Sunday Scripture

 

Here's another in our ongoing series for Sunday Scripture!  You may recall me mentioning that back in 2018, I did a simple study from Rachel Wojo called Everything Beautiful.  You can read about the plan here if you are interested in it for yourself: Everything Beautiful Bible reading plan. My answers and input on this series are a combination of what I learned back then, and what I found in looking over the Scriptures now, six years later.  I'm going to attempt to SOAP the passages too, though some of them are longer. [Quick reminder that S stands for Scripture; O stands for observation; A stands for application, and P stands for prayer.]  The passage for this week is Romans 10:11-16.

S= "For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.
"For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek; for the same Lord over all is rich unto those who call upon Him.
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
"How, then, shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?  And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?  And how shall they hear without a preacher?
"And how shall they preach, except they be sent?  As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
"But they have not all obeyed the gospel.  For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?"  (Romans 10:11-16)

O= Scofield titles the section starting in verse 14 as "Worldwide outreach of the Gospel: God would have all to be saved."

Cross-references for "saith" (v.11) -- "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16)

 "As it is written, behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense; and whosever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed."  (Romans 9:33)

Cross-reference for  "whosoever" (v. 11) -- "And ... thou shalt know that I am the LORD, for they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me."  (Isaiah 49:23)

Cross-reference for "believeth on Him" (v.11) -- "So, then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."  (Romans 10:17)

Scofield offers a summary of faith: "The essence of faith consists in believing and receiving what God has revealed, and may be defined as that trust in the God of the Scriptures and in Jesus Christ whom He has sent, which receives Him as Lord and Savior and impels to loving obedience and good works."  He adds that "The particular uses of faith give rise to its secondary definitions:

1) For SALVATION, faith is personal trust, apart from meritorious works, in the Lord Jesus Christ.
2) As used in PRAYER, faith is the "confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us."  (1 John 5:14-15)
3) As used in reference to UNSEEN THINGS of which Scripture speaks, faith gives "substance" to them, so that we act upon the conviction of their reality.
4) As a WORKING PRINCIPLE IN LIFE, the uses of faith are illustrated in Hebrews 11.

Cross-references for "difference" (v.12) -- "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference."  (Romans 3:22)

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."  (Galatians 3:28)

Cross-references for "Lord" (v.13) -- "And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call."  (Joel 2:32)

"And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."  (Acts 2:21)

Cross-reference for "shall be saved" (v.13) -- Jude says that he writes to "them that are sanctified by God, the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called."  (Jude 1)

Note for "saved" (v.13) -- "The Hebrew and Greek words for 'salvation' imply the ideas of deliverance, safety, preservation, healing, and soundness.  "Salvation' is the great inclusive word of the Gospel, gathering into itself all [these]: justification, redemption, grace, propitiation, imputation, forgiveness, sanctification, and glorification.  Salvation is in three tenses:

1) The Christian has been saved from the guilt and penalty of sin, and is safe.  

2) The Christian is being saved from the habit and dominion of sin.

3) The Christian will be saved at the Lord's return from all the bodily infirmities that are the result of sin and God's curse upon the sinful world.

Salvation is by grace through faith, is a free gift, and wholly without works.  The divine order is, first salvation, then works." -- C.I. Scofield

Cross-references for "how beautiful" (v.16) -- "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth forth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!"  (Isaiah 52:7)

"Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace!"  (Nahum 1:15a)

Cross-references for "gospel" (v.15-16) -- "But what saith it?  The word is near thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that is, the word of faith, which we preach."  (Romans 10:8)

"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people."  (Revelation 14:6)

Cross-reference for "Lord, who hath believed our report?" (v.16) -- 

"Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?"  (Isaiah 53:1)

Cross-reference for "believed" (v. 16) -- "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."  (Romans 10:9-10)

A = For this Scripture, there were a number of ways to apply it as prompted in the journal.  

"Sometimes function is what creates beauty." -- Rachel Wojo

This reminded me of verse 15b from our reading: "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace".  In this case, it is the function these feet are performing that makes them beautiful.

Warren Wiersbe notes in With the Word: "Unbelieving sinners cannot hear unless we tell them.  God needs people with beautiful feet to carry the gospel to the lost.
"Despite Paul's broken heart and God's outstretched hands, Israel did not believe; but the Gentiles did believe and God saved the!  When you feel discouraged in your witnessing, remember Paul, continue caring, praying, and sharing the good news.  Keep those feet beautiful!"

Rachel also shares a "focus word" in each of the devotional pages.  I hadn't previously paid much attention to these for the Sunday Scripture posts, but am thinking now that maybe I should.

So for this lesson the focus word is "necessary".  In thinking of this word, I noted: "Belief is necessary.  Faith is necessary.  Sharing the Gospel is necessary.  Calling on the name of the Lord is necessary.  Sometimes, difficulties are necessary.

The question was asked: How can I realign the eyes of my heart to see the Father's present of everyday elegance?

My response in 2018: I need to continually keep my eyes on the Lord and the fact that He has a purpose for all that He allows to touch our lives.

Answering this same question in 2024:

 Sometimes trials are necessary to bring us to where He wants us to be -- to accomplish His purposes for our lives.  I need to look at trials through eyes of faith.

This prompt was given, along with a list: Today I will keep my eyes open for God's beauty in one or more of these places.

These are the places I circled: The words I read; the places I go; the people I encounter; the air I breathe; the weather I experience; the rest I receive.

In 2024 I can note that for the people I encounter, I met a young couple last weekend who are such amazing parents to their two-year-old, taking time to parent intentionally.

For the weather I experience, I mentioned a day with glorious sunshine, and a beautiful pink sky the night before.

For the rest I receive, I noted the blessing of waking up refreshed to tackle another day of work.

A journaling prompt was this:  Everything God made is beautiful.  Where have I noticed God's beauty in the last 24 hours?

My response in 2018: In the gift of sleep.  In the beauty of falling snow.  In the cheering song of the tufted titmouse.  In a loving husband who did all of our grocery shopping after a long day of work.

For my response in 2024, I added:  In the glorious yellow of forsythia bushes, daffodils, and dandelions.  In the colors He has created.  Pale, softened colors in the fringes I was trimming from towel rags: pale green, lavender, peach.  Bright confetti-like dots in the dryer lint from washed and dried freshly cut rags.  In the mingling of spring colors in flowerbeds: pink tulips, yellow daffodils, purple violets.  In the beautiful design of God's people working together to glorify Him.

P= "Lord, I pray that You will help me to keep my eyes firmly focused upon You.  I know that You have a purpose for allowing trials in our lives, and part of that plan is for us to glorify you in the trials -- to share with others the confident trust that we have in You.  I know that another part of your plan for trials in our lives is for us to grow and become spiritually mature.  And your grace is sufficient for us in each and every situation.  

I know that I can trust  You to sustain me through every trial I face and to bring me safely through in Your timing.  I pray that You will give me wisdom through each trial, and I thank  You for all You are doing, in Jesus' name , Amen."

And there is the Sunday Scripture for this week!  I'd love some more input on this series so far, and I hope more of you will share your thoughts with me.

And a very happy Mother's Day to those of you who are mothers! 🌹