one step: Romans 15.1

For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”

We live in a culture that encourages us to obey our thirst, do what we think makes us happy, and proposes that we deserve… well, a lot of things. While quenching thirst, finding happiness, and realizing that self-care should be a priority are not bad things, they aren’t the things.

Jesus Christ made the thing (obeying His Father) the focus of His life. Through His life of obedience, Paul tells us in Romans 15:3, that “Christ did not please Himself.” This was as counter-cultural in the times of Jesus and Paul as it is today!

In this verse, Paul also quotes Psalm 69:9.* In Psalm 69, the Psalmist laments about the shame and scorn received due to zeal for God.* These insults came from friends as well as enemies.* For Christ, it was our scorn and shame that were heaped upon Him.* This is a sobering reality worth pausing for.

Interestingly, the context of this passage in Romans challenges believers to willingly sacrifice their own pleasure to keep from causing one another to stumble.* Could it be that our self-sacrifice of pleasure, in mirroring the aim of Christ to not bring Himself pleasure, should be birthed out of zeal for God?

When we aim our lives at pleasing ourselves, for what do we have zeal? Who are we mirroring when we seek to please ourselves? Surely, not Christ.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to deny yourself and pick up your cross in some area of life. Perhaps God wants you to think about those around you and how your life impacts theirs. Maybe God wants you to allow your zeal for God to seek the best for others. Perhaps today God wants you to make the thing the focus of your life.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

*Kruse, C. G. (2012). Paul’s Letter to the Romans (D. A. Carson, Ed.; p. 528–529). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos.
Osborne, G. R. (2004). Romans (pp. 376–377). InterVarsity Press.
Morris, L. (1988). The Epistle to the Romans (pp. 498–499). W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
Moo, D. J. (2000). Romans (pp. 471). Zondervan Publishing House.

one step: Romans 14.3

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

How many of us as Christians define our Christ-likeness by what we do or do not do? If we do or do not do certain things, we feel like “good Christians” or “bad Christians.”

The verse above comes after Paul’s encouragement to the church in Rome not to judge one another for what they do or do not do as Christians in regard to those things of indifference (not really good or bad according to Scripture in light of Christ).* For example, some felt that they should not eat meat while others did not think it a problem.*

If we are not to judge other Christians by what they eat or drink, can we really judge ourselves either? If we do not judge ourselves by what we do or do not do, how do we know if we are in right standing with God or not?

Unlike Jesus who speaks of it often, Paul rarely uses language describing “the Kingdom” as a present reality (the only other time is in 1 Corinthians 4:20).* Paul’s description of the Kingdom is typically of a future reality yet-to-come.* Here in this verse, however, Paul addresses the judgmental behavior of the church in Rome with a reminder of the reality of the Kingdom of God in the present: it’s a kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.*

What does this mean for us? Righteousness, peace, and joy are all found solely in the Holy Spirit; they cannot be procured by the efforts of humans.* Meaning, the Kingdom of God is not established by human effort and judgmental thinking. The Kingdom of God is established and consists of those things that only the Holy Spirit can produce in our lives.

Want to know if you are a “good Christian”? Is there righteousness, peace, and joy in your life? If not, no judgment. Just allow the Holy Spirit to do His work.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to hear His voice on what to do or not do in your life. Perhaps today God wants you to stop judging others for not holding your convictions and to allow Him to sort that out in their soul. Maybe today God wants you to use your freedom to enjoy His creation. Perhaps today God wants you to use your freedom to choose to abstain from something. Maybe God wants to remind you of the higher standard that Jesus established.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

*Kruse, C. G. (2012). Paul’s Letter to the Romans (D. A. Carson, Ed.; p. 520–523). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos.
Osborne, G. R. (2004). Romans (pp. 365–368, 369–370). InterVarsity Press.
Morris, L. (1988). The Epistle to the Romans (pp. 484–486, 488–489). W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
Moo, D. J. (2000). Romans (pp. 460–461). Zondervan Publishing House.

one step: Romans 14.2

For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.

Death can be a scary thing, but so can life. There seems to be dangers around every corner. Dangers of rejection, shame, failure, success, pride, insignificance, and obscurity lurk behind every life opportunity. Fear of each of these things screams out at us, telling us stories about the future.

The fear of the death of love ones or the fear of death coming for us can cripple us as well. Passing every decision and act through the filter of, “is this safe?” paralyzes our life. What are we to do?

There is a lot that can be said about fighting fear, but we must remember this truth: live or die, we do so for the Lord.

