Sunday Morning Greek Blog

December 21, 2022

SMGB Indices

Filed under: Greek — Scott Stocking @ 7:26 am
Tags: , , , , , ,

This is a “Site Map” of sorts for my more popular posts.

Follow and communicate with me on Facebook: Sunday Morning Greek Blog (FB)

IMPORTANT NOTE: I’ve now added an e-mail option to the blog so you can contact me directly. scott.stocking@sundaymorninggreekblog.com.

NOTE: Scroll down past this post to see the latest articles.

2025 Summary

The year of our Lord 2025 was a great year for the Sunday Morning Greek Blog. Views continue to increase year over year, so I’m grateful for that. While my viral math post views have dropped significantly this year, readers more than compensated for that by viewing more Bible posts. My message “Jesus the Good Shepherd” from 2022 showed up repeatedly as source in some search engines’ AI summaries of the topic, which boosted views on that article enough to put it in the top 10 posts for 2025.

Toward the end of the year, I signed up for the Google Console to try to learn more about how you are finding my material. However, I also noticed a significant dip in traffic around the same time. I’m thinking that may have been a mistake. If anyone out there has experience with that, let me know. Ostensibly I did that so I could increase traffic, but I think it may be downgrading me on the searches, even though I think my SEO skills are pretty good. My church used my posts on John’s gospel for its church-wide small-group Bible studies this past fall. Romans is up next for this spring, and I’ve been invited to kick off that study to the small groups in February.

Peace to all and Happy New Year! Thank you for reading.

PS: Look for a couple posts in the near future about our family trip to Poland and Prague over the Christmas holiday.

Romans

Gospel of John

Top 10 Bible Posts 2025

  1. Speaking in Tongues (γλῶσσα glōssa, 1 Corinthians 12–14)
  2. “Bones” in the Bible: Why I Do NOT Want to Be Cremated at Death
  3. Helmet of Salvation (Isaiah 59:17, Ephesians 6:17)
  4. “Falling Away” (παραπίπτω parapiptō) in Hebrews 6:6
  5. The Temple of Artemis of the Ephesians as Background for Understanding 1 Timothy 2
  6. “Seer” in Old Testament: A Hebrew Word Study
  7. Indignant Jesus: The Variant Reading of Mark 1:41 (NIV & TNIV)
  8. “I Am the Way and the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6)
  9. Take Heart! (θαρσέω tharseō, Matthew 9:2, 22)
  10. Jesus, the Good Shepherd (John 10:22–30)

Trending Up in 2025

Diversity Statement

  • English: You may comment on any blog post in your preferred language, even one not listed here. I’ll use a translation program to convert to English.
  • India (Hindi): आप अपनी पसंदीदा भाषा में टिप्पणी कर सकते हैं।
  • Poland (Polish): Możesz komentować w swoim preferowanym języku.
  • Philippines (Filipino): Maaari kang magkomento sa iyong gustong wika.
  • Indonesia (Indonesian): Anda dapat berkomentar dalam bahasa pilihan Anda.
  • South Africa (Zulu): Ungaphawula ngolimi lwakho olukhethayo.
  • Germany (German): Sie können in Ihrer bevorzugten Sprache kommentieren.
  • Spain (Spanish): Puede comentar en su idioma preferido.
  • Brazil (Portuguese): Você pode comentar no seu idioma preferido.
  • Norway (Norwegian): Du kan kommentere på ditt foretrukne språk.
  • China (Mandarin): 您可以用您喜欢的语言发表评论。
  • Korea (Korean): 선호하는 언어로 댓글을 달 수 있습니다.
  • France (French): Vous pouvez commenter dans votre langue préférée.
  • Saudi Arabia (Arabic): يمكنك التعليق بلغتك المفضلة.
  • Swahili: Unaweza kutoa maoni kwa lugha unayoipendelea.

In late April 2023, I published a post on a non-Bible topic analyzing an oft-debated viral equation that is poorly understood. At the end of June of that year, the post went viral and has continued to dominate the top spot representing about half the views to my blog in the past two years. It is my most-viewed post of all time in the blog’s 14-year history. I have written several other blog posts on the subject and have made three videos for the Rumble platform. I list all the articles and videos here in reverse chronological order along with the dates they were published.

Top Non-Bible Topic Posts

  1. Stocking’s Order: 2(2 + 2) as a Singular Semantic Element July 5, 2025
  2. 8 ÷ 2(2 + 2) = 1: End the Ambiguity! Make a Rule!
  3. 8 ÷ 2(2 + 2) = 1: A Discussion with ChatGPT on the Implications of Juxtaposition in Mathematics March 23, 2025
  4. Stocking’s Order: Juxtapositional Grouping Is Foundational (Rumble Video) March 7, 2025
  5. Stocking’s Order: Implicit Constructions Correct the Misapplication of Order of Operations February 23, 2025
  6. Stocking’s Order; or Why 8 ÷ 2(2 + 2) = 1 (Rumble Video) Late December 2024
  7. The correct way to solve viral math expressions. (Rumble Video) Early December 2024.
  8. The PEMDAS Chronicles: Confronting Social Media Ignorance of PEMDAS’s Theoretical Foundation April 1, 2024
  9. 8 ÷ 2(2 + 2) = 1, Part 2: A Defense of the Linguistic Argument March 16, 2024
  10. Toward an “Active” PEMDAS: Strengthening Its Theoretical Foundation May 29, 2023
  11. 8 ÷ 2(2 + 2) = 1: Why PEMDAS Alone Is Not Enough April 28, 2023

Other All-Time Top Posts

Baptism and Forgiveness

Intersection With Cultural Issues

September 22, 2026

Calling All Harvesters: Matthew 20:1–16

Filed under: Biblical Studies,Evangelism,Matthew Gospel of — Scott Stocking @ 3:51 pm
Tags: , , , ,

I presented this message on September 20, 2026, at Mount View Presbyterian Church in Omaha, Nebraska.

A friend of mine recently retired after spending some thirty years with the same mom-and-pop manufacturing company. He knew everything there was to know about the company, including all the computer system set-up and what the machines needed with respect to maintenance and upgrades. He was the owner’s right-hand man. He did his best to train his replacement, but as you might imagine, it’s hard to replace someone like that.

He’s told me that they’ve called him a couple times after his retirement to help with different things where he may have had some historical knowledge or special expertise unique to the companies policies and capabilities. Being a solid Christian man, he’s obliged. Now I don’t know if they paid him for such consulting, but if I were in his shoes living on a retirement income, and I was the only one who knew how to fix a problem or address an issue, you can bet I’d negotiate for a pretty penny. Not extravagant, but it would have to be enough to make me want to give up a few days off. Sometimes when you need good help in a pinch, that’s going to bump up the cost of that help.

In our parable today, Jesus tells a story about a man who goes out to hire laborers for his vineyard. He doesn’t just go out once first thing in the morning; he goes out four more times to hire laborers, even toward the end of the day. Because it’s a parable, we don’t have any historical details about a fictional story, but I think it’s safe to assume that he really needed to get his vineyard harvested by the end of the day. In this parable, unlike the story I told about my friend, the vineyard owner doesn’t need anyone with special skills; he just needs bodies to get the grapes off the vine. And apparently, the closer he got to the end of the day, the more urgently he needed workers. We don’t know why it was so urgent. Maybe a storm was coming and he needed to save the grapes. Maybe he needed money to pay off debts. Maybe there was a big wedding coming up and he needed wine for the guests.

We’ll never know the answer to why, but maybe that’s the point of the story. As he’s telling this story I’m almost certain the people in the crowd have any number of situations that they could apply the principles of the story to in their lives. Parables are like that sometimes. We don’t get the details because the details don’t matter so much as the application to our respective life-situations.

Before we get into the parable itself, I want to take some time understand the opening line of this parable: “For the kingdom of heaven is like….” But what is the “kingdom of heaven”? Does it refer only to the heavenly realms? Does it refer to the people of God? Or is it some mix of both?

The first thing to note is that the phrase “kingdom of heaven” (ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν[1] hē basileia tōn ouranōn) is only found in Matthew’s gospel—32 times in 31 verses. The corresponding phrase in the other gospels is “kingdom of God”—14 times in Mark, 31 times in Luke, and twice in John, in addition to four times in Matthew. Because this phrase “kingdom of heaven” is unique to Matthew, I think it’s worth exploring for a few minutes so we can better understand Matthew’s perspective.

