Romans 11-14

How do your write only two paragraphs about these four chapters!? Where do I begin? Do I start a firestorm by talking about “election” or continue the age old argument about celebrating “special days” on the calendar? Anyone that knows me knows that I like to talk about “taxes”, but maybe instead I’ll throw out an argument about whether Christians should drink or not based on chapter 14? So many good talking points and issues for the everyday Christian to consider---so little space to write!

Maybe I’ll just say summarize the whole thing by saying this (with the help of Eugene Peterson’s The Message), “Take your everyday, ordinary life—and place it before God as an offering. Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Don’t quit in hard times. Pray all the harder. Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.”


Jim Bales
April 19