Romans

Last night we at High Kirk began looking at the book of Romans. I say ‘we’ because it will require work from us.

Dr/Pastor John Piper once did a series on Romans which lasted for years, entitled ‘The Greatest Letter Ever Written’. Although I have not read his series on it (although admittedly it is on my vast list of resources to check out) I agree with that summary of it.

Romans is spectacular. A few summers ago I went through a rather intense period of biblical study. It was the summer of my sister’s wedding and it dawned on me, rather suddenly, that my knowledge of the Bible was limited and I was relying on sentiment from the new and emerging ‘teachers’ and, at the time, nooma dvds (that has since been repented of lol). Romans was a book where I found so many answers and so many questions. It was a book that changed my world view because it changed my God view. It is a strange feeling when your world view changes. Things you have held before, or never even thought of before, become so very important under the spotlight of revealed scripture. Why do we believe this, why do we not believe this, why, why, why. And then the answers come, nuggets of gold in a desperate and earnest search to find God; to love Him more fully, to follow Him more closely, to have every fibre of your being aching to know the truths that He wants us to know, which are like life rafts amid the twists and turmoil of the world- There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, it is by grace not by works, for those He foreknew He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son- these truths are like wings of grace that carry burdened souls.

It is a weighty book and again and again it slams home the truth that we are second and God is first. Appropriately it has been subtitled ‘shaped by grace’.

Romans is a lesson in submission.

And Romans is for everyone. It is a packed book but thankfully we are a church which has Maturity as one of our pillars, we cannot pass by this opportunity. So I would suggest that we not take this book or this series lightly. Personally, I feel that too often the Christian church does not search for the deep answers because we have mistakenly replaced a childlike faith with a childish faith.

Last night we only did Ch1:1-7. I hope we spend weeks, months, and even keep it going until next September. If we can fully grasp what Romans offers, we will be a totally transformed Church. It has immense potential, I really feel that. Lets challenge ourselves, reaffirm foundations, unsettle what we take for granted, ask the difficult questions, wrestle with the issues and realign ourselves to God.

I hope it devastates us. I can’t wait to get started.

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