Sunday Morning Greek Blog

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
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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
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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.

August 3, 2026

Podcast Episode: Faithfulness And Righteousness in Christ (Romans Podcast Part 3)

Filed under: Christology,Christology,Ecclesiology,Evangelism,Faith, Faithfulness,Greek,Matthew Gospel of,Righteousness,Romans — Scott Stocking @ 9:40 pm
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Pip: Sunday Morning Greek Blog, where the word “therefore” is never just a transition — it’s a theological event horizon.

Mara: Scott Stocking brings us two sermons this episode, both circling the same gravitational center: how Christ’s faithfulness, not just our own, is what justification actually rests on. We move from Romans 5 to the temptation in the desert and back again.

Pip: Let’s start with what Paul is actually arguing in Romans 5 and why the word “faith” might be doing double duty.

Justified by Christ’s Faithfulness

Mara: The post works through Romans 5:1–12 as part of a longer Romans study, and the central question it raises is whether “faith” in Paul’s letters refers only to our belief — or also to Christ’s own faithfulness to his mission.

Pip: And the answer, apparently, is both, which changes the weight of the whole argument considerably. The post frames it this way, reading from Romans 1:17: “For in the gospel the Righteousness of God is revealed — from faithfulness into faithfulness, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faithfulness.'”

Mara: What this means in practice is that the “Righteousness of God” Paul invokes isn’t an abstract moral standard — it refers to Jesus himself. Jesus is the Righteousness of God, and his faithfulness to the cross is what makes our justification possible in the first place.

Pip: So when Paul writes “justified through faith” in 5:1 and then pivots to “justified by his blood” in 5:9, he isn’t contradicting himself — he’s showing the two sides of one coin. Christ’s faithfulness is the foundation; our trust is the response.

Mara: The post also tracks a structural shift in Romans that’s easy to miss as a casual reader. In chapters 1 through 4, Paul uses words for faith or faithfulness 27 times and words for life only twice. In chapters 5 through 8, those numbers nearly reverse — 25 occurrences of life and live, and only 2 for faith.

Pip: That’s a deliberate rhetorical gear change, not an accident.

Mara: Exactly — and it lands hardest in verse 8, which the post calls “somewhat profound”: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” No prior cleanup required.

Pip: The historical context sharpens that. Paul is writing to a Roman congregation where Jewish believers had been expelled and were only now returning to find Gentile house churches still thriving — so the unity argument isn’t abstract theology, it’s pastoral triage.

Mara: And perseverance under that pressure is precisely what builds the character and hope Paul describes in verses 3 through 5. That thread connects directly to what Jesus himself modeled when his own faithfulness was put to the test.

Walking in Jesus’s Righteousness

Mara: The second sermon takes up Matthew 4:1–11 alongside Romans 5:12–19, and the framing question is pointed: where Adam failed under temptation, what did Jesus actually do differently, and what does that mean for everyone who comes after?

Pip: The post opens with a comparison most sermons wouldn’t lead with — that Satanism is an oxymoron — but it earns the setup, because the whole argument depends on understanding what Satan is actually after.

Mara: The key move comes in Romans 5:19, quoted directly: “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: So the upshot is that Jesus’s obedience isn’t just a moral example — it’s the structural reversal of Adam’s failure. One act of faithful obedience undoes what one act of disobedience broke.

Mara: The post draws a careful parallel: Satan used the same three categories against Jesus in the desert — appetite, spectacle, and power — that he used against Eve in the garden. Jesus refused each one by knowing exactly what God had actually promised, not the distorted version Satan offered.

Pip: And the post makes the point that what made the crucifixion uniquely effective wasn’t only perfect legal obedience to the Law — it was love. Bulls and goats couldn’t love anyone. Jesus could and did.

Mara: Which is why the post lands where it does: believers are “in Christ” in a concrete sense, baptized into his death, freed from the law’s demands, and called to walk in the righteousness he earned and extends to them.

Pip: Two sermons, one through-line — Christ’s faithfulness is prior to ours, and that sequence matters for everything that follows.

Mara: Romans keeps pulling the thread. There’s still the second half of Romans 6 ahead, so this conversation isn’t finished.

Pip: Neither, apparently, is Paul’s.

June 28, 2026

Baptism: The “Living Sacrifice” of Romans 12:1 (Romans 6:12–23)

Filed under: Evangelism,forgiveness,Hebrews,Immersion/Baptism,Resurrection,Romans — Scott Stocking @ 7:46 pm
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I preached this message at Mount View Presbyterian Church on June 28, 2026, “Proper 8” in the Lectionary. As with my previous message, I wanted to focus on the Romans passage for the day given my recent intensive study into the letter. I also wanted to establish what I think is an overlooked connection between the climax of the first 11 chapters of Romans, chapter 6 featuring Paul’s discussion of baptism, and the “conclusion” of that argument that Paul states in 12:1, namely, that we should offer ourselves as a living sacrifice in the waters of baptism.

