Passage
… through whom we received grace and apostleship into the
obedience of faith in all the Gentiles on behalf of His name – in whom you also
are commissioned of Jesus Christ.
Thoughts for Today
First Thought:
It is through Jesus Christ that we receive grace. Paul establishes this fact early and often in
the book of Romans. We are not saved by
our works. We do not do good things so
that God might smile upon us. We do not
earn our way into God’s favor. The
reality is that God is already smiling upon us.
He is already giving us grace. We
do good things because we have already received God’s grace. Ours is a response to a received gift, not an
attempt to earn it.
Do you think this is a difficult belief to live out? How often do you do things for God because
you are trying to earn His love? How can
this thinking lead you astray?
Second Thought:
Those who have embraced God’s grace also receive
apostleship. We are apostles – people sent
out – for the sake of bringing the Gentiles into the obedience of faith. Now, this does not mean we are responsible
for the actions of others. We can
present people with the good news, but we cannot make them listen or believe
it. But we are responsible for taking
this message out to the world. We are
responsible for at least making it available for other people to listen. We are sent for just such a purpose.
Are you an apostle?
If so, how are you sent out by Christ?
How are you bringing the message of God’s grace to the people around
you?
Third Thought:
Paul reminds us that we are also commissioned in
Christ. We go on behalf of the name of
Christ. We go as His delegation. The words we speak and the way we carry
ourselves in this world reflects upon what we believe Christ to be. When people see us as an ambassador, they
also take that and reflect it upon Christ.
Do you see yourself as a full time or a part time follower
of Jesus? Are you always following
Him? Are you always His ambassador? Are you mindful that you are commissioned under
His name in all that you do?
Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 1:7-8
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