Romans
Verse Annotation
Verse 1 - 16 - A thankful spirit is important, especially for those who prophesy faith in Jesus Christ. We should not take for granted anything done to us. We do not know the sacrifice; in totality, the giver had to take. So let us take the opportunity as many times as we can to be thankful not only to those around us but to our Savior, Lord, and master, Jesus Christ. May joy be on our hearts, not hatred, spite, or jealousy, as we greet our fellow believers and those outside the fold as well.
Verse 17 - “Watch Ye and pray, lest Ye enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. ( Matthew 26:41). There are many who seek to divide the church and cause strife for selfish gain, teaching everything but the word of God. We are not only called to identify them but to avoid them. Heresy is contagious, and its end is very much unpleasant. Even though something might feel nice in the moment, make sure it is biblical. Let us not hail Pastoral statements just because the pastor said it passionately, but rather, because it is biblical truth (Read Passionately Dying - The Church)
Verse 18 - False teachers seek to deceive and flatter the hearts of the naive, saying only what feels good to them. The goal is not the edification of the body but rather to feed their own appetites: money, pleasure, ego, and pride.
Verse 19 - “My people suffer because of lack of knowledge ( Hosea 4:6) ” we are called to be wise biblically to know what is good and evil. In order that we may not be swayed by any Doctrine out there, we must have a solid understanding of the Bible and its truth.
Reflection
The human mind is always accustomed to prefer what is pleasant to the ear, what flatters the ego, and what increases pride. Not many people can handle the truth, especially when it contradicts what they’re doing. Not many people are open to hearing correction, even if it’s coming from the word of God.
Sadly, this is where we are as a church. Many communities have decided to go into the lane of doctrine accommodation, only preaching what makes the congregation happy. Paul warns us of this. He warns us that false teachers will come and create division in the church, teaching what is contrary to biblical truth. This will not be an accident, but it will be an intentional action by these false teachers because they desire to feed their own appetite. They will smooth-talk, flatter, and deceive the hearts of those who are naïve, those who do not know the Bible for themselves, those who do not seek God for themselves, and those who do not have a personal relationship with God.
Now, we are called to identify these false teachers and avoid them, instructing those around us, our brothers, our sisters, even our children, to avoid these teachers. In order to do this, there’s a level of wisdom required, and this is not just worldly wisdom, but this is wisdom as it is revealed by the Holy Spirit in the Bible to know what is good and evil, to do what is right and please God.
Let us strive to walk in holiness, purity, and righteousness, not negotiating any of the Commandments God has given to us, even if we are not popular in doing so. As long as the biblical truth is hailed by our mouths, our souls, and our spirits will be at Peace in the joy of the Lord, that he is pleased with our actions
Prayer
Thank you God, for revealing this to us. Thank you God for showing us that we have to walk in total obedience to your will, seeking to know you more and more in each and every day that we may not be misguided, gaslighted, lied to, and deceived into sin by false teachers. We come against any doctrinal accommodation we have made with the world; help us to remove this from our lives and from our systems of thought. We want to please your God, we want to honor you. Right now, in the name of Jesus Christ, we remove every idea, every thought that didn’t come from your word but came from pride and ego. We cast these thoughts and ideas and false doctrines out of our minds and out of our hearts in Jesus mighty name. We fill these spaces with your word, which says, " You are the light of the world.” We submit ourselves to you.
In Jesus Christ’s mighty name I pray, Amen.
-
Add a short summary or a list of helpful resources here.