Daily Devotion

I want us to revisit “the kindness and the severity of God” (Rom. 11:22a). We discussed this verse in our last teaching time. As J. I. Packer insightfully notes, the important word here is “and.” The Christians in Rome were not to focus only on God’s kindness or only on his severity—both are crucial for understanding who God is.

Weekend Recharge

Weekend Recharge

Let’s revisit Paul’s statement about what the gospel is. Notice that he says the gospel is “the power of God for salvation” and is available to “everyone who believes,” then adds, “to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” In today’s passage, Paul reminds the Romans that the Jews had rejected Jesus; now God’s focus is on the Gentiles. As a result, the Jews are witnessing God's power at work in other nations. 

God has always had a people for himself—even in the darkest days and most difficult times. Yet, as we see in Paul’s letter to the Romans, many Jews were confused about who truly belonged to him.

Studying Romans provides a thorough overview of theology. The truths in this book are crucial for every believer and deserve our careful consideration. I hope the time so far has strengthened your faith and that you are experiencing spiritual growth as we continue to examine Paul’s letter.

In today’s passage, Paul tells his fellow Jews that they are ignoring the salvation message from God’s Word that was meant for them. The Jews rejected Jesus and the way to salvation through faith, even though they had been reading about the coming Messiah since their bar mitzvahs.

In Romans, we learn about the transforming power of the gospel (Rom. 1:1-17), the problem of sin (Rom. 1:18-3:20), the plan of salvation (Rom. 3:21-5:21), the process of sanctification (Rom. 6:1-8:39), and, in our current section, how the sovereign God works all these things together (Rom. 9:1-11:36).

Weekend Recharge