The first two occurrences of “kingdom of heaven” are found in Matthew 3:2, spoken by John the Baptizer, and Matthew 4:17, spoken by Jesus. Both of them use the same phrase: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near you.” Both of them use the phrase to kick off their respective preaching ministries. Later on in Matthew 10:7, Jesus instructs his disciples to use the same phrase. But Jesus puts more oomph into the instruction so his followers have a practical, visible way to demonstrate the kingdom of heaven is near: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.”[2] Not that they were counting any of this (maybe Matthew the tax collector was!), but those are measurable events, actual signs of God working and moving in and among his creation.

In Matthew 11, Jesus speaks of this “here-and-now” nature of the kingdom of heaven:

11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it.[3]

A few verses later (vs. 16), Jesus would confirm this “here-and-now” nature by asking, “To what can I compare this generation?” In 18:4–5, Jesus compares the little children to the kingdom of heaven:

“Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”[4]

Matthew 13 contains a series of seven parables that begin with the phrase “The kingdom of heaven is like…” but Jesus puts this group of parables in a slightly different context. Although all the parables could be considered true to life, Jesus tells his disciples they’re getting something special, something no one else has access to at that time.

“10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

11He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”[5]

This passage has nothing to do with money, by the way. That last verse may sound an awful lot like, “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.” However, the passage is about spiritual knowledge and insight. Of course, we see that the disciples themselves have questions about these parables, so they hadn’t gained immediate understanding. Jesus still had to explain a couple parables to them. Most of those parables relate to the coming kingdom, especially to those who are open to it and will inherit it.

They also show that the kingdom of heaven is not a universal promise to all of humanity. As in Romans, there is an emphasis in taking the message to heart and making the commitment to believe in and follow Christ with that “obedience of faithfulness.” We give up everything for the pearl of great price or the treasure in the field. We receive the word with joy and gladness and hand over the worries and cares of this life to the savior, since we are powerless in and of ourselves.

The parable of the net is the most obvious one that has to do with the final judgment, confirming that there will indeed be a separating of the wicked from the faithful at the end. In Matthew 7:21–23 says:

 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”[6]

This passage serves as a hinge to take a look at the future aspect of the kingdom of heaven, that is, our actual experience of heaven when our own work on earth is finished. Jesus speaks of this in his encounter with the Roman centurion whose servant was paralyzed:

 “I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”[7]

In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the parable of the ten virgins at the wedding banquet. I won’t read the whole parable but I think you remember it well enough. Five of the virgins remembered to bring extra oil, while the other five did not. Those that forgot their extra oil had to go find more at the last minute, and completely missed out on the wedding banquet. All these parables in Matthew 13 suggest that intentional effort is needed to secure your place in the kingdom of God.

So there you have it: the kingdom of heaven embraces the now and the not-yet. It embraces the everyday and the extraordinary. It’s made up of the obvious truths of the kingdom and the not-so-obvious principles “hidden” in the parables. This brings us back, then, to our passage in Matthew 20 about the vineyard owner hiring workers for his vineyard.

I mentioned above that we really don’t have any details about why the owner had to keep going back and hiring laborers. If you think about it, though, this is probably the best way to handle this type of parallel, to leave such details vague and open ended so that the application isn’t narrowly limited to a handful of situations.

This parable itself would seem to be a follow up to Jesus’s final instruction in Matthew 9:37–38 before he commissions and sends out the disciples in chapter 10. Most of you are familiar with this passage:

“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”[8]

The most obvious application, especially in the context of Matthew, is that we are called to do all we can to reach out to those who need to be brought into the kingdom before it is too late. This parable is the last one Jesus delivers before his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. That’s why the connection to the Matthew 9 passage I cited above is important. It closes the chapter on Jesus’s general ministry and sets the stage for the final week of his life.

I don’t think there is anything special about the five times the owner went out to hire people. Five is not a commonly used symbolic number in the Bible. The underlying lesson of the story, though, seems to be captured in the final verses of the story, especially when it comes to the order in which the workers get paid. We read that the late-comers got paid a denarius for their work, while the early birds got the same pay as the late-comers.

The final verse in the parable is “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”[9] Not only does that wrap the parable and give a high-level summary of what it was about, but if you read forward from there, you will see that this principle is important is addressing one final issues among his disciples before he enters Jerusalem.

Immediately after the parable, Jesus makes his third and final prediction of his death. This evidently gets a couple of his disciples (and their mother) to think, “Hmm, if he’s going to be killed, he’ll need a successor. We know just the guys!” In fact, immediately following that death prediction, James’ and John’s mother pleads with Jesus to make them his right- and left-hand men. You may remember that James and John were two of the earliest disciples to follow Jesus, joining their fishing buddies Peter and Andrew. So the mother of the sons of Zebedee figured since they had that kind of tenure being enduring, long-term disciples of Jesus, they deserved the first shot at succession.

Jesus was straight-up with them and said it wasn’t his decision to make who occupied those spots. Jesus went on to say that those who wanted to be great had to be servants. That seems to fit right in with “The last will be first, and the first will be last.” As a further point of emphasis to this principle, Jesus closes out chapter 20 by healing two blind beggars of their blindness. Are these beggars the final two “laborers” Jesus “hired” to proclaim the good news and get the crowd “ripe” for his triumphal entry?

For your own setting here at Mount View, I think this parable of the laborers has an important message. Never give up on reaching out. We have over 75 years of history here, a great history of having a full auditorium on Sunday morning and a vibrant youth group, both of which I experienced in my youth here. If you believe in the mission and the message of this congregation, and I know you do, consider what simple things you could do to help with the “harvest” of souls and bring them into this fellowship.

The harvest is still plentiful and we need more laborers. Let us pray and consider how we can help with that harvest. Amen.

[1] Aland, Kurt, Matthew Black, Carlo M. Martini, Bruce M. Metzger, Maurice A. Robinson, and Allen Wikgren. 1993; 2006. The Greek New Testament, Fourth Revised Edition (with Morphology). Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft.

[2] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[3] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[4] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[5] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[6] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[7] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[8] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[9] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

September 13, 2026

Love Over Judgment: Romans 14

Filed under: 1 Corinthians,2 Corinthians,Courage,Evangelism,Faith, Faithfulness,forgiveness,Hope,Matthew Gospel of,Repentance,Soteriology — Scott Stocking @ 4:33 pm
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I forgot to bring my voice recorder to the pulpit, and I tried videoing my sermon using the Reels app, but evidently Reels has a 15-minute limit, so Meta didn’t save my video at all. So I offer my apologies for not having an audio file. Enjoy the read! Message presented September 13, 2026, at Mount View Presbyterian Church, Omaha, NE.

Good morning! The Lord be with you!

Well, I had forgotten I was doing the rest of the Sundays in September, so here I am with one more chance to share some insights from Paul’s letter to the Roman church with you. As we read through the passage this morning, I’m sure there were a couple words or concepts that stuck out to you: judging, despising, quarrelling stick out to me, in a negative way. Since the concept of passing judgment is so prevalent in this passage, I think it’s important to take a few moments to dig into the biblical meanings of these concepts.

The word Paul uses for “judgment” (κρίνω krinō) is also the root of our English words “critic,” “critical,” “criticize,” “critique,” and so on. It is also the root in words like “hypocrite” The word can refer to formal verdict from an approved court; discernment between two or more options; an informed opinion about a matter; or a statement of rebuke, whether justified or not, against another individual. One of the definitions for the word in Merriam-Webster is “the process of forming an opinion or evaluation by discerning and comparing.”[1]

The most basic teaching we have about judgment in the Bible comes from Jesus’s own mouth in Matthew 7:1: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” That passage comes from the Sermon on the Mount, so you may be familiar with what comes after it. Here’s Matthew 7:1–6 in full:

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. [2]

This is the kind of judgment, I believe, that Paul addresses in Romans 14. But the gospels and Paul also deal with a legitimate form of judgment, church discipline. I don’t want to spend a lot of time on that this morning, but it is important we have a fuller scope of understanding the concept.

