Think Like a RomanSample

WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE?

This devotional, Think Like a Roman is all about renewing our minds in the book of Romans. Over the next four days, we’ll be going deeper in our understanding of doctrine relating to sin, salvation, and freedom in Christ. What we believe is essential to the way we live, to our growth, our walk with Christ and our future in Christ. What we believe will change the way we act. Paul, the author of Romans, always addresses our thoughts and theology before addressing the way we act. Our thoughts determine our beliefs, our beliefs determine our actions.

So, to better understand the book of Romans we want to read it as the intended audience would have; it is after all written to the Romans! People that loved order and structure, had multiple gods to choose from, and their society was built on class and divisions, where Caesar was their Lord and Saviour, the son of god. Paul is passionate in his writing and teaching to the Romans, showing that there is no class and order when it comes to sin. We all have sinned, and we all need a saviour. That saviour is Jesus Christ. We all get saved the same way through Christ and we all have the same benefits of salvation, freedom, and empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

The words “I am not ashamed of the gospel” in our reading today, mean that Paul glories in the gospel and counts it a high honour to proclaim it. For Paul it is one thing to believe the gospel: it is another in Rome, the metropolis of the world where Christians were being persecuted for preaching the gospel, risking their lives to preach it to strangers. The gospel is the power of God, to everyone who believes, and it is a joy to get to share the good news of Jesus.

As we journey through Romans, we are going to unpack the gospel: What do I believe in relation to sin, what do I believe in relation to salvation and what do I believe in relation to empowerment of the Holy Spirit? Knowing these things are essential to establishing our identity in Christ and establishing right-thinking, so we can act out of these and tell others about the good news of Jesus! So, get ready to have your beliefs stretched, challenged and renewed!

Prayer Point: Lord, as I read Romans over the next four days help me to see you in this book. Help me to know the power of the gospel in my life, how we were all sinners that needed a Saviour and that you came and died for our sins, for my sin, so that I can live a life free from sin, free from the law, and empowered by the Holy Spirit.