Category: Romans

Posted in John, Psalms, Romans

Natural Disasters

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.” Romans 8:20-22

As we witness earthquakes, volcanoes, and hurricanes around the world,  the age old question arises: Is this an act of God? Was this somehow God judging people for not responding to the gospel? Or maybe His way of preparing them for the gospel? We know God could have stopped the disaster, but did He intentionally plan it? Or was this an act of Satan? Do demonic forces somehow have the power to bring about disasters according to their mission statement of “kill, steal, and destroy?” (John 10:10)

I believe it’s neither God or the devil, but a result of the curse which came on this earth when Adam and Eve sinned. In nature we see evidence of the beauty of our God, but also evidence of the ravages of the fall. Very similar to what we see in mankind.

Although neither God nor Satan directly causes disasters, in my opinion, both kingdoms are very active in the aftermath. Darkness will use tragedy in human minds as proof that God doesn’t love them, or that God doesn’t exist at all. It will try to bring despair, survivor’s guilt, bitterness, etc., anything to lead precious people who Jesus died for away from the help only He can bring.

What is God doing? “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18) Notice it doesn’t say, “Close to the brokenhearted if they’re Christians,” or “if they’re praying.” He is unconditionally close to the brokenhearted whether or not they even believe in Him. He is speaking gently to hearts about His love; He is bringing comfort beyond comprehension; He is raising up individuals and governments to help; and yes, He will use tragedy to show people that they can’t put their trust in anything man builds or guarantees.

One day soon Jesus will not only liberate the children of God from their sin nature, He will remove the curse from creation itself, and then the lion will lay with the lamb.

Posted in 2Chronicles, John, Romans

Let’s Talk about Politics

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” John 18:36

“You would have no power over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” John 19:11

In our texts above we see that there are two kingdoms – the kingdom of God and the kingdom of man. Jesus says that the kingdom of God is from another place and that it does not advance with physical force at the present time. The kingdom of God isn’t here to overthrow governments; it’s here to change hearts. “The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17) Only the kingdom of God can bring real hope and change to a human being.

But God is also over the kingdom of man, so Pilate is assured that he would have no authority to judge if it wasn’t given to him from above. Paul says: “The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently he who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong…For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” (Romans 13:2-5) Because of the power and possibility of sin, God has appointed civil government to limit the evil man is able to do while on this earth.

The kingdom of God alone can redeem; the kingdom of man can only restrain. If we don’t believe in redemption, we tend to see government as the solution for all mankind’s problems. For Democrats the answer usually means more government involvement, and for the Republicans, less. When problems continue there is a lot of time spent blaming each other because “if there was only more”, or “if there was only less”, things would get better.

I don’t think God is looking at Democrats or Republicans to turn America around; He’s looking at His people, the church. “If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2Chronicles 7:14)

Posted in Romans

The Great Designer

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and Divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.” Romans 1:20

C.S. Lewis tells about a man who stumbles over a watch in the middle of a desert. Where did it come from? He didn’t see anyone leave it there and no footprints are visible around it in any direction. There are no video tapes of what happened beforehand, and there is no scientific experiment that can be run to test why this watch appeared. Any explanation concerning this watch will have to be based on faith.

The man examines the watch more carefully. The metal band is elastic and can be stretched so that it fits snugly on the wrist. There is a plastic, clear covering that appears to be designed to protect the face of the watch. There are ordered numbers going around in a perfect circle and three hands pointing to different numbers. Hold it! One of them is moving – this object is ticking!

Here are the two faith explanations available to our man. One is that the watch is the result of a designer and has been left here by someone. The other is that over an immense period of time the sand blew together in such a way to form the band, face, and plastic covering of the watch. In a freak accident, numbers were etched on the face, remarkably in order, and by some natural stimulus (who knows what it could be), it started ticking all by itself. The appearance of design is deceiving because it is the result of nothing more than time and chance.

Both of these are faith explanations, but I submit, one of them is much easier to believe than the other. Our universe is so clearly designed at so many levels, it is incredible to me that anyone can believe it is only the result of random coincidences over a long period of time.

Posted in Romans

Science Proving God

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and Divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made.” Romans 1:20

On December 26, 2014, the Wall Street Journal ran an article called: “Science Increasingly Makes the Case for God,” by Eric Metaxas. The article tells of Carl Sagan’s original announcement in the 1960s that there were two important factors for a planet to support life: The right kind of star, and a planet the right distance from that star. With this easily attainable goal in a universe as vast as ours, there was a project put together with both public and private funds called: “Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence” (SETI).

The enthusiasm to find life on other planets has diminished since then as scientists have discovered that there aren’t just two factors necessary for life on a planet; there’s actually more than two hundred. The probability of life existing on any planet, including ours, turns out to be zero. I will now go to direct excerpts from the article:

Metaxas writes: “As factors continued to be discovered, the number of possible planets (that could sustain life) hit zero, and kept going. In other words, the odds turned against any planet in the universe supporting life, including this one. Probability said that even we shouldn’t be here. Today there are more than 200 known parameters necessary for a planet to support life – every single one of which must be perfectly met, or the whole thing falls apart.”

