Mission statements may feel corporate and you might wonder what role they have in a Christian’s life, but here’s the thing: if you do not have a clear destination and purpose for your time here on earth, life will just pass you by. Today, let’s talk about what a mission statement is and why you need one.
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This month, our theme in Tirzah Magazine is justice and missions. Missionary work is often bucketed into just one category: overseas missions. But what if we’re called to missions work in one way or another, whether it is at home or abroad?
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Paul makes a big statement in this week’s passage: you’re either slave God or sin. In today’s world of a watered down Gospel, some people may try to tell you that there’s a middle ground: that you can live as you please without being a slave to God or to sin. Let’s study what the Bible has to say about this.
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In law school, one of the first things you learn is that it is just as important to know opposing counsel’s arguments and case law as it is your own. You need to anticipate their every possible defense and know every piece of law that could support the other side’s argument.
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This week, we’re going to get to the heart of the Gospel that for many continues to be a paradox: how could the death of one man provide salvation to an entire world?
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One of the questions that drives many people away from God is a variation of: “Why does God allow suffering?” Because our human mind doesn’t understand why a good God would allow bad things to happen, especially to those who are called His. The last few weeks, we’ve been talking about righteousness and justification. This week, we begin to dig deeper into the fruit of what it means to be justified before God and what type of character is produced through suffering.
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My single season lasted for over a decade, so through my twenties, this passage is one that I came back to often when I needed to have my hope renewed. Because Abraham waited 25 years to see the fulfillment of God’s promise to him - as the years passed and his and Sarah’s bodies aged beyond child bearing, Abraham had to choose to believe against every type of impossibility. So, that’s what we’re going to study today: how to believe when all your hope is gone.
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Paul knew his audience - we see that as he regularly references the Jewish law and, this week, he brings in Abraham and David, both of whom would have been acclaimed as founding fathers for Paul’s intended audience. Like a lawyer presenting his case before a jury, Paul builds on his earlier points by bringing in influential witnesses to prove his points. So, let’s see if we can follow Paul’s case here.
Read MoreAfter making his point that none of us are righteous in our own right before God, Paul concludes this chapter with a reminder about pride and identity. To boast means to rely on something that gives you confidence to do something or to behave in a certain way. It is the thing that makes you say: I am a somebody because I have that. I can do this because I am this. What you boast in usually becomes your identity and what you fundamentally rely on.
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In a way, this week’s passage is the climax Paul has been building up to. Chapter after chapter, Paul tries to get the reader to understand God is righteous but none of us are righteous; that the law makes sinners out of all of us. And honestly, it feels like a hopeless cause, a dead end, like we’re all doomed. “But” - that one word turns the tide. It’s the first word in verse 21 that transitions from Paul’s earlier point to this week’s lesson: how an unrighteous person can get access to the righteousness of God through faith.
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When Jesus opened the door for Gentiles to be numbered with the Jews as those who will one day receive an eternal inheritance, the New Testament Jews appeared to think they had a special advantage because they were Jewish. But in chapter 3, Paul attempts to level the playing field, reminding the Roman church that both Jews and Gentiles are sinners before God.
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Legalism in religion is a tale as old as time. When Jesus walked this earth, he would often engage in discussions with religious leaders who very publicly spoke of just how good they were at following religious rules. But Jesus came preaching something new: being justified by faith apart from works of the law (Romans 3:28).
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Growing up, I had a friend who always noticed other people’s noses. The reason was simple: she hated her nose, and so the first thing she noticed about anyone she met is their nose (usually in the context of how much better their nose was than her own). It might be a silly example, but to me, it illustrates what Apostle Paul is trying to point out in this week’s passage: judging others for the very things we ourselves do.
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Last week, we learned that Paul’s desire to visit Rome stemmed from his eagerness to preach the Gospel. New and mature Christians both often forget what exactly the Gospel is, so this week will be a good reminder for us on living by the Gospel and the fruit that it brings into the lives of believers.
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The first paragraph of Paul’s letter (v. 1-7) is essentially an outline of the book of Romans as Paul summarizes the Good News about Jesus Christ who (1) came as a human by natural descent, (2) was part of the Jewish royal line through David, (3) died and was raised from the dead, and (4) opened the door for God’s grace to be poured out on us.
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One of the cornerstones of Tirzah’s mission is to inspire and equip women to be rooted in God’s word. It is why every article on our website includes Scripture and why our shop is primarily focused on Bible study. As we start a new year, we wanted to try something new: a weekly Bible study series.
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Read on for an update on when we’re coming back with new content in 2021 and a round up of the top 10 most-read articles on TirzahMag.com in 2020.
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2020 has been quite the year for all of us. There is so much noise in the world right now - elections, COVID-19, lockdowns, economic downturns, speculation about the future. And for a while, I was allowing all of that to fill me. Not surprisingly, I found myself fighting waves of anxiety and finding comfort in distractions.
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The Sabbath day of rest was a big deal in the Old Testament - in multiple places in the Scriptures, God instructs the Israelites on the importance of taking the seventh day of the week off from all work. It was a sacred commandment, a sign between God and His people, that they may know that He is the who sanctifies them. But, how is that relevant for us today?
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It is said that a ship traveling even one degree off course can end up on a completely different continent. Traveling from San Francisco to L.A. one degree off will cause you to end up 6 miles off course, and from San Francisco to Washington D.C. would have you end up in Boston. One degree seems so trivial, but stay the course long enough, and you end up on a path to a completely different destination than you may have originally hoped.
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