you fill your mind with whatever is noble, right, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8)

This is one of the reasons Paul makes clear in Romans 4 that God had granted Abraham righteousness through

While this battle is brutal and unceasing, Romans 7 gives you peace for two reasons. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Romans 9

and his Spirit wash away my soul’s impurity, in other words, all my sins Summary In his letter to the Romans

Romans 2:5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against Romans 2:8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be

All who remain in him will die, but God sent a new Adam, one born of a woman, but yet not descended from

As Paul wrote to the Romans, if we have been united with Christ in a death like his, we shall also be

God's power is best experienced as you hear His Word preached. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 84 Q. How does preaching the gospel open and close the kingdom of heaven? A. According to the command of Christ: The kingdom of heaven is opened by proclaiming and publicly declaring to all believers, each and every one, that, as often as they accept the gospel promise in true faith, God, because of what Christ has done, truly forgives all their sins. The kingdom of heaven is closed, however, by proclaiming and publicly declaring to unbelievers and hypocrites that, as long as they do not repent, the anger of God and eternal condemnation rest on them. God’s judgment, both in this life and in the life to come, is based on this gospel testimony. Summary Verses 9-10 are a great example of how simply the gospel can be presented, and they're well worth memorizing: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. But your heart and mouth do not operate independently... well, they often do, but that usually doesn't turn out well because your brain is supposed to be in control. Salvation requires that mental connection as well. The Israelites were lost in sin because they first got lost intellectually. Paul writes that "Since they did not know the righteousness of God, they sought to establish their own (v3)." It makes sense that before a person can accept the gospel (good news), he must have some understanding of what the gospel entails: that Jesus is Lord, and that God raised him from the dead. In the entire course of human history, nobody has ever come to this conclusion on their own. Everyone who has received salvation received it after they were informed about it. Sometimes (but not very often) a person comes to understand the gospel as a result of her own independent study of scripture. The ordinary way that God brings salvation to people is through the preached proclamation of His Word. This is why Paul finishes this passage as he does in v14-15: BELIEF IN CHRIST requires HEARING ABOUT CHRIST which requires PREACHING which requires PREACHERS BE SENT OUT. Dig Deeper It's really good that you're taking the time to read God's Word for yourself. You need this in a big way, and it's such a shame that most people - most Christians, even - do not take the time to benefit from this simply daily discipline. God's Word is certainly powerful and transforming as you read it, but there's something different that adds even more power as you hear it proclaimed on the Lord's Day. The great reformer, John Calvin, mentions three big reasons you must regularly be present to hear the preached Word, even (especially) after you've believed in the gospel message: The preached Word is the very voice of God. When the preacher reads and explains the Bible, it's as if God is speaking directly to you; God is present in the preached Word. You may feel God's presence fishing on a peaceful lake or in some other happy place, but to truly experience the fullness of God's presence, come and listen to His Word being proclaimed. Preaching is the sceptre with which Christ rules all things. "Preaching is not only the sceptre by which Christ rules within His Church but also the sword in the hand of the Church by which, secretly and unknown even to itself, the Church rules or brings judgment amongst the nations." Calvin goes on to list five more benefits of preaching, so be assured that if you truly desire to experience the peace of Christ in your life, you need to faithfully hear the Word preached every Lord's Day. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who reveals Himself to us through His Word, which is to be publicly proclaimed; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that your zeal for God would be based on the true knowledge of the gospel; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 1 Corinthians 1

Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 28 Q. Summary There are many gospel assurances in the book of Romans and living by faith alone. In Romans 5, Paul weaves together the truth of salvation in Jesus through faith that is secure in the confident that God will make good on His promises and that nothing will separate us from his love (Rom. 8: In Romans 5, Paul assures us that our hope in God will not be put to shame and that we can even boast

Romans 9:10-24 (NIV) CONTEXT: We began this passage yesterday. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 8 In other words, it is Today: Romans 4