When we live in fear of this or that, the temptation can be to attempt to protect ourselves. The issue with this isn’t just that we are terrible at protecting ourselves but that as believers who have accepted the gift of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, we were bought with a price.* We do not belong to ourselves any longer.*

If we live, it must be done unto the Lord; if we die, it must be done unto the Lord.* It is His to decide what our life will look like, and it is His to decide what our death will look like.*

The stress of fear exists largely in the tension between what the future could look like and our inability to control it. When we realize that we are not to control the future at all, this stress all but disappears.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to surrender your life to Him by allowing Him to guide your steps and protect you. Perhaps God wants you to surrender your death to Him by trusting that your future is in His good and loving hands. Maybe today God wants you to stop trying to control. Perhaps today God wants you to stop trying to protect. Maybe today God wants you to believe Him that He loves you and has a plan for you.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

*Kruse, C. G. (2012). Paul’s Letter to the Romans (D. A. Carson, Ed.; p. 516–517). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos.
Osborne, G. R. (2004). Romans (pp. 362–363). InterVarsity Press.
Morris, L. (1988). The Epistle to the Romans (pp. 481-482). W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
Moo, D. J. (2000). Romans (pp. 450). Zondervan Publishing House.

one step: Romans 14.1

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

In Paul’s context, to pass judgement on the servant of another was inadmissible.* The reality was that a servant (domestic slave, translated more directly) only needed the approval of their master.* The approval of another servant was unnecessary.* So it is for us.

Paul’s effort here is not to define who is weak and who is strong in the faith by certain behaviors, but he seeks to provide rules of engagement for those who see others as weak in their faith.* In one case, those who abstain judge others who enjoy.* In the other case, those who enjoy look down upon those who do not.* Paul attempts to create a culture that embraces unity and purity alike.*

When we see other believers engaging in things that are clearly morally and biblically wrong (i.e. committing adultery), our call to purity demands that we interject.* When we see other believers engaging in things not specifically addressed by Scripture (i.e. music style, version of the Bible, etc), we must not allow them to divide us.* These fall under the category of adiaphora, or, “things indifferent.”*

Sometimes we too quickly look down on other believers or congregations because they have not “received the revelation that we have,” or we look down on others because they have forsaken treasured and meaningful traditions. Paul would say that our Master has accepted all who put their faith in Jesus Christ, so if they are not breaking the law of purity and morality as outlined in Scripture, we must not judge one another.* This is inadmissible.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to repent for looking down on another denomination or believer that you have known. Perhaps today God wants to speak to you about the things that you are or are not doing as a believer. Maybe God wants you to abstain from something or engage in something as a spiritual practice.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

*Kruse, C. G. (2012). Paul’s Letter to the Romans (D. A. Carson, Ed.; p. 510–514). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos.
Osborne, G. R. (2004). Romans (pp. 355–360). InterVarsity Press.
Morris, L. (1988). The Epistle to the Romans (pp. 476–480). W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
Moo, D. J. (2000). Romans (pp. 446–449, 452–453). Zondervan Publishing House.

one step: Romans 13.4

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ…

I once heard the phrase, “clothes makes the man.” Someone else once told me to “dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” Yet another person told me, “the shoes someone wears tells you a lot about them.” I think that the summary of what all these people were trying to tell me was that what you put on tells others something about you.

Whether they are right about clothes and what they communicate or not, Paul tells us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. What does this mean and how do we do it?

To put on the Lord Jesus Christ is more than just making an effort to perform virtuous acts.* It’s more than just doing the right things and appearing “Christian.” Putting on the Lord Jesus Christ is equivalent to living by the Spirit.* Yes, living by the Spirit leads to virtuous living and Christian character, but living by the Spirit is the goal and the means to this.*

Living by the Spirit (aka clothing oneself in Jesus Christ) is not a once-for-all event, but it is a process of making Him the Lord of your life each and every day.* The process of salvation is becoming conformed to the image of Christ over time, one day at a time.* The believer has a responsibility to enter into that process each day by their choice and through the grace of God that empowers them to do so.* We must choose to live by the Spirit and not according to the flesh.* Again, this isn’t just choosing not to do bad things and choosing to do good things; it’s making a choice to live from and by the Spirit versus living from and by the flesh.

Paul invites us to take off the old and put on the new; he invites us to walk away from our old way of living, a living consistent with the sinful actions of common culture. Paul invites us to put on Jesus Christ each day.

As Saint Patrick prayed,

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me, Christ in the eye that sees me, Christ in the ear that hears me.

May you be in Christ, as Christ is in you.

Put on Jesus Christ.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to put on Jesus Christ today. Perhaps He wants you to do that again tomorrow. Maybe God is asking you to surrender to His lordship. Perhaps God desires for you to allow His Spirit to empower you to live for Him. Maybe He wants you to win the struggles you have been walking through by putting on Jesus Christ.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.

Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!

*Kruse, C. G. (2012). Paul’s Letter to the Romans (D. A. Carson, Ed.; p. 506–507). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos.
Osborne, G. R. (2004). Romans (pp. 354–355). InterVarsity Press.
Morris, L. (1988). The Epistle to the Romans (pp. 473–474). W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
Moo, D. J. (2000). Romans (pp. 440–441). Zondervan Publishing House.