The Christian life is difficult and messy. It is not the sanitized image of moral perfection that we might try to present. Again and again we fail to honor Jesus the way he deserves, yet despite our failures, he remains faithful. Just take it from Paul in Romans 7 as he finally gets into the raw personal struggles with sin he faces daily. Following Jesus is tough, but in the end, there's nothing more rewarding.

*Also, in case you are wondering, the movie referenced in the opening remarks is Gemini Man (2019).

Wouldn't it be strange and confusing to see a college student attending high school classes? Paul says, that if you are a Christian, it is just as confusing and inappropriate for you to embrace a lifestyle of sin. It goes against your new nature in Christ. To resist this back-sliding, Paul explains that we must actively present ourselves to Jesus in obedience, for Jesus is our new master, not sin.

The testimony shared on this podcast can be found here: http://daughterdisciple.blogspot.com/2014/10/half-committed.html

We often hear the phrase "God doesn't give us more than we can bear" tossed around a lot during our difficult times. But is that really accurate? In his letter to the Romans, Paul shows us how the God of the universe often gives us more than we can bear so that we would grow, in both communion with, and conformity to, the One who did bear all things for us on the cross.

In Romans 4, Paul shows us that God's provision in the Old Testament was always a foreshadowing of God's ultimate provision of our greatest need: forgiveness. And because of this radical love which provides for us in the Gospel, we are encouraged to trust God with radical obedience.

In Chapter 2 of Romans, Paul addresses, head-on, the brokenness of religious people. He shows us that being more 'religious' or more moral cannot save us or change our hearts' desires - only surrendering to God can do that. The Gospel, not religion, is the power of God to save us and shape us.

In these final verses of Chapter 1, Paul shows us that no matter who we are or what we have accomplished, we all have corrupt desires as a result of our rejecting God as Lord of our lives. While the corrupt desires vary from person to person, the solution for forgiveness is the same for all of us: surrendering to Jesus as Lord and Savior.

*My thinking on this passage and illustrations used have been largely informed by Pastor JD Greear and his sermon series on Romans.

In this second installment on the Book of Romans, Paul shows us that all people, in all times and places, have an innate sense of who God is, and long for his mercy and justice. Yet all of us have swapped Him out for another object of worship.

*My thinking on this passage and illustrations used have been largely informed by Pastor JD Greear and his sermon series on Romans.

Romans is one of the most important books in the Bible because it is the most thorough explanation of the Gospel. This is the first sermon in a series on our verse-by-verse investigation into one of the greatest letters ever written.

*My thinking on this passage and illustrations used have been largely informed by Pastor JD Greear and his sermon series on Romans.

Jesus' commands to his disciples seem difficult - and they are! But when we dive into the Scriptures verse-by-verse, we will see that only Jesus can change our hearts to make us live like him in ways we never thought possible.