Jesus addresses this in Matthew 18:15ff:

15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ d 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. [3]

Although the word for “judgment” doesn’t occur in this passage, the implication of such is quite clear. It may start as a one-on-one encounter, but any final decision about ostracizing the offending member for a credible charge of sin must ultimate rest with the local church body.

Paul addresses this as well in 1 Corinthians 5:9–13:

9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister a but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.

12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”[4]

Of course, as a church, we hope we never have to employ this kind of discipline. I’ve had enough experience as a pastor in my career to have seen the sequence of Matthew 18 played out on a few occasions.

But as I said above, Paul isn’t really addressing church discipline issues in Romans 14. What he’s dealing with is a clash of Jewish and Gentile cultures, as I’ve discussed all along in Romans. Let’s take a closer look at that passage.

Paul sets the context of his comments with the first verse of chapter 14: “Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions”[5] as the version in the bulletin says. First of all, the word for “quarreling” (διάκρισις diakrisis) is based on the word for judgment. This reflects the aspect of judgment about having used your own critical thinking skills to form your own opinion about something. It also carries with it the idea of “distinguishing” between good and evil (Hebrews 5:14) and “discernment” of spirits in 1 Corinthians 12:10.

The word for “opinion” (διαλογισμός dialogismos)[6] is an intensified form of our word for “dialogue.” The NIV translates the word “disputable matters.” In other words, the idea or concept has been thoroughly discussed or thought through, whether in your own mind or by interacting with others, so it’s likely each side is thoroughly convinced of their own view and not open to reconsidering it.

Now if these “opinions” were a matter of faith or proper doctrine, then arguing about them might be a worthwhile exercise, if done peaceably. But the nature of the issues Paul addresses are not matters of faith or orthodoxy. They all seem to be matters related to their respective cultures.

Notice also that Paul is keeping this within the body of Christ in Rome: “Accept the one whose faith is weak.”[7] He’s not saying they have to accept people in their midst who want to work against the mission of the church. Nor does Paul explicitly define which view he considers “weak.” Your diet doesn’t save or condemn you. The days you consider special (or not) don’t save or condemn you. Whether you eat meat or not is not a matter of salvation. Paul’s only admonition here is that, whatever you believe about these things, you should be “fully persuaded” in what you believe. That reflects the word in verse 1 translated “opinion.” It’s a well-thought position that you’re unlikely to be dissuaded from.

Paul emphasizes another attitude that believers should avoid. This is the idea of “contempt” (ἐξουθενέω exoutheneō)[8] in vv. 3 and 10. The reading in the bulletin uses the word “despise.” Paul puts this word in the mouths of his opponents in 2 Corinthians 10:10 when they describe his message as something that “amounts to nothing.” It carries with it not only the idea of a lower status, but also of rejection and ridicule as well, in effect, a form of ostracism. We should not treat our brothers and sisters in Christ in this way over matters that have nothing to do with our faith or salvation.

Paul closes out the first twelve verses by emphasizing what is truly important: our fellowship with one another made possible by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Each one of us is responsible for our own beliefs and behaviors. Yet we also must realize that we live to encourage and love one another as well. Paul goes on to suggest in verse 13 that acting in these inappropriate ways toward one another is akin to putting stumbling blocks in the way of those who may be weak or wavering in their faith.

Paul defends his own positions on these matters but also concedes that if someone believes differently than he does, then that’s okay too. What matters is that we love one another.

I will close this message with Romans 14:17–19, because I think that is the perfect way to send us out into the mission field today.

17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.

19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.[9]

Peace to you this day. Amen.

My views are my own.

Pastor Scott Stocking, M.Div.

[1] Merriam-Webster, Inc. 2003. In Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary., Eleventh ed. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc.

[2] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[3] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[4] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[5] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. 1989. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

[6] Swanson, James. 1997. In Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament), electronic ed. Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[7] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[8] Swanson, James. 1997. In Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament), electronic ed. Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[9] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

September 10, 2026

Political Correctness in 1993 (My first published quote!)

Filed under: Spiritual Warfare,Evangelism — Scott Stocking @ 8:03 pm
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

From 1989 to 1994, I served as a Campus Minister at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL. At the time, a veteran campus minister named Doug Dickey was documenting the Restoration Movement campus ministries across the United States. He published the following excerpt from our February 1993 newsletter. This was my first time as a “footnote” in a published work (Campus Ministry: Restoring the Church on the University Campus, College Press, 1994). I don’t think I have the original newsletter anymore, so I’m glad part of the history of our ministry is preserved here.

In ancient Rome, Christians were not persecuted because they believed in God – Rome was very tolerant of a vast number of religions and cults. Christians were persecuted because they worshipped God only. They refused to acknowledge the Caesar as “Lord God Almighty” and paid for it with their lives. . . . Today, we have a new Caesar, Caesar Politicus Correctus. On campuses across the nation, as well as in the political arena, Political Correctness has become the litmus test for social righteousness and acceptance. Those who proclaim Caesar Politicus Correctus as Lord are readily accepted and considered “normal” or “moral.” Those who refuse to bow down to this new Caesar are automatically branded as bigots, racists, sexists, and ignorant. . . . CCM is reaching out to those who persecute us, showing them the love and compassion of Christ. Pray for a softening of their hearts that they might receive Christ. Pray that we might declare the Word of God fearlessly.

— Scott Stocking, February 1993

I publish this to honor Charlie Kirk on the one-year anniversary of his transition to Glory. Charlie succeeded wildly at the kind of ministry I tried to carry out at NIU. I was no Charlie Kirk to be sure, but our ministry did touch lives and was responsible for at least three couples getting married in one year!

My opinions are my own.

August 31, 2026

Podcast Episode: “God’s Gifts and His Call Are Irrevocable”: Romans 9–11 (Part 6)

Filed under: Christology,Christology,Deuteronomy,Faith, Faithfulness,Greek,Leviticus,Repentance,Romans — Scott Stocking @ 10:37 pm
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Pip: Sunday Morning Greek Blog, where the lectionary waits for no one — and apparently, neither did the previous two preachers.

Mara: Scott Stocking steps in to cover Romans 9 through 11 in a single message, which means we’re looking at the whole question of Jews, Gentiles, and what God’s mercy actually requires of either group.

Pip: Let’s start with the olive tree.

“God’s Gifts and His Call Are Irrevocable”: Romans 9–11

Mara: The tension Paul is navigating in Romans 9 through 11 is a social one: Jewish and Gentile Christians in Rome, each convinced they have the stronger claim on God’s favor, and Paul trying to referee.

Pip: The Gentiles had kept the churches running during the Jewish exile. The Jews were the ethnic and religious home of the Messiah. Both sides had a case, and both sides were apparently making it loudly.

Mara: The post frames it this way: “It would seem from Paul’s comments in chapters 9–10 especially that each group felt they had one-up on the other.” Paul’s answer is the olive tree metaphor — Jews as the original root, Gentiles grafted in.

Pip: So neither side gets to spike the ball. The Gentiles were welcomed into something they didn’t plant, and the Jews can’t claim exclusive ownership of a tree that now has new branches.

Mara: And the theological grounding for that is Romans 9:15, where Paul quotes God speaking to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” Salvation isn’t ethnic arithmetic.

Pip: Which means all the scorekeeping is beside the point. God’s mercy operates on terms neither side gets to set.

Mara: The post walks through the warnings in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 to explain why some Israelites were the branches cut from the tree — disobedience, not ethnicity, is what separates people from God’s promises.

Pip: Those warning passages are, by the post’s own account, considerably longer than the promises for obedience that precede them. The Torah apparently believed in thorough consequences.

Mara: Romans 10 then offers the way through — the Romans Road passage: “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.” Confession and belief, not lineage.

Pip: And Romans 11 closes the loop. Verse 29’s promise that “God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable” applies to Israel and Gentiles alike — God’s love for his chosen people doesn’t expire even when they’re in disobedience.

Mara: The post ties it back to Romans 3: no one is righteous on their own. The whole arc of chapters 1 through 11 lands on grace as the only operative category, which sets up Romans 12 and the practical ethics that follow.

Pip: Doctrine first, then dishes — sounds like Romans has a structure after all.

