Romans 13;1&2 1.  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.2.  Therefore, he who resists the authorities, resist what God has appointed, and those who resist will encourage judgment. Luther teaches that all earthly authority...

Romans 12;12-21 12.  Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.13.  Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality.14.  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.15.  Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.16.  Live in Harmony with one another;...

Romans 12;9-11 9.  Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;10.  love one another with brotherly affection;  outdo one another in showing honor.  11.  Never flag in zeal, be a glow with the Spirit, serve the Lord.  What an amazing and wondrous little word: “let.” It means, ‘allow’ or...

Romans 12;6-8 6.  Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith;7.  if service, in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching;8.  he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who contributes, in liberality; he who gives aid,...

Romans 12;3-5 3.  For by the grace given to me I bid everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to you think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith which God has assigned him.4.  For as in one body,...

Remans 12;2 2.  Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. The world ‘presses,’ ‘pressures,’ ‘crushes’ us to outwardly be like itself.The living Word of God internally...

Romans 12;1 1.  I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living, sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. What are, “the mercies of God”?This is best understood to be read, “I appeal to you brethren, ‘in view of...

Romans 11;25-36 Today’s reading is by necessity rather lengthy.  That is because it encapsulates and sums up the mystery of the ‘New Israel.’  Those born of water and Spirit, not of the flesh.  This New Israel is made up of both Jews and Gentile Believers.  Somehow, in God’s mysterious plan, the Lord...

Romans 11;22-24 22.  Note then the kindness and severity of God: severity towards those who have fallen, but God‘s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off. This verse reminds us of how Luther in the Small Catechism, begins the explanation of the meaning of each...

Romans 11;17-21 17.  But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the richness of the olive tree,18.  do not boast over the branches.  If you boast, remember it is not you that support the root, but the root that supports...

Romans 11;15&16 15.  For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?16.  If the dough offered as first fruits is holy, so is the whole lump; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. God’s divine selection of Abram...

Romans 11;11-14 11.  So I ask, have they stumbled so as to fall? By no means! But through their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel, jealous.12.  Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how...

Romans 11;7-10 7.  What then? Israel failed to obtain what it sought. The Elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened,8.  as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that should not see and ears that should not hear, down to this very day.”9.  And David says, “Let...

Romans 11;1-6 1.  I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendent of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.2.  God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with...

Romans 10;18-21 18.  But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have; for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.”19.  Again, I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are...

Romans 10;16&17 16.  But they have not all heeded the gospel; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”17.  So Faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ. This is the ‘batteries included’ passage.   For as the Gospel of Christ is...

Romans 10;14&15 14.  But how are men to call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?15.  And how can men preach unless they are sent? As it is...

Romans 10;11-13 11.  The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.”12.  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and bestows his riches upon all who call upon him.13.  For, “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will...

Romans 10;10 10.  For a man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved. This verse is often misunderstood as justifying the false teaching of ‘synergistic salvation.’ This false teaching says, ‘Salvation is the result of both God and man.God gives or works faith in...

Romans 10;5-9 5.  Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on the law shall live by it.6.  But the righteousness based on faith says, Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is to bring Christ down) 7.  or ‘Who will descend into...

Romans 10;3&4 3.  For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4.  For Christ is the end of the law, that everyone who has faith may be justified. There is no true righteousness apart from God’s own righteousness.To...

Romans 10;1&2 1.  Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.2.  I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but it is not enlightened. “The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and...

Romans 32b & 33 32a.  Why? Because they did not pursue it through Faith, but as if it were based on works.32b.   They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,33.    As it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone that will make men stumble, a rock that...

Romans 9;30-32a 30.  What shall we say, then?  The Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith;31.  But that Israel who pursued the righteousness which is based on law, did not succeed in fulfilling that law.32.a. Why? Because they did not pursue it through faith,...

Romans 9;25-29 25.  As indeed he says, in Hosea, “Those who were not my people, I will call ‘My people,’ and her who was not beloved. I will call ‘My beloved.’”26.  “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ They will be called...

Romans 9;19-24 19.  You will say to me then,  “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?”20.  But who are you, a man, to answer back to God?  Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me thus?”21.  Has the potter no right...

Romans 9;14-18 14.  What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means!15.  For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16.  So it depends not upon man’s will or exertion, but upon...

Romans 9;9-13 9.  For this is what the promise said, “About this time I will return and Sarah shall have a son.”10.  And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac,11.  though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good...

Romans 9;6-8 6.  But it is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel,7.  and not all are children of Abraham because they are his descendants; but “Through Isaac shall your descendants be named.”8.  This means that it is not the children...

Romans 9;3-5 3.  For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen by race.4.  They are Israelites, and to them belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises;5.  to...

Romans 9;1&2 1.  I am speaking the truth in Christ, I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit,2.  that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. Because the love of God has been poured into our hearts, and also because Christ by the Holy...