September 17- Romans 1:1-3

THE VERSE

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son.
~Romans 1:1-3

THE THOUGHT

If we take this opening of the book of Romans and collapse all the descriptive phrases down, something incredibly important emerges: “the gospel of God…concerning His Son.” The gospel—the good news of offered eternal life—is first and foremost “concerning His Son.”

Who or what is your gospel about? Some preach a prosperity gospel, a message of so-called good news about health and wealth and happiness promised to those who believe enough. Others preach a self-esteem gospel, a gospel that affirms our worth and value and teaches us how to be better people. And then there’s the social gospel—the Christian message distilled down to its humanitarian implications, where the important call to alleviate poverty and work for justice among the nations drowns out the essential call of repentance and faith.

All these competing messages are ultimately people’s attempts to make the gospel about something other than Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Some are distortions of the truth, others are outright lies, and some are incredibly important things that have replaced the absolutely essential things. But in every case, whenever something other than Jesus becomes the center of our good news, the true biblical gospel becomes obscured or lost, and the thing we put in the center becomes our idol. The biblical gospel is “the gospel of God concerning His Son.” What is your gospel about?

THE PRAYER

Lord, Forgive me for wandering away from Your Son, the center of all truth and beauty, to lesser things and for making them what I live for and love. Help me to keep Christ and His atoning death at the center of my theology and experience, and make me a messenger to take Your gospel to the world.

EXTENDED READING

Romans 1:1-6
1 Corinthians 2:1-5
1 Corinthians 15:1-4

THE QUOTE

“To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.” ~Karl Barth

THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR

Isaiah 44-45
Proverbs 26:17-28
Luke 23:32-37
Hebrews 10:1-18

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