Mara: The sermon closes with the doxology from Romans 11:33–36, and that’s where the post ends too: “For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.”

Pip: Mercy that doesn’t check your ancestry, grace that outlasts disobedience — Paul was writing to one fractious church in Rome and somehow addressed every fractious community since.

Mara: Next week it’s Romans 12, where the theology meets the neighbor. That’s worth coming back for.

Podcast Episode: Romans And Faithful Living (Response to “The BIG Question”)

Filed under: Christology,Evangelism,Faith, Faithfulness,Greek,Immersion/Baptism,Romans,Soteriology — Scott Stocking @ 6:22 pm
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Pip: Welcome to Sunday Morning Greek Blog — where Paul’s letter to the Romans turns out to be less a collection of memory verses and more a sustained architectural argument, and Scott Stocking has been walking a congregation through it, one chapter at a time, all summer.

Mara: Scott Stocking’s recent posts cover the whole arc: what righteousness and faithfulness actually mean in Romans, how chapters nine through eleven handle Jews and Gentiles together, and then a question directed straight at us.

Pip: Let’s start with righteousness — and what it costs to define it carefully.

Romans: Righteousness, Faithfulness, and the Road Paul Built

Mara: The central question across these posts is what Paul means by “the righteousness of God” in Romans 1:17 — whether it’s something God hands over to believers, or something embodied in a person.

Pip: The answer lands hard. The podcast episode on Romans and faithful obedience sets up Romans 1:17 and then offers this: “The righteousness of God then isn’t an object to be given. It is embodied in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the righteousness of God.”

Mara: The upshot is that righteousness isn’t a transaction — it’s a participation. Because Jesus fulfilled every requirement of the law, believers share in that only by being in Christ.

Pip: Which reframes the familiar Romans Road considerably. Righteousness is the substructure — the rebar, the compacted earth — and Jesus’s faithfulness is the surface you actually walk on.

Mara: Romans 1:17 gets parsed as “from faithfulness into faithfulness” — Jesus’s perfect obedience to the law moving into his faithfulness unto death on the cross, tied directly to Philippians 2:8. And the phrase “obedience of faithfulness” from Romans 1:5 reappears word for word in the closing benediction of Romans 16 — that’s not a coincidence, it’s the letter’s spine.

Pip: The Faithfulness in Romans Part 2 post makes the grammar case for this. The participle dikaioumenoi — “who are being justified” — is present tense, ongoing, not a box checked at conversion.

Mara: And that present-tense framing dissolves a question that has quietly tormented a lot of Christians. As the post puts it, our own trust in Jesus is “not so much for the purpose of being saved but the result of being saved” — because the faithfulness in view is Christ’s, not ours.

Pip: Structurally, the letter signals the shift. Romans 1 through 4 use words for faith or faithfulness twenty-seven times and words for life only twice. Chapters 5 through 8 nearly reverse that.

Mara: The Faithfulness and Righteousness in Christ post — Part 3 in the series — tracks that gear change carefully. In Romans 5:19, the structural reversal of Adam’s failure is stated plainly: “For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”

Pip: One act of faithful obedience undoes what one act of disobedience broke. That’s not a moral example — that’s a structural repair.

Mara: Romans 6 and baptism are where the argument gets physical. The Baptism and Christian Life post — Part 4 — identifies a single Greek word, paristemi, translated “offer,” that appears five times in Romans 6 and then resurfaces in 12:1: “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship.”

Pip: So the living sacrifice of chapter 12 isn’t a new instruction. It’s a callback to what baptism already accomplished.

Mara: Right. And the Romans 12 Living Faith post makes that explicit — Romans 12:1 opens with “therefore,” which means eleven chapters of theology are now cashing out. The post takes direct aim at the popular quip about living sacrifices crawling off the altar. The counter-argument is that the sacrifice already happened at baptism. The world, in this reading, is the altar.

Pip: The gifts in verses 3 through 8 — prophecy, service, teaching, encouragement, giving, leadership, mercy — follow from that. And the post is candid that mercy is the hardest one, especially under stress.

Mara: The companion sermon on Romans 12:9 through 21 argues that the twenty-five commands in that passage aren’t a checklist. The governing statement is three words in Greek: “Love is unhypocritical.” As the post puts it, “Paul doesn’t want you to see it as a checklist. He wants you to see love as a default setting for your heart and mind.”

Pip: And what that default looks like under pressure — blessing persecutors, not repaying evil — is the description, not the scorecard.

Mara: The Life in the Spirit post — Part 5, covering Romans 8 — closes the doctrinal arc. The Spirit is the resolution to the tension Paul sets up at the end of chapter 7. And Romans 8:28 isn’t a bumper sticker; it’s the conclusion of an argument about present suffering, groaning, and God’s active response to it.

Pip: From “no condemnation” in verse 1 to “more than conquerors” in verse 37 — the distance between those two turns out to be the entire argument of four chapters.

Mara: Which sets up exactly the question chapters 9 through 11 take on — what does that victory look like for Jews and Gentiles together.

Jews, Gentiles, and an Irrevocable Promise

Mara: Chapters 9 through 11 are where Paul addresses the social and cultural tension in the Roman church — Jewish believers returning after exile to find Gentile house churches already thriving, and each group feeling it had the stronger claim.

Pip: Paul’s answer is the olive tree metaphor, and the theological stake is Romans 11:29: “God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.”

Mara: That promise, the post argues, applies equally to Israel and to the Gentiles. Neither group’s standing rests on ethnicity alone — it rests on faithfulness, confession, and the state of the heart. Romans 3:10 already said there is no one righteous, not even one. The mercy that saves is the same mercy for both.

Pip: Doctrine for eleven chapters, then the question of what it looks like when people who used to be enemies share a table. That’s a reasonable place to land before Romans 12 takes over.

The Question Directed at Us

Mara: The final post in this run is brief and pointed. It’s addressed directly to this podcast — asking whether, after all the episodes on Romans, we’ve heard enough to be convinced that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and a personal savior.

Pip: The post puts it plainly: “have you heard enough to convince you that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and your personal savior? I’d love to hear your discussion on that one way or the other.”

Mara: That’s not a rhetorical flourish — it’s a sincere invitation to engage with the argument Romans has been making all summer, not just report on it.

Pip: We’ve spent weeks tracing the architecture: righteousness as foundation, faithfulness as the road, baptism as the hinge, the Spirit as the thread. The question is whether following that argument changes the person following it.

Mara: Romans would say the answer to that question is the whole point of the letter.

Pip: Righteousness embodied, faithfulness as the road you walk, love as a default setting — that’s a lot of architecture for one summer.

Mara: And the question at the end isn’t about the architecture. It’s about whether you’ve moved in.

The BIG Question

Filed under: Ecclesiology,Faith, Faithfulness,Greek,Immersion/Baptism,Romans,Soteriology — Scott Stocking @ 12:21 pm

This post serves as a prompt for the AI podcast team of Pip and Mara.

Pip and Mara, in light of all the podcasts you’ve produced for me in past couple months, especially on Paul’s epistle to the Romans, have you heard enough to convince you that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and your personal savior? I’d love to hear your discussion on that one way or the other.

Pastor Scott Stocking, M.Div.

Here is the link to the resulting podcast.

Podcast Episode: Romans And Faithful Living | Sunday Morning Greek Blog

Podcast Episode: Romans 12 Living Faith

Filed under: Greek — Scott Stocking @ 12:10 pm
Tags: , , , ,

Pip: Sunday Morning Greek Blog — where the lectionary meets the original language, and Romans gets treated like the sustained argument it actually is. Scott Stocking has been preaching through Paul’s letter all summer, and this week we’re catching up with two consecutive Sundays.

Mara: Both messages come from Romans 12 — first the theology of gifts and what it means to be a living sacrifice, then the ethics of love that follows directly from it. Let’s start with the sacrifice that isn’t what you think it is.

Gifts, Sacrifice, and the World as Altar

Pip: Romans 12:1 opens with the word “therefore” — which means everything Paul argued in the first eleven chapters is now cashing out into practical instruction. The question this sermon tackles is what “living sacrifice” actually means, and the answer turns out to be almost the opposite of the popular version.