Good morning! The Lord be with you!

As I said a couple weeks ago, I wanted to focus on the Romans chapters in the Lectionary readings this month because of my recent “deep dive” into Romans. My purpose was twofold: to help my home church kick off a Romans study this past semester as well as to edify myself for my own personal encouragement and enrichment. The more I have drilled down into Romans, the more scriptural gold I find that enriches my own faith, calls me to a deeper commitment to faithfulness, and transforms my heart and mind in ways I have never experienced in 50 years of being an intentional Christ follower.

I’m especially excited this morning to share with you my message, mixed with a little bit of testimony, on the last half of Romans 6. I have discovered in the past year that Romans 6 is central point of Paul’s explanation of the righteousness of faithfulness. His whole discussion in the first five chapters leads up to the explanation of his stated theme. I’ve said before that Romans 1:5 is the main theme of the entire book of Romans, as is evident by Paul’s restatement of it at the end of Romans 16:26. Romans 1:5 says this:

“Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience of faithfulness for his name’s sake.”[1]

The connection of today’s passage with the concept of obedience, especially as it relates to chapter 6’s main topic of baptism, was clear as we read the text. But I want to issue a disclaimer here: when Paul is talking about obedience, he is NOT talking about a legalistic checklist we all must check off. Nor is he talking about mindless, robotic, walking-in-lockstep behavior. Obedience in this context means something much more personal, so let’s dive into the passage and find out what that is.

To refresh our memories, we need to look back at what immediately precedes our passage today, because, as I said a couple weeks ago, we need to see what the “therefore” in verse 12 is “there for.” Here’s what Paul said in vv. 3–5 as he introduces the topic of baptism:

“3 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. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.”[2]

Then in verse 11, the verse leading into this morning’s passage, Paul says this to summary the first part of his discussion in chapter 6:

“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”[3]

Paul considered baptism to be the transformative moment in the life of the believer, then. Repenting and turning to God involves two (at least) sequential events: In dying with Christ, not only do we share in his crucifixion and suffering on the cross, but we become united with, made one with Christ as well for eternity. Just as Christ did not remain in the grave forever, so we too, at baptism, are alive with the resurrected Lord even in our mortal bodies. This is what I meant above that Paul’s main theme, the obedience of faithfulness, is more than just a list of rules and behaviors to abide by. This obedience of faithfulness means we’re actually living our lives in the presence of Christ himself.

This is where we catch up with this morning’s reading. The fact that Paul says “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires”[4] should not surprise us. If we’re living “in Christ” and walking daily in His presence, would we want to bring sinful habits, behaviors, and thoughts into that relationship? Of course not!

Paul gets a little more specific as he goes on in 13 and 14. Don’t let any part of yourself—body, soul, or mind—fall into sin. Paul is pretty much saying here it’s an all or nothing proposition, just as baptism represents a complete identification with Christ. Christ gave his all for us, after all. He calls us to offer our complete self as “an instrument of righteousness.”

Paul’s use of a word here that we have translated into English as “instrument” need not concern us, even though on the surface it may cause us to think we’re just chess pieces. But as we have seen, our connection to Christ is a relationship: he is the head of the church; we are his body. So again, it never hurts to repeat this fact: we’re not cut off from the body if do happen to sin once in a while.

The word for “instrument” (ὅπλον hoplon) may have reminded the Greek-speaking gentiles of Hoplite soldiers of ancient Greece. They were heavily armed infantry troops that were quite successful in their day. The point of making this connection is that the body of Christ, the diverse church, is united in moving the kingdom forward, preferably through peaceful means, just as an army is united in purpose even though different battalions may have different tasks.

Hebrews 6 can help us understand this concept a little better, I think. Hebrews 6 can be a little scary if we don’t understand the context. Here’s what it says:

“It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”[5]

The idea of not being able to return to repentance if you’ve made a mistake is a little frightening. Does that mean you miss out on some heavenly rewards? Or worse yet, that you miss out on heaven? Fortunately not. In the opening verses of chapter 6, the author chides the Hebrews for still consuming spiritual baby food. One of the items in his list is “repentance from acts that lead to death.”

The author of Hebrews is telling his readers they don’t need to “re-repent” or get “re-baptized” to get back right with God after they sin. What he is saying, however, is that the Hebrews have to develop a more mature mind set about life. He knows they already believe, they just have to start acting like they believe. They must start acting “faithfully” to show they are walking in that “obedience of faithfulness.”

Getting back to Romans 6, Paul repeats his opening question of chapter 6 with a slightly different nuance but the same answer: “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!”[6] Of course not, Paul! Silly question, or so it seems, but evidently people thought that way back then. Paul goes on to talk about the difference between offering ourselves as “slaves” to righteousness as opposed to offering ourselves as slaves to sin.

