"The How is the Who and He Lives in You"

What a marvelous "DEAL" God has given us - freely given us.

Faith is mentioned so many times in the letter to the Romans.  We have to get the picture of all that went on during that time period.

The Jews were oppressed by Rome, looking for an earthly king.  Most of them had not believe Jesus Christ was the Messiah and had come.

Then of course we all know the story of Pentecost - the promise of God was given and poured out on His people - the Holy Spirit coming to dwell in the believer.  After this, the confusion and dissension arose about keeping the law, Gentiles coming into this glorious salvation, as well as whether sacrifices were to continue. (This is why the letter to the Hebrews was written).

Remember, the Temple was still there for a while after Christ's ascension.  And the revelation was not yet made complete of ALL that God had accomplished in His Son - but it was being revealed to the Apostles.

Finally, Paul writes this marvelous, marvelous letter to the believers at Rome - Gentiles who had come into the faith.  He so wonderfully explains the whole picture of God's salvation to the Jew first, then to the Gentiles.  And of course there were still many problems of the Jews receiving this salvation, because they had not believed Jesus Christ, whom they had seen, was the Messiah.

But here they were and here we are - "uncircumcised in the flesh," as we were called - "dead dogs," etc. and we believe the Gospel - the Good News of God.

There were other things to work out - one of them was HOW the Christian life was to be lived.  Gentiles had never been involved with the Torah - some of them did not know about those over 600 commandments given and outlined in the Old Covenant - the Old Testament.  Live by the law?  What's the law?

Everything was brand new.  And Paul wanted to explain to these Gentile Christians what he himself had received from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Paul was a Jew by birth, and a practicing Jew to the max.  Yet he discovered through God's revelation that what we are in natural descent has NOTHING to do with spiritual circumcision of being born again of God's Spirit.

He covers this incredible reality in Romans 8 - "you are NOT in the flesh, but in the Spirit..."  And that there was a law - the "law of faith,"(Romans 3)  and the "law of the Spirit of LIFE in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8)

In the natural, Jews are still Jews and Gentiles are still Gentiles.  It's just that we sincerely have been brought into Christ Jesus, the New Man, and indeed, a new WAY of living.  Ephesians covers this so well.

And the riches of Christ are now explained in other letters - of what it means to be in Christ Jesus now - and to be partakers of this Great Salvation through Him.

The smashing point for me though, in the letter to the Romans, is that the life I am now going to live in my mortal jar of clay is only through Christ (Himself) and by faith in Him.

Abraham believed God according to His promise that he would have a son.  His having a son was solely supernatural - not of human ability.  Romans 4 proves this - he was dead in his body to do this.  That's pretty dead, huh?

Yet Abraham believed God. 
 

So Paul means in the letter to the Romans that if we believe God - we WILL bear fruit - we WILL be transformed.  We are all invited to believe God.  We are all invited to live a life of Grace through Faith in Him.

I believe this message is so simple - I really do.  Yet I also believe it's the very thing that has been messed up the most by us!  :)  We have become complicated in so many ways and not very powerful. 

We recently experienced a situation where God kept bringing up the Scripture, "having a form of godliness but denying the power.

That really spoke to me deeply. 

The other thing God has put on my heart is that we can even look to Jesus Christ to teach us HOW to live by faith in Him.  When He said on earth (John 15, 16) that we would not be orphans - that He would come to us and dwell in us - He really meant it.  He's here!

If we have received Christ, He is living in us - the One who was here 2,000 years ago is living inside our hearts. This one reality is enough to strengthen me/us in a great way.

"The HOW is the WHO and He lives in you."

Walking the Romans Road with you,

Sue Gaither