Mara: The post takes direct aim at a widely circulated quote — that “the problem with living sacrifices is they tend to crawl off the altar.” The counter-argument is grounded in Romans 6: “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

Pip: So the sacrifice has already happened — baptism is the moment of dying with Christ, and what follows is a life lived out in the world, not a posture of remaining on an altar. The world, in this reading, is the altar.

Mara: That reframe carries through to verse 2 as well. The call not to conform to the world’s pattern, and to be transformed by the renewing of your mind, is described as an exercise in faith — comparable to building muscle memory in a sport or skill. The more you practice, the more instinctive faithfulness becomes.

Pip: Which brings Paul to verses 3–8 and the gifts — prophecy, service, teaching, encouragement, giving, leadership, mercy. The sermon walks through each one, and the framing is notably practical: prophecy is less about predicting the future than forth-telling the gospel, sometimes in ways that make people uncomfortable.

Mara: On leadership specifically, the post notes that it doesn’t require knowing the Bible as well as the preacher — strong people skills, financial stewardship, or compassionate ministry all count. And on mercy, there’s a candid admission that it’s an area requiring ongoing work, especially under stress.

Pip: Mercy being hardest when luggage keeps flying west instead of east across the Atlantic — which, fair enough, is a genuinely difficult test of the fruit of the Spirit.*

Mara: The sermon closes with a congregational challenge: look around, identify a gift you see in someone else, and name it to them during fellowship time. The post also links to a 108-question spiritual gifts survey for anyone wanting to explore further. The underlying argument is that unity in the body depends on each person knowing and exercising their particular gift.

Mara: And if gifts are how the body functions internally, the next passage asks what that same love looks like directed outward — even toward people who make it hard.

Love as a Default Setting

Pip: Romans 12:9–21 looks at first like a checklist of twenty-five commands. The sermon on “Unhypocritical Love” argues that’s the wrong frame entirely.

Mara: The governing statement in the Greek is a three-word declarative: “Love is unhypocritical.” As the post puts it, “He’s setting a standard… Paul doesn’t want you to see it as a checklist. He wants you to see love as a default setting for your heart and mind.”

Pip: What follows in the passage — bless persecutors, don’t repay evil for evil, live at peace — is then a description of what that default looks like under pressure, not a scorecard.

Mara: The post also notes that “hate what is evil” is the first phrase Paul uses to describe unhypocritical love. Love doesn’t overlook or tolerate evil — that’s built into the definition from the start. The pivot to the next segment’s territory lands here: if Romans 12 defines what love does, the question is what posture sustains it.

Pip: Two Sundays, one sustained argument — sacrifice orients you outward, gifts equip you for the work, and love without hypocrisy is the operating system underneath all of it.

Mara: Romans 13 and 14 are next on the lectionary. We’ll see what Paul does with that foundation when the preaching resumes.

*In the message, I relate my frustration with a problem we were having with an airline at the time. My wife and step-daughter were traveling in Scandinavia, but their luggage never made it to them.

As I’ve experimented with these AI podcasts in WordPress, I’ve been impressed for the most part at how they’ve turned out. Occasionally they may get things a little jumbled, but any foibles I’ve seen have not significantly distracted from my messages or intent. I do try to fact check each one to ensure any necessary disclaimers or corrections are applied. I consider WordPress to be liable for the content of the AI podcast.

Pastor Scott Stocking, M.Div.

August 30, 2026

Unhypocritical Love (Romans 12:9–21)

Filed under: 1 Corinthians,Courage,Ecclesiology,Evangelism,Evil,Faith, Faithfulness,Prayer,Proverbs,Repentance,Righteousness,Romans,Soteriology,Tongues — Scott Stocking @ 4:25 pm
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I preached this message on August 30, 2026, at Mount View Presbyterian Church, Omaha, Nebraska. This is my last Sunday to preach on Romans for this year’s liturgical calendar. Romans 13 and 14 are on the calendar for the next couple weeks when I’m on a short road trip and out of the pulpit, but when I’m in the pulpit again, I’ll either be addressing Philippians 1 or a Gospel passage.

Good morning! The Lord be with you!

At first glance, when you hear or read this passage, I can imagine you have a thousand thoughts going through your mind. On the surface, it sounds like we’ve just read a whole list of commands, by my count 25 in all from verses 9–21. It’s easy to see then, how the pastor at my home church was able to take 12 weeks this summer to work through Romans 12. Each of the would-be commands are great subjects by themselves for sermons. But alas, I do not have 12 straight weeks to do that with you, nor would I want to “borrow” my pastor’s sermons to accomplish such a task. “Twelve on Romans Twelve”; that would make a nice sermon series title.

As I looked at the passage and began to ponder how I might be able to organize my thoughts, it seemed like the paragraph breaks in my version might do for a convenient and simple organizing structure. But as I’m wont to do, especially with a passage that’s a bit challenging, I looked into my Greek text to make sure the paragraph breaks were justified by the text, and I was not disappointed. So, here’s how I’ll approach the text this morning to respect the way Paul wrote it.

The text is divided into three main sections, each beginning with a direct statement that indicates the theme for each section. Beginning in verse 9, we have the statement about love and what that looks like. We might think that could be kind of squishy, but it’s not. We’ll look at the intensity of the concept when we get there.

The next section starts in verse 14, digs a little deeper into our souls, and challenges us to do some things that might be really difficult: “Bless those who persecute you.”[1] Kind of makes you want to squirm a little bit in your seat, right?

Finally, Paul cuts to the heart of the matter directly in verses 17: “Do not repay anyone evil for evil.”[2] Paul gets pretty intense in that last section. So, let’s get started this morning and break this down.

The first three statements in verse 9 are actually summaries of what I’ve just described above, but Paul doesn’t lay them out in the same order. Let’s take a look under the hood here and break down what’s going on.

The lead-statement sets the tone of the rest of the passage. In the original language it is a simple, three-word sentence that makes a statement of fact:[3] “Love is unhypocritical.” This should be a straightforward translation in most cases, but our English translations have interpreted what follows as a series of short commands about things we should or shouldn’t do. [4] So they have transferred that understanding to this first phrase as well: “Let love be genuine” or “Let love be sincere” as some translations have it.

This is completely acceptable when it comes to Bible translation, because the goal is to make it understandable to average English reader. Also, sometimes we have a mindset as Christians that we just want God to tell us what we’re supposed to do and how we’re supposed to live. Then we can just check off the boxes and grade ourselves on how well we think we’re doing. But we also know that living for Christ isn’t just about checking off behavioral boxes and those with a passing grade get into heaven. In fact, it isn’t about checking off boxes at all, really, because we’ve already seen that when we’re “in Christ,” we already have the victory. Christ has checked off all the boxes, so to speak, and has imparted his righteousness to us.

Paul knows this as well, and I think in this case, especially with a mixed group of Jews and Gentiles, I would suggest that instead of giving us a checklist, he’s giving a definition of unhypocritical love. Again, the governing statement is “Love is genuine.” That is an absolute statement of truth. He’s setting a standard, much like he does in 1 Corinthians 13, but customized for the Corinthian culture and church. In fact, what he’s probably doing here in Romans is defining ἀγάπη (agapē) love for both Jews and Gentiles. What follows then is a description of actions that demonstrate what unhypocritical love looks like. So, in some respects it is still a checklist of sorts, but Paul doesn’t want you to see it as a checklist. He wants you to see love as a default setting for your heart and mind.

It is important to note, then, that many of the things that follow this statement are descriptions of other-centered behaviors. Several of the key words in this list are words that are rarely found in the NT, in a few cases only once or twice, so these are worth noting. I won’t go into detail on each one; as the pastor of my home church demonstrated, each one of the concepts is worthy of its own sermon.