The word for “offer” (παρίστημι paristēmi), which appears five times in Romans 6, is a word we should pay attention to, because the next time it appears in Romans is in 12:1: “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”[7] If you’re not picking up on the connection here, let me spell it out:

Look at Romans 6:13b again. Paul says, “Offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life.”[8] In the context of Romans 6, what does that phrase “from death to life” refer to? We’ve seen that it refers to baptism.

Baptism is how we unite with the sacrifice of Christ and the life that comes from his resurrection. In other words, it’s the perfect definition and example of what it means to be a “living sacrifice.” When Paul exhorts the Romans in 12:1 to offer themselves as a living sacrifice, he’s exhorting them to participate in the obedience of faithfulness as represented by baptism. In Philippians 2:8, Paul tells his readers that Christ “humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”[9] The faithful obedience of Jesus should encourage our own faithful obedience.

Finally, we can’t talk about the last half of Romans 6 without talking about the very famous last verse of Romans 6: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”[10] For quite a long time, this verse has been treated as a warning to believers and unbelievers alike, in some cases, being used to scare us away from the devil and toward Christ. But I want to suggest to you this morning that Paul never intended to use this verse as a warning, but as a summary statement for chapter 6 that applies to everyone who’s made the decision to follow Christ.

We know that Christ paid the full wages of sin for us on the cross so we wouldn’t have to. By participating in Christ’s crucifixion through baptism, we get “credit” as if we had paid the wage ourselves. Christ’s righteousness clothes us when we come to him. The last verse is an affirmation that we have paid the wages of sin. Since baptism also connects us the gift of eternal life and the hope of the resurrection, we have already received that free gift but will not “redeem” it until we die and go to be with the Lord. So again, verse 23 is an affirmation of that life we have received, not necessarily a promise for good behavior.

That’s what makes it grace, then. As Ephesians says, we’re saved by grace through the faithfulness of Christ. We only need to respond to it willingly. If you haven’t already, I urge you to do so today. Peace to you, brothers and sisters, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love. Amen.

My thoughts are my own.

Pastor Scott Stocking, M.Div.

If you are interested in scheduling an engagement with me for teaching. pulpit supply, conference speaker, etc., please click my name in the signature and send me an e-mail. My preference is to remain within a two-hour drive of Omaha, but would consider farther for a longer weekend engagement.

[1] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. Italicized phrase retranslated by author for emphasis.

[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.

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

June 15, 2026

Justified by Christ’s Faithfulness (Romans 5:1–12)

Filed under: Evangelism,Faith, Faithfulness,Grace,Immersion/Baptism,Righteousness,Romans,Soteriology — Scott Stocking @ 6:20 pm
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I delivered this message June 14, 2026, (Proper 6, Year A, Third Sunday after Pentecost). I broke from the practice of preaching from the gospel passage this day because I recently did some pretty intense study and writing in Romans (the epistles passage from the Lectionary for this Sunday) and wanted to share my thoughts.

Good morning! The Lord be with you!

This past semester, the church Jill and I attend had their small groups going through the book of Romans. In seminary, one of my professors had published an article about Romans 1:16–17, the passage about “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes,” and it opened my eyes to a whole new understanding of what Paul meant when he talked about the relationship between our faith and Christ’s faithfulness.

Prior to that, I had spent a great deal of time in Ephesians, memorizing the entire epistle. But the more I studied Romans, the more I saw the connections and the organization of Paul’s logic as he built the theology of justification by faithfulness. I began to understand why it was placed first among the Pauline epistles, and I was not disappointed. I was asked to speak for the kickoff of our Romans study at the church, so with those thoughts fresh in my mind, I wanted to share some of my insights the next couple times I’m with you using the Romans passages from the Lectionary readings for those respective Sundays. We’ll look at the first half of Romans 5 this morning. In two weeks, I’ll tackle the last half of Romans 6.

Since we’re diving into the middle of Romans here, I want to give a brief summary of chapters 1 through 4 to catch us up. Broadly speaking, chapters 1 through 11 form a cohesive argument about the relationship between Jews and Gentiles and how each group understands their own respective shortcomings in the eyes of God. In chapters 1 through 4, Paul’s theme seems to be centered around what “faith” looks like for both Gentiles and Jews in spite of their lapses. After Paul introduces the overall theme of “the obedience of faithfulness” in Romans 1:5, he finishes his introduction with the statement: “For in the gospel the Righteousness of God is revealed—from faithfulness into faithfulness, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faithfulness.’”[1] You might be interested to know that this “Righteousness of God” that is revealed is NOT a concept or abstract idea; it refers to Jesus himself. Jesus IS the Righteousness of God.

