Romans 13:7 If you owe taxes, pay taxes. Governments provide many things worth paying for like roads, water and defense. But they can also be corrupt, wasteful and unfair. That is why some people resent paying taxes, and under-report their income. But the...
Romans 12:12 Be . . . faithful in prayer. Paul was a prayerful person, and wanted the church to be prayerful as well. Even back then, busy schedules and other priorities could crowd out prayer. So Paul called believers to be faithful in prayer. This...
Romans 12:1 [O]ffer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. Sacrifice was an important part of Old Testament worship, and a constant reminder of sin. But animal sacrifice came to an end with the death of Jesus Christ, because by...
Romans 9:20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God?nbsp; Having raised the idea of predestination, Paul anticipated his readers’ reaction and told them, in effect, to shut up. This is seldom a good argument, but in this case it is. If a squirrel...
Romans 8:26 We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. We can imagine Paul groaning under the burden of his ministry, as he sought to proclaim Christ to a world that did not want him. He may...
Romans 7:20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. This verse is so unusual, it hardly seems to belong in the Bible. If you stole money from your employer, and explained that it was not...