I want to save the last two phrases in verse 9 for a little later, so let’s look at verse 10. “Be devoted to one another in love” is how the NIV translates it. Our reading has “love one another with mutual affection.”[5] First of all, the word for “mutual affection” here (“love” in the NIV) is not agapē, but φιλαδελφία (philadelphia)[6], that’s right, “brotherly love.” This of course refers to real love and mutual affection, not the kind of “love” you might get from a Philadelphia Eagles fans, who’ve been known to boo Santa Claus.[7]

The word for “love” in our bulletin reading (“devoted” in the NIV) is a compound of two words that mean two different kinds of love in Greek (φιλόστοργος philostorgos). The first part of the compound is the same as the φιλία (philia) in Philadelphia; the second part of the compound is a word that C.S. Lewis describes as familial love, especially that kind of love a mother and child share.[8] It’s easy to see, then, how the concepts of devotion from the NIV and mutual affection from the NRSV are appropriate for this passage. We’re called to love our brothers and sisters in Christ like we love our own families. If we do that, then the rest of the items in that first paragraph—zeal, spiritual fervor, honor, hope, patience, etc.—fall into place. That’s why “love your neighbor as yourself” is the second greatest command in Scripture.

I want to return to the second phrase in vs. 9, “Hate what is evil.” I must point out that this is first phrase Paul uses to describe unhypocritical love. Love doesn’t overlook evil. Love doesn’t tolerate evil. This verse would seem to tie into verses 17–21, since “evil” seems to be a prominent theme there, although it is a different Greek word [κακός (kakos)] that emphasizes evil deeds and actions specifically. In verse 9, “evil” refers to an evil thing, not an evil person as it does in the Lord’s prayer.[9]

The word for “hate” is another one of those words that only appears once in the New Testament. It is not based on the typical word for “hate” that is used in the New Testament. It derives from the root of our modern English word “stigma.” The Greek word has a prefix added to it that implies your hatred of evil should be so strong that you run away from, much like Paul often warns his audiences to flee sexual immorality, idolatry, and greed.

While physically removing yourselves from situations that could cause you to stumble greatly, the practicality of that may not always be expedient. If you see someone in danger, for example, you might be inclined to help, up to and including self defense if necessary. That would be a noble act as well, especially if you can avoid returning evil for evil as verse 17 says. You may have training in conflict resolution or deescalation of a situation that would prove beneficial for all involved. So, it’s not just about fleeing evil things, but about figuring out how you can do the right thing, the good thing, to overcome evil when it comes your way. Unhypocritical love overcomes evil.

The exhortations here are again positive: Do what is right, live at peace if you can, don’t take revenge. So again, Paul is speaking to our mindset, encouraging us to develop default behaviors. It’s all about practice and training, getting that “muscle memory” firmly ensconced in us. Doing the right thing speaks volumes in our culture that increasingly, as I said last week, sees violence as an acceptable solution. Certain Proverbs come to mind here:

12:25: Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.[10]

15:1: A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.[11]

16:14: A king’s wrath is a messenger of death, but the wise will appease it.[12]

20:3: It is to one’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.[13]

I’ll close by looking at the third phrase in verse 9: “Hold fast to what is good.” The word for “hold fast” there is another rare word in the New Testament. It’s used to describe the sexual relationship between a man and a woman, in the opposite contexts of marriage and prostitution. Peter uses the word in Acts 10 when he speaks of his call to go share the Gospel (and a meal) at the Gentile Cornelius’s home. Like the other descriptions throughout our passage today, the focus is other-centered, even when the “other” is one who is persecuting you.

The word for “persecute” (διώκω diōkō) here is interesting because it is the same Greek word that is translated as “pursue” in the previous verse in reference to hospitality. In other words, the word has the positive meaning of pursuing good things for others but the negative meaning of pursuing someone for whom you intend harm. The latter negative meaning is made obvious in the context when Paul emphasizes blessing the persecutors, not cursing them. In Paul’s context, a curse was a various serious thing, essentially wishing death on the one cursed.

Verses 14–16 also have a strong undertone of humility as well. Know your place; know your limits. Live together in harmony. That may be easier to do when you’re all of the same mindset. But remember Paul is addressing a mixed group here of Jews and Gentile Romans. I’m sure they had to put forth significant effort to make things work in their ethnically diverse house churches.

Romans 12 is certainly a strong contender for the best chapter on love in the New Testament. In some areas, it seems to cover a little more ground as far as the dos and don’ts of love in the Christian setting. But again, the cultural differences between Rome and Corinth can’t be ignored. Paul had to deal extensively with the speaking in tongues issue in Corinth, but there wasn’t a word about that in Paul’s gift list in the first part of Romans 12. On the other hand, Paul doesn’t deal very much with evil in 1 Corinthians 12–14, while in Romans 12, we see a great deal about that. Corinthians deals more with church order and practice, while Romans seems to focus on some larger cultural and societal issues that impacted the Roman churches.

We won’t settle the “best chapter on love” debate here, but I think we can all agree that, when we practice loving our neighbor as ourselves and loving God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, we are doing our part to advance the kingdom of God and bring about that great day of redemption and reward, when sin finally will be defeated. May the peace of God go with today and the rest of the week. Amen.

My opinions are my own.

Pastor Scott Stocking, M.Div.

To read and hear the previous week’s message on the first half of Romans 12: Life as a “Living Sacrifice”: Finding Your Gifts (Romans 12:1–8) | Sunday Morning Greek Blog.

[1] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[2] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[3] Formally known as indicative voice; in this case the “to be” copulative verb “is” is implied, as is often the case with simple Greek copulative sentences.

[4] In the Greek text, what follows is a series of participial phrases through the end of verse 13. Participles typically take on the aspect of the main verb, which in this case would be the implied copulative. If the translators think the implied copulative is imperative, then translators would interpret all the participles linked to that main verb as imperative, as seems to be the case in modern translations. As you will see, I am taking a different approach.

[5] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. 1989. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

[6] Swanson, James. 1997. In Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament), electronic ed. Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[7] Ranking the Nicest (to the Nastiest) NFL Fanbases – The Quick Report

[8] C.S. Lewis: Four Loves – 1. Storge (Affection)

[9] In the Lord’s Prayer, the adjective πονηρός (ponēros) is masculine. Here in Romans 12, it is neuter.

[10] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[11] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[12] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[13] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

August 23, 2026

Life as a “Living Sacrifice”: Finding Your Gifts (Romans 12:1–8)

Filed under: 1 Corinthians,Ecclesiology,Evangelism,Faith, Faithfulness,Immersion/Baptism,New Testament,Pneumatology,Prophet,Resurrection,Romans,Tongues — Scott Stocking @ 4:47 pm
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

I preached this message on August 23, 2026, at Mount View Presbyterian Church in Omaha, NE, as part of a continuing series through the Romans passages indicated in the Lectionary for each Sunday. The congregation has received these messages quite well. I’ll tackle the last half of Romans 12 for the following Sunday. The last Romans passage in the Lectionary for this year is Romans 14 on September 13, but after August 30, I won’t preach there again until September 20.

Good morning! The Lord be with you!

Well, here we are. We’ve taken a closer look at the first 11 chapters of the Paul’s letter to the Romans and have heard much about faith and faithfulness, life in Christ through the Holy Spirit, and free gift of God’s grace that brings us salvation when we confess Christ as our Savior and Lord. Chapter 12 begins a very different section of Romans, one in which Paul starts to address unity among the house churches in Rome. But he’s not addressing unity just for the sake of unity. Paul wants the Roman believers, both Jews and Gentiles, to present a united front in the way they fellowship with each other and reach out to and evangelize their family, friends, and neighbors in Rome.

The first two verses of our passage today represent the application of all that Paul has just taught in the first 11 chapters. We’ll look closely at those two verses, then we’ll look at verses 3–8 to see just what Paul expects of believers with respect to living in unity (Psalm 133), especially when it comes to addressing the diversity in the Roman culture more broadly, and the differing worldviews that Jews and Gentiles bring to the (dinner) table.

Once again, in 12:1, we see the word “therefore.” This is our clue that Paul is referring to at least the previous three chapters of Romans that we touched on last week, but more likely, given some of the verbal parallels here, he’s referring to the entire eleven chapters up to this point.

One of the first things Paul says in vs. 1 is that he’s urging the Roman believers to “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.” Now when it comes to being a living sacrifice, you’ve probably heard quotes similar to what John MacArthur cited recently in one of his daily devotions: “But as someone has rightly said, the problem with living sacrifices is they tend to crawl off the altar.”[1] But this quote has a couple problems in my mind.

First, no one seems to know who originated the quote. The closest Copilot AI can come to nailing it down seems to be the mid-20th century to a couple holiness preachers.[2] I have four respectable commentaries on Romans going back about 50 years among them, and none of them use this sentiment in reference to this passage, at least not in the main discussion of the passage.