In the rest of chapter 1 and the first part of chapter 2, Paul addresses the Gentiles in the church at Rome, primarily indicating that nature itself demonstrates the existence and glory of God, and that those who violate their natural state are not respecting that natural order that God has otherwise made obvious to them. From the middle of chapter 2 to the middle of chapter 3, Paul makes the argument that the Jews have the benefit of having been chosen by a God who revealed himself to them directly, and yet, like the Gentiles, they still refuse to acknowledge God, causing Paul to quote Psalm 14:1: “There is no one righteous, not even one.” This is as much a criticism of the Jewish believers as the last half of chapter 1 was to the Gentiles.

From the middle of chapter 3 to the end of chapter 4, then, Paul begins to talk about what true faithfulness looks like and what it accomplishes, that is justification, first in Christ, then in the life of Abraham. He brings home the point that it is Christ’s faithfulness to fulfill God’s purposes through the cross and the resurrection that is the foundation of Paul’s mission to bring Jews and Gentiles to “the obedience of faith.” We even will get hints of this overarching theme in 5:19 and 6:16 as we move forward.

Now the other thing going on in the text of Romans is something that the average reader might miss. In chapters 1 through 4, Paul mentions the word “faith” or “faithfulness” 27 times, while only using words for “life” and “live” twice. But in chapters 5 through 8, Paul flips those numbers around. Paul has 25 occurrences of the two Greek terms for “life” and “live” while only 2 occurrences of the word for “faith” or “faithfulness,” and those two occurrences are found in the first two verses of chapter 5, so let’s dive into that text this morning.

Paul begins chapter 5 with the conjunction “Therefore.” If you’ve been in church long enough, you probably know the old saying: “When you see the word ‘therefore,’ we should find out what it’s (say it with me) ‘there for.’” Well, we already covered that briefly in the summary I just gave. What I want to unpack here is the summary that immediately follows the “therefore”: “Since we have been justified through faith.” That’s the point he just demonstrated in the first four chapters.

The verb “justify” (δικαιόω dikaioō) simply means “to be made right with God” in the context of Scripture. In some contexts, the word is translated “declared righteous,” so the noun “justification” (4:25, 5:16; δικαίωσις dikaiōsis) is closely related to the word “righteousness” (δικαιοσύνη dikaiosynē). The word is used several times throughout Romans 3 through 5 but not always associated with the same phrasing.

In 5:9, Paul says something similar to 5:1, but he swaps out one key word: “Since we have now been justified by his blood.”[2] Why does Paul switch from talking about “justified through faith” and “justified by his blood”? Let’s look at few more verses to fill that out.

In Romans 3:22, Paul indicates that God’s righteousness, or justification, is given through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ, the “Righteousness of God” whom the Law and Prophets point to.

In verse 24, Paul continues by saying “all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”[3]

In verse 26, Paul puts the emphasis on our own faith in Jesus: “[God] did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”[4]

From these verses, we can see that the concept of “justification by faith” has two components to it. The first is that the word for “faith” can also be translated “faithfulness.” In that sense, it refers to how Christ’s sacrifice brings about the possibility of our own justification: “By his blood,” “through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” In other words, he’s referring to Christ’s faithfulness to his earthly mission as I mentioned earlier.

On the other hand, we also see the importance of our response to that faithfulness: putting our trust (i.e., our faith) in Christ. We see the great love he showed us through his sacrifice and his victorious resurrection from the dead and are compelled to make but one response: declare our love and allegiance to Jesus.

Now I mentioned earlier that there is a shift from chapter 4 to 5 about Paul talking about, primarily, the faithfulness of Christ and its relation to our faith to the life we live when we are “in Christ.” We see that in vs. 3 as Paul begins to write, in general, about the sufferings they have endured for Christ. He doesn’t get specific with the Romans, because I’m sure each of them recognize the sufferings they’ve all endured, especially since the Jews had been expelled from Rome prior to Paul’s writing Romans and have just recently returned to find the Gentile believers still thriving in their house churches in Rome.

This is another reason why Paul had to address both Gentiles and Jews in Romans 1–4, so he could get the returning Jewish exiles on the same footing as the firmly established Gentiles. He knows that if they persevere under these difficult conditions, they will build a strong character that can withstand further challenges and help unite them as they were before. As they grow in unity, they will also grow in hope. They will truly experience and share the outpouring of God’s love through the Holy Spirit as they once again gather together to worship.

Paul also reminds them that there wasn’t anything Jews or Gentiles in Rome did to earn this blessing. Verse 8 is somewhat profound if you think about it: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”[5] Did you catch that? We didn’t have to do anything, because God was already at work through Jesus on our behalf “while we were still sinners.” We didn’t have to clean up our lives first. He reemphasizes that in vs. 10: “For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son [there’s the “how” of justification again], how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”[6] Not only are we set free from God’s wrath, but we also have confidence to boast in God about the reconciliation we have received through Jesus Christ.

