Week 12:
Day 1:
Week 12:
Day 1: 2 Corinthians 1-4
2 Corinthians (the 2nd
letter to the Corinthians in the Bible) was written between 55-57 A.D. So, it might have been written not too long
(no more than within a couple of years) of 1 Corinthians. It is reported that 2 Corinthians was the
fourth letter that Paul had written to the church at Corinth. Two of those letters have been lost. After 1 Corinthians, most of the believers
were responding positively. However,
there were some (false teachers) who were questioning Paul’s authority. This letter was written to address that
issue.
Day 2: 2 Corinthians 5-9
2 Corinthians 7:8-10 (NLT – New
Living Translation) says: “8 I am
not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first,
for I know it was painful to you for a little while. 9 Now I am glad I
sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and
change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so
you were not harmed by us in any way. 10 For the kind of sorrow God wants
us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no
regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance,
results in spiritual death.” In other
words, Paul was holding the Corinthians accountable for their behavior and he
told them so (in his 3rd official letter that has been lost). As Christians, we are to hold our brothers
and sisters accountable in a loving way (i.e., “speak the truth in love”) so
that we all grow further in our discipleship of Jesus. Sometimes it is hard for both parties; but we
are called to do it. This is one of the
purposes of a Life Transformation Group – to hold us accountable so that we all
keep “going on…”
Day 3: 2 Corinthians 10-13
In chapter 11, Paul stressed how
important it is to follow the Jesus that Paul preached, not a false teacher’s
view of Jesus. Paul accuses the
Corinthians of accepting the false teaching very easily. (11:4 (chapter 11, verse 4) He also says that he is going to keep contradicting
the false teaching. (11:12-13) We are called to do the same. We have to be on guard in these days as the
early Christians were then for false teaching – teaching that does not accept
Jesus for who He really is.
Day 4: Acts 20:1-3, Romans 1-3
In Acts 20:1-3, Paul is in
Macedonia and spent most of the time there in Corinth. While there, he wrote the letter to the Romans
in 57 A.D. Paul had never been to Rome
but other believers already had started a church there. The book of Romans is a letter to the church
there indicating that he hopes to visit Rome.
Romans is a letter addressing theological issues (relating to the study
of God) and talks about the meaning of faith, salvation, the relation between
Jews and Gentiles in Christ and provides some practical guidance for the
church.
In Romans, Paul is presenting his
case for the gospel as a lawyer would present a case in a court of law. In chapters 1 – 3, Paul makes the case that
everyone in humanity is lost. The
Gentiles are lost because they have an opportunity to see God in creation, but
don’t. The Jews are lost because they
complain about the sins of the Gentiles and they are doing the same things. “For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s
glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23 NLT) In other words, no one can follow the
Law. “But now God has shown us a
different way of being right in his sight – not by obeying the law but by the
way promised in the Scriptures long ago.”
(Romans 3:21, NLT) That way is
faith in Jesus!
Day 5: Romans 4-7
Chapter 4: Paul spends time documenting that Abraham was
credited as righteous because of his faith.
Because of our faith, we become part of Abraham’s descendants that will
inherit the promises God made to Abraham.
“Therefore, since we have been
made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what
Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.”
(Romans 5:1 NLT) Jesus’ sacrifice
on our behalf, taking our sins (past, present and future) to the cross brings
peace in our relationship with God – the peace that surpasses God’s wrath that
He has against sin. This happened before
we believed: “But God showed his great
love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:8 NLT)
Day 6: Romans 8-10
In
chapters 9 and 10, Paul is heartbroken that the Israelites (at least not all of
them) would be saved. The Israelites
were God’s chosen people, they were given the covenants, and they were given
the Law. The Jewish ancestors were
theirs and Christ descended from those ancestors. But it is not about obeying the Law (which no
one can). It is not about inheriting
salvation from your ancestors. It is
about having faith in what Christ did on the cross. He was our substitute and was punished on our
behalf for not obeying the Law. If we
have faith, we will be saved. “Because
if you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and in your heart you have faith
that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9 CEB) “There is no distinction between Jew and
Greek, because the same Lord is Lord of all, who gives richly to all who call
on him. All who call on the Lord’s name
will be saved.” (Romans 10:12-13 CEB) But to call on the Lord’s name, you have to
hear 1st. That is our job –
we are sent to spread the good news so that “they” will hear and “they” can be
saved!
Day 7: rest