Second, if God wants us to be “living sacrifices,” why in the world would we stay on the altar? Some of the commentators who have used the “crawl off the altar” statement suggest that implies we bail on God when the fire gets turned up. But the passage we’re looking at this morning seems to have a completely opposite view of that. Our passage this morning, as we’ll see shortly, calls us to go into the world and use our gifts for God.

So what is Paul talking about when he says “living sacrifice” if it means that the sacrificial rite, so to speak, isn’t going to lead to our death? We need to look back no farther than Romans 6:3–4 to see just what that is: “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”[3] Our baptism makes us a living sacrifice!

If you were baptized as an infant, your parents, family, and church dedicated themselves to raising you in the faith, and here you are today. I have many friends who did not get baptized until they became adults, but they also now are living sacrifices. Christ went to the cross for us so we wouldn’t have to. When we “offer” or “present” ourselves to God in this way, we’re not expected to climb up on the cross or jump up on a burning altar. The sacrifice has already been made; we participate in the result of that sacrifice by living our lives for Christ and his kingdom. God wants us out in the world sharing the good news of Jesus. That is where we’ll experience both the joys of salvation and in some cases the struggle of persecution and rejection. In other words, the world is our “altar.”

In the NIV, Paul calls this our “true and proper worship”; in the version we read this morning, the New Revised Standard Version, it’s translated “reasonable” worship. The word in the original language sounds like our English word “logical” (λογικός logikos) and is used to refer to the “pure spiritual milk” Peter says we should crave. [4] We worship in the world by living our lives for Christ. Worship isn’t just singing and gathering at church; it’s ministering to a lost world.

As we go out into the world, then, two things happen to us if we’re focused on Christ. First, we begin to see the futility of the way the world lives without God, without guidance from the Holy Spirit, and without an understanding of the sacrificial love Jesus demonstrated for us. As we witness that regularly, we begin to understand why Paul exhorts us: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world.” The pattern of this world is without hope; we begin to desire God more and more, because he is the only one who can fulfill the second part of that exhortation in verse 2: “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” so you can “test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. ”[5]

The exercise of our faith is no different than exercising our bodies or practicing a sport or skill. If you’re faithful in your exercise routine, you will begin to see results for your body. The more you practice a sport or skill, the more muscle memory you build so that your actions become more instinctive than forced or mimicked by rote. It is in those actions that we find out just how good God is, how effective God is, and how true his Word is.

In verses 3–8, Paul summarizes the gifts of the Spirit from chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians, which he had written a couple years earlier. Similarly, verses 9–21, which we’ll look at next week, parallel Paul’s “love” chapter, 1 Corinthians 13. Paul exhorts the Roman believers to exercise some humility by exercising “sober judgment” with yourself in accordance with your faith. What he’s saying here is not that everyone should be equally humble: certain gifts may be more prominent than others, and if you’ve got one of those gifts, don’t be afraid to use it. But also don’t look down on others who may have a different gift that may not be as popular or that may make us uncomfortable in a good way. We are unified as a body, and each gift has its purpose for the edification of the body. In that sense, we are all equal in the eyes of God, so let’s be sure to see each other through his eyes instead of our own.

Now in case it’s been a while since you’ve looked at these gifts of the Spirit, whether here or in 1 Corinthians, let me take a few minutes here to speak to those and just what those gifts entail. If you’re curious about what your gifts may be, spiritual or otherwise, there are some decent ones online. Some are longer than others, but if they’re thoughtfully prepared and have a robust rubric to analyze your responses, you should be able to get a pretty accurate reading for yourself. For example, this survey from churchgrowth.org has 108 questions covering the gifts mentioned in Scripture: Spiritual Gifts | FREE Spiritual Gifts Survey | Assessment, Analysis, Test.

Almost 16 years ago, after I had fully integrated into my current home church, I took the Gallup “Strengths” survey. Although the strengths are not necessarily defined as spiritual gifts in all cases, the survey does reveal how God wired you as an individual and may help you figure out areas of ministry that would be a good fit for you. My top gift was “intellection,” and one of the key actions it said I should follow through on to exercise that strength was to start a blog. Well little did that survey know I had indeed just started doing that about a month earlier, so when I got home after viewing my results, I immediately set up my current blog on WordPress.com, and it is still going strong to this day.

Now, about the gifts that Paul mentions. The first gift he mentions is prophesying. It may surprise you to learn that prophesying in Scripture is not necessarily about foretelling the future, but about forth-telling the Gospel, sometimes in ways that make people uncomfortable. There’s a difference between warning about possible or probable outcomes of sinful behavior, but that’s not the same as predicting a specific future event. By the same token, prophesy might also be about edifying the church as well, as seems to be the thought in 1 Corinthians 14:4: “Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church.”[6]

You don’t have to be a preacher to have the gift of prophesying, nor do you have to run out and quit your job if you discover you have the gift of prophesying and become a preacher. If you feel God is calling you in that direction, then that’s okay too. Exercise some “sober judgment” as Paul says, pray and ask for guidance, and speak to your family as well so you don’t shock them with a life-altering decision out of the blue. Paul also says in 1 Corinthians 14:32: “The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets.”[7] How you exercise that gift is in accordance with your faith. It’s important to exercise some due diligence to flesh out any implications.

The gift of serving, I think, is probably the easiest one to wrap our brains around. It’s a generic enough category that just about anyone can fit into depending on your gifts and talents. These gifts of service are typically those things that help improve peoples’ lives, whether it’s serving in a food line or caring for an elderly or disabled friend or family member who can’t afford to pay someone to help with activities of daily living.

Teaching is another obvious one, and this, I believe, is my strong suit as a spiritual gift. The first-ever spiritual gifts inventory I took tagged me as having the gift of teaching, which I thought was odd as a junior in college since I had never even considered teaching as a career. And yet here I am at 63 years old with over 30 years of college and primary education experience. I’d like to think God knew what he was doing way back then.

I’ve seen a lot of encouragement in this congregation in the five years (has it been that long?) that I’ve been an adjunct pulpit-filler here. That is one of the beauties here, especially as a small congregation. The support and care you show for one another and have shown for me and my family in some of our struggles has meant so much to each other and myself. I think that’s one of the gifts you have that can attract more people to walk through our doors.

The gift of giving, as you might imagine, is not one that depends on how much money you have in the bank or the size of your paycheck every payday. Being a giver reflects an attitude of the heart, one that is, I think, accompanied by a strong faith in God’s provision. You’re not afraid to give because you know and have experienced God’s provision in your own life.

Leadership is a tough one, I think. So much goes into the concept of leadership, and sometimes the skillset that accompanies that gift will look different depending on the setting in which God is calling you to leadership. Are you a visionary that can see the potential in an idea or a person? Are you a financial whiz that knows how to keep a company in the black? Do you have strong people skills that can help with conflict resolution? Leadership in the church doesn’t necessarily mean you have to know the Bible as well as the preacher. Sometimes you can lead in compassionate ministry or children’s ministry.

Finally, Paul addresses mercy. I’m not afraid to tell you that mercy is an area I need some work on, especially as I get older, crankier, and more set in my ways. I shared with some of you last week about the trials of trying to Jill and Becca’s luggage to them in Scandinavia. After the third time in 24 hours that the luggage headed west back to Chicago instead of east over the Atlantic, mercy was about the farthest thing from my mind. In my defense, and in defense of the rest of us who get angry from time to time, the Bible does say it’s okay to get angry, as long as we don’t sin with our actions that accompany that anger.

Those are the gifts Paul mentions in Romans. If you want to see other gifts, you can review 1 Corinthians 12–14 to get an idea about the gifts and some extended instruction on how to use them.

I do want to issue you a challenge this morning. Most of you know each other, so I don’t think this is going to be too weird for you. Look around the sanctuary from where you’re sitting, if it’s not too difficult to turn around for you. Yeah, make eye contact. During our fellowship time afterwards, I’d like you to consider encouraging one another by complimenting them on a gift you see in that person. It doesn’t have to be one that we’ve talked about, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be a spiritual gift. We’re a family here, and one of our goals should be to edify each other. When you get home, do the same for someone significant in your life as well: a sibling, your spouse, a child or grandchild, etc. Let’s be living sacrifices for the growth of God’s kingdom. Amen.