As we head into the summer months, I would encourage all of you to read through Romans at least once. You will begin to see why the early Church Fathers chose to put it as the first book, the shining star of Paul’s epistles in the New Testament. It is full of encouragement and hope and will help you see more clearly your place in the kingdom of God and in the local congregation. Paul wrote compassionately to those who were reuniting after a long separation, and he helped to restore the unity of the church in Rome so they could continue to be a mighty witness for the Gospel. I pray that you all will continue to be a mighty witness here at Mount View. Amen.

My views are my own.

Pastor Scott Stocking, M.Div.

Here are some of my other writings on Romans:

Romans

[1] Romans 1:17. The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. I modified the translation a bit.

[2] Romans 5:9. The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[3] Romans 3:24. The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[4] Romans 3:26. The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[5] Romans 5:8. The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[6] Romans 5:10. The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

May 24, 2026

Pentecost’s “Harvest”: Acts 2:1–21

Filed under: Acts,Evangelism,Joel,Pentecost,Romans,Spiritual Warfare,Tongues — Scott Stocking @ 3:12 pm
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The Lord be with you! Happy Birthday to the Body of Christ!

The festival known as “Pentecost” in the New Testament is as old as the Mosaic Law itself, having been established in the first few chapters of Exodus after Moses received the Ten Commandments. Yet you can’t find that name in the Old Testament, not even in the Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint. Pentecost simply means “50 days,” in the Christian context, that’s 50 days after Easter (Easter, or Resurrection Sunday, is considered “Day 1,” so subsequent Sundays are a multiple of 7 plus 1 in the day count[1]).

When it was established, it anticipated Israel being settled in the Promised Land, but of course it took them 40 years to get to that goal. In Exodus, what became Pentecost was originally the “Festival of Weeks” or “Festival of Harvest.” It occurred 50 days from the Sabbath of the Passover week. The Jews considered it a sacred day, a Sabbath if you will, and was one of the three festivals in the year where men had to appear before the Lord at the Tabernacle/Temple.

Even though the Greek New Testament uses the term πεντηκοστή pentēkostē, some English-speaking Christian traditions as early as the 12th century called it “Whitsunday,” for the white robes new converts wore after being baptized on that Sunday. It was common for the churches in the Middle Ages to set aside sacred days like Easter and Pentecost for confirming young communicants or recognizing those who completed the catechism and were baptized.

The name Pentecost, then, seems to blur what might otherwise be an obvious connection between what the festival represents historically and what Jesus said about his own ministry, why it makes the day of Pentecost that much more significant for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the birthday of the church. What did Jesus say about the harvest? Maybe you’ve already made the connection to John 4:35: “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.”[2] Jesus had said much about the harvest, usually in connection with the end times, but in Acts 2, the harvest theme seems to be in the background.

In Joel chapter 2, in the verses leading up to the passage Peter quotes at the end of our NT reading this morning, the prophet speaks of God’s blessings in terms of a complete harvest:

21 Do not be afraid, land of Judah;

be glad and rejoice.

Surely the Lord has done great things!

22 Do not be afraid, you wild animals,

for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green.

The trees are bearing their fruit;

the fig tree and the vine yield their riches.

23Be glad, people of Zion,

rejoice in the Lord your God,

for he has given you the autumn rains

because he is faithful.

He sends you abundant showers,

both autumn and spring rains, as before.

24The threshing floors will be filled with grain;

the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. [3]

In light of this background, then, let’s look at Acts 2 more closely. When the 120 or so initial followers of Jesus[4] gathered on the day of Pentecost, I’m convinced they had absolutely no clue what was about to happen. They simply gathered because Jesus had told them to wait in Jerusalem. They were likely continuing to evangelize in Jerusalem, and the large crowd present for Pentecost (remember, a required feast for men to present themselves) was wondering about the gathering of the Jerusalem-based believers would bring about.

It’s not clear where they were gathered at. Chapter 1 says they had been staying at a house. Verse 2 suggests they are still in the house, so it must have been a very large place in a location near the heart of the city where many others could gather. The text tells us the sound of the wind was so powerful that people heard it from a few blocks away. They began to gather around the house and they begin to recognize they’re hearing the praises of God being spoken in their own language.

It’s significant here that the miracle is in the speaking and not the hearing. God-fearing Jews from all over the world at this event, and each one is getting the seed of the Gospel and the outpouring of the Spirit in their own language so they can take that message back to their own people. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume that some of those who were empowered to speak in other languages, perhaps a language they had never learned or had limited exposure may have also been commissioned to be a missionary to those people. That’s essentially what the purpose is of the gift of tongues. It’s not a personal prayer language; it’s a gift to help spread the gospel to people and places distant from Jerusalem.

The place names mentioned are most likely not exhaustive. The area covered is immense, from Persia to Rome east to west, and from northern Turkey to Arabia north to south. Within one generation, the gospel will have spread through the eastern Mediterranean region and the entire Middle East. There is no discrimination based on race, gender, or language. God’s blessing is no longer solely upon the Jews. Let’s break down the quote from Joel.

