Romans 8 "Life of Peace"

Romans 8 – Brandon Hatmaker “Life of Peace”
Friday, May 30th, 2008

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” – Romans 8:1-2

Do we believe this? Really? Then why is it so hard for us to live it (Freedom and Joy)? Why is it that we feel that we can never do enough (Peace)? Why do we still have the idea that God is sitting up on a cloud often mad at us and waiting for the right moment to throw a thunderbolt at us (Guilt)?

I’m pretty convinced it’s because we are human. It’s our human side that holds on and still feels guilty before God. I’ve even felt guilty about my guilt. It’s our flesh that wants to listen to others statements of judgment and take them on as our own. It’s not coming from God. This is why we are called to deny ourselves daily. We are forgiven in Christ. If we’ve confessed our sins, yet we struggle with these things, then we need to grow in our understanding of Grace. Jesus offers us Salvation as a gift and the peace that comes with it.

Take that in for a moment. What a relief.

When we believe it, then we can really surrender to what God is doing. Then we can let go of our pride and be okay with the sovereignty of God in our world. Then we can search out His truth and have a desire to truly seek Him and thus find Him. Then we will be thankful. Then we will want to worship. Then we will begin to measure success as God measures success. Then we will not only know how to depend on God, but we will want to.

Here’s a great quote I read recently: “A sanctified soul is a living soul; and that life is peace.”

Father, thank you for your Grace in Christ. Thank you for calling us your children. May we find peace in that reality. Amen.

Romans 7 "9/10 of the Law"

Romans 7 – Brandon Hatmaker “9/10 of the Law”
Thursday, May 29th, 2008

“So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.” – Romans 7:4

What a Word for each of us. I’ve heard it said, that “possession is 9/10ths of the law”. I’ve never really known what that means. So I did some research. Here’s what I found:

In a 1999 article in Proverbium: Yearbook of International Proverb Scholarship, Nancy Magnuson Geise traces the phrase to a "play of uncertain authorship" called The Raigne of King Edward the Third, dating from 1596. Edward III of England is challenging the throne of King John of France. Phillip, one of John's sons, says, "I say, my Lord, claim Edward what he can, And bring he ne'er so plain a pedigree, Tis you are in the possession of the Crown, And that's the surest point of all the Law."

Geise finds the next variant, "[possession is] eleven points of the law," in A Dictionary of the Proverbs in England in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries: A Collection of the Proverbs Found in English Literature and the Dictionaries of the Period by Morris Tilley, who credits William Camden circa 1623. "The Devil hath Eleven points of the law against you; that is, possession." This is the first confirmed example that associates "11 points of the law" with possession.

Meanwhile, in 1616, Thomas Draxe, in his book of proverbs, Bibliotheca Scholastica Instructissima, shaves a couple points off the total: "Possession is nine points in the law." After this instance and maybe one other, this variant of the proverb was dormant until 1809. 

A problem with early versions of the proverb was that nobody was really sure what the ten or twelve points of the law were. Some proposed lists of points, failing to grasp that the proverb was almost certainly meant ironically – if possession is nine points, the points are 1. possession; 2. possession; 3. possession … you get the picture.

So the most interesting question: what's the point that isn't possession? Nobody could satisfactorily answer that. No doubt it was confusion over the "points" that led to the modern version. As Geise puts it, "The jump … to the latest, and today by far the most prevalent form, “possession is nine-tenths of the law”, is logical. Unable to have a clear idea of what the legal points are that the original proverb could refer to, the proverb took on a more familiar form as a fraction: the implication of 'points' became superfluous."

Let’s read verse four again, “So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.”

What I read today is that we died to the law that we might belong to Christ. We are in possession of the King. What is the point that is not possession? Shall we argue? Nope, The final point is superfluous. The points that matter are (1) Possession, (2) Possession, (3) Possession, etc…

So as Phillip said in “The Raigne of King Edward the Third”, "I say, my Lord, claim Edward what he can, And bring he ne'er so plain a pedigree, Tis you are in the possession of the Crown, And that's the surest point of all the Law."

