Sunday Scripture

 

For this week's Sunday Scripture series, I'm returning to my simple study of a little devotional journal titled Reflections: The Woman God Sees, by Jane L. Fryar -- a journal gifted me by some dear young friends.   It has a daily devotional one works through -- about a month's worth or so.  The daily devotions were a blessing to me when I worked through the book, so up through November I had been sharing them here.  Then I switched to something more seasonal for December and now -- for a few weeks at least -- I am back to these again.  We will see!

The Scripture for today is Romans 1:7.   Here's the assignment: "Loved.  Called.  That's you!  Right now!  How does that reminder bring peace to your heart?  What other thoughts and feelings does Romans 1:7 spark for you?"  I chose to SOAP Romans 1:1, 7-8 as I considered this assignment.

S= "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God ...
      To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called saints: Grace to you, and peace from God, our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
... I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world."  (Romans 1:1, 7-8)

O=  I've read this verse many times, but had never really noticed the phrase "beloved of God".  Guess I had skimmed right over it, which is really too bad.  However, this time it jumped right out at me.

Believer's Bible Commentary says of the phrases "beloved of God, called to be saints": "These two lovely names are true of all who have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ.  These favored ones are objects of divine love in a special way, and are also called to be set apart to God from the world, for that is the meaning of saints."

A cross-reference for "called saints" is 1 Corinthians 1:2 --

"Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours."

C.I. Scofield points out that believers are set apart by God, not to become saints, as the words "to be" might suggest, but they "are saints, and that by divine call."

As he does in his other epistles to various churches, Paul goes on to wish grace and peace to these Roman believers.  

Warren Wiersbe notes in Be Right, his study of Romans: "When you trust Christ, you are saved by His grace and you experience His peace."

William MacDonald further explains, "The grace mentioned here is not the grace that saves (Paul's readers were already saved) but the grace that equips and empowers for Christian life and service.  Peace is not so much peace with God (the saints already had that because they were justified by faith) but rather the peace of God reigning in their hearts while they were in the midst of a turbulent society."

Paul then thanks God for all of these believers and how their faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

Wiersbe notes that "the whole world meant the entire Roman Empire.  The faith of the Roman Christians was well-known."

A cross-reference is Romans 16:19 where Paul says, "Your obedience is come abroad unto all men."

MacDonald adds, "Their testimony as Christians was talked about throughout the Roman Empire, which then constituted the whole world, from the perspective of those living in the Mediterranean area."

A= In answer to the assignment "Loved.  Called.  That's you!  Right now!  How does that reminder bring peace to your heart?  What other thoughts and feelings does Romans 1:7 spark for you?" I wrote:

Remembering that I am loved by God and called by Him definitely brings His peace to my heart as I too am in the midst of a turbulent society.  Not yet as turbulent as what these Roman Christians were experiencing, but still very unsettled.  Other  thoughts and feelings sparked by Romans 1:7 include love for God and gratitude to Him.

Another question was posed also:

"You are [probably] not in Rome as you read this.  So where are you?  What might Jesus want to see you do there today as His messenger of grace and peace?"  I responded: 

No, I'm not in Rome, but in New Hampshire.  As one who is loved by God, saved and set apart for His service, I have His grace and peace.  

God obviously wants me to live a life that points others to Him, as the Roman Christians did.  My faith should be noticed and spoken of by the people in my world.  That includes my family and friends, my church family, my acquaintances, my Instagram followers and blog readers, as well as chance encounters in the supermarket.

P= "Lord, I am so incredibly blessed to be one who has been loved and called by you.  When I think of how long I held You at arm's length, I am even more thankful for your patience and longsuffering with me!  I pray that You will continue to help me to nurture and grow my faith and to have the sort of faith (and faithfulness, of course made possible only by Your faithfulness) that will be noticed by the people in my world.  I praise You for all You will do, in Jesus' name, Amen."

There is the Sunday Scripture for this week!  I believe I have about six left in this series.