“Theoretical physicist Paul Davies has said that ‘the appearance of design is overwhelming’ and Oxford professor Dr. John Lennox has said ‘the more we get to know about our universe, the more the hypothesis that there is a Creator gains credibility as the best explanation of why we are here.’”

God is speaking through creation about His own existence. It turns out that it takes more faith to believe He doesn’t exist than to believe He does.

Posted in 1Peter, Romans

What are You Wearing?

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.” Romans 13:14

Just because you have a new outfit in your closet doesn’t mean that you chose to put it on today. When we accept Christ into our hearts God gives us a new nature, but He doesn’t remove the old one. Christians have the ability to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ,” or to not put Him on. When we don’t put Him on we live governed by the same appetites, desires, fears, manipulations, and agendas that those in the world function under every day. Our lives become, “the survival of the fittest,” with a little God added on here and there.

But when we get up in the morning and put on the Lord Jesus, our new nature responds and transformation occurs, little by little, from glory to glory, until those around us can sense something different about us. It’s not just reflected in what we do but in who we are. They begin to smell the fragrance of His life in us even as we go about our daily responsibilities.

So what does it mean to put Him on? First, it means to die to self. When Paul said he, “died daily,” he was referring to dying to the carnal nature. Before you put on a new outfit you take off the old one. We have to do it every day because we won’t lose the old nature until heaven. Second, it means to choose an attitude that puts God first instead of self. Humility instead of pride, loving instead of competing, praying instead of presuming, serving instead of consuming, and thanking God for what’s good instead of whining about what’s bad.

We can’t produce any of these on our own, but we can choose an attitude that activates the new nature inside of us. In Christ, you have become a partaker in the divine nature (2Peter 1:4), so that what is easy for God can eventually become easy for you and me. We must practice putting on the Lord Jesus. The world around us rarely gets a glimpse of Christ even from those who call themselves Christians, so our lives stick out like a brand new outfit when we truly put Him on. Peter wrote: “Be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you.” (1Peter 3:15) When they see Him, they will ask.

Posted in Colossians, John, Philippians, Romans

Living from Victory

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Very soon the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet.” Romans 16:20

From God’s perspective, darkness has already been defeated through Christ’s triumph on the cross. (Colossians 2:15)  Jesus is not at war with Satan; He’s already won the war and now, through the gospel, is inviting us to live from His victory.

The key is walking in peace. We must first acquire the peace of God, and then we must learn to walk in the peace of God. When we do this, we become like a thermostat in our environment. “Very soon . . .” the darkness around us is crushed as the kingdom of God and Christ’s victory permeate the atmosphere we bring Christ’s peace to. Notice from the text, Satan will be crushed – his work, his plans, his voice – under our feet. Jesus wants us to share His victory.

So how does one get the peace of God? It starts with salvation where God offers us peace with Him through the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins on the cross. (Romans 5:1)  Once we are saved, we have continual access to God through Christ and have peace available to us if we give our anxieties to God in prayer. “Be anxious for nothing but in everything make your requests known to God with thanksgiving, and the peace of God which transcends understanding will guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

Getting peace is easier than walking in peace. How does one stay in peace in a world that creates so much uncertainty, fear, and anxiety? I believe the key is in the verse before our text in Romans 16 and in the verse following the reference in Philippians. Notice how similar they are: “I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.” (Romans 16:19) “Brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things… And the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9)

To stay in peace, we have to keep ourselves from focusing on evil and on what evil is doing.  When we focus on darkness we end up empowering it. Jesus focused on what the Father was doing and saying (John 5:19); to walk in peace we need to do the same.

If we lose our peace, all we have to do is bring our anxieties back to God and He will restore it again. Let’s practice living from victory until it becomes our lifestyle!

Posted in 1John, Acts, Matthew, Romans

Overreaching

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed…We who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” Romans 8:19; 23

My favorite board game is called Ticket to Ride. It involves “tickets” you choose to keep or throw away based on whether you think you can build the trains necessary to connect the two cities listed on the card; it’s all about risk and reward. The problem, of course, is that if you overreach and take a ticket you can’t fulfill, it counts against you in the end. You can be having a great game but then, in a moment of presumption, overreach in a way that causes you to lose in the end.

Overreaching in preaching leads people to disillusionment. Some very zealous teachers today believe that this is the time that the sons of God are going to be fully revealed and begin to remove the curse on creation. As we walk in our full authority, they maintain, everything will change for the better on this earth.