So what’s the point? The fact that there is no point worth regaining or attaining personal possession, Christ purchased it all. He is the ultimate Crown. And for what? That we might bear fruit. To whom? To God.

Father, may all that we have, all that we are, and all that we strive for simply be yours. Amen.

Romans 6 "The Summary"

Romans 6 – Brandon Hatmaker “The Summary”
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008

“Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.” – Romans 6:8-10

This sums it all up. While God’s ways are amazingly above and beyond our ways. When it comes to the application of His Word to our lives, you can’t make it any more simple than this. So much so that it even makes sense. “If” we died with Christ, we will live with him. In the same way Jesus died to sin and the life he lives, he lives to God.

We once offered our body to sin, it was easy and natural, Paul, urges us to offer ourselves to God, in the same way. It’s more natural than we think even in method, we know how to offer ourselves it’s of the will that we struggle. He reminds us of our nature in verse 19, “I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves.”

We claim ignorance as believers a lot. Funny thing is how appropriate that plea truly is. We are pretty ignorant. However, if we were to capture that moment and think about it, we’d realize that we know more than we think we know:

Every situation, every scenario, and every decision in life… what do we do?
“In the same way Jesus died to sin and the life he lives, he lives to God.”

As we’re choosing our career paths and our priorities in life…
“In the same way Jesus died to sin and the life he lives, he lives to God.”

As we think about how we spend our time or how we treat one another…
“In the same way Jesus died to sin and the life he lives, he lives to God.”

Father, teach me to submit my will to yours. In moments of pride when I feel I’m already doing it, please show me each facet in which I am not. Teach me to surrender not only the physical but also the emotional and mental that I might follow you with all my heart, with all of my mind, and with all my strength. Amen

Romans 5 "Doing Love"

Romans 5 – Brandon Hatmaker “Doing Love”
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:6-8

In all seriousness, how fine is this? This is truly amazing love. It’s the only explanation. Earlier in the chapter, Paul reminds us that we are justified through our faith so that we now have peace with God, through Christ.

The word used for peace in verse one, comes from a primary verb meaning “to join” and literally translates to mean to “set at one again”. What an amazing reality. First, for us to remember that we were separated from God. Completely and entirely separated from God. Yet because of his LOVE, He gave the greatest sacrifice, His only son that we might be at one again with Him.

“Love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”- John 15:12-13

All faiths are not alike. All Churches are not alike either. What you believe about Jesus makes all the difference in the world. It’s THE difference. But let’s not leave it at that, what we do with LOVE then, makes all the difference in the world. It’s THE difference. Love is a huge deal to God. We most resemble Him when we offer love. You can’t just put on love and fake it. You can however act in love when you don’t feel it. But we must never neglect it.

So let’s take a moment to think about the following verses. Not to just think about what we believe or know about them. But instead, what we do about them. How we act. How we treat one another. How we use our influence. How we lead others. How we humble ourselves. How we see others. How we respond to God.

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” – John 4:7-9

“If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” – 1 John 4:20

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” – 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” – 1 Corinthians 13:13

Romans 4 "I'm not okay"

Romans 4 – Brandon Hatmaker “I’m not okay”
Monday, May 26th, 2008

“It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.” – Romans 4:13-15

In many forms, in many ways, and many times, Paul states and restates this truth: "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Even Abraham’s faith was credited as righteousness and He was under the law! Wow. How much more are we under the blood of Christ?

And yet, here are some realities, many believers still struggle with their salvation. Many believers still think their works have something to do with their salvation. I also would say that most believers who do trust in the free gift of life through Christ, still struggle with trying to “deserve” their faith instead of just living in his Grace.

We are a weird people. I truly believe that one of the most important things we can do is to just admit our “weirdness”. I guess that has something to do with remembering our humanity. I’m not okay. I mess things up. You’re not okay. So do you. Just as much as we need Christ unto salvation and redemption, we need him in life.

Okay, Carrie Underwood, there’s your cue, “Jesus take the wheel…” Geeze. Sorry about that. I’ll be sure to reference Willie or Waylon in my next post.