The book of Romans is easily one of the most misunderstood books in all of scripture. That does not necessarily mean it is difficult, although some would argue that it is. But much of the controversy which has swelled around this epistle is due to the preconceived ideas which readers bring to it. Martin Luther, for instance, brought Augustinian ideas about grace to his reading, which so colored his thinking that it caused him to deny the epistle of James a place in the canon of scripture, because he found James to be too at odds with Paul. Today, many with radical ideas are trying to force their teaching into Romans 14 in attempt to gain acceptance. And there is, in the denominations, the specter of Calvinism which pervades almost all commentaries on the book. more...
I have attempted to reduce Paul's letter to direct statements and bite-size arguments, hoping this will assist in the study of that complex epistle. The seriousness of the undertaking, and my own inadequacies, team up to give me the "willies," but it seems a needed effort. There is a revival of interest in the Roman letter no doubt the result of the so-called "grace-fellowship" movement, and neo-Calvinistic studies. We welcome more serious Bible study, for whatever cause, and this is but a meager contribution. more...
It is interesting that many wrongheaded ideas on grace have used Paul's letter to the Romans as a jumping off point. A line of false teaching about man's ineffective works toward God can be traced from Paul's own day to Augustine (4th century) to Martin Luther and John Calvin (16th century) to Neo-Calvinists today, and all of them claim Romans as their proof text. This is particularly odd considering Paul's discussion of baptism in chapter six of this letter. Most in the religious world do not believe in the necessity of baptism for salvation, claiming that those who do are trying to save themselves by works, but Paul, who indeed writes very eloquently on grace, certainly has a different viewpoint on what baptism does for the Christian. more...
Since the development of the novel in the eighteenth century, one of the most common of all literary devices has been to focus on the struggle involved in the duality of man. Some have simply termed it ""good v. evil"" while others have pushed it to the extreme of ""selling the soul to the devil."" It is the driving force behind thousands of stories, films and all manner of forms of entertainment, from Stevenson's ""Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"" to the original ""Star Wars"" trilogy. more...
Romans 14 continues to be an area of intense interest and study to brethren. Is it the chapter that holds the ""cure all"" for every difficult issue that arises between brethren? Can brethren disagree over fundamental matters of faith and doctrine but still have fellowship based on the principles of Romans 14? Let me give three thoughts from this chapter that I believe will help us make proper application of Romans 14. more...
While we are quick to say that all scripture is inspired of God, and is, therefore, useful to God's people passages like Romans 16 challenge us. Get your Bible out quickly and look over at Romans 16. There it is. A long list of names. A bunch of people we have never heard of, whose names we cannot pronounce. If Paul wants to say ""howdy"" to them that is fine, but of what value is this long list of salutations? Just what value do these verses have to the Christian of today? more...
Mark me down. I've converted. I am an unabashed, unashamed NASCAR racing fan. Despite mercilessly making fun of stock car racing in the past now I adore it. What happened? more...
Book
of the Month The Westside church is focusing on 12 books of the Bible
this year, reading each of them carefully to really understand them and
to learn how to be better Bible readers and students. The book for December
is Romans.