While it is critically important for us to know our identity in Christ, the event creation is longing for only occurs at the return of Christ where our adoption is completed and our bodies are redeemed. The full manifestation of the sons of God happens at the second coming; not in this present age. John said it like this: “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.” (1John 3:2)

Right now we groan with all of creation and the Holy Spirit within us also groans (Romans 8:26-27) because things aren’t right yet and they won’t be until Jesus comes back. Life in this present age is hard, but God is still good. When Jesus described the time we’re now living in He said the wind and the waves were going to hit every life. He promised that those who obeyed His words would survive the storms, not be saved from them ever happening. (Matthew 7:24-27)

I love it when people are excited about Jesus, but we never have permission to overstate what we have been promised. No matter how much we may like a preacher, we have a responsibility to judge all that we hear by what the Word of God actually says. (Acts 17:11)

Posted in Acts, Romans

Civil Authority

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves… Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.” Romans 13:1-2; 5

Civil authority was God’s idea, not man’s. To be a good citizen of heaven and a pleasing child of God, we must also aim to be a good citizen of whatever country we live in.

Our goal is not just to stay out of the trouble that comes when we break the law, but to keep a clear conscience before God. We honor positions of civil authority because God established them to restrain evil in this present time. To honor civil authorities, therefore, is part of honoring God.

But our duty to civil government goes beyond blind obedience. Conscience limits us when government asks us to do something that is against God’s commands. When this happens, we appeal with honor toward them, and if they still will not relent, we must disobey and be willing to suffer the penalty.

This is what happened in Acts 4. Civil authority commanded the apostles to stop speaking in Jesus Name (Acts 4:17), but this was in contradiction to Christ’s command to go into the whole world and preach the gospel. Here was Peter and John’s response: “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen or heard.” (Acts 4:19-20)

For Jesus’ sake we should be model citizens of America. We should pay taxes, we should stay within the limits of the law, and we should pray for all who are in positions of authority. Yet if the government in the future makes laws that force us to disobey God, it will be our duty to follow God, not men.

All over the world we have brothers and sisters who are being persecuted and martyred for just this reason. Let’s pray for them, thank God for the freedom we enjoy in America, and continue to pray for all those in authority.

Posted in Genesis, Isaiah, Romans

Reexamining Our Faith

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Did God really say?” Genesis 3:1

The first attack of the enemy was not to question the existence of God, but the word of God. So it is today. The Word of God is being questioned and challenged at every level. This is a sobering time for the church in this country which should cause all Christians to pause and reexamine their own faith. Here are three questions we should ask ourselves:

  1. Am I really a Christian? Do I believe the Word of God as it is or have I twisted it to say something it doesn’t say? The enemy followed up the question above with a promise: “You will surely not die.” (Genesis 3:4) If we don’t really believe the wages of sin is death, I don’t think we will see our need to receive the gift of eternal life. If we don’t really believe in sin, why would we need forgiveness?
  2. Do I fear God? We can live in the fear of God and change our thinking to embrace His ways, or we can rebel against His commands and make a new god in our own image. Paul says we are to “behold the kindness and severity of God.” (Romans 11:22) Have we done this, or have we tamed God and made Him something He isn’t?
  3. Am I willing to be persecuted for my faith? Am I willing to go against the grain? Am I willing to be mocked and laughed at or put in prison for my faith? The late missionary, Elizabeth Elliott, said this in her journal: “If something isn’t worth dying for, it isn’t worth living for.” Am I willing to die for my faith?

This is not a time for Christians to become afraid; it’s time for us to shine. It’s not a time for us to be angry because America isn’t Christian; it’s time to wake up ourselves and make sure we’re Christians. Isaiah 60:1-3 says: “Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and His glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” This is to be the church’s greatest hour.

Posted in Romans

God’s Heart for Israel – Part One

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery-so that you will not be wise in your own estimation-that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved…from the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” Romans 11:25; 28-29

The Larson’s had a prosperous farm in the early 1920’s and were thrilled with their first born son, Bobby. Seven years after Bobby’s birth they welcomed four more children, one after another, and then the depression hit. Bobby was not able to go to high school because he had to help his Dad on the farm to make ends meet. Because of his sacrifice, the other kids were all able to stay in school and prospered greatly. When World War II came, Bobby had to go off to war and when he came back, something had changed in him.

He had a bad attitude and became violent at times. His Dad warned him again and again that to be in this house there were rules that had to be followed, but Bobby persisted in his rebellion. It finally came to a head one day when Bobby, in the midst of one of his tantrums, hit his mom in the face and made her bleed. His Dad then told him to leave. Bobby left angry and promised to never return.

Years went past and the four younger siblings developed different attitudes toward Bobby. One felt that Dad and Mom were still angry and holding a grudge against Bobby; one felt that Dad and Mom had completely forgotten Bobby in the joy of the children that remained; and one, although aware that Dad and Mom were still sending money anonymously to Bobby, felt that it didn’t involve him.

The last child knew that losing Bobby had broken Dad and Mom’s heart and that they would never feel the family was whole until Bobby returned. He would find Dad and Mom praying for Bobby with tears, and would often join them in prayer as well as do whatever he could to reach out to him even though Bobby still claimed he wanted nothing to do with the family.

Israel was God’s first chosen family. He hasn’t forgotten them anymore than Bobby’s parents had forgotten Bobby. Pray for Israel.