Author: Christine Wyrtzen

A SUBJECT IGNORED

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.  Romans 1:18

            God’s wrath is not a subject most churches address.  And of the few that do, some exclude teaching of God’s tender grace.  Focusing on either one, while ignoring the other, distorts the Gospel and hurts any congregation.  A right view of the character of God can only be attained when His wrath, and grace, are understood. 

            One of the reasons people prefer not to think about God’s anger is because of their experience with angry people around them.  God’s anger is not of the human kind.  Continue reading “A Subject Ignored” →

FAITH PLUS NOTHING

The just shall live by faith.  Romans 1:17b

            I write today with fear and trembling.  Prayerfully, I seek God for the concepts and language to write about this critical and most important issue in all of Christianity.  This is the verse Martin Luther stood on and why his life was on the line.  Protestantism was born on the foundation of this theological truth.

            If ever someone had the moral credentials to earn his salvation, it was Paul.  He listed them elsewhere in Philippians.  The humbling discovery he made on the road to Damascus was that his ‘credentials’ had actually kept him from saving faith.  The very things he worked so hard to attain, that he thought were winning him eternal favor with God, were his own stumbling blocks.  He came to understand that his attempts to act righteous were like presenting an offering of filthy rags. 

            The law was not given so that we could mimic it and please God.  There is no brown-nosing the Teacher.  Continue reading “Faith Plus Nothing” →

BEING DIFFERENT

I am under obligation both the Greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.  Romans 1:14

A barbarian referred to anyone who did not speak Greek.  This language dominated all art, culture, and education.  To be a barbarian was to be outside of the respected mainstream.  A person who was not able to speak and read the language suffered a stigma.

To be outside the mainstream, whether in society at large or within a smaller group, is to know the pain of exclusion.   Continue reading “Being Different” →

MUTUAL ENCOURAGEMENT

For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you ~ that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.  Romans 1:11-12

I have found that mutual encouragement is a rare thing.  Encouragement alone is hard enough to find, but it does usually exist in one-sided relationships.  One person is spiritually strong; the other weak.  The strong one gives of himself, speaks words of faith, and the weaker one takes it in like a thirsty sponge.  The weak person has little to give in return except gratitude. Continue reading “Mutual Encouragement” →

PRAYERS FOR STRANGERS

For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers…  Romans 1:9

            Something amazing happens when we pour ourselves out daily at the feet of Christ.  We press our heart to the surface, offer it to Him without any reservations, and ask Jesus to live large in us.  At that point, His Spirit rises up strong in our spirits and we are in touch with His thoughts and affections.  What He loves, we love.  There is no other explanation for the complete reformation of our heart’s desires. Continue reading “Prayers For Strangers” →

RELIGIOUS REPUTATIONS

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.  Romans 1:8

            Rome was the center of the world in New Testament times.  Whatever happened there became known.  The happenings inside Rome were the daily newspaper the world read. 

            The Christians were known for their faith because they were visible, authentic, and active.  Paul was thankful for their reputation which tells me that their faith was the real thing, rooted in Jesus Christ. 

            Religious reputations of many kinds abound, even in so-called Christianity.  Our world today is a fish bowl because of current technology.  Continue reading “Religious Reputations” →

HOW A CHURCH GOT STARTED

To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints.  Romans 1:7

            Have you ever been on a life changing trip?  Perhaps it was a mission trip and what you saw and experienced changed you to the core.  You returned back home with pictures and stories and couldn’t wait to share your experiences with others.  Your undying passion was evidence of the cataclysmic events that occurred while you spent time away.  Continue reading “How A Church Got Started” →

FAITH AND ITS OUTCOME

..Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith.  Romans 1:5

Obedience is a word that makes the natural heart twist.  Just hearing it makes any man or woman long for another subject matter more pleasant.  I think that most of us believe that the faith that led to our salvation was one thing and the faith of obedience is yet another.  One got us in the kingdom but the other is some rigorous, complicated lifestyle which no one wants to really think about. Continue reading “Faith And Its Outcome” →

A SAVIOR OR A KING?

..And Œwas declared to be the Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Romans 1:3-4

Jesus had always been God and He had always been powerful.  But when He came as a babe, flesh veiled that power.  It wasn’t until the resurrection that the earth was reminded again of the power of the One who had lived for three decades and then died a criminal’s death on a cross. Through the empty tomb, the ‘Son of God in power’ was again on full display. Continue reading “A Savior Or A King?” →

SET APART FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the Gospel of God.  Romans 1:1

Before Paul met Christ on the road to Damascus, he was a Pharisee.  He knew what it was to be ‘set apart’ for that is the very meaning of the word Pharisee. (A separated one)  He was set apart to the Pharisaic traditions.  Pharisees crossed the street rather than get near to someone they considered vile and a great sinner.  The list of things they abstained from was long.  Continue reading “Set Apart For Something Different” →