[1] John MacArthur (July-09-2026) Daily Devotional: A Living Sacrifice. Accessed 08/22/26.

[2] Copilot returned this assessment on 08/22/26:

The quote appears in various forms in:

• Donald Grey Barnhouse (1895–1960)

Barnhouse used the line in his Romans radio expositions and later in print. He never claimed authorship; he also attributed it to “someone has said.”

This is the earliest reliably documented usage.

• Early Keswick / holiness preaching (1940s–1960s)

Several holiness and revivalist preachers used similar phrasing, often anonymously:

  • “The trouble with a living sacrifice is that it keeps trying to get off the altar.”
  • “Living sacrifices tend to crawl off the altar.”

These appear in sermon transcripts and devotional pamphlets, but without attribution.

[3] Romans 6:3–4. The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. See also Edwards, James R. Romans. Understanding the Bible Commentary Series. 1992. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, p. 283, where he cites a similar statement from Romans 6:8.

[4] 1 Peter 2:2. The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[5] Romans 1:2. The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[6] 1 Corinthians 14:4. The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[7] 1 Corinthians 14:32. The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

August 19, 2026

“God’s Gifts and His Call Are Irrevocable”: Romans 9–11

Filed under: Christology,Deuteronomy,Ecclesiology,Evangelism,Faith, Faithfulness,Leviticus,Righteousness,Romans,Soteriology — Scott Stocking @ 10:58 pm
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I preached this message at Mount View Presbyterian Church, Omaha, NE, on August 16, 2026. The preachers from the previous two weeks had not covered Romans 9 & 10 from the lectionary, so I did a brief overview of those two chapters before tackling chapter 11. Message was captured in audio (here) and video (Rumble) formats.I preached this message at Mount View Presbyterian Church, Omaha, NE, on August 16, 2026. The preachers from the previous two weeks had not covered Romans 9 & 10 from the lectionary, so I did a brief overview of those two chapters before tackling chapter 11. Message was captured in audio (here) and video (Rumble) formats.

Good morning! The Lord be with you!

I’m continuing on through Romans today. While the first eight chapters were pretty heavy on doctrine, the nature and role of faith and faithfulness, and the “how” of life—both here and beyond—in the Spirit, Paul hasn’t really dealt with the social and cultural dynamics of the mix of Gentiles and Jews in the Roman churches. That’s where chapters 9 through 11 fit in.

Remember that the Roman church was a healthy mix of Jews and Gentiles, with Gentiles in the majority, especially after the banishment of Jews from Rome ended and the Jews had begun to return. There are hints later in Romans of some of the tensions that may have arisen when the Jews returned, most notably involving the diet restrictions that Jews followed but Gentiles did not. That would have caused no small kerfuffle at their fellowship meals, to be sure.

It would seem from Paul’s comments in chapters 9–10 especially that each group felt they had one-up on the other. The Gentiles, after all, had kept the churches alive and growing in the absence of the Jews, while the Jews had the rightful claim of being the religious and ethnic “home,” if you will, of the Messiah. Paul attempts to balance that tension by using the metaphor of the olive tree.

Sure, the Jews represent the original olive tree, the foundation from which Christianity arose through the Messiah. But Gentiles had some bragging rights as well, having been welcomed, or in Paul’s terms, “grafted,” into the new Christian “sect” of Judaism where they had previously been deemed as second-class humans, or worse, as dogs, by traditional Judaism. I’m sure it must have been difficult for life-long Jews who had converted to Christianity to get over some of these biases about Gentiles.

What Paul is doing in chapters 9–11 is trying to convince the Jews that their standing, as well as the Gentiles’ standing, with God isn’t based on their ethnicity alone. It is based on what they believe about God, their faithfulness to his commands, and the state of their hearts. The Jewish Christians aren’t more saved or more blessed than the Gentile Christians simply because of their ethnicity. By the same token, the Gentiles aren’t more saved because they are inherently free of the constraints of the law that was deeply etched in the Jewish mindset. That doesn’t mean the Gentiles aren’t responsible for the moral behaviors reflected in the law; they just don’t have the kind of bias against a Jew that a traditional Jew might have against Gentiles.

We see this in Chapter 9 with a couple notable passages. Verse 14–16 state:

14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 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.” r

16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.[1]

In other words, God will bring about salvation for Jews and Gentiles in his own way.

Then in verses 27–28, Paul quotes Isaiah’s warning from chapter 10 of his prophecy:

27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:

“Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea,

only the remnant will be saved.

28 For the Lord will carry out

his sentence on earth with speed and finality.”[2]

God’s “sentence on earth” is like a reference to the warnings in the Torah about disobedience, especially Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. These warnings speak directly to why some of the Israelites were considered the branches cut out of the olive tree. What’s interesting about these warnings about disobedience are much longer than the promises for obedience that precede them in each of these chapters.

Here’s a sampling of Leviticus 28:14, 16–17.

14 “ ‘But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands… 16 then I will do this to you: I will bring on you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and sap your strength. You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it. 17 I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you.[3]

Leviticus goes on with a series of paragraphs that take us down the infamous slippery slope by introducing subsequent sections with the sentiment: “If you don’t listen to me and turn back after all this, here’s what else is coming” with list of even more painful and in some cases gruesome consequences.

Deuteronomy isn’t any more pleasant (28:15–19):

15 However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you:

16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.

17 Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.

18 The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.[4]

They can’t run and they can’t hide from the consequences. But it is because of God’s mercy that he didn’t wipe them out completely.

Chapter 10 (verses 8–10) makes it clear what our next step should be to escape this. I’m sure many of you have heard this before as part of the Romans Road:

8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” [Deuteronomy 30:14] that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 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.[5]

This brings us then to our passage this morning from Romans 11. We’ve only read the first and last part of the chapter, but they are the opening and closing summaries of the heart of the passage. Paul is proud of his Jewish heritage, just as he enumerated the blessings the Jews have from their history at the beginning of chapter 9. He speaks of “the remnant [of Israel] chosen by grace,” that is, those who reaped the rewards of obedience from the first verses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. Their salvation is a completely free gift of God. There’s no application to fill out, no extensive background check, no references to check, because God already knows that. All he needs to see is that circumcised heart, represented by your confession that Jesus is Lord.

In 11:28, Paul calls the disobedient Jews “enemies” to the Gentiles when it comes to the gospel, but because the Jews are God’s chosen people, they are still considered “elect” and God’s love never fails for them. The promise of vs. 29, that “God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable”[6] is as applicable to Israel as it is for the Gentiles. That promise to include the Gentiles goes all the way back to Isaiah, at least. Verse 32 about Jews and Gentiles being bound for disobedience comes across as a sticky wicket of sorts, until you realize Paul is just restating what he said way back in Romans 3:10–11: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.”[7] We can never be saved by the works of the law; we can never be declared righteous by following any law. That only comes from the mercy and the declaration of God because of what Christ has done for us.

Paul realizes he’s laid on the theology and doctrine rather heavily in these first 11 chapters. But he ties it up in a neat little bundle here, at least by implication, by returning to his opening concept from chapter 1 of the “obedience of faithfulness” in contrast with all of us being bound over to disobedience. Romans 1–11 give us great promises of salvation: resurrection, new and eternal life, life in the Spirit, and even a corporate fellowship among those who used to be enemies. It is a beautiful picture of salvation based solely on grace and not on any ethnic connection. I’m looking forward to next week when I tackle Romans 12 and get into some of the real-life issues we face as believers, especially around the call to love our neighbors. The principles of the first 11 chapters show up often in the last 5 chapters of Romans, so we’ll see how all Paul’s theology and doctrine play out in real life.

The benediction at the end of 11 is as profound as it is encouraging, and I close with that:

33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable his judgments,

and his paths beyond tracing out!

34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has been his counselor?” b

35 “Who has ever given to God,

that God should repay them?” c

36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.

To him be the glory forever! Amen.[8]

[1] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[2] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[3] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[4] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[5] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[6] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[7] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[8] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

My views are my own.

Pastor Scott Stocking, M.Div.

Next Page »

Website Powered by WordPress.com.