Romans 12-15
Rebecca Lightfoot
N Romans12-15,Paul is summing up what the lives of true followers of Christ should “look like/act like/think like”!Paul knows that the life seeking to be true to this calling is going to be challenged from all angles,& with all sorts of things meant to wear us down and discourage us....many of these will be totally unfair and unjust.During these times of unfairness & unjust circumstances n our lives,Paul calls us to think of our witness(our Godly Purpose)to the lives of those around us,before thinking of ourselves-(Romans15:1,”We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak(those that lack the encouragement&endurance of the Scriptures in their life-see below reference to Romans15:4),and not to please ourselves.Let each of us please his neighbor for his good,to build him up.”These verses call us to have an Eternal Perspective for how we live our lives,& to not get caught up n how unfairness and lack of true justice impacts our temporal existence.Especially when defending ourselves for selfish reasons will negatively affect our witness for Christ n the lives of those around us.Paul reminds us that Jesus endured such for our sake,”For Christ did not please himself,but as it is written,’The reproaches of those who reproach you fell on me’”.This last statement echoes what David experiences as he is living with a personal zeal for The Lord(Psalm69:9),and it is what Jesus ULTIMATELY SUFFERED on the Cross when He took upon Himself all sin ever committed...on our behalf!This brings Paul to tell us what the PURPOSE is for ALL SCRIPTURE(Romans15:4,”For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us,so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope”.During Paul’s time they had the Old Testament that they needed to study and meditate on(in Joshua1:8-9 The Lord says,”This Book of The Law shall not depart form your mouth,but you shall meditate on it day and night,so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it...Be strong and courageous.Do not be frightened,and do not be dismayed,for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”),we now have the Old Testament,AND the New Testament.The Old Testament gives us the context and the foundation for having REVERENCE for how God The Father reveals Himself in the New Testament through God The Son,and how God The Spirit has been given to us to teach;guide;strengthen;encourage us real-time.As seekers/followers of Christ,we must have the Scriptures as a consistent/persistent part of our everyday life through study and meditation of them.The devil knows this...he knows that we will become discouraged and wear down when we are not making God’s Word a regular part of our day.So, The devil will throw all sorts of things at us too bombard our time in God’s Word.This is why God told Joshua to “be strong and courageous”,knowing the first place of attack for the devil will be God’s source of encouragement and endurance for us->The Scriptures!Dear Lord Jesus,may Your Spirit that lives in me remind me of the significance The Scriptures have for my life...and my need for the encouragement and endurance that is only found in Your Word.Dear Holy Spirit,help me to have my heart/mind/spirit receptive to what You desire to show me and teach me, in Your Word....every moment of every day!