Renewal Church

The gospel isn't just a series of propositional truths about who Jesus is and what he's done. It's a personal invitation from a crucified and risen savior to draw near to be loved, renewed, and transformed. As followers of Jesus, it is vital that we don't just hold to the right truths about Jesus but that we keep responding to his invitation to draw near because the greatest gift he's given to us is himself.

Today we will be discussing how the church should handle issues that divide us.

We who follow Jesus are foreigners. We are citizens of another country – one that is far off. So we have a choice: be swept up in the ways and habits of this confused and banged up country or we awaken ourselves, remembering who we are and begin to live like citizens of our true homeland. People of radical love. People of the day. People who wear Jesus. Because we can be sure about one thing – the dawn of a new world is coming. We don’t know when. But one day, one day this broken country in which we live will be swallowed up by our homeland.

Romans 13:1-7 offers some words that may ring familiar to many Christians: "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities..." At times, they seem to speak to our personal political perspectives. Other times, not as much. But how do we understand these words of Paul written not to the modern church of America, but to a group of house churches nestled in the capital of the ancient world? Perhaps that will give us clearer insight as to how we are to read this little snippet of Scripture today.

In only thirteen verses, the Apostle Paul lays out over twenty commands – commands that are eerily reminiscent of Jesus’ teachings. Love relentlessly. Show hospitality. Hate evil. Reach for hope. Reject vengeance and bless tormentors. Serve God fervently. All these and many more make up these verses. But we’d be mistaken to view them merely as a spray of disjointed do’s and don’t’s. Rather, they are like flavor notes of full-bodied life in the gospel as we live under the reign of Jesus.

As we enter into the final stretch of our Romans series, the Apostle Paul brings to bear the full weight of the previous 11 chapters to show us exactly what it looks like to live a gospel-saturated life. And as we will see, the gospel touches everything. It leaves no stone unturned. The transforming power of God has no boundary. Our lives and our world – every molecule – belong to him as he reconstructs us into his renewed, holy people.

“Have you ever looked at your life, confused, wondering why thing aren’t working out the way you believe God said they would? Romans 9 echos that question. Paul, with Israel’s unbelief in mind, wrestles with God’s faithfulness while bringing insight to the question, “Has the word of God failed?”

How secure are we in the love of God in Christ? Will God ever give up on us? We’re prone to wander, struggle, doubt, and fail, yet even still, the end of Romans 8 paints a picture of unbreakable assurance. How can this be?