We saw leading up to Christmas that Jesus made a point of showing his ministry was not just to the Jews exclusively but to the Gentiles as well. We see this in the rest of the book of Acts along with the 13 letters Paul would eventually write to the young churches. Not only that, but we see it in the interaction among the churches, especially when some of the churches in southern Europe provided support for the church in Jerusalem.

Sons and daughters will prophesy. Prophecy is not necessarily proclaiming the future, although we see hints of that in the book of Acts. Prophecy is at its most basic level is proclaiming the Word of God. We see plenty of that coming from folks who aren’t part of the inner circle. Priscilla and Aquila; Apollos; Timothy; Phoebe and many of the others mentioned at the end of Romans; and the list goes on.

Stories of signs and wonders have perpetuated throughout history. Constantine converted the Roman Empire to Christianity because he claimed to see a cross in the clouds and took that as divine appointment for his kingship. The Catholic Church claims to have validated several miracles, like the Lady of Fátima in Portugal in 1917.

However most of these “signs and wonders” seem to refer what will happen in the end times, as next verse refers to “the great and glorious day of the Lord.” Even as the church is being formed in its infancy here, the prophetic pronouncement of Peter here looks forward to the end of time. God wants to make sure the faith grows and that the whole world has the chance to hear the gospel eventually. The recent talk of revival breaking out is proof that the church is still fighting the good fight to get the gospel message out.

So the harvest that began on that first Pentecost after the resurrection is still going on even today. The promise of Joel, as affirmed by Peter, still holds true today as well: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” And this missionary call still applies to us as well.

In Romans 10, Paul says this:

9If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For 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. 11As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”l 12For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”p

14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”[5]

You and I are called to help bring unbelievers into the harvest. Just as we can love others because he first loved us, so we can call others to God because God has called us to him. In fact, other than laying our life down for someone else, there is no greater love we can show to our fellow man than inviting them to join you on your walk with the Lord, to join the fellowship of the faithful.

The early church grew rapidly in the first few years after this event, and the church has continued to grow in certain cycles. In a culture that is hostile to Christianity, we shouldn’t be surprised to find that people are in fact coming back to church in greater numbers. In places like China where the church continues to operate underground for the most part, the number of believers continues to grow.

As we celebrate the birthday of the kingdom, let us also recommit ourselves to sharing the good news with those in our lives. We may feel like the culture is against us, but we have a God who is bigger than our culture. We may feel like world events are too much to handle, we have a God who is still in control. We have God who’s promised that as the church advances against the gates of hell, hell’s gates cannot withstand the onslaught. We know that we win in the end in the great and gloriously day of the Lord. Let us live in that victory even now. Amen.

Pastor Scott Stocking, M.Div.

My opinions are my own.

Not created with AI.

[1] For an in-depth excursus on how the Jews counted days, see my article Counting the Days: Acts 10 and Jewish Time References | Sunday Morning Greek Blog.

[2] John 4:35. The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[3] Joel 2:21–24. The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[4] Acts 1:15. The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[5] Romans 10:9–15. The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

March 7, 2026

Lectionary Help: Healing a Man Born Blind (John 9)

Filed under: "I Am" Statements,Biblical Studies,Christology,Evangelism,Faith, Faithfulness,Genesis,Isaiah,John Gospel of,Lent,Miracles,Sabbath — Scott Stocking @ 9:57 pm
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Lectionary Help for Fourth Sunday in Lent

John 9:1–41

We have a long gospel passage for the fourth Sunday in Lent. In the congregation I preach in, I will typically read the entire gospel passage prior to the message. I have not previously preached on this passage for lent, but three years ago when I preached on John 4 for the third Sunday in Lent, I showed the clip from that scene in The Chosen instead of reading the passage. Here is the YouTube clip of healing of the man born blind from Season 4, Episode 3.

Jesus repeats his “I am the light of the world” statement in 9:5 (originally spoken in 8:12), which seems to close the loop on that description of Jesus and his actions. The miracle of bringing light to the man’s eyes for the first time is definitive proof of that claim. In the broader context of Scripture, this harkens back to Isaiah 9, as I’ve indicated in other passages where light is a significant theme. This also seems to be the final proof that John offers for his opening statements in chapter 1 about Jesus being “light,” especially the “light” of Genesis 1:3, the firstborn of all creation. Jesus would be the physical, visible representation of God’s divine nature in his incarnation.

This passage is unusual in that a large section of it (vv. 13–34) happens apart from the presence of Jesus and his disciples. This only happens a couple times in John (the other occurrence is in 11:45–57, where the Jews are plotting to kill Jesus after he raised Lazarus from the dead). It would seem reasonable that the healed man would have relayed the story to Jesus or his disciples when Jesus sees him again in 9:35. The greater the miracle, the more intense the religious leaders’ desire to take Jesus out.

