1 Chronicles 12:19-14:17, Romans 1:1-17, Psalm 9:13-20, Proverbs 19:4-5
Today is the 12th day of July, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is wonderful to be here with you today, as we gather around the Global campfire and take the next step forward, on our adventure through the Scriptures this year. Our next step will lead us in the Old Testament back into the book of first Chronicles. And then, when we get to the New Testament, we’ll be moving into some new territory, like I was saying yesterday, even a new genre of literature, as we begin the book or letter of Romans. And we’ll talk about that and kind of get a little bit of a lay of the land, when we get there. But first, first Chronicles chapter 12 verse 19, through 14 verse 17.
Introduction to the Book of Romans:
Okay so, as we’ve talked about already, we’re moving into some new territory as we move into our New Testament reading for today. We will be reading from the book of Romans, and this leads us to essentially a new genre in the New Testament letters. Romans was a letter. In fact, most of what we know about Paul, we get from the letters that he wrote that are incorporated into the New Testament, taking up a very, very generous portion of the New Testament. Now here is the interesting thing, the letters of Paul, which an awful lot of scholars believe first Thessalonians is the first letter of Paul, preserved anyway, all of these letters predate the Gospels and the book of Acts, that we’ve just read. And so, the letters of Paul are the earliest Christian documents that we have. And so, the book of Acts, that we’ve just concluded, which chronicles the apostle Peter’s ministry and…and even in more detail chronicles the apostle Paul’s ministry, we’ll remember Paul is traveling all over the Roman Empire on these missionary journeys, he was communicating during that time and writing letters. And we have those. The book of Acts compiled the story of his missionary journeys later. But the book of Acts, indeed, gave us the story of how this Pharisee Saul who hated people who believed in Jesus, completely turned around, became the apostle Paul, and eventually died for his belief in Jesus. And his letters come in between those two points which would make the book of Romans, or the letter to the Romans, such a document. And in terms of its value and influence, the book of Romans, most scholars would agree, this is the most comprehensive work of the Apostle Paul and it lays out much of our theological understanding of what Jesus came to do and succeeded in doing and offered us what we would call the Good News. So much of our understanding about how this works, comes from the letter to the Romans. It’s likely, that Romans came from the time that Paul was in Corinth, where a church had been established and so much work had been accomplished there. And this is probably written somewhere in the mid-50s A.D., and this is a lengthy letter will Paul finish writing the letter, he sent a Deaconess, her name was Phoebe from the church in Contrai, which we are told, and Contrai was just outside of Corinth. And she was sent with letter in hand to hand deliver the letter and make an introduction of who Paul is, because although Paul planted a lot of churches all of the places that he went, he did not plant the church in Rome. It’s not exactly certain who planted the church in Rome, there’s lots of speculation about everything around any of these topics, but the speculation is probably…probably somebody or maybe a group of people had witnessed or been involved in or had heard closely about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in Jerusalem. Which from the book of Acts, we know why people were speaking in languages that the outsiders could hear, they were from all over the world, and they were hearing in their own native tongue worship to God. And so, this would have had an impact. In fact, it did have an impact were 3000 people believed in Jesus and so this begins to spread from there and makes its way to Rome. And one of the things we’ll continue to become clear to us is that, one of the main sticking points, one of the main reasons the gospel of Jesus, especially through the pen or lips of Paul and the apostles, was such a lightning rod that cause such strong outpouring of emotion and action, is because Paul believed that what Jesus had done invited the entire world to return to God and not just the chosen people, the Jewish people. That Gentiles were equally welcome at the table, as it were. And that distinction was a very, very difficult thing for the Jewish people to accept. It’s just that Paul wasn’t trying to create some kind of other religion the people needed to kind of deviate from the true religion. He was essentially saying that that’s not the point. The point is that God has made some choices and God has brought His people forward through the Jewish Messiah named Jesus, He fulfilled the law. But that was just the mountain too high for many to, to, to climb and cross and so riots and protests and stuff like this surround Paul because of this message. In Romans, Paul explains how he got there, like, how he arrived at what he was teaching, with the central question on people’s minds being how do you become righteous before God. So, Paul explained that Moses, the law of Moses, was good and perfect and given by God. But nobody could obey it perfectly and it would take obeying it perfectly to actually obey it perfectly to be made righteous before God. Nobody could do that but then Jesus did. And not only that, he also confirmed what the Pharisees believed that there is a resurrection from the dead and that’s a lynch pin for Paul, that Jesus rose from the dead, confirmed the direction he had been believing in all along, God raised someone from the dead. He raised Jesus from the dead, which makes Jesus an important figure. And so, Paul unpacks that for us in the book of Romans. And so, with that we begin a book, that’s, well, it’s the kind of book that you actually, really need to pay attention to because he says a lot in a short amount of time, it’s densely packed together. So, let’s begin, Romans chapter 1 verses one through 17.
