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The word mercy is an interesting and somewhat diverse word. It is used in a variety of ways, but all of them have a common thread. Inasmuch as we have undertaken to examine the implications of the fact that God is the Father of mercies (2 Corinthians 1.3), it is certainly a worthwhile endeavor to try to understand the word at the heart of our studies.

Sometimes the word was used to seek physical blessings such as healing or the restoration of normal functions such as eyesight or hearing. For instance, a blind man repeatedly called out to Jesus and asked Him saying, “Have…  ( Click for more )

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Corinthians 1.3-4; this and all subsequent points of emphasis mine, jb).

With the text just cited, we begin a fifteen part miniseries treating the general subject of mercy with special emphasis on the fact that God is portrayed as the Father of mercies. The reader is invited to study along with…  ( Click for more )

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12.1).

Eleven intense chapters after setting forth the fact that God’s power to salvation was manifested through and only through the gospel, Paul made an emotional and a rational appeal for his brethren to offer themselves sacrificially in service to God. In as much as sin had infected each and every aspect of humanity, the sole means by which anyone could be saved from eternal destruction…  ( Click for more )

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! 'For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?' 'Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?' For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11.33-36).

Who has known the mind of he Lord? What human has had perfect understanding of God's ways, thoughts, and wisdom? What limited man can fathom the limitless depths of the Lord's capacities? To…  ( Click for more )

If we want the peace of God to guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4.7), it is our responsibility to enroll His services. We could always take our chances with a lesser service, but why would we; why not go to the very best?

Continuing from yesterday, there are four conditions to accepting God’s mental sentinel. Condition 1 is "…Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4.4). Condition 2 is to "…Let your gentleness be know to all men." (Philippians 4.5). Conditions 3,4 are as noted below. …  ( Click for more )

The signs come in all sizes and shapes. They are intended to deter would be intruders from entering the property of others to steal or destroy. "Warning! This property protected by (fill in the blank) Security Company." By paying the dues, anyone can procure such protection. What would it be worth to have God's sentinel guarding your most prized possessions? Paul gives four conditions under which He will do this. Read on to find out how to secure His services.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord…  ( Click for more )

We started this journey in Romans 11 where Paul affirmed that God was able to graft the Jews back in to the spiritual tree from which they had been broken off due to unbelief (See Romans 11.23). However, God's ability to bring them back to Himself was contingent upon their belief and continuance in the faith. From this thought springboard we proceeded to explore some things that God can do as well as some things that He cannot do. We close this miniseries with an extremely positive note as we examine one other affirmation about what God can do.

Paul wrote: “But this…  ( Click for more )

This miniseries about what God is able to do is relevant to every human being alive on our planet! However, the fact that I in particular am writing this series is also relevant. What enables me to write about or to know what God is able to do? Why should you believe anything I say about God, His character, or His actions? What special insight do I possess that would prompt anyone to even consider my thoughts on the matter?

First off, I disavow the possession of any privileged information, or any special insight into the heavenly realm that is not commonly available to anyone…  ( Click for more )

Have you ever heard someone way, “God can do anything”? Perhaps this type of comment comes from the fact that the Scriptures teach that God is all powerful. However, being all powerful does not imply that He can literally do anything. God has limitations! The difference between God's limitations and man's limitations is this: God's limitations are self imposed whereas man's limitations are imposed from without. This short miniseries will consider what God is able to do as well as what He is not able to do.

We begin our study by looking at one of the five biblical texts…  ( Click for more )

The core question is this: Does the requiring of action(s) on the part of a believer invalidate the principle of grace? Or to put it another way, can there be legitimate conditions to salvation without doing violence to the concept of grace? Or to ask it yet another way, if I must do something to obtain salvation, have I “worked for my salvation” and thereby made void the offer of grace? Today's devotional will look at selected phrases from Romans 11 and thereby provide a biblical response to the vital questions we have just posed.

Please note that the chapter under…  ( Click for more )

“I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, 'LORD, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life'? But what does the divine response say to him? 'I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.' Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant…  ( Click for more )

“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Ephesians 3.14).

The point of this devotional message is not to look at the things for which Paul prayed on this occasion. Rather, it is to look at the phrase “I bow my knees…” and some of the implications of this phrase. The point of the phrase is not to depict a sanctified position of prayer, but rather to indicate the sanctified attitude of prayer displayed by Paul. This does not deny that Paul literally bowed his knees in prayer, for that seems to be the case –…  ( Click for more )

Paul’s burden in Romans ten is to point out the problem which continued to block Israel from God’s many blessings, up to and even including salvation itself. They continued to seek to establish their own righteousness and allowed their knowledge of God’s righteousness to go unheeded. This problem lay at the root of the rest of their problems concerning God and salvation. Paul expands that point in the middle and latter verses of the chapter.

