul gives us another broad point in support of his plea for peace: that no one lives to himself. We explore what that means and how we can have peace by stopping the urge to live our lives for ourselves.

Paul makes a big statement here that applies to the two specific disputes within the church in Rome, but that applies perfectly to every church dispute: that things we do to honor God are good.

Paul now tackles a second specific issue within the church in Rome: esteeming one day as better than another. This likely refers to the Sabbath, theological experts tell us. So we explore Sabbath.

Paul makes clear that in this conflict within the church in Rome, neither side had standing to pass judgment on the other.

Paul makes clear that both the strong and the weak have an obligation to not despise or judge each other. We talk about how that applies to disputes we have in our churches today.