Prayer:
Father, we thank You for Your word, we thank You for another day to gather together around the Scriptures and to fellowship with one another around the Global Campfire and we thank You for this new territory that we are entering into, as we begin to move through these letters of the apostle Paul. And Holy Spirit, come, speak to us clearly and deeply about our faith and what it represents. Lead us deeper and as we draw evermore new in intimacy with You, draw near to us, teach us, lead us into the truth. We pray, in the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.
Announcements:
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And that’s it for today, I’m Brian, I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here, tomorrow.
Prayer and Encouragements:
Hello DABers, this is Kate calling from Columbus, Ohio. I’m calling to pray or just to shout out. I think her name was One Can Be Saved. She was talking about all the many sins that she’s done. And when I heard, I just started saying it for her like, devil, you have no power over her anymore. She put everything out in the open so you can’t taunt her with it, you can’t make her think that she’s less than or she’s the only one doing it or nobody knows, it’s in the open. You have no victory over that anymore. So, I’m strengthening you. I’m saying bravo to you. Rest in the Lord for He is great and there is no greater place, than to be resting in the arms of Jesus. He heard your cries; He hears you now. He is restoring you and renewing your faith in Him. And He’s blessing you beyond compare. Stay at the foot of Jesus and watch to see the miracles, the signs and wonders He’s gonna do through you and in you because you want to be faithful. So you will be faithful. God bless her and cover everywhere she goes, that she would touch people’s lives, unknowingly and knowingly. That they come back and say thank you for being a witness, thank you for being so transparent. I needed help; you were there. God bless her. God bless everyone. Thank you, Brian and the Hardin family, you’re amazing.
Hi their DAB family. I’ve been listening to DAB for many years, and I just feel it’s time for me to express my gratitude to Brian. I appreciate so much and what he has to say every day, along with the Bible reading that I find so very helpful. And also, thank you to all of those that call in and pray and show so much love for each other and it just left me in tears today and I’m so grateful for this beautiful family of God, it’s a taste of heaven. And there’s been so many prayers answered, so much love, the love of God in this community. And I’m so grateful and just send you all my love and thanks to God for each of you and for Brian and Jill and this community. Bye for now.
Hi DAB, it’s Belle from Colorado. Could you please pray for me? I’ve been going through a lot of ups and downs. When something is out of my control, I run away from the problem, instead of facing it. When I realize my mistake, I sulk instead of facing it. I eventually deal with it but I’ve wasted a ton of time and energy and then I do it all again the next day. So, I would like your prayers to get out of this cycle. Thanks guys. And know that I am praying for all of you too. And thanks Brian for this really cool app.
Hi everyone, Daily Audio Bible. This is Julie from the UK, it’s been a good year since I last called in. And I thank everybody that prayed for me. I was so __ by anxiety. But I do listen every day and I pray for so many people on here. I’d just like to pray for Katie, who’s suffering with anxiety really, really bad and it’s really affecting her life. And I know exactly how that feels. And I pray for you often, Katie and I pray that you’ll get relief from this horrible, debilitating state. And also, there’s a gentleman who was asking for prayer for his daughter, who was also suffering from anxiety and depression. It’s so debilitating and really impacting the lives. I did get a little bit better for a while but not fully. And I’m really, really bad again at the moment. So, I ask people if they’ll pray for me again. To relieve me from this anxiety and depression and acrophobia. These tears that I cry every day. Some days are a little better. But some days are just so bad and I’m so down. And I just want to get well so I can reach out and open some kind of hope at the local church where people with mental health issues could pop in and get support and get people to collect them because I know how difficult it is to get out and about and be around people that will pray for you. So, I ask for your prayers everybody. Thank you.
Hey DAB family, it’s Leeza from the West Coast. I also realized I don’t think I ever put this on the Prayer Wall that I go by Philippians 4:6 because that verse has really helped me get through a lot of life. Anyway, I have been really struggling recently. I feel like, just all the trauma/triggers I’ve had, have been kind of resurfacing all at once, in all areas of my life, from my friendships to dating and to my job search and just a really unhealthy toxic work environment and I can really use your prayers. I feel like I’m just really struggling to remember that God loves me and through that also just that anyone could love me. I have really great amazing friends, but I feel like, I’ve just been pushing people away by feeling like I’m too much and that I’m not good enough. And I know that’s the enemy, really just making me feel insignificant as if I don’t believe that God is there or loves me. But it’s really hard when it’s day in and day out, the same things keep happening. So, I could just really use your prayers that God is with me and just shows me His love and forgiveness and just surrounds me with a sense of community. People that love me even when I don’t show up as my best self. And even when I’m really triggered, and I act in a way that’s not necessarily logical for others. I really appreciate your prayers and I pray for all of you every day. I’m really thankful for the DAB family, just the community that I found here. Thank you.