Perhaps some thought (as many today), that it was some spectacular personal accomplishment that would bring them into God’s…  ( Click for more )

Verb tenses say more than we frequently notice. In fact, sometimes the entire point of what God says can be missed by failing to notice such seemingly insignificant matters. Today's message extends that principle and demonstrates just how important it is in understanding and applying the Holy Scriptures to our lives. We begin by quoting Romans 10.5 from the King James Version: “For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, 'That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.'” (emphasis mine; jb). The American Standard Version substitutes the word…  ( Click for more )

Paul was not calloused in his message; rather, his heart was tremendously and perpetually affected by how Israel was reacting to the truth of the gospel. Read the following words and feel the pathos in them: “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.” (Romans 10.1-3).

If Paul's desire…  ( Click for more )

There was a fundamental truth that Israel according to the flesh had to accept in order to be saved, and it was Paul's intent to put that truth continually before them. In today's message, we will identify that fundamental truth, a truth which many reject yet today.

First, however, what do we mean when we speak of a fundamental truth? We do not mean what others assign to the term; we are capable of defining our terms and we ought to be extended that courtesy. A fundamental truth is one which must be accepted in order to proceed/progress. When a fundamental truth is neglected…  ( Click for more )

“I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart.” (Romans 9.1-2). With these words, Paul forms what A. T. Robertson calls a “triple oath.” Our focus today will be to examine this triple oath and the feelings that were behind such affirmations.

First, we turn our attention to the oath itself. “I tell the truth in Christ...” is Paul's affirmation of doctrinal purity; all that he had written before was true and incontrovertible. The…  ( Click for more )

Yes, I admit I like racing; I watch grown men turn left at breakneck speed lap, after lap, after lap. Maybe its my alter ego that compels me to lose myself in such things. Many a race, in fact the most exciting races, has been won in a photo-finish. In the 1959 Daytona 500, it took NASCAR officials three days to confirm that Lee Petty had edged out second place finisher Johnny Beauchamp by a scant two feet! For some old-time race fans, that “victory” is still disputed!”

The victory of which Paul wrote to close out Romans 8, is a victory of a very different…  ( Click for more )

Verb tenses - they say more sometimes than all the other words of a sentence. Such was the case when Paul affirmed, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8.38-39). In particular, we will look at the affirmation, “I am persuaded...”

The word persuaded simply means to be convinced, or to trust. But, our focus just now is on…  ( Click for more )

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.” (Romans 8.31-33; emphasis mine, jb).

The word “just” and its cousins (justify and justification) are not uncommon words in everyday usage. We talk about justifying margins on our word processor, or we speak of “justifiable homicide,” or we might say regarding an…  ( Click for more )

The word if isn’t always conditional; sometimes it affirms a rule. For instance, I might say, if we heat the water to 212 degrees Fahrenheit, it will start boiling. In this sentence and in the past tense, it has the same meaning as the word since. Since we heated the water to 212Fahrenheit, it started boiling. There is no maybe about it; the rule is preceded by the word if and it forms a positive affirmation of fact.

Paul was beyond the questioning stage when he wrote these lines: “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He…  ( Click for more )

Theology without an application is just so much palaver. Likewise, the gospel without application is not the gospel at all. It only becomes Good News when it is applied. This miniseries is about what I am styling as the ultimate application. Consider the following text, lengthy though it might be, and see if you don’t agree that this is THE gospel’s ultimate application.

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give…  ( Click for more )

And We Know (3 of 3)

We know what He will do because we know what He did! That is the crux of Paul's argument as he affirms that “...all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8.28). What did He do? He proved His love beyond all human expectations or potential! The proof that He yet works incessantly on our behalf lies in a knowledge of how He worked in the past!

I am convinced that God will labor just as hard for one soul as He will for a million. His love is without dimensions when it…  ( Click for more )

The past is, from a purely human viewpoint, the best predictor of the future. In the world in which we live, the future of things (such as housing sales, the weather, a baseball team's performance, entertainers, automobile reliability, human behavior, etc., etc.) that matter to us are predicted using the past.

The past is not a perfect predictor, but it is the best that we have. The disclaimer that appears on investment portfolios (“Past performance not a guarantee of future performance”) spells out in no uncertain terms the uncertainty of using the past to predict…  ( Click for more )