May 18, 2011 – Romans 8

There is lot here and that we could talk about. As I was reading it, different thoughts about what to talk about came to mind. Many things we have already talked about such, as infant baptism, faith alone, predestination. As I was reading and I couldn't think of anything new to really say about any of those topics. I was basically just thinking of how to use the Scripture readings to continue my same thoughts on those topics or to make them a little more persuasive. But I don't want to continue to talk about the same things over and over again. Not sure if that does me or anybody actually reading this any good. So what is something new I can talk about.

If God is for us who can be against us. That should instill in us all the confidence in the world, yet we look around at the world we live and it's hard to feel that confidence. If you tried to live a Christian life, a good strong moral life, the world is completely against you. So this question about it who can be against you, it appears everything is against you. What are we supposed to take from this line, how are we supposed to live with this confidence when everything we look at it appears to negated it? I know it is talking about not having the fear of evil, the idea of that good is already one, the Christ has already conquered death, that salvation is available for us if we choose it. But that doesn't make it any easier to fight against the world around us and the actions undertaken against those that try to live a Christian life.

I think it is also a question as to what the world is doing. When you look of the secular world, the atheist, there is such a lack of God in what we see every day. It becomes a question of " what are they thinking " because if God is for you who could be against you, the flip side of that is if you're not for God who can be with you. It was just in the paper recently about Stephen Hawkins and his understandings of God being a fairy tale and anybody that believes in God is afraid of the dark. I really don't understand that notion because it is due to my belief in God and my closeness to him that I'm not afraid of the dark. When I was further away from God is when I was most fearful of the dark, of the unknown. This chapter talks about hope and how it is so important for our salvation. I just question where people who don't believe in God find their hope. How they can live without hope.

And just briefly, because Paul does mention the importance of having hope, I think that supports my understanding that he's writing this chapter not in support of faith alone, but in support of not law alone. Because he stresses in this chapter that hope is essential as well.