johnmarkharris.net

21 they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs. 22 What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; 24 take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law. 25 But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our judgment…

Once we become a Christian, that doesn’t mean that we completely throw out our past, we just allow God to remove those aspects of how we used to live that He chooses. Paul was a Jew, he was a Jew’s Jew. Paul can say with reference to the law he is a Pharisee speaking of his righteousness under the law, he is blameless. This interesting episode of these 4 young men taking a Nazarite vow, and Paul participating in this temple ritual, tells us that Paul continued to observe Old Testament rites and rituals. It is, however, important to note he didn’t do it out of obligation, nor did he prescribe this lifestyle for others. He did it so he would be free to share the gospel with Jews. Also, people with shaved heads area apparently more holy. 😉

On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered. And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted.

Every preacher struggles with the aspect of time. Week after week, there is so much more that probably should be said than can be said in 35-minutes. When I prepare for a Sunday sermon, the most time-consuming part of my process is cutting out what not to say, there is never a worry of filling the time. That’s because God’s word cannot be reduced down to one half-hour session per week. Even the Apostle Paul found this. The church was gathering on a Sunday and Paul was teaching them, and he didn’t stop. He preached on into the night. They didn’t have Children’s Church, so Eutychus fell asleep. Let this be a word of warning, fall asleep during a sermon, and you might die! 😉

Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

Notice how the Apostle Paul doesn’t leave out those who are with him. It is a group effort. He is seeking to sing their praises along with his encouragement of the church in Rome. He also had all different kinds of people with him, some were there as ‘co-workers’ and others were there helping him as family. Involve others when you do ministry, bring family, invite friends, serving the Lord is meant to be a community effort. Not like “group projects” in school where one person does all the work, but a genuine effort of everyone doing their part, and all working towards a common goal… more/better disciples.

We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself

To be a Christian is to put others first, that is to Love. It is expressly this love that Jesus said would be a hallmark of His followers. So, the only Christians who should seek to please themselves are the immature ones, the baby Christians. Is following Jesus about what I like, or is it about what is best to reach our neighbor, of their good, what will build them up? That’s a rhetorical question, I think most of us know the answer.

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

It is easy to suggest to yourself that our leaders in the government, whether local, state, or federal, are unjust people, therefore we don’t have to follow their rules. “Oh, taxes are unjust, so I’ll ‘fudge’ a little.” “Oh, it’s stilly that they make us…” We get caught in the trap of weighing the “greater good” of things… no, for the Christian it’s as simple as this, if there’s a law, we obey. As long as the government isn’t asking you to do something contrary to God’s divine commands, which are recorded in the Bible, then we subject ourselves to the governing authorities. Do we speed? Do we park in no parking zones? Do we declare all our income on our tax returns? Do we get all the proper permits and approvals before we remodel? “Who am I hurting if I don’t?” Were we utilitarian in our view of justice, that would be a valid argument, but we are not, we believe in retributive justice. Right is right, wrong is wrong. If this idea gets you down, begin to look into the kind of government Nero was the leader of when Paul wrote this chapter.