This section of the passage gives us some sense of how the Pharisees seemed to operate to protect their legalistic view of the Law. It shows how they participated in the darkness, having important discussions about the nature of sin and the impact of healing on the Sabbath behind closed doors and coercing (unsuccessfully) the healed man to recant his claim of Jesus healing, especially on the Sabbath. Worse yet, they were trying to get him to say something damning about Jesus, but he was too excited and too grateful to turn his back on the savior. You can almost feel the power of the Pharisees draining from their fingertips before their very (blind) eyes.

The healed man’s courage to speak the truth about who Jesus is and what he’s done for him is a testimony for all believers in this day and age where Christian persecution seems to be increasing in the heartland of America and elsewhere. But people are responding with a desire for faithfulness in Christ in great numbers in spite of (or because of?) it.

I’ll close out here with a couple links to my articles on “I Am the Light of the World” if you want to dig deeper into that topic. Peace to you in the next week. May God richly bless your ministry as you proclaim his word to those within your influence.

“I Am the Light of the World” (John 8:12) | Sunday Morning Greek Blog

Pastor Scott Stocking, M.Div.

March 1, 2026

Lectionary Help: The Woman at the Well (John 4:5–42; Romans 5:1–11)

Filed under: Biblical Studies,Christology,Christology,Ecclesiology,Evangelism,Faith, Faithfulness,Isaiah,Jeremiah,John Gospel of,Lent,Old Testament,Repentance,Romans,Zechariah — Scott Stocking @ 9:57 pm
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Lectionary Help for Third Sunday in Lent, March 8, 2026, Year A.

Taking a look at the literary context and historical setting of the account of Jesus speaking to the woman at the well in Samaria can help answer a few questions people may have about this passage. For example, why was Jesus so insistent that he “had” to go through Samaria? Consider the following points.

John begins his gospel by saying Jesus is the light of the world and has been around “from the beginning.”

Jesus shows his earthly authority over the Temple at Jerusalem by overturning the tables of the money changers, yet that doesn’t seem to be enough for him to insist that Jerusalem is the proper (or only) place of worship.

The well where he meets the woman is Jacob’s well. Jacob, of course, is one of Jesus’s earthly ancestors, so Jesus is in the land of his ancestors when he first reveals (at least in John’s gospel) he is the Messiah. That fact shouldn’t be overlooked.

The following is a passage from my message on this passage [A Woman, a Well, and Worshipping God (John 4; Romans 5:1–11)] three years ago.

“He establishes Jesus is fully divine and that God is his Father. Since he’s God’s “only begotten” on Earth, Jesus then is the primary authority in the Temple, which the Jews believed was home of God’s presence. Finally, Jesus, having been established as the authority for the Jewish religion, essentially abolishes the long-standing prejudice against Samaria by going to the place where his ancestor Judah’s father, Jacob (renamed Israel) first established himself in the Promised Land after returning from Laban’s home. I think this aspect of the story lends to its credibility and to the principle of worship he puts forth.”

The epistles passage is Romans 5:1–11. This is where Paul makes the point that Christ died for us “while we were still sinners.” This ties in nicely with the woman at the well story, of course, as Jesus is offering the woman living water in spite of her current social and relationship status.

A few Old Testament passages can provide some background for the “living water” Jesus speaks of. Isaiah 49 (esp. vv. 6 & 10) speaks of springs of fresh water, while Jeremiah 2:13 and 17:13 both describe the Lord as the Jews’ “spring of living water.” Of course, we can’t forget Ezekiel’s prophecy in 14:8–9:

“On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter. 9 The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.”

I pray this helps you prepare this week. I’m updating my previous message, which includes both NT passages, to reflect some of the things I’ve learned or rediscovered in my recent work in Romans.

Peace to you all this season!

Pastor Scott Stocking, M.Div.

My views are my own.

February 26, 2026

A Prayer for America (Part 1)

Filed under: Biblical Studies,Ephesians,Evangelism,Evil,Government,Spiritual Warfare — Scott Stocking @ 10:53 pm
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Heavenly Father, we come before you first and foremost pleading for your mercy in our lives. We admit that we are sinners and in need of your grace-filled salvation. But those of us who believe also know that in submitting ourselves to you and uniting with your death in our baptism, we were also raised to life to walk in your righteousness and power. Lord, we admit that we don’t often live in that power, which Ephesians says is like the resurrection power you used to raise Jesus from the dead. But now especially, O Lord, we who are Christ followers and God fearers need to rise up in that holy power that you’ve blessed us with in the heavenly realms.

Lord, even though our ultimate faith and trust must be in you, we recognize that we are stewards of the world and the times you’ve placed us in. As stewards and ambassadors of your kingdom, you have given us the responsibility to pray for those in power over us. You established the institution of government so that mankind might live in peace and order, regardless of that form of government. But as with any position of power comes the temptation to abuse it and oppress those who should be governed in peace. In our great nation of America, we are seeing the abuses of this power laid bare at almost every turn, and no one party or individual in power is solely responsible for this.

We know that mankind are not angels, that we are flawed, and flawed individuals have been leading us for nearly 250 years in this nation. But the flaws have nearly reached the peak of wickedness at the time of Noah. The principalities and powers that you ordained in the heavenly realms to oversee the nations and their government have become drunk with power and wickedness on the blood and toil of the innocents. From the blood of murdered children in the womb to blood in the streets for intentionally keeping people in poverty to lives lost to alcohol and drug addiction to poor state of our own health because of unscrupulous policies to benefit industries that keep us dependent on chemicals, almost everything controlled by the rich and powerful in the earthly realm seems destined to hasten our own demise.

So, Lord God, we come to you praying for the redemption of those powers and authorities in the heavenly realms, as you commanded your church to do in Ephesians. But Lord, we cannot do this with prayer alone. We give you thanks for providing flawed men and women in positions of power who desire to bring justice to the wicked, mercy to the oppressed, and walk humbly before you. We need these people in positions of power to use every tool at their disposal to undo the results of wicked and selfish leaders in our government. Expose the corruption! Punish the wicked, regardless of political affiliation! Let them confess their evil deeds and be treated according to the principles of government and justice you inspired our founders to set forth in the beginning.

Lord, we lift up our voices in prayer and to call others to prayer, especially those who understand the spiritual forces at work. We must with prayers and petitions support those in power who seek to do good, who seek to overturn the wickedness of times past, and who seek to bring restoration to those harmed by evil, greedy men and women. Let your justice be visible for all to see so mankind will know that you are a righteous and holy God. Let your church rise up to care for the poor and truly needy. Let professionals rise up who can bring healing and hope to those afflicted with mental disorders. Let your church shine like the sun into every dark corner, not only exposing the darkness, but finding and restoring those who are lost or trapped in that darkness.

Lord, we humbly but boldly ask for your hand to continue to work through those doing your will and doing the right thing. Raise up leaders where we need brave men and women to take the lead. Pour out your spirit in a double portion on these men and women and let the world see what your kingdom in supposed to be. In the name of Jesus our risen and glorious Lord, AMEN!

Pastor Scott Stocking, M.Div.

My views are my own.

February 22, 2026

Lectionary Help (John 3:1–17; Second Sunday in Lent)

Filed under: Biblical People,Biblical Studies,Evangelism,Faith, Faithfulness,Immersion/Baptism,John Gospel of,Lent,Moses,Numbers,Repentance,Soteriology — Scott Stocking @ 5:24 pm
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For Lectionary Help on Option B in the March 1, 2026, Year A Lectionary gospel passage, see the post from Transfiguration Sunday: Lectionary Help: Transfiguration Sunday (Matthew 17:1–9) | Sunday Morning Greek Blog

Option A is John 3:1–17, which I’ll cover in this post.

On “born again” in John 3:3, 3:7:

A word study of ἄνωθεν (anōthen) along with the context of the discussion between vv. 3 & 7 suggests that the more likely meaning here would be as an adverb of place (“born from above”) as opposed to an adverb of time (“born again” or “born anew”). “Born of water” (vs. 5) most likely refers to natural birth, while “[born of] the Spirit” refers to being renewed by Spirit through his infilling, which of course can only come from above.

Regarding the Serpent on the pole:

God told Moses to fashion what in Hebrew is called a saraph (שָׂרָף śārāp̄), a bronze serpent that itself must have had a fiery appearance in the desert sun and put it on a pole so the Israelites who were bitten could look upon it and live. However, it did nothing for those who had already died. This bronze serpent was not an idol originally[1] but rather something akin to a sign of judgment on the Israelites. It couldn’t save them from the pain of being bitten by the snakes, but it would save them from the poison that had entered their bodies. Something else was absorbing the fatal penalty of their disbelief. It’s a bit of a mystery why the word for the winged angels, or seraphim, of Isaiah 6 is also translated snake or serpent elsewhere. Regardless of the specifics of what it looked like, it must have fostered some measure of fear among the Israelites. “You can look at the scary bronze snake, or you can die from the real ones.”[2]

The serpents were cursing the Israelites with death, but if they would look upon the image of the curse, they would live. Jesus took on the curse of sin for us by being lifted up on a cross. We need to look to Jesus to be saved.

May God bless your sermon and lesson preparation this week as we settle into the season of Lent.

Pastor Scott Stocking, M.Div.

My views are my own.

[1] See 2 Kings 18:4 where Hezekiah destroys the bronze serpent because the Israelites had been burning incense to it.

[2] Sermon excerpt from How God Loved the World: John 3:14–21; Numbers 21:4–9 | Sunday Morning Greek Blog

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