Creation is like God’s radio station, sending out the message that God exists and that he is all-powerful. When the Bible says, “What may be known about God is plain” (Romans 1:19), it means that God has created human beings with an internal radio, tuned to his station. The message that God exists is sent and received!
Does that mean everyone will be saved? Not at all. Some people do not worship God (Romans 1:21). Or instead of responding to God, they turn away from him.
Just knowing that God exists isn’t enough. Having faith in him, loving him, accepting his love for you—that is what makes the difference.
How can Abraham be praised for his faith even though he lied twice and said his wife Sarah was his sister? Or how can David be praised even though he sinned with Bathsheba? For that matter, how can you be on your way to heaven? You haven’t been perfect either. This passage explains: God didn’t just say, “Oh forget it. Sin isn’t all that bad.” Instead God said, “Sin is so terrible it must be punished.” And Jesus took that punishment for you so that God could do the right thing—punish sin—and still forgive.
What’s the difference between wishful thinking and faith? Wishful thinking says, “Maybe we’ll win a sweepstakes so I can go to college.” Faith says, “If I don’t get a scholarship, I’ll work to put myself through.” Wishful thinking is unrealistic. Faith looks at things honestly and squarely, and believes. That’s what Abraham did. He knew he and Sarah were too old to have children. But when God said they would have a son, Abraham chose to believe. Some people think faith is wishful thinking. It isn’t. The wishful thinker is kidding himself or herself. The person with faith sees the difficulties but also clearly sees God.
God’s rules tell you what is wrong and what is right. What doesn’t help is you want to do right, but you want to do what’s wrong too. It’s like you’re two different people: one who wants to do right but another who wants to do wrong. Then even when you do what’s right, you feel that evil “I” right there inside you, starting to feel proud, and you know pride is a sin. Paul said he just couldn’t seem to get rid of the parts of him that were at war within. The chapter ends here. But Paul doesn’t stop. Look at Romans 8!
Paul explains in this passage that because of Jesus you’re not condemned to keep on sinning. Jesus died so you would be able to live a good life—the good life that law describes but can’t help anyone achieve. What’s the secret? The Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit Jesus himself lives in you. The Spirit’s power is here right now to help you do what’s right in spite of the pull that sin still has on you (see Romans 7:7–25). How do you do it? You don’t. You just fix your thoughts on what the Spirit desires, choose to respond and let God’s Spirit give you the strength to obey.
Did you ever think that if you did something good, God would have to reward you? Like, if you gave all your money to starving children, God would have to make sure you got that new outfit? In Romans 9 Paul shows from Bible history that people can’t “make” God do anything. God is free to choose.
• God chose Isaac, not Ishmael (Romans 9:7–9).
• God chose Jacob rather than Esau (Romans 9:10–13).
• God let Pharaoh follow his own heart (Romans 9:14–18).
Paul isn’t saying that God chooses to send some people to hell. He is saying that God doesn’t “depend on human desire or effort” (Romans 9:16). He depends on his own free choice to have mercy. No one deserves any reward from God. Everyone deserves to be punished. It’s a good thing that God is free to choose—because God chooses to have mercy.
The best-looking feet don’t belong to a famous model or a basketball superstar. The really beautiful feet belong to people who bring others the Good News. These verses raise questions every Christian needs to ask. How can unbelievers call on Jesus if they don’t believe? And how can they believe if they’ve never heard of him? And how can they hear if no one tells them? When some people use “Jesus” as a swear word, it doesn’t mean they know about him. In fact, it shows they don’t know enough! They can’t believe until they hear. And they can’t hear unless someone (you?) tells them. Check out your feet. Beautiful? You bet!
My parents are old-fashioned. I want to do so many things that they claim “real” Christians don’t do. I want to have fun and do the things that other young people do. Of course I also want to do what’s right. How can I get my parents to change?
Paige
Dear Paige,
It’s natural to want to have fun and make your own choices. Unfortunately, it is also human nature to desire to do things that are sinful. It’s possible that some of the things you’d like to do could lead you down paths that could be very harmful to you.
Look at Romans 12:2. God wants you to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind.” That means allowing God to change the way your mind thinks. He can change the direction of your desires away from sin and toward godliness. He doesn’t want you to follow in “the pattern of this world.” It is safer to stay away from fire than to see how close you can get to it without getting burned.
Talk things over openly with your parents. You must obey them, but perhaps there are some activities they will negotiate with you. Your parents want you to have fun, but it is also their duty to protect you until you are an adult on your own. It’s not easy to grow up, but it’s not easy to be a good parent either.
Jordan
Who’s in charge here? It’s a good question, and the Bible has a good answer: Jesus. When the first Christians said, “Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:11), they meant several things. They meant that
• Jesus has universal authority. He is seated at God’s right hand, “far above all rule and authority, power and dominion” (Ephesians 1:21).
• Jesus has complete authority, for all “angels, authorities and powers in submission to him” (1 Peter 3:22).
• Jesus has personal authority; Christ “died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living” (Romans 14:9).
Today when Christians recite, “We believe . . . in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord,” the focus is on Christ’s personal authority. We’re saying that we acknowledge Jesus’ authority over our daily lives, and that we pledge to live our lives as he wants us to live them.
It’s a tremendous relief to have Jesus as Lord of our lives. We don’t have to go to teens at school to tell us what to do. We don’t have to look to the rich and famous. We don’t have to let money or possessions or sex control our choices. When we say Jesus is our Lord, we’re saying that we’ve turned control of our lives over to Jesus. We pledge to do what pleases him.
In Rome all sorts of people belonged to the church. Romans 16 points out some of the variety. Some names here are Roman and some are Greek. Women are mentioned often and are praised as dedicated Christian workers. The mention of Aristobulus’s “household” (Romans 16:10) is a reminder that some early Christians were rich while others were slaves. But they all knew Jesus and that made them members of God’s family. The differences didn’t count. They don’t count at your church or youth group either. Since every Christian belongs to God’s family, make sure all believers are welcome in your group.
Romans
A Good Person.
Instead of insisting that you be perfect, God invites you to trust him. Then he gives you the Holy Spirit so you can live a holy life. God wants you to be all you can be.