Jesus Christ has been the most controversial person for 2000 years. For the past 2000 years, countless millions of people have thought Him to be a fraud, a fake, a liar, an imposter, only a wise man, and definitely not the Messiah of God. For the past 2000 years, countless millions of people have believed Jesus to be the Christ, God in human flesh, the Son of God, and the absolute Messiah of God. Raising Lazarus from the dead was the final miracle performed in His public ministry and is the most powerful display of the deity of Jesus Christ before his own resurrection. How powerful is the voice of Jesus Christ?

Paul is calling for unity in diversity, concerning matters of conscience. Those welcomed by God are called to welcome one another. Christ is why. His person and work are the ground of their acceptance before God. But there is more. Paul interjects a shift in emphasis. Jesus serves not only as our Justifier but also as our Judge. All in Christ are freely redeemed yet still responsible. A Christian is no longer under the condemnation of their sin. Their criminal status has been acquitted in Christ. But they are now not their own. They have been bought with a price. They are now accountable to the One who redeemed them. Here, tremendous stress is placed on Christ’s lordship. The logic is clear: there is one Lord, who alone judges the living and the dead. All will give an account to Him and no other.

All who are justified by faith in Christ alone are welcomed for worship by God. In the opening of this section, Paul touched a swollen nerve that threatened division in the early church, and in some ways still does today. The nerve has to do with division between Christians, those following the laws of the Old Covenant and those living in the liberty of the New Covenant. It was a crucial period of practical transition between covenants. Beginning with observance of dietary restrictions, Paul now includes observance of days as examples of differences that threaten division in Christ’s church. Here, Paul addresses the more fundamental issue, namely the aim and ambition of the heart. As he does this, the central concern of the letter emerges in a most comprehensive manner and Christ is extolled as the Lord of life and liberty.

As Paul moves into the last major section of his letter, justification by faith alone in Christ alone resurfaces with profoundly practical application. In Christ, sinners are welcomed by God and one another. The local church is a household of worship, welcomed in Christ. This glorious truth is easily accepted at the conceptual level. But in practice differences of various sorts and sizes between redeemed sinners have a shocking potential for causing division and undermining Christ. Disputes over disputable matters readily rob saints of joy and disrupt peace in the church. It acts contrary to our hope in Christ. This is the first message in a new series, introducing the theme of the last major section of Romans and unfolding its opening verses. It addresses what Paul means by weak in faith, helping us to welcome one another who are welcomed in Christ.

In this passage, Paul adds the last few strokes to his masterpiece on redeemed living. Romans 12 and 13, illuminating redemption’s renovation and reverberation, is crowned with a deliberate discipline of daily life centered on and celebrating Christ. With a sense of true urgency, the redeemed are called to a daily life in and for Christ.

Brilliantly, Paul advances his unfolding of redeemed living on the thought of obligation. Transitioning from the principle of being under authority for Christ and giving what is owed according to conscience, he now directs our attention to our chief obligation and debt to one another: love. Here the hallmark of Christ in us is called out in bold relief. As touching our relationships in this world, it represents the center and summary of Christ in us. Christians are the product of Christ’s love. Redeemed to reflect the Redeemer. Reconciled to delight in righteousness. The resounding principle of love is the essence of the fulfillment of law. This Christ is and has done. We love our neighbor in and for Christ, for God’s glory and man’s joy.

Christians live under earthly authorities for the praise and promotion of Christ, the Author of all authority. Submission to civil government, then, is driven by more than fear of punishment. More significantly it is a matter of conscience. It touches the heart-mind-will complex and addresses our aim and ambition in the actions we carry out under whatever civil government we find ourselves. To be sure, Christian obedience is never blind and delegate authorities are never autonomous. Conscience both heightens and limits our obedience to them. The thrust of the passage aims at the heart of those in Christ. Redeemed living is reflected in law-abiding obedience and respect from within. Christ-likeness must be lived out in society, not merely among Christians. We live before the face of God, always and everywhere. A properly informed conscience is purposed to help guide us live out our redeemed lives for Christ’s sake.

“Have no fear of them ... Rather fear Him.” A healthy and holy fear of God acknowledges His holiness and justice, while resting in His grace and forgiveness. Gospel fear is a reverent awe and respect for God, rooted in the majesty of Christ’s person and work as revealed in the gospel. Nowhere is an elevated spirit of gospel fear more intensely represented than in the last pre-Reformation reformer, the martyr, Girolamo Savonarola. His heart was aflame for the glory of God and the good of man in the very birthplace of the Renaissance. With colossal conviction and an indefatigable devotion, he warned people to flee to Christ from the wrath of God, to turn to God from idols of man’s making. Against unprecedented corruptions, Savonarola unleashed sacred Scripture, calling for regeneration in Christ’s church. This short devotional message looks at the words of our Lord in Matthew 10 and through its lens considers the life and ministry of Savonarola. The aim of this message is to make much of Christ in the present, to stir our own souls in deepening devotion, and to guard from being desensitized by the world.

Paul continues expounding principles and application of redeemed living. It is a life crowned with a character that is truly from, through, and to the glory of Christ. From beginning to end, the substance of redeemed living is relational. The Christian is a transformed creature. He has a Christly mind. He relates to God, the church, and the world in a new, future-oriented way. And the life he now lives is radically different. Yet, the Christian lives in the dirt and mire of this fallen and cursed world. Though a child of God and a citizen of heaven, citizenship and submission to authorities in this realm remain. This touches the Christian’s relationship to all governing authorities. While there are God-fearing and godless governments, the principle is clear: Christians live under earthly authorities for the praise and promotion of Christ. Part two picks up with the motivation of our submission and moves us into Paul’s warning.

Paul continues expounding principles and application of redeemed living. It is a life crowned with a character that is truly from, through, and to the glory of Christ. From beginning to end, the substance of redeemed living is relational. The Christian is a transformed creature. He has a Christly mind. He relates to God, the church, and the world in a new, future-oriented way. And the life he now lives is radically different. Yet, the Christian lives in the dirt and mire of this fallen and cursed world. Though a child of God and a citizen of heaven, citizenship and submission to authorities in this realm remain. This touches the Christian’s relationship to all governing authorities. While there are God-fearing and godless governments, the principle is clear: Christians live under earthly authorities for